Memories of baroque in nineteenth century Gozo

Abstract

"It is as the centralization and protectress of this sacred influence, that Architecture is to be regarded by us with the most serious thought. We may live without her, and worship without her, but we cannot remember without her." John Ruskin, in The Lamp of Memory Of all historical architectural styles, Baroque is the one which has fashioned our national identity. More than a style, it may be regarded as a movement, a state of mind, a means of self expression. Malta is Baroque, and so are its inhabitants. The flamboyance, individualism, penchant for external manifestations and religiosity, has survived to this day, and is ingrained in our way of life, a part of our collective memory. In this essay, I have attempted to study examples of nineteenth century Gozitan architecture which embody the memory of the Baroque Spirit, and which in my opinion prove that it is still an ongoing phenomenon and not only a thing of the past.