page_title: Andrea Belli
section_title: Life and career
hierarchical_section_title: Andrea Belli / Life and career
caption_attribution_description: English: Auberge de Castille
context_page_description: Andrea Belli was a Maltese architect and businessman. He designed several Baroque buildings, including Auberge de Castille in Valletta, which is now the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta.
context_section_description: He was born in Valletta on 13 October 1703 to the surgeon Giuseppe Belli and his wife Francesca Romano. He spent some time in Venice as a youth, and he later traveled to Austria and (Germany). 
  As an entrepreneur, Belli became a successful businessman by having achieved monopoly from Grand Master Pinto over the export of Maltese limestone and other products to Africa, Asia and Europe.
  Belli became an architect, and he designed several buildings in the Baroque style. A possible portrait of him with the design of Casa Manresa (today the Curia of the Bishop) dates to his lifetime.
  Under the influence of his brother Gabriele, listener of the Master Mason Pinto, Andrea got regular commissioned works by the Order of Malta as designer of the main buildings of the 18th century Maltese Baroque architecture.
  Notable buildings made or attributed to him include:
  Seminary (now the Cathedral Museum), Mdina (1733–42, attributed)
  Augustinian priory, Rabat (1740)
  Auberge de Castille, Valletta (1741–45)
  Bishop's curia, Floriana (1743)
  Centrepiece of Bishop's Palace, Valletta
  Church of Our Lady of Divine Providence, Siġġiewi (1750)
  Palazzo Don Raimondo (formerly the National Museum of Fine Arts), Valletta (1761–63)
  St. Philip Neri church, Birgu (attributed)
  Palazzo Bonici, Valletta
  Chapel at Villa Cagliares in Zejtun (attributed)
  Auberge de Castille is regarded as his masterpiece.
  Belli was also involved in business, and in 1741 he took over the firm of the Manoel Theatre.
  Belli married Teresa Gam on 5 June 1737, and they had one son called Giuseppe.
  He died on 19 October 1772 at the age of 69.
caption: Auberge de Castille, Belli's masterpiece
exif: {"Image Make": "Apple", "Image Model": "iPad Air", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "9.3.2", "Image DateTime": "2016:06:23 11:33:43", "Image ExifOffset": "180", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[35, 53, 4357/100]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "E", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[14, 30, 81/2]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "43", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[9, 33, 40]", "GPS GPSSpeedRef": "K", "GPS GPSSpeed": "0", "GPS GPSImgDirectionRef": "T", "GPS GPSImgDirection": "18403/981", "GPS GPSDestBearingRef": "T", "GPS GPSDestBearing": "18403/981", "GPS GPSDate": "2016:06:23", "GPS Tag 0x001F": "65", "Image GPSInfo": "1002", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1590", "EXIF FNumber": "12/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "32", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2016:06:23 11:33:43", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2016:06:23 11:33:43", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "5647/531", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4845/1918", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "10383/1006", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "No flash function", "EXIF FocalLength": "33/10", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[1295, 967, 1425, 851]", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "419", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "419", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2290", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1360", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "32", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[33/10, 33/10, 12/5, 12/5]", "EXIF LensMake": "Apple", "EXIF LensModel": "iPad Air back camera 3.3mm f/2.4"}