La Casa degli Affittavoli Testaferrata : adaptations of a Valletta building at 245-249, St. Paul’s Street from the 16th century to the present

Abstract

Valletta was born at a time when over the rest of Europe freedom of thought was spreading with a consequent effect on the Renaissance style up to that time somewhat stern and severe in its compositions and proportions. The architectural world, particularly in Italy, was under the influence of the so-called Mannerists who included painters, sculptors, architects and military engineers, most of whom were called upon by the reigning princes and dukes to offer their service. Through their connections with the Catholic aristocracy in Europe, the Knights Hospitallers of St John did not, throughout the duration of their stay in Malta, find it difficult to engage the best architects and military engineers for the building of “their” city - Valletta. By the end of the sixteenth century, Valletta was already a jewel of a city, with an architectural symphony of palaces, auberges, and churches all surrounded by fortifications. The new Capital was therefore universally acknowledged as a perfect example of a fortified city.