Auberge of France

> Main > Auberge of France

Location: Il-Birgu

The Auberge de France was built in around 1533 to house the knights of the Order of St John from the langue of France. It incorporated an earlier building. When the order of St John first settled in Malta, the Order’s architect Nicolò Flavari converted the original building into an auberge. More alterations were made later by Bartolomeo Genga including the redesigning of the façade. The auberge is built in Melitan style, based on Maltese traditional architecture. It comprises of two floors with rooms built around a central courtyard and it has a symmetrical façade with moulded windows. The entrance hall and most parts of the building receive natural light from the backyard, and the ground floor is connected to the upper one by a covered staircase. In the middle landing of the staircase there is a carved stone lion, which was a typical characteristic of luxurious buildings of that time. The main hall on the top floor was used as the assembly hall of the Langue. The Auberge de France is the second best-preserved Hospitaller auberge in Birgu, after the Auberge d'Angleterre . The building was included on the Antiquities List of 1925 and was scheduled as a Grade 1 national monument on 22 December 2009, and it is also listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. Nowadays, the Auberge of France serves as the Birgu Local Council. In collaboration with Kottonera Foundation.

Il-Berġa ta' Franza nbniet madwar l-1533 biex tilqa' l-kavallieri tal-Ordni ta' San Ġwann mil-lingwa ta’ Franza. Hija kienet tinkorpora binja preċedenti. Meta l-ordni ta’ San Ġwann waslet f’Malta, il-perit tal-Ordni Nicolò Flavari kkonverta l-bini oriġinali f’berġa. Alterazzjonijiet oħra saru aktar tard minn Bartolomeo Genga li kienu jinkludu d-disinn ġdid tal-faċċata. Il-berġa hija mibnija fuq stil Melitan, ibbażata fuq l-arkitettura tradizzjonali Maltija. Hija magħmula minn żewġ sulari bil-kmamar mibnija madwar bitħa ċentrali u għandha faċċata simetrika bi twieqi ffurmati. Is-sala tad-dħul u l-biċċa l-kbira tal-partijiet tal-bini jirċievu dawl naturali mill-bitħa ta' wara, u l-pjan terran huwa mqabbad mas-sular ta' fuq b’taraġ mgħotti. Fl-inżul tan-nofs tat-taraġ hemm iljun tal-ġebel imnaqqax, li dak iż-żmien kienet karatteristika tipika ta’ bini lussuż. Is-sala ewlenija fis-sular ta’ fuq kienet tintuża bħala s-sala tal-assemblea tal-Lingwa. Il-Berġa ta' Franza hija t-tieni l-aħjar berġa ppreservata fil-Birgu, wara l-Berġa tal-Ingilterra. Il-bini kien inkluż fuq il-Lista tal-Antikitajiet tal-1925 u kien skedat bħala monument nazzjonali ta’ Grad 1 fit-22 ta’ Diċembru 2009, u huwa wkoll elenkat fl-Inventarju Nazzjonali tal-Propjetà Kulturali tal-Gżejjer Maltin. Illum il-ġurnata, il-Berġa ta’ Franza sservi bħala l-Kunsill Lokali tal-Birgu. B’kollaborazzjoni mal-Fondazzjoni Kottonera.