Donami tempo che ti do vita : Francesco Laparelli (1521-70). Envisioning the New ‘City of the Order’, Valletta

Abstract

Valletta was conceived as a new fortified city for the knights of the Order of St John in Malta. In the aftermath of the Great Siege in 1565 and the defeat of the Ottoman Turkish army, it became critical to build a new fortified city on the Sceberras peninsula that separated the two natural harbours. The eminent soldier and military engineer Francesco Laparelli from Cortona was entrusted with the design and planning of the Order’s new city. Laparelli not only submitted four plans which delineated the new city in accordance with Renaissance urban planning but also wrote an architectural treatise which forms an integral part of the Codex Laparelli. This paper will explore the relationship between various theoretical concepts and principles as expounded by Laparelli and the physical evolution and development of Valletta, as one of the finest Renaissance cities in Europe during the second half of the sixteenth century. Aspects of military defense, city planning, service infrastructure and architectural principles will be considered in studying the dialectic between theoretical issues emanating from Laparelli’s treatise and the physical process of creating the city of Valletta. The new ‘city of the Order’ represents an ideal case study of ‘theory as practice’ within the historical milieu of the sixteenth century. During his brief but eventful stay on the island Laparelli created the physical framework of the city conceived primarily as a fortified military city that would be able to safeguard the Order of S. John from impeding threats by the Ottoman Turks. The convergence of theoretical principles and physicality of the construction and building process will be one of the main themes of the paper.