As you know, I love Mdina, a lovely baroque city in Malta, and have written about it previously. One thing that has always puzzled me is the Neo-Gothic building right in the main square, Pjazza San Pawl, which houses the Mdina Metropolitan Cathedral, nestled up against the Baroque Palazzos of the city.
It seems incongruous, but I need wonder no more! It turns out that the building was created as a Folly in the gardens of the adjacent Palazzo Gourgion. It was commissioned by Baron Guiseppe De Piro Gourgion, a Maltese nobleman, in the Victorian period and executed by Andrea Vassallo, a well known Maltese architect.
The house has now been renovated and opened to the public as a small house museum, so, of course, I went to have a look! The façade of the house is arresting, partly because of the incongruity but also it’s perfect representation of the essentials of Gothic architecture. There are the beautiful gothic arches with stained glass rose windows, the fan shaping underneath the balconies reminiscent of the gothic vaulting of mighty cathedrals, the gargoyles hanging off the balconies and stone tracery outlining and emphasising the features of the building as if with a marker pen. I’d never connected the building to the Palazzo next door, it’s makes so much more sense now when you see it in the context of a Victorian Folly.
Once into the house, the recent renovation shows, and, it is excellent. The ticket comes with a free audio guide which is based on the Baron telling you all about his house. The rooms off the entrance hall comprise a library, dining room and a parlour. They’re all beautifully furnished with gorgeous tiled floors, you can see that some areas are new and some old and they come together really well. A lot of the objects are from the family’s collection, paintings, fine china, silver, chandeliers, clocks. What I always find surprising about noble Maltese houses is that they had fireplaces and chimneys!
Moving on, you head up to the first landing that leads to the more private areas, there’s a central landing which leads off to the Baron’s study and bedroom with ensuite! You get that sense of the Gothic from inside both the study and the bedroom as you find yourself looking out of those great windows from the inside. The Baron had a preference for red paint on all windows and that has been replicated throughout the house. Again, the restoration is great, you can see that it’s not all original but you get a sense of the period, there are interesting Maritime maps on the wall of the library, of Malta of course, and you’re able to go out on the balcony. It does feel quite regal standing out there!
Crossing the airy hall you’re into the private space of the bedroom and even though it’s clearly been repainted and refreshed you do get a sense of intimacy, there are family pictures and religious relics, this is a much more personal connection, an insight to the inner man as opposed to the public face downstairs. You get a peek into the bathroom as well, the Baron was know as a bit of a Dandy for the time so this brings in the importance of personal appearance to him as he talks about his tailor and having to get dressed to go out on the audio guide.
Pausing in the hallway, you can see that the doorways are framed in stone Gothic arches with tracery, continuing the architectural theme to the inside of the house. Then it’s up to the roof, bit of a climb but worth it for the views. You can see for miles and also come close up to the stone tracery of the façade.
From the roof to the basement and the workings of a large house like this, there’s the kitchen with its original oven, washbasin plates and cooking utensils and the laundry areas with stone sinks still intact.
There are also two exhibition areas down here, one about Mdina and the other about the architect of the house Andrea Vassallo. These are really interesting for their detail, the exhibit about Mdina, expresses a pride in the recent history of Mdina, its spectacular Baroque history shines for itself but this is an Mdinan’s insight. We learn about the Maltese railway, I didn’t even know there had been one! Then there’s mention of the use of Casa de Piro to house refugees in WWII, and the processional progress of the new Archbishop in 1944, all important vignettes of life as it was lived in Mdina. There’s also a short film by a man who was born in the house during the war and his family’s life and times here, it give a real connection to the house.
The exhibit about Andrea Vassallo seeks to shed more light on an overlooked Maltese architect, he designed Casa Gourgion but so much more besides. It’s interesting that he was working in British Colonialist architectural styles and more traditional Italianate styles. He seems to have been able to turn his hand to either and this exhibit brings that to light. Interestingly for me, he worked on the Baldacchino for the main church of Senglea, the church was all but destroyed in the war and was rebuilt in Baroque style but he also worked on the conservatory at Argotti Gardens, looking a lot like the hot houses at Kew!
It's an interesting read and gives you cause to think about the house he created at Casa Gourgion, you wonder how much was patron and how much was architect in it’s conception. The Gothic Revival detail is incredible, did he travel? Did he see other Neo-Gothic architecture? Was it the Baron’s ideas from a gentlemen’s Grand Tour? I’ll have to read more!
It was brilliant to have the opportunity to visit the house and learn so much about it’s construction and inhabitants. The house was not well received when built, being considered out of place in Mdina’s traditional architecture, it was a brave move and the Baron must have had strong convictions to carry it through. At the same time, it was a Folly, the concept of which is in itself a whimsy or flight of fancy so perhaps like Walpole’s Strawberry Hill, solid, but not quite serious.
It’s a great start to this museum, it demystifies the identity of Casa Gourgion, it’s a beautiful restoration and it takes into account Mdina as a city beyond the Baroque Palazzo to the many different people who have lived within its walls.
Go visit, as usual in Malta, entrance is very reasonable!
Rita Fennell
Gallery Tart!
An excellent article on Casa Gourgion but forgive me to have to point out that the square opposite the Cathedral is called Piazza San Pawl not Piazza Mesquita.