Auberge de Castille et Portugal explained

Auberge de Castille et Portugal
Native Name:Berġa ta' Kastilja u Portugall
Native Name Lang:mt
Coordinates:35.8884°N 14.0568°W
Status:Intact but altered
Building Type:Auberge
Architectural Style:Melitan
Location:Birgu, Malta
Address:No. 57–59, Hilda Tabone Street
Completion Date: 1550s
Owner:Private
Material:Limestone
Architect:Niccolò Bellavante

The Auberge de Castille et Portugal (Maltese: Berġa ta' Kastilja u Portugall) was an auberge in Birgu, Malta. It was built to house knights of the Order of Saint John from the langue of Castille, León and Portugal.

The first Auberge de Castille, which was known as the vecchia alberghia di Castiglia, was built in the 1530s. Its exact location is not known and no remains have survived of this first auberge. A second auberge was built in Barrack Front Street (now Hilda Tabone Street) during the magistracy of Grand Master Claude de la Sengle. This auberge was designed by the architect Niccolò Bellavante in the traditional Maltese style, and it housed the langue until the building of a new Auberge de Castille in Valletta in 1574. Today, the building still exists, but it was heavily altered over time, and only a quoin and some windows with Melitan mouldings remain of the original auberge. The building is privately owned.[1]

The building was included on the Antiquities List of 1925, together with the other auberges in Birgu.[2] It was scheduled as a Grade 1 national monument on 22 December 2009,[3] and it is also listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.[4]

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: Zahra. Lorenzo A.. The Spanish Langues and Auberges of the Order in Birgu. Vittoriosa Historical & Cultural Society. Veritas Press. https://web.archive.org/web/20160704164025/http://www.vittoriosahistorica.org/Leaflets/Auberge-de-Castille-Leon-et-Portugal.pdf. 4 July 2016.
  2. Web site: Protection of Antiquities Regulations 21st November, 1932 Government Notice 402 of 1932, as Amended by Government Notices 127 of 1935 and 338 of 1939. . . https://web.archive.org/web/20160419101304/https://www.mepa.org.mt/file.aspx?f=2627 . 19 April 2016 . live . dmy .
  3. News: Auberge de Castille et Portugal (Leon). 1 March 2014. Times of Malta. 27 November 2012.
  4. Web site: Auberge de Castille et Portugal (leon) . National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands . 17 October 2015 . 28 December 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151208065036/http://www.culturalheritage.gov.mt/filebank/inventory/01163.pdf . 8 December 2015 . dmy .