This Neo-Gothic building, completed in 1883, was originally the Floriana Wesleyan Methodist Church, house of Protestant worship. The architectural style of this building is Neo-Gothic and was designed by architect Thomas Mullet Ellis. Work started in 1881 and was completed in 1883 under the direction of Poulsen. It was inaugurated for religious worship on the […]
This building was built during Grand Master Vilhena’s reign and was later established by Alexander Ball as administrative offices for the control of grain imported into Malta. This building was subsequently turned into barracks for army officers in 1826. During the last war General Montgomery prepared his plans for the invasion of Sicily, and eventually […]
This is a baroque fountain topped by a lion. The lion was part of the coat of arms of Grand Master Vilhena and is now the sole figure of Floriana’s coat of arms. It has “guarded” the town since 1728. The inscriptions in Latin found on the bottom part of this fountain say “To the […]
The King George V Recreational Grounds were Malta’s first Playing Fields. With the advent of the Malta Playing Fields Association in 1951, these grounds were taken over by this new foundation. A small building to house the association’s headquarters was erected at the same grounds. In following years, the Malta Playing Fields Association continued to […]
The Independence Monument in front of The Mall gardens, was erected at this site, previously held by that of Grand Master Vilhena, to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of Malta’s Independence from the United Kingdom. This monument was modelled by Maltese sculptor John Bonnici, and it is the work of the Italian Foundry Badalotti. The monument […]
Granaries are pits dug into the ground and covered by circular stone slabs. They were primarily used for the storage of Grain. Granaries can be found throughout Valletta and Floriana. The first granaries were built by the Knights to provide for storage within the fortifications in case of a siege. As the system of storage […]
Grand Master de Verdalle proposed to the bishop to invite the Capuchin Order to open a convent in Malta. The first Capuchins set foot in Malta on 10 February 1588. The marble inscriptions on the church façade are quite informative. According to the rules of this Order, their churches and convents had to be built […]
The plan of the Argotti gardens was drawn and formed on St James Bastion in 1720 by the Portuguese Knight Manoel Pinto de Fonseca who was elected Grandmaster of the Order in 1741. It was then that a Spanish knight, Ignatius de Argote et Gusman – from whom the name Argotti is derived – embellished […]
