Casa Leoni

Casa Leoni
Dar il-Ljuni

Façade of Casa Leoni
Alternative names Palazzo Manoel
General information
Status Intact
Type Palace
Architectural style Baroque
Location Santa Venera, Malta
Coordinates 35°53′21.8″N 14°28′37.9″E / 35.889389°N 14.477194°E / 35.889389; 14.477194
Current tenants Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change
Completed 1730
Owner Government of Malta
Technical details
Material Limestone
Floor count 2

Casa Leoni (Maltese: Dar il-Ljuni),[1] also known as Palazzo Manoel, is a palace in Santa Venera, Malta, which was built as a summer residence for Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena in 1730. It was subsequently used for a number of purposes, including as an insurgent command base, an official residence, a museum depository and a school. It currently houses the Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change.

History

Casa Leoni was built in 1730 as a summer residence for Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena, and it was originally called Palazzo Manoel.[2] The palace was built as a part of Hamrun but the site later became separate as Santa Venera.[3]

Entire façade of Casa Leoni

During the French blockade of 1798–1800, Casa Leoni served as a command base for the Maltese insurgent National Congress Battalions. A grenadier company known as the Granatieri was set up specifically to guard this headquarters.[4]

Casa Leoni subsequently became a residence for the Governors of Malta. After World War II, it was used as a depository by the Museums Department, and it later became a primary school until 1968. It subsequently housed the Ministry for Education and Culture.[5]

Casa Leoni currently houses the Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change.[6]

The building was included on the Antiquities List of 1925.[7] It is now a Grade 1 national monument,[5] and it is also listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.[2]

Architecture

Palace and front garden

One of the four lion statues from which Casa Leoni gets its name

Casa Leoni is built in Baroque architecture.[8] Its façade contains an arched doorway at the centre of the ground floor, with a balcony above it. The door and balcony are flanked by several wooden louvered windows surrounded by mouldings.[2]

Casa Leoni has a small front garden, and its entrance consists of an ornamental arched gateway decorated with the coat of arms of Grand Master de Vilhena. Two rooms are located on either side of the gate, and carved stone lions containing Vilhena's coat of arms are found on the roof of each room.[2] The name Casa Leoni is derived from these carved lions.[5]

Back garden

Romeo Romano Gardens

The palace also contains a large back garden, which is similar to that at San Anton Palace but on a smaller scale.[9] The design of this garden is attributed to the French architect Charles François de Mondion. A water lifting apparatus (Maltese: sienja) was installed in the gardens in the 19th century for irrigation purposes. Since 1977, most of the garden has been open to the public as Romeo Romano Gardens.[2]

The palace together with the gardens are part of the listed National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands (NICPMI).[2]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Casa Leoni (Santa Venera).
  1. ↑ Cassar Pullicino, Joseph (October–December 1949). "The Order of St. John in Maltese folk-memory" (PDF). Scientia 15 (4): 160. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Palazzo Manuel" (PDF). National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  3. ↑ Martinelli, Joe, "Hamrun - History", Malta-Canada.
  4. ↑ Stroud, John (2010). "The Maltese Army of 1798". On Parade: 37. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 "Palazzo Manoel – Casa Leoni, Sta Venera". Times of Malta. 10 November 2012. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015.
  6. ↑ "Contact Details". environment.gov.mt. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "Protection of Antiquities Regulations 21st November, 1932 Government Notice 402 of 1932, as Amended by Government Notices 127 of 1935 and 338 of 1939.". Malta Environment and Planning Authority. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "Locality Information". lc.gov.mt. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "Casa Leoni Palace". Gozo Tourism Association. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, April 28, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.