A 16th-century palazzo in Valletta, believed to have at one time been home to Italian baroque painter Mattia Preti, is facing a new life as a boutique hotel in a new planning application.
The application, PA/06384/22, filed by construction company GP Borg Holdings, seeks to restore the palazzo and demolish a number of surrounding properties to create a five-star boutique hotel at the corner of Marsamxett Road and Old Theatre Street in Valletta.
The proposed building is set to have three basement levels and six above-ground floors that will be divided into 29 guest rooms as well as a spa, a kitchen, staff rooms, a guest lobby, a café, a wine bar, a conference area, kids’ play area, administration room, service area, a restaurant and a swimming pool.
Heritage NGO Din l-Art Ħelwa has objected to the application, saying that the excavation to create the three basement floors would cause irreparable damage to the palazzo, which is a Grade 2-listed building.
The design of the proposed building would also make a permanent impact on the Valletta skyline, it argued.
The proposed design of the boutique hotel.“The proposed development includes irreversible damage to the 16th-century Grade 2 listed building, listed by the HPU as Mattia Preti’s house,” the NGO said.
“The house is of socio-cultural and historical importance and should be safeguarded for future generations through the prevention of any development that may negatively impact it and its surroundings.”
Din l-Art Ħelwa said the height of the proposed development does not respect the existing streetscape and would result in a larger and imposing built volume within a highly sensitive area.
A scale which is incongruent with the surrounding buildings is further emphasised through the extension onto the existing house and the introduction of structures on the roof.
Excavation in Valletta, they added, is unacceptable due to the archaeological sensitivity of the area, which could possibly contain historical cisterns and foundations.
Anne Sceberras Trigona, a Valletta resident, said in an objection that the proposed concrete façade of the hotel is incongruent with the aesthetics of
Valletta, particularly on Marsamxett Road, as the site’s location on the seafront would make it an eyesore.
“The proposed concrete façade facing the sea in one of the most iconic views of Valletta is incomprehensible, especially as residents have been asked to lower their water cisterns and photovoltaic panels on the roof and encouraged to restore their Maltese balconies to ensure a harmonised vision of Valletta,” she said.
In a 2015 call for tenders to regenerate the palazzo for cultural use, she said, a condition was added that the winning bidder would not be able to add floors or exterior structural alterations to the house. She questioned why this philosophy had since changed.
Site appears to be in a state of disrepair
The condominium of a nearby block of apartments, St Paul’s Buildings, filed an objection on behalf of all apartment owners in the buildings, which highlighted that plans for the third floor of the hotel show that it would extend into an existing flat in the condominium.
In 2011, the Valletta local council filed an application to turn the palazzo into a hotel and connect it to the waterpolo pitch facilities just below the bastions.
The application was later withdrawn after facing criticism for the modern design presented in plans for the new building.
The site appears to be in a state of disrepair, with two dangerous structure notices being filed on the site this year alone.
Works had to be carried out to repair a collapsed roof and internal retaining walls. The outside of the building now appears to be supported by a number of large concrete blocks.
The application for the new hotel has yet to receive a formal recommendation from the Planning Authority. The window for objections to the application closes on November 18.
The case is expected to be evaluated in February.