The Cabreo of the Fondazione Manoel

Abstract

Anton Manoel de Vilhena was on of the most enlightened Grand Masters to rule the Maltese islands during their occupation by the Order of St. John. During his reign between 1722-1736, Grand Master Vilhena distinguished himself as a benevolent leader, a shrewd political statesman, and a reformer of local legislation. He was an active promoter of the arts who implemented various architectural and urban planning projects. Besides the urban renewal of Mdina, Vilhena was also responsible for the construction of Fort Manoel on Manoel insland in Marsamxett harbour (Fig. 1), a lavish Baroque theatre in Valletta, and the planning of the residential suburb of Floriana. Grand Master Vilhena was a visionary and an entrepreneurial patron of civil architecture and urban works. In many ways he could be considered as the Maltese counterpart to Pope Alexander VIII or King Louis XIV. Few other Grand Masters of the Order had the same stature as prolific master-builders with the exception of Grand Master La Vallette (1557-1568), founder of Valletta, and later Grand Master Pinto (1741-1773), who built and remodelled several palaces and auberges in Valletta.