page_title: Balluta Buildings
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Balluta Buildings / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: Balluta Buildings, Pjazza tal-Balluta in St. Julian's (San Ġiljan), Malta
context_page_description: Balluta Buildings is an Art Nouveau apartment block overlooking Balluta Bay in St Julian's, Malta. It was built in 1928 for the Marquis John Scicluna, and it was constructed to designs of Giuseppe Psaila. The building is considered to be among the finest of the few surviving examples of Art Nouveau architecture in Malta.
context_section_description: Balluta Buildings is one of the finest among the few surviving Art Nouveau buildings in Malta, and it is also regarded as Psaila's masterpiece and one of the most iconic buildings in the country. It consists of three connected blocks of flats, with three vertical structures having long vertical arched openings protruding from the rest of the building. These are topped with keystones decorated with a carved putto. The openings are flanked with a row of double windows and pilasters on either side. Each block is topped by a pediment, and the architraves below each have inscriptions which read BALLUTA (left block) BUILDINGS (right block) and A.D. MCMXXVIII (central block). The windows, pilasters and other parts of the building display intricate floral and geometric decorations.
  The blocks are joined together with verandahs on the lower floors and a plain façade on the upper levels. A structure which contains a number of shops buttresses the entire building at street level, contributing to its three-dimensional quality. The building is constructed out of local limestone.
  The twenty apartments within the block are large and luxurious, and they have high ceilings and columns. The interior is decorated with traditional Maltese tiles. The ironwork used throughout the building is of high quality, and it is uncertain whether this was the work of Psaila or another artisan.
caption: Detail of the façade showing the ornamentation
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