The eclectic project for Palazzo Parisio (1898-1907) : the industry of the art and its protagonists

Abstract

The scope of this thesis is to study the redecoration of an eighteenth century Maltese palazzo, namely Palazzo Parisio in Naxxar, from its genesis and project designs by Catania‟s foremost architect Carlo Sada to the industry involved in the implementation of Sada‟s designs in the different media of painting, stucco, marble and the other decorative arts. This thesis aims at placing the decoration in Palazzo Parisio within the general story of Maltese art and on showing how this decoration reflects the industry of such programmes generally undertaken in Italy (especially Sicily) and elsewhere on the continent. The case studies provided are of fundamental interest for the study of the architects planning, reviewing and execution processes. This together with that of coordinating works undertaken by numerous artists and artisans working in the field of painting, stucco, sculpture, gilding, carpentry and metal work. This reflects, for example, the same methods undertaken for Sada‟s masterpiece in Catania, namely Teatro Massimo Bellini. Equally significant is the study of the commissions for marble works from major companies in Carrara. The aim here was to study issues of design and the mechanics of patronage, including costing, cutting, transport and installation of such marble works. The methods of research involved in the gathering and analysis of the data mark the exciting diversities of research required in art historical studies. On site analysis of the work of art was coupled by extensive comparative work undertaken in Sicily, particularly in Catania where the main focus of such comparative research was undertaken. Archival study included work in the Scicluna family archives, the National Archives at Rabat, the Public Registry at Valletta, and elsewhere. such research has unearthed the extraordinary correspondence between the Marquis Giuseppe Scicluna, the architect Carlo Sada and the other protagonists in this redecoration project together with a list of properties purchased, the ships used for the transport and to this should be added the research on drawings particularly those in the collection of the Biblioteca Riunite Civica in Catania. The daunting task of compiling data on what was evidently, a largely unstudied area made this research even more exciting. Data collection was generated at its onset during my undergraduate thesis on the subject, wherein I realised the potential of the documentation and the analysis of which could not be completed within the short term parameters of my B.A. honours thesis handed in in May 2012. This provided the initial platform for work on my Masters, which I coupled with research work undertaken on Carlo Sada by Catania‟s leading scholar on the subject Zaira Dato Toscano. Her work on Sada was focused on his commissions in Catania specifically the Teatro Massimo Bellini and this provided me with the context for comparative data.