page_title: Maltese Baroque architecture
section_title: Seventeenth century
hierarchical_section_title: Maltese Baroque architecture / Seventeenth century
caption_attribution_description: English: Hostel de Verdelin
context_page_description: Maltese Baroque architecture is the form of Baroque architecture that developed in Malta during the 17th and 18th centuries, when the islands were under the rule of the Order of St. John. The Baroque style was introduced in Malta in the early 17th century, possibly by the Bolognese engineer Bontadino de Bontadini during the construction of the Wignacourt Aqueduct. The style became popular in the mid to late 17th century, and it reached its peak during the 18th century, when monumental Baroque structures such as Auberge de Castille were constructed.
  The Baroque style began to be replaced by neoclassical architecture and other styles in the early 19th century, when Malta was under British rule. Despite this, Baroque elements continued to influence traditional Maltese architecture. Many churches continued to the built in the Baroque style throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and to a lesser extent in the 21st century.
context_section_description: According to historian Giovanni Bonello, the Baroque style was probably introduced in Malta by the Bolognese architect and engineer Bontadino de Bontadini in the beginning of the 17th century. In July 1612, Bontadini was entrusted with the construction of the Wignacourt Aqueduct, a project which was completed on 21 April 1615. The aqueduct's decorative elements, namely the Wignacourt Arch, three water towers and several fountains, are probably the earliest representations of the Baroque style in Malta.
  However, according to Leonard Mahoney, it was Francesco Buonamici who introduced Baroque architecture in Malta. In either case Buonamici is accredited for popularizing Baroque after he designed the Church of the Jesuits in Valletta in 1635. Romano Fortunato Carapecchia has managed to transform Valletta from a mainly Mannerist style to a significant Baroque style. In the subsequent decades, many new Baroque buildings began to be constructed by the Order of St. John, while some existing buildings were redecorated or given new façades. Early examples of Maltese Baroque buildings include Auberge de Provence (renovated 1638) and Hostel de Verdelin (c. 1650s). Most Baroque buildings in Malta were influenced by Italian or French Baroque architecture, but a few have characteristics typical of the Spanish Baroque.
  From the 1660s onwards, many churches began to be constructed in the Baroque style, and they were characterized by large domes and belfries which dominated the skyline of the towns and villages. One of the most well-known and influential architects of Maltese Baroque was Lorenzo Gafà, who designed many churches between the 1660s and the 1690s. Gafà's masterpiece is St. Paul's Cathedral in Mdina, which was rebuilt between 1696 and 1705 after the original medieval cathedral was damaged in the 1693 Sicily earthquake. Other notable Baroque churches designed by Gafà include the Church of St. Lawrence in Birgu (1681–97) and the Cathedral of the Assumption in Victoria, Gozo (1697–1711).
  Meanwhile, many existing churches were redecorated in the Baroque style. The interior of Saint John's Co-Cathedral, then the Order's conventual church, was extensively embellished in the 1660s by the Calabrian artist Mattia Preti, although the Mannerist exterior was retained.
caption: Hostel de Verdelin, a mid-17th century example of Spanish Baroque architecture in Malta
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