The Auberge d'Italie (, ) was an auberge in

Birgu Birgu ( , ), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ('Victorious City'), is an old Fortifications of Birgu, fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. It was built in the sixteenth century to house knights of the

Order of Saint John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Military order (religious society), military order. It was founded in the Crusader states, crusader K ...

from the

langue Langue is a municipality in the Valle Department, Honduras. The town is located near the border of El Salvador and is a regional Hammock making center. Most of the town is made up of sharecroppers and day laborers. There are usually Mormon miss ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

History

Auberge

The auberge was located in the northern part of Birgu, close to Fort St. Angelo and far from the ''collacchio'' where the other auberges were found. It was built between 1553 and 1554 to a design by Niccolò Bellavante, on the site of an earlier auberge. Part of the building was used as a naval hospital, and it also included a chapel dedicated to St.

Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine, was, according to tradition, a Christian saint and Virginity, virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a ...

Adaptive reuse

The auberge remained in use until April 1571, when the Italian knights moved to a larger Auberge d'Italie in the new capital city

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

. This auberge was later incorporated into the Grandmaster's Palace, and a third

Auberge d'Italie The Auberge d'Italie (, ) is an auberge in Valletta, Malta. It was built in various stages in the late 16th century to house knights of the Order of Saint John from the langue of Italy, and it originally had a Mannerist design by Girolam ...

was built in 1579. A Church of St. Catherine was also built adjacent to the third auberge. In the 1900s or before, the building was the host of the Fabbrica di Mobiglia Carmelo Seychel Carpentiere. A photo by Richard Ellis is publicly available, portraying the full facade. Another photograph of the building was taken circa 1935, when part of the building was a residence.

Architecture and remains

Auberge d'Italie was included on the Antiquities List of 1925, together with the other auberges in Birgu. The building was severely damaged by aerial bombardment during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The site was rebuilt as housing units between 1961 and 1963, and some features of the auberge were incorporated into the new buildings. These houses are regarded as being of a sub-standard nature. Today, the only remains of the auberge are a

quoin Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th-century encyclopedia, ...

, a partially defaced coat of arms, the base of a balcony, and some mouldings on the façade. These remains were scheduled as a Grade 2 property on 2 December 2009, and they are also listed on the

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands The National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands (NICPMI) is a heritage register listing the cultural property of Malta. The inventory includes properties such as archaeological sites, fortifications, religious buildings, mon ...

References

External links

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
{{Auberges Palaces in Birgu Buildings and structures completed in 1554 Buildings and structures in Malta destroyed during World War II Limestone buildings in Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Defunct hospitals in Malta 1554 establishments in Malta