Emanuele Luigi Galizia was the Maltese Gothic Revivalist of the 1860s onwards. According to one source, his government service began when he was apprenticed at 15 to the Superintendent of Public Works, William Lamb Arrowsmith ("Malta Family History"); according to another, he was "educated at the Malta University" (Obituary 385). Perhaps he managed both. At any rate, he rose to become the Chief Government architect in 1860, and the Superintendent of Public Works in 1880. In the latter position, he was aided by his Clerk of Works, Lincolnshire-born Webster Paulson, who had previously been E. M. Barry's Clerk of Works for the Royal Opera House, Valletta. He was not just a Gothic Revivalist: his oeuvre is remarkable divers. According to Galizia's obituary, "Many public buildings scattered throughout Malta and Gozo testify to his architectural ability, which was recognised by his election as a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects" (386). — Jacqueline Banerjee.
Biographical Material
Churches, Chapels and Cemeteries
- The original Carmelite Church, Balluta Bay, Malta (1871)
- Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel, Mgaar Harbour, Gozo (1888-93)
- The Addolorata Chapel and Cemetery, Paolo, Malta (1860; including main church, layout, entrance approach & gateway, lodges, mortuary chapels, etc.
- The Turkish Ottoman Military Cemetery, Marsa, Malta (1874)
- Our Lady of Sorrows, St Paul's Bay Parish Church
Residential
- Houses in Sliema in the Moorish Style (1880s)
- A house in High Street, Sliema, since demolished
- A pair of houses in Triq Fra Diegu in Hamrun, after Emmanuele Galizia
Public and Philanthropic Works
- Re-construction of the Royal Opera House (1877; direction, following its burning down)
- Police Station, Sliema (since demolished)
- Istituto Tecnico Bugeja, Fleur-De-Lys (1880)
Examples of Civil Engineering Works
- Victoria Gate and approach areas (1884-85)
Interior of the covered market (photo by JB)
Some of the works not discussed on this site
- The Valletta Market (1859; direction only)
- Prince of Wales Road, Sliema (1862);
- Canal system and harbour molls between Qormi and the Grand Harbour (1867)
- A number of reservoirs (e.g. Ta' Qali, 1867)
- Some granaries, Floriana (1869)
- A house in Merchants Street, Sliema
- A number of warehouses, Ta’ Xbiex (demolished);
- Water provision (aqueduct) to Sliema and Birkirkara (1882)
- Conservatorio Vincenzo Bugeja, Fleur-De-Lys
- St. Alphonse Church, Birkirkara (1893)
- St. Vincent De Paule Hospital, Marsa (1886; direction only)
Proposal for St Vincent de Paule Hospital and Poorhouse (photograph from the Galizia family records, sent in by great-great-grandson Robert Galea-Naudi).
Miscellaneous
- Responsible for the Malta display at the Indian and Colonial Exhibition (1886)
Bibliography
Grech, Jesmond. British Heritage in Malta. Sesto Florentino (Fi): Centro Stampa Editoriale (Plurigraf), 2003.
"Malta Family History." Viewed 15 March 2010.
Obituary. Proceedings of ICE (Institution of Civil Engineers). Vol. 169: 385-6.
Said-Zammit, George A. The Architectural Heritage of the Maltese Islands. 2nd ed. Rabat, Malta: Minor Seminary Publication, 2008.
Last modified 10 May 2017