Palazzo Ferreria, officially Palazzo Buttiġieġ-Francia, is a palace found near the entrance of

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

, the capital city of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. It was built in the late 19th century. Designed by Architect

Giuseppe Bonavia Giuseppe Bonavia (1821 – 2 September 1885) was a Maltese draughtsman and architect who was mainly active in the second half of the 19th century. Born in Valletta, he was initially a clerk of works with the Royal Engineers, before becoming the H ...

, it makes use of an interesting concept of adding local timber balconies to a design inspired from that of buildings in Italy. It is protected as a Grade 2 national monument.

History

On the plot of the palace a former foundry of the Order of St John existed to manufacture the knights' armaments. Giuseppe Buttigieg and his wife Giovanna Camilleri acquired the land from the government, and they built Palazzo Ferreria in the late 19th century. Visibly on the façade are the coat of arms of Buttiegieg and Camilleri. The palace was left as dowry to their daughter Teresa Buttigieg. She married Colonel John Louis Francia for whom the Palace got its name for a while. Francia was a Spanish citizen from the British colony

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, and the two met in Malta while Francia was on duty with the British army. Palazzo Ferreria is the second biggest palace in

after the Grandmaster's Palace. BombDamageMalta

The Francia family resided at the palace until the end of World War Two, in 1947. The war had destroyed or partly damaged most buildings in Valletta. The Labour government, led by

Dom Mintoff Dominic Mintoff, ( mt, Duminku Mintoff, ; often called ''il-Perit'', "the Architect"; 6 August 1916 – 20 August 2012) was a Maltese Socialist politician, architect, and civil engineer who was leader of the Labour Party from 1949 to 198 ...

, rented part of the palace from the Francia for the Public Works Department, to reconstruct and restore Valletta from the war damage. The family kept a small part of the palace as an apartment which is now used as a Maltese government Ministry's office. The Francia sold the palace in 1979 to the government which was administered once again under

Prime Minister of Malta The prime minister of Malta ( mt, Prim Ministru ta' Malta) is the head of government, which is the highest official of Malta. The Prime Minister chairs Cabinet meetings, and selects its ministers to serve in their respective portfolios. The Pr ...

Dom Mintoff. Today the lower parts of the palace consist of several shops. Palazzo_Ferreria_Valletta_one_of_the_entrances_now_a_clothes_shop

The palace was restored in 2017.

Architecture

The architect of Palazzo Ferreria is

, who also designed the

Lija Belvedere Tower The Lija Belvedere Tower, officially Torri Belvedere, is a belvedere in Lija, Malta. It was built in the 19th century as a folly within a private garden, and it is now located on a roundabout. History The belvedere tower was built in 1857 as a f ...

and

La Borsa La Borsa, also known as the Exchange Buildings, is a 19th-century building in Valletta, Malta, which houses '' The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry''. The site of La Borsa was originally occupied by a house which belonged to th ...

. The palace is scheduled as a grade 2 national monument by the

Malta Environment and Planning Authority The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA, mt, L-Awtorità ta' Malta dwar l-Ambjent u l-Ippjanar) was the national agency responsible for the environment and planning in Malta. It was established to regulate the environment and planning ...

(MEPA). Bonavia wanted to develop this site after losing the bid to become the architect of the Royal Opera House (opposite) and to show what he was capable of building and what could have resulted had his design been chosen over that of Edward Middleton Barry.

Gallery

Palazzo_Ferreria_statue_2.jpeg, Statue representing

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Palazzo_Ferreria_statue_4_America.jpeg, Statue representing the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

Palazzo_Ferreria_statue.jpeg, Statue representing

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Palazzo_Ferreria_statue_3.jpeg, Statue representing

Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliff ...

References

External links

* {{Valletta Buildings and structures in Valletta Ferreria Buildings and structures completed in 1876 Government buildings in Malta Gothic Revival architecture in Malta Office buildings in Malta

History

Architecture

Gallery

Further reading

References

External links