The Houses of Baroque Valletta 1650-1750. Property redevelopment from records of the Officio delle Case: socio-economic reflections on civil buildings by Mevrick Spiteri is a new exciting publication about houses in Valletta under the Knights of St John.

The book is an exhaustive and brilliant study about property transformations, civil appropriations and urban reformations in Valletta during the Baroque Age. The research presented in this book puts together the thorough investigations of historic documents primarily about court proceedings at the Officio delle Case, an archival fond preserved by the National Archives of Malta at the Banca Giuratale in Mdina, as well as the cabrei of the Order of St John kept by the National Library of Malta, Valletta.

Professor Denis De Lucca from the International Institute for Baroque Studies, University of Malta emphasises the new ground covered by the new book where he points out how the author’s work ''delves deeply in the historical processes pertaining to the Order’s city of Valletta, skilfully exploring a living city’s adaptation mechanisms through a wide-range of aspects''.

The book illustrates the importance of research to better understand the historic and cultural values of Malta’s capital city, which despite its enduring association with Renaissance ideal patterns, fully echoes the social and cultural realities of this world. ''Scanning attentively Valletta’s urban fabric, under the surface of its straight-laid streets and monumental façade'', Professor Émilie d’Orgeix from the École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris, looks at how the author ''demonstrates the pertinence of looking at architecture through the lens of micro-history''.

The book stems from the author’s reading of an Masters of Art in Baroque Studies from the International Institute for Baroque Studies at the University of Malta.

The Houses of Baroque Valletta 1650-1750 will be launched on Thursday 25 November 2021 at the National Library of Malta. The launch will be in Maltese.
Due to Covid restrictions attendance will be limited to invitations.

The book is published by Midsea Books in collaboration with the International Institute for Baroque Studies, University of Malta and the National Archives of Malta.

Copies can be purchased from Midsea Books. Price: EUR 45.00.