Malta : a case study of Mediterranean architecture

Abstract

When one refers to Mediterranean Architecture, one is referring to the architecture of the islands and of the lands bordering directly on the Mediterranean. It means, the architecture produced in the countries lying wholly in this inland sea such as Sicily, Crete, Cyprus, Southern Italy, Greece and parts of countries having a coast line in the Mediterranean such as France, Spain and Turkey. Mediterranean Architecture is not like the Gothic which was universally used in many European countries at a certain period in history. Mediterranean Architecture is purely regional. For this reason non Mediterranean countries such as Portugal, cannot be included even though there are features in its architecture very similar to those of Spain and the Mediterranean countries. Some characteristics of the architecture found in the Mediterranean are also found in some far away lands in Central, Latin America and the Caribbean.