Scenographic Baroque staircases

Abstract

Elaborate ceremonies and rituals conducted by the ruling Order and the local Church assumed a heightened significance during the eighteenth century. The Ottoman Turkish empire was in decline and its depleted army no longer posed any real threat to the security or the islands. Hence, the need to construct new fortifications and to consolidate the existing defences was no longer considered to be a major priority. Furthermore, the new spirit of the age on the European continent celebrated the emergence of powerful nation states ruled by absolutist monarchs. The sovereign Order of St John was not immune to this preoccupation with rhetorical imagery, which was intended to impress upon the local population the benevolent despotism of the state. The sombre austerity of the early days of the Order gave way to resplendent .rituals and public spectacles. which flourished during the reign of Grand Master Vilhena (1722-1736) and attained a climax under the Portuguese Grand Master Pinto ( 1741-1773). This radical shift in the Order's life style and the image projected deeply influenced the course of Maltese Baroque architecture.