Delle Case, e Fondi : Grandmaster Vilhena’s code on property, construction and the Officio delle Case in eighteenth-century Malta

Abstract

The Leggi e Costituzioni Prammaticali of Grandmaster Fra Antonio Manoel de Vilhena (1722-1736) comprised laws on construction and regulations on property (tit. 24). This article will attempt primarily to ascribe to Vilhena’s legislation the pertinence and ruling it held in the local development of architecture and property holdings. It therefore introduces the code of Vilhena in an outline history on urban property, architecture and social control. The article will elaborate on the contents of the code by grouping its articles in accordance to four aspects, examples of which reflect historical activities. The translation of these regulations at the end of the article acts as reference for further research on such subjects.