The Salesian complex at Sliema : an architectural and art historical study

Abstract

The main scope of this B.A.Dissertation, as the title implies, is to look into the Architecture and Art of the Salesian Complex in Sliema and the events, incidents, problems and obstacles encountered prior to and following this ‘dream’ project evolving into reality. There had been several attempts to bring over the Salesian Order to our Islands mainly due to the proximity of Malta to Italy and the contacts, especially in religious and cultural quarters ,whereby the good reputation of the Order spread. The Salesians lead by the saintly Don Bosco in Turin were doing a marvelous job for the poor youth by helping in their welfare, religious awareness and education. As Malta’s economic situation at the time was in a precarious state it was felt that the Salesians could carry out their good work on the Island and introduce Saint John Bosco’s teaching amongst the local depressed class of society. This would help to reduce delinquency and augur well for the future of Maltese male youth by offering the possibility of furthering their education. As stated above in order to achieve the desired success there were many obstacles to overcome and many well-wishing individuals, both religious and secular, were involved some even going as far as meeting Don Bosco personally to encourage him to help spread this missionary work to Malta. Charitable individuals even offered financial assistance and made representations to the British government of the time to obtain support. The one person however who made it all happen was the philanthropist Alphonse Maria Galea who left no stone unturned in order to see this dream to fruition, although his original intentions differed somewhat from those of Don Bosco. The latter specifically focused on assistance to poor male youth while offering religious and educational services to all whereas Alphonse Maria Galea had planned to create a separate club for youth within the complex mainly for literate students in higher education and of a better cultural and social standard whilst introducing a ‘Festive Oratory’ for the rest. The serious political and religious issues in Malta at the time ,not least the language problem, apart from those hinted at above like practically all other extraneous situations are all important in their relation to the artistic expression and provision of both the architecture and art produced in the Salesian Complex.