Giuseppe Bonavia

La Borsa in Valletta, one of Bonavia's best-known buildings

Giuseppe Bonavia (1821 – 2 September 1885) was a Maltese architect who was mainly active in the second half of the 19th century. Born in Valletta, he was initially a clerk of works with the Royal Engineers, before becoming the Head of the Civil Service Works Department.^[1]

Bonavia designed buildings in a variety of styles, including Gothic Revival and Neoclassical architecture. His St. Andrew's Scots Church (1854) was the first Gothic church to be built in Malta, while his masterpiece is La Borsa (Exchange Buildings), which was built in 1857.^[1]

Buildings designed by Bonavia include:^[1]

Façade of the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Valletta (1852)
St. Paul's Church, Birkirkara (1852)
Stella Maris Church, Sliema (1853)
St. Andrew's Scots Church, Valletta (1854)
First Carmelite Church, Balluta (1856)
La Borsa, Valletta (1857)
Lija Belvedere Tower (1857)
Palazzo Ferreria, Valletta (1876)

Bonavia also made plans for the proposed Royal Opera House in 1859, but eventually the building was constructed to designs of the English architect Edward Middleton Barry.^[1] The Dragonara Palace in St. Julian's is sometimes also attributed to Bonavia.^[2]

References

1 2 3 4 Schiavone, Michael J. (2009). Dictionary of Maltese Biographies Vol. 1 A-F. Pietà: Pubblikazzjonijiet Indipendenza. pp. 220–221. ISBN 9789993291329.
↑ Agius, Frederica (2014). The Dragonara Palace. A Historic Perspective. Dragonara Gaming Limited. p. 17. ISBN 9789995707187.

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