Valletta Market

Valletta Market
Is-Suq tal-Belt
File:Valletta Market Monti tal-Belt.jpeg Front façade of the market
Alternative names	Covered Market
General information
Status	Intact
Type	Market hall
Architectural style	Victorian
Location	Valletta, Malta
Coordinates
Current tenants	Arkadia Ltd
Construction started	1859
Completed	1861
Renovated	1970 2016–present
Cost	£3934
Technical details
Material	Cast iron, wrought iron and limestone
Floor count	3
Design and construction
Architect	Hector Zimelli

The Valletta Market (Maltese: Is-Suq tal-Belt, IPA: [ɪs suːʔ tɐl bɛlt]; meaning "City Market"), also known as the Covered Market, is a 19th-century market hall in Valletta, Malta. It is notable for being the first building in Malta to be constructed mostly of iron. It began to decline in the 1980s, but the building is currently being renovated and there are plans to convert it into a shopping centre.

History

Plans to construct a covered market in Valletta began in 1845, and the Valletta Market was built between 1859 and 1861 on the site of the old prisons. The building was designed by the Superintendent of Public Works, Hector Zimelli, but was completed under the direction of Emanuele Luigi Galizia. Construction cost £3934, and the market originally contained 153 stalls and 65 cellars.

The building was bombed on 7 April 1942, during the Second World War, destroying one third of the building. The damaged parts were repaired soon afterwards, but were not rebuilt to the original plan and the roof's symmetry was lost. By 1966, the market no longer met hygiene standards so it was overhauled. In 1970, two new floors were built and a pair of escalators were installed. The market thrived for a few more years, before it began to decline in the mid-1970s.

In 1982, the food market was transferred to Floriana, and a year later the Valletta Market was re-branded as a shopping arcade called Ixtri Malti (Buy Maltese). This move was highly unsuccessful, and the food market moved back to Valletta in 1989. Despite this, the market continued to decline.

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority scheduled the building as a Grade 1 national monument on 28 March 2012.

Plans for the restoration of the Valletta Market began following Valletta's nomination for European Capital of Culture 2018. The government deemed restoration of the structure as part of the Valletta regeneration master plan. The building has been leased to the supermarket chain Arkadia Co. Ltd for 65 years. Restoration is estimated to cost around €7 million, and it is expected to be complete by May 2017. It is planned that 1980s additions to the building be dismantled, while the original elements of the structure are to be preserved. Once restored, it is planned that the stalls within the building be leased to shops or catering establishments, while part of the building is to be used for cultural activities.

The renovation of the Valletta Market began in May 2016 and is currently underway.

Architecture

File:Valletta-markt-as-suq-tal-belt.JPG

Interior of the Valletta Market

The Valletta Market has a rectangular plan, and the walls and arches making up its three floors are built of limestone like many other buildings in Malta. However, the roof is made of cast and wrought iron decked in timber, and it is supported on cast iron columns and trusses. This use of iron makes it an unusual structure, and it was the first building in Malta to be constructed mostly of pre-fabricated iron. Iron had been used in earlier structures on the island, such as the Naval Bakery and the Corradino Prisons, but on a much smaller scale than the Valletta Market.

The designs of the Valletta Market was inspired from the Halles Centrales. The design of the Valletta Market influenced similar projects elsewhere in the British Empire, including in Calcutta.

Further reading

• Guillaumier, Alfie (2005). Bliet u Rħula Maltin. Volume 2. Klabb Kotba Maltin. p. 942. ISBN 99932-39-40-2, ISBN 99932-39-41-0.