Mediterranean Paths for Architecture. Malta and the European Community of the Order of Saint John

An intriguing international network of cultural exchange spun around the cosmopolitan community established in Malta after the settlement of the Knights of St. John on the island in 1530. Architecture played a central role in this phenomenon, to necessitate defense and to satisfy the ambition to build a court for an institution that represented the European aristocracies in the center of the Mediterranean. By exploring possible perspectives on the study of the circulation of military engineers, architects, and also books, engravings, and drawings relating to architecture, this seminar will show how the Maltese context offers a special opportunity to question the concepts of center and periphery—connecting in a small Mediterranean archipelago the frontiers of early modern Europe.

Armando Antista is a researcher at the University of Palermo, where he teaches History of Architecture and Urban History. His research mainly focuses on the Mediterranean dissemination of architectural languages and building methods, with a specific insight on stereotomy. He also studies the organization of the building professions and urban transformation processes. He is the author of a monograph, Costruire la frontiera. L’architettura a Malta fra XVI e XVII secolo (Palermo: Edizioni Caracol, 2022), and essays on the history of architecture and construction in Sicily and Malta between the 16th and early nineteenth centuries.

It will possible to follow the event also ONLINE on our VIMEO CHANNEL through this link: https://vimeo.com/event/4117729

Scientific Organization: Braden Scott