Emanuele Luigi Galizia

Emanuele Luigi Galizia (7 November 1830 – 6 May 1907)

Biography

Galizia graduated as a civil engineer and architect from the University of Malta, and in 1846 entered government service as an apprentice of William Lamb Arrowsmith. He became a government perito in 1856 and, four years later, the chief perito, being responsible for all the government's public works. He became Superintendent of Public Works in 1880, which came with a seat on Malta's Legislative Council.

Galizia was made a knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great by Pope Leo XIII, and he became a member of the Order of the Medjidie during Sultan Abdülaziz's visit to Malta in 1867 in recognition of Galizia's completion of the Turkish Military Cemetery in Marsa, which was commissioned by the Sultan.

He became a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1886, and a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1888. That year, the government sent him on a tour of Italy, France and England to broaden his knowledge of Gothic Revival architecture,

Galizia was also an examiner at the faculty of civil engineering at the University of Malta.

Personal life

His eldest son, James Galizia, became Superintendent of Public Works, like his father before him, and then Treasury Secretary in Malta's imperial administration.

His second son Godwin Galizia, also an architect, was known for his neo-Romanesque architecture such as the Church of Saint Peter in Birzebbugia and the Church of Saint Gregory in Sliema, but his works until recently received less attention than those of his father. Godwin was also appointed by private families to design chapels and mausoleums at the Addolorata Cemetery, which was designed by his father. and two Art Nouveau villas in St. Paul's Bay, Villino Chapelle and Villa Preziosi.

Giovanna Galizia married the constitutional lawyer and civil law professor John Caruana, son of Maltese archaeologist A.A. Caruana. Their eldest son, Anton, a prominent lawyer killed in an air raid in Malta in World War II, took the surname Caruana Galizia, followed by his siblings.

Buildings attributed to Galizia

The following is a list of notable buildings which are known to have been designed by Emanuele Luigi Galizia or are attributed to him: Bugeja Institute Technical School, Ħamrun (1880) Vincenzo Bugeja Institute Aqueduct of Sliema and Birkirkara (1882) Victoria Gate, Valletta (1884–85) Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Mġarr, Gozo (1888) St. Alphonse church and convent, Birkirkara (1893–95) Marsamxett Police Station, Valletta Marsa Police Station Sliema Police Station Marsaxlokk quay Marsamxett quay Villa Alhambra, Sliema (1880s), Moghul and Moorish exterior – Baroque and Victorian interior, designed by and summer residence of Galizia. Galizia family chapel at the Addolorata Cemetery, where he is buried. The Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, St Paul's Bay (1902)

The Valletta Market (1859–61) and St. Vincent de Paule Hospital (1886) were built under Galizia's direction, although they were designed by other architects.