Maltese architect-engineer-poet
Carlo Gimach
(2 March 1651 ? 31 December 1730) was a Maltese architect, engineer and poet who was active in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Throughout his career, he worked in
Malta
,
Portugal
and
Rome
, and he is mostly known for designing Palazzo Carneiro (now
Auberge de Baviere
) in Valletta, renovating the
Monastery of Arouca
in Portugal, and restoring the
Basilica of St. Anastasia
in Rome. He is known to have written a number of poems and other literary works, but these are all lost with the exception of one
cantata
which he wrote in 1714.
Life
[
edit
]
Carlo Gimach was born in 1651 to Gio Paolo Gimach, a merchant who was the son of a Palestinian refugee and who had been raised by
Giovanni Paolo Lascaris
, and his wife Paolina Sartre, the daughter of a French migrant and a Maltese noblewoman. He was the third of six children.
[1]
The Palestinian descendant was raised as a Muslim, who was an
Emir
, but converted to Christianity after he was made a slave by the Order. Eventually this led to his freedom, and as a positive consequence this led to a normal life to his family.
[2]
Gimach studied in the
Roman College
in the 1670s before returning to his hometown
Valletta
, where he was renowned for his knowledge in architecture and literature. He designed two large palaces in the city ?
Palazzo Correa
in 1689 and Palazzo Carneiro in 1696. Palazzo Correa was destroyed in 1942, but Palazzo Carneiro still stands, now known as
Auberge de Baviere
. Gimach also designed a small shipyard in an area of Valletta known as
il-Fossa
.
[1]
Gimach went to
Portugal
in 1696, where he designed a fortified palace in
Beira Province
for his friend, the knight Fra Antonio Correia de Sousa Montenegro. The palace was never completed due to Correia de Sousa's death, and it was in ruins by the end of the 18th century. Gimach subsequently worked for the House of Arronches and later the Counts of St. John, both in
Lisbon
and near the
border with Spain
. In around 1706, he was involved in the reconstruction of various abandoned forts near the border.
[1]
In 1707, Gimach was introduced to King
John V of Portugal
by
Rodrigo Anes de Sa Almeida e Meneses
[
pt
]
, the
Marquis of Fontes
, with whom he was working at the time. A year later, he designed a
triumphal arch
in front of the
Lisbon Cathedral
, which was commissioned by the British to commemorate the marriage of John V and
Maria Anna of Austria
.
[1]
Gimach was subsequently involved in John V's building projects around Portugal, and he renovated the
Monastery of St. Mary
[
pt
]
in
Salzedas
and the
Monastery of the Cistercians
in
Arouca
. The latter is his best-known work in Portugal.
[1]
After the Marquis of Fontes was sent to
Rome
as the Portuguese ambassador in 1712, Gimach went with him as his artistic advisor, where he lived in quarters within
Palazzo Spada
. In 1718, Gimach became a knight of the
Order of Christ
in recognition of his services to the Portuguese crown.
[1]
In 1721, Gimach was commissioned by
Nuno da Cunha e Ataide
to restore the
Basilica of St Anastasia
in Rome,
[3]
and he built the Chapel of
Saint George
and
Saint Publius
within the basilica at his own expense. He died on 31 December 1730 in Rome, and was buried in this chapel.
[1]
[4]
Gimach is sometimes erroneously described as also having been a painter, but this is due to confusion with
Carlo Zimech
, a priest and painter from
?ebbu?
.
[1]
[5]
Literary work
[
edit
]
Gimach was regarded as a man of considerable talent in
Latin
and
Italian literature
. Count
Giovanni Antonio Ciantar
[
fr
]
, one of Gimach's friends, wrote the following about him in the 1772 book
Malta Illustrata
:
"he wrote various poems, mostly in Italian, some of which he used to read to us; his style is limpid; it is sometimes satirical, but always harmless"
Today, most of Gimach's literary work is believed to be
lost
, with the exception of the
cantata
Applauso Genetliaco
, which he wrote in 1714. Only two copies of this work are known to exist.
[6]
Works
[
edit
]
Buildings designed or remodelled by Gimach include:
[1]
- Palazzo Correa
,
Valletta
,
Malta
(1689)
- Renovation of Palazzo Tabria and improvements to the surrounding estate,
Ħal Far
, Malta (1691?92)
- Palazzo Carneiro
, Valletta, Malta (1696)
- Shipyard at
Il-Fossa
, Valletta, Malta (
c.
1696)
- Palace of Fra Antonio Correia de Sousa Montenegro,
Beira Province
,
Portugal
(1696) ? never completed
- Completion and renovation of the Bishop's Palace and the Convent of Santa Catarina da Ribeira,
Lisbon
, Portugal
- Reconstruction of fortifications on the
Portugal?Spain border
(
c.
1706)
- Triumphal arch in front of the
Lisbon Cathedral
(1708)
- Renovation of the
Monastery of St. Mary
[
pt
]
,
Salzedas
, Portugal
- Renovation of the
Monastery of Arouca
,
Arouca
, Portugal
- Restoration of the
Basilica of St Anastasia
,
Rome
(1721?22)
- Renovation of
Palazzo Malta
, Rome (1720s)
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
Ellul, Michael (1986).
"Carlo Gimach (1651?1730) ? Architect and Poet"
(PDF)
.
Proceedings of History Week
. Historical Society of Malta: 37?38.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 4 August 2017.
- ^
De Lucca, Denis (2018). "Other Buildings in the City: Some Landmark Buildings in Valletta". In Giovanni Bonello; Petra Caruana Dingli; Denis De Lucca (eds.).
Encounters with Valletta: A Baroque City through the Ages
. pp. 231?248.
ISBN
9789995785642
.
- ^
Roma
(in Italian). Touring Editore. 1999. p. 475.
ISBN
9788836513246
.
- ^
Piro, Giuseppe Maria and Slade, Adolphus (1839).
Squarci di storia e ragionamenti sull' isola di Malta, in confutazione ... dell' opera inglese intitolata Turkey, Greece, and Malta by Adolphus Slade, scritti da un Maltese (G.M. de Piro)
. Origin:
Oxford University
. Digitalized: 2 October 2007. p. 69.
- ^
Abela, Joe (2001).
"Carlo Gimach (1671?1730) : awtur tal-kwadru qadim tal-Kuncizzjoni"
.
Programm Tal-festa Ta' Marija Immakulata Fil-Belt Ta' Bormla
: 24, 26, 53. Archived from
the original
on 30 June 2019.
- ^
Schiavone, Michael J. (2009).
Dictionary of Maltese Biographies Vol. II G-Z
.
Pieta
: Pubblikazzjonijiet Indipendenza. pp. 934?935.
ISBN
9789993291329
.