Valletta Balconies
In the case of Valletta, richly decorated balconies also served another purpose. One of the building regulations laid down by the knights for their new city was that blocks had to display some form of sculptural ornamentation at the corners. These ornamentations took three distinct forms. They were either niches with religious images, monumental pilaster and cornices that complimented the architectural style of the elevations or balconies that wrapped themselves around the block. Such balconies can be observed all around Valletta.
Examples of these are the side wooden balconies of the Grand Master’s Palace, which were in place by 1741, and must be two of the earliest of this type, and the balcony of Palazzo Bonici completed in 1739 for Rev. Don Filippo Bonici. The palace was designed by Andrea Belli and is now part of the Manoel Theatre complex.
Balcony Supports
Two distinctive means were employed by architects to provide a masonry support for the base of balconies. This was done either by creating a masonry cushion along the length of the base or by inserting a number of stone brackets at right angles to the wall on which the balcony rested. These brackets often proved to be the most popular option. They are known as saljaturi and were often the object of lavish decoration. Strategic manipulation and distribution of such ornamentation was sometimes used to achieve an integral design between the different elements of the building’s elevation.
An intriguing aspect of many saljaturi and stone cushion supports for balconies are the grotesque faces with disturbing expressions that are carved upon them. These are often menacing, almost repellent and wicked, bearing a tense expression at times verging on the burlesque. But to the people who commissioned them the presence of these masks on their facades was far from a laughing matter. With their furrowed foreheads and mostly their outstretched tongues, what might at first seem to be innocent if somewhat weird decorative motifs, were actually believed to ward off the evil eye. The believe that such masks could deter ill-meaning people from casting their evil spells dates back thousands of years and originated in classical times. The belief persisted through the middle ages and spread all across Europe.
There are no clear indications as to when this symbolism was introduced in Malta but its increasing appearance as an architectural element, particularly in relation to balconies, dates to the early 17th century and did not decline until the early 19th century. This is indicative since these were the years in which the Order of St. John implemented many of its building undertakings both institutionally and by individual members. These masks can be read as a manifestation of the common European culture of the multinational Order. This is somewhat anachronistic since the knights were a religious order. The Catholic Church, in fact, disapproved of the beliefe in the evil eye, and any other form of superstition come to that.