Maltese Facades

Apart from Maltese monumental public buildings or lowly rural farmhouses, my interest in urban residential buildings is expressed in the many facades of houses that I paint. The hue of Maltese limestone comes out in most of my pictures but there are details that make it typically Maltese such as balconies, doors windows and of course arches iron gates and balusters.

Barra minn bini pubbliku monumentali Malti jew irziezet semplici fil-kampanja, l-interess tieghi fi djar tan-nies fl-ibliet u fl-irhula jidher fil-hafna faccatiet tal-bini li npitter. Il-lewn tal-gebla Maltija jispikka fil-pitturi tieghi izda hemm dettalji bhal galleriji, bibien u twieqi li jaghmluhom veru ta Malta; ma ninsewx ukoll arkati, gradi u balavostri.

Not much is left of medieval residential architecture on our islands and what we see is influenced by the Baroque and imported from Sicily. Then in the 1800s when places like Sliema were being built up, the Victorian style took over and spread to newer buildings even in other towns and villages.

Ftit li xejn fadal mill-arkitettura taz-zminijiet tan-nofs fil-gzejjer taghna u kulma naraw kien influwnzat mill-Barokk u mpurtat minn Sqallija. Imbaghad fis-snin 1800 meta fi mkejjen bhal tas-Sliema kien beda tiela l-bini, l-istil Vittorjan intoghogob u beda jixtered ukoll f’binjiet godda fi bliet u f’irhula ohra.

The most conspicuous detail in Maltese facades is the typical Maltese balcony. This goes back to the Arab ‘muxrabija’, a stone or wooden projection the size of a small window with slots and allowed one inside to look outside without being seen from the street below. Actually after Arab rule, open balconies were the norm. It was only in the 1700s that some open balconies started to be closed up with wood as we know them today. This was according to the imported fashion mostly from Spain and also Turkey. The greatest difference between these and the Maltese balcony is that ours is supported on a stone shelf which is part of the building itself.

L-aktar haga li taqla’ l-faccatiet tal-bini f’Malta hija l-gallarija. Din tehodna lura al-muxrabija tal-Gharab, parti hierga ‘l barra daqs tieqa zghira tal-gebel jew injam bix-xquq li kienu jhallu ‘l min hemm gewwa jittawwal bla ma jidher mit-triq ta tahtu. Fil-fatt, wara li telqu l-Gharab dhalu moda l-gallariji miftuha. Kien biss fis-snin 1700 illi whud minn dawn bdew jigu maghaluqa bl-injam kif nafuhom illum. Din il-moda giet minn Spanja u t-Turkija. L-akbar differenza bejn dawn u taghna hija illi l-Maltija sserrah fuq is-saljaturi illi huma parti mill-binja nnifisha.

It’s not just the style that varies in Maltese buildings but also one can find a lot of contrast between richer facades say like those in Mdina and poorer sections of smaller villages such as in alleys. All this I have observed and incorporated in my paintings while adding particular details of local heritage like ledges, niches or ornamental flower pots, making each scene my own.

Mhux biss l-istil huwa dak li jvarja fil-bini Malti izda wkoll wiehed jista jara kuntrast kbir bejn il-faccatiet tal-bini tas-sinjuri, nghidu ahna bhal tal-iMdina u nhawi foqra ta rhula bhal f’xi sqaq. Dan kollu jiena flejtu sewwa u dahhaltu fil-pitturi tieghi u fl-stess hin zidt dettalji partikulari fil-wirt Malti bhal harrigiet, nicec jew qsari tal-fjuri li jzejnu, li b’hekk ghamilt kull xena tieghi.

It’s a real sin post war affluence has blinded both today’s developers and the authorities in Malta because all these beautiful facades of many of these buildings especially near the sea, are being demolished and a concrete jungle of high-rises is taking their place in the name of accommodating tourism. On my part, from far away in Canada, I can only dream and paint pictures of the old Malta I lived in!

Dnub kbir li l-gid ta wara l-gwerra qed igieghel kemm lill-izviluppaturi u lill-awtoritajiet f’Malta jaghamew ghaliex hana minn dawn il-faccatiet sbieh ta bini specjalment hdejn il-bahar, qeghdin jigu mgarrfa u posthom qed tihdu gungla ta konkos gholja biex jinqata l-ghatx tal-kumdita ghat-turizmu. Nghid ghalija minn hawn ‘il boghod fil-Canada, nista biss nohlom u npitter xeni tal-Malta li ghext fiha!