
The block of building at Old Bakery Street corner with
St. John Street Valletta comprises of a number of houses ranging from No. 23 to
No. 30 with the doors overlooking Old Bakery Street. Originally the block consisted
of two adjacent houses only, with entrances which are now No. 24 and 28. The other doors are later additions when the
two houses were divided into further residences. The two adjacent houses were built on two
floors with underlying basements, and share the same architectural grammar.
They seem to have been built at the same time and designed by the same
architect. According to V.F. Denaro they were built before 1652. The style is
rather Mannerist, however, elements of the Baroque are evident, such as the use
of omega hood moulds and a scallop shell motif within two of the window
openings (now transformed into open balconies at mezzanine level). One of the
windows is reminiscent to those designed by Francesco Borromini for Palazzo
Barberini in Rome. The panelled walls of the façade are punctured by doors and
windows set within heavy moulded frames. The arrangement of the ground and
mezzanine level doors and windows is rather irregular and contrasts with the
balanced arrangement of the upper floor apertures and round corner
balcony. This is due to the fact that
the mezzanine with all its balconies is a later addition. In fact when some of the ground floor rooms
are viewed from their interior it could be noticed that the upper parts of the
arches are partly hidden behind the ceilings where they appear again at
mezzanine level.
Over the doorway of house number 28 is an inscription
in a cartouche Boni Amici - Amica Domus, perhaps referring to Buonamici the
architect to whom the design of the building is attributed or because he
resided there while he was in Malta between 1635 and 1659. House no 28
Valletta, had been wonderfully restored to its former glory by the owner
Antoine Cachia. A partly visible advert from the British period painted
directly on the façade has also been retained. Over the years, there is enough
evidence to conclude that various alterations were carried out such as the
inclusion of the timber balcony on Old Bakery street and probably quite
recently, the opening of two disproportionate windows on Old Bakery street. It
is probable that the cementcious render on the pilaster has existed for many
years. The main facade is interestingly quite articulate and is similar to the
building in number 28, but in actual fact there are a number of difference. The
main focus is definitely the corner balcony with its sculptural corbels and the
main entrance on Old Bakery street. However, along the passage of time, a
number of interventions have taken place, that in some way, compete with the
authentic legibility of this work of art. The impressive uppermost cornice is
continuous with the abutting building in 28, Old Bakery street, and to date in
very barely disturbed by any interventions.
The main changes that took place on Old Bakery street,
include a number of openings at the third party ground floor level, the opening
of two windows with aluminium apertures to the right of the main entrance and
the opening of two smallish windows to the left of the main entrance which are
probably providing some kind of extraction also to third parties. The wooden
balcony at intermediate level with a cantileavered concrete base, the central
arched balcony and balcony above Guze all indicate various interventions of
sorts. The interventions on St John's street, include a number of openings at
the third party ground floor level, in particular door closest to the corner
pilaster, and the window and French window above same. These interventions seem
to be more recent than the rest. Mepa
scheduled Nos. 24 - 28, Triq l-Ifran as a Grade 1 national monument as per
Government Notice No. 276/08 in the Government Gazette dated March 28, 2008.
The
deterioration processes experienced on the facades of 24 Old Bakery street
corner with St John's street in Valletta, were the result of a number of
factors such as, exposure and orientation, salt contamination (sea spray,
rising damp, nitrates and incompatible materials), biological attack, material
properties of the stone, neglect, lack of maintenance, human intervention,
structural defects, installation of superfluous accretions and pollution caused
by the burning of fossil fuels. The various causes of deterioration have given
rise to loss of pointing, deterioration of mortars and masonry, old repairs,
later and contemporary additions, mechanical damage and loss of structural
integrity, soiling, and biological infestation.
The facade was crying out for some positive
intervention. The disordered wires hanging down from various areas of the
facade, seemed to have been literally thrown down, to service the various third
party owners. Many different kinds of metal attachments and inserts were
visible and had no particular function, some of which are causing mechanical
damage to the masonry beneath. A very
visible drain pipe divided the facade in a small section. Aside from all this, the facade suffered
particularly from black crusts, surface erosion, superficial deposits and
cement render in the lower parts. The timber joinery of the doors, balcony and
window in general appeared to be in sound condition requiring only routine
maintenance. Some of the third party doors did not respect the aesthetic and
historical value of the building.
The main
trust of this option is to include the restoration of third parties within the
application. This will obviously be subject to third party agreements. The main
issue relate to the haphazard services on the facades, which include: telephone
lines, Melita and or GO cables, Enemalta and drainage pipes. The other
main issue was the material of some of the apertures, and the possible barring
of two derogatory windows which distort this unique work of art.
The ground
floor and parts of the intermediate level on Old Bakery Street were covered with a monochrome paint layer.
This monochrome layer was even more
pronounced on St John's street. The paint colours varied slightly from
one third party to another. The condition of this paint layer was also not in a
very good condition throughout the facades.
It was envisaged to remove this layer to replace it with a lime based
coloured wash throughout all the ground floor level, creating a homogenous
effect, and reflecting the way it would have been presented to us today. A darker
lime wash was applied for the plinth level.
The corner
pilaster was partly rendered in a cement coating. The finish will be stone
coloured, matching the patina of the contiguous masonry, with a slightly darker plinth (dado),
continuous with the plinth in Old Bakery street.
It was envisaged that
after cleaning intervention, the exposed limestone will be well preserved and
this will remain as the finish. After suitable cleaning using a wet brushing
method, poulticing and micro sandblasting,
the defective joints were opened and re-pointed, any plastic repair
carried out (particularily to fill cavities and reconstruct broken
architectural lines or elements) and a durable homogenising lime-based wash (velatura) was applied, depending on the
exposed appearance of the stonework.