Giuseppe Bonavia (1821-1885) : a Maltese architect with the Royal Engineers

Abstract

Standing right in the middle of the back row he exudes a commanding presence with his well-built physique, bushy dark beard and penetrating eyes, and black coat swinging open around the top button to reveal the underlying white waistcoat. He had joined the corps of Royal Engineers in 1847 as a twenty-six-year old apprentice, worked his way through the ranks from an architectural draughtsman, to clerk of works and later as an architect. Bonavia was particularly active in the 1850s and 1860s designing several buildings in the Neo-Classical and Gothic Revival styles. Bonavia’s contribution to the development of Maltese architecture in the midnineteenth century has not been given the recognition it deserves, at times manifestly overshadowed by the more familiar names of William Scamp, Edward Middleton Barry and Emanuele Luigi Galizia.