Mdina: Architectural and urban transformations of a citadel in Malta.

摘要

This dissertation is an urban historical account of Mdina, a small fortified citadel in the Mediterranean island of Malta, during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. It considers the impact of the 1693 earthquake, the post-earthquake reconstruction efforts of the local church, and the intensive urban revitalization of the city by the Portuguese Grand Master Manoel de Vilhena (1722-1736). Underlying these architectural and urban transformations is an intriguing political process by which both the Maltese church represented by the Cathedral Chapter and Grand Master Manoel de Vilhena sought to control the citadel. Mdina as the traditional Episcopal see was eventually transformed by Vilhena into an opulent Baroque urban stage-set in the image of the Order.; The origins of Mdina date back to the Roman period although its present day physical boundaries were defined during the Arab occupation of the island (870-1090). During the Aragonese period (1283-1530), Mdina became the major urban center of Malta. However, during the 16th and 17th centuries during the rule of the Order of St. John the city lost its former political and economic pre-eminence to the new 'city of the Order', Valletta.; The historical process of Mdina's urban transformations is analyzed within the context of the political and socio-economic conditions prevailing at the time. Some of the themes that will be considered include: patron-architect relationships, the building process of reconstruction, the city's ephemeral image replete with elaborate scenographic stage-sets, and the relationship that existed between Mdina and its densely populated faubourg, Rabat.; The dissertation concludes that the earthquake of 1693 had served as the ideal pretext for the local church to consolidate its presence and influence within the citadel. However, Grand Master Vilhena's urban renewal of the city had the political objective of appropriating the traditional seat of the Bishop and the Universita, and of transforming Mdina into another 'city of the Order'. Vilhena's Mdina was intended to be a symbolic representation of the Order's sovereign and absolute power over the whole Maltese territory.