The Auberge d'Italie in Valletta was built for the Langue of Italy of the Order of St John, from an original Mannerist design by Girolamo Cassar. The infobox names only Cassar and Gio Andrea Farrugia as architects, while the text adds engineer Francesco Antrini and Mederico Blondel. The text gives a 1574 start, an opening in September 1579 and completion around 1595.
Blondel remodeled the facade in the 1680s, possibly after a design by Mattia Preti, and the Baroque renovation began in 1680, with the centerpiece dated 1683. Grand Master Gregorio Carafa funded the third floor. The infobox lists limestone and a marble-decorated facade, and the centerpiece marble reportedly came from Roman ruins at Mtarfa.
French and British authorities used it after 1798, and it served as a museum, courthouse and General Post Office from 1973 to 1997. It has housed the MUŻA national art museum since 2018. The article gives no hours.
Comments