The cultural heritage watchdog is in talks with the developer of a site in St Julian’s to try and salvage whatever is left of a house that was once home to renowned actor Joseph Calleia.
Last month, Times of Malta reported that architect and heritage conservation practitioner Edward Said was urging the authorities to save a door on Mrabat Street – all that was left of a house where Calleia once lived.
The 19th-century house was being demolished to make way for a five-floor guesthouse. According to Said, the house, called Jo-El, served as the residence of Calleia and his wife, Eleanore when the star retired from filming in 1963. It was the first house in Malta to be fitted with an elevator, air-conditioning and intercom.
Actor Joseph Calleia. Photo: WikiCommons/Paramount PicturesWhen contacted, a spokesperson for the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage said it was in talks with the site’s developer and architect “to see what can be salvaged in view of the advanced state of works, carried out in accordance with the valid permit”.
The applicant is Ivan Azzopardi and the architect Jesmond Mugliett.
Regardless of the outcome, the landowner still had a valid permit in hand to demolish the property- PA spokeperson
The site is in an urban conservation area. The superintendence had opposed the development, urging that the façade and visual integrity of the streetscape be retained.
The PA has told Times of Malta that no private individual, NGO or entity ever informed the PA that Calleia once lived in the property.
Demolition was approved in principle in 2009. The Development Control Commission granted an outline development permit, which led to a full development application approved in July 2015.
In 2018, a new application was submitted for the demolition of existing houses, excavation of the basement, construction of a shop and guesthouse on five floors.
“Regardless of the outcome, the landowner still had a valid permit in hand to demolish the property”, the PA spokesperson said.