Silvio Mercieca (1888–1954) was a

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Malte ...

architect. Mercieca is deemed to have started as an apprentice to Andrea Vassallo. Mercieca authored a townhouse in Old Bakery Street, Valletta, which according to Mark G. Muscat "was fairly avant-garde for the time when it was built, and it is probably the only example of its kind in Valletta. It may be described as a combination of the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

and Art Deco styles. The details of the balcony is particularly interesting, as indeed is the oversize frieze-like parapet wall that tops the façade." According to Edward Said, Mercieca "designed buildings in his own style and also developed the Maltese balcony. He took inspiration from Gaudi and the Italian

Stile Littorio {{refimprove, date=December 2020 Stile Littorio denotes an architectural language developed in Italy in the 1930s and featured in a large number of public buildings commissioned by the Fascist regime until its fall. The emergence of Stile Littor ...

. Some of his notable designs were he original 1934 design of the Muscat's car showrooms situated in Rue D'Argens, three historic townhouses with balconies in Hughes Hallet Street in Tigné, and houses in Isouard Street and St. Ignatius Street in Sliema.Sliema's Built Heritage
FAA Mark G. Muscat debates whether the latter, Villa San Remo at St.Ignatius Junction, Sliema, may be attributed to Mercieca in the absence of documentation, or whether it was merely "designed by somebody who simply imitated the house in Old Bakery Street, Valletta". Mercieca also authored Villa Cloe in Ta' Xbiex, at the periphery of the promenade. According to Mark G. Muscat, "Villa Cloe is unique for its interesting use of multifaceted stonework beneath the windows and vertical ''fascio''-like elements subdividing the columns. This villa may be attributable to a

manifestation, but similar motifs were quite common in Art Deco architectural constructions both in the United Kingdom and the United States."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercieca, Silvio 1888 births 1954 deaths 20th-century Maltese architects