Palazzo Carneiro

Auberge de Bavière overlooking the English Curtain and the Jews' Sally Port

The Portuguese Balì Fra Gaspare Carneiro had bought the site in 1693 against a payment to the Treasury of the Order.^[3] Palazzo Carneiro was built in 1696, by Fra Carneiro, on a site where a lime kiln had stood.^[4] The building was designed by the Maltese architect Carlo Gimach,^[5] who was a personal friend of Carneiro. The building was one of the last examples of austere and staid architecture in the 17th century, before the much more ornate Baroque style became more popular.^[6]

The site was rented for 31 scudi per year for the term of his life and that of one other person nominated by him, and thereafter reverted to the common treasury.^[7] Carneiro also owned the country residence Palazzo or Villa Blacas, now found in Hamrun. After the death of Carneiro, the building in Valletta remained known for himself as Palazzo Carneiro.^[8] He left the building to the Order after his death.^[9]

The palace was the residence of Grand Master Marc'Antonio Zondadari from 1702 until his death in 1722.^[10] It was for sometime rented out to different distinguished people.^[11] In 1725 Grand Master de Vilhena was symbolically given a sword and a hat, known officially as 'stoc' and 'piliet', similar to other heads of European powers by Pope Benedict XIII. For this occasion on 19 April 1725 the papacy sent its Papal Legate, Monsignior Giovanni Francesco Abbate Olivieri. The Grand Master made large ceremonies for this occasion, and embellished Palazzo Carneiro with the finest settings to receive the Papal Legate.^[12]

Auberge de Bavière

Plaque on the auberge

With mutual understanding, Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria persuaded George III, of the House of Hanover, to set up a joint Langue of the Order of St John.^[13] In December 1782^[3][14] the Elector of Bavaria, through Gaetano Bruno, bought the palazzo for 20000 scudi and it began to be used by the newly formed Anglo-Bavarian Langue which was instituted by Grand Master Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc two years later in 1784.^[10][15] It was then officially known as Albergo de Bavari or the variants.^[16]

Richard Colt Hoare visited the island in the period when the Langue was set up.^[17] He names the building as Carnera Palace and has called the union of Bavaria and England as an illusion.^[17] Most knights of the Langue were Bavarians who did not want to form part of the continuous existing German Langue. Though an agreement was reached to form a Langue with England, very few interested Englishmen were found to join the Order. The Langue was given responsibility to safeguard the Bastian of St Lazarus, close to the English Curtain.^[13]

Other than an auberge for German knights, the building became used for a secret society of the Freemasons composed of multiple European nationalities, including French knights, known as the St John of Secrecy and Harmony Lodge. A notable visit to the building took place in 1785 by Count Leopold Reichsgraf von Kollowrat-Krakowsky, the German Grand Prior of Bohemia, who was a well known Freemason. He had already taken a prominent role in establishing the auberge.^[18] The building is rich in history related to Freemasonry.^{[19][20][21][22][23][24]}

Knights from Poland eventually joined the order in June 1985, hosted at the auberge. The coat-of-arms on the façade remained the one of England and Bavaria but a flag representing the Poles was hosted on the façade. Russian knights joined in January 1797. At this point the coat-of-arms had some additions with an eagle supporting it from below and a crown above it, both symbolic for the Russian knights.^[25]

The building remained an auberge until the Order was expelled from the island with the French occupation of Malta.^[26] The lodge was ordered to shut down at the auberge by an inquisition order in 1792.^[27] However, the lodge itself was probably discontinued around the same time of the French revolution. The secretary of Grand Masters Pinto and de Rohan, Knight Pierre Jean Doublet, who was a freemason, during the French period continued to serve in Malta as a Commissioner.^[18]

Hospital

Auberge de Bavière et Angleterre in the 1870s^[28]

Auberge de Baverie as seen from Fort Tigné c. 1864

When Malta became officially part of the French Republic (1798-1800), the building was converted into a military hospital for French soldiers suffering from different forms of venereal disease.^[29] This was a consequence of a rise of prostitution in Malta.^[30] Sometimes after Malta became a British Protectorate, the building stopped operating as a hospital for sexual transmitted disease.^[31]

The building was taken over by the British military authorities in 1824,^[3] and it was used as an officers' mess and later the Command Paymaster's headquarters. On 15 June 1915 it opened as the Bavière Hospital, treating British military personnel injured in World War I, and specializing in severe cases in need of surgery, including head and spine injuries. The hospital initially had 100 beds, but these were later increased to 155. The hospital closed on 14 August 1917.^[32][33]

Government building

War damage with rebuilt part (right)

The building was handed over to the civilian authorities in 1921 when Malta was given self-government.^[12][34]

In World War II, the palace was converted into a hostel for people whose homes were destroyed by aerial bombardment.^[35] The building suffered minor damage in the war, but it was repaired and by the 1960s it became a government school.^[4] A direct hit took place in the courtyard and destroyed the side-façade of the building.^[36]

The Land Directorate occupied the building from 1979 to 1997, when it was given to the Government Property Department.^[34] The palace was rehabilitated and restored in 2001.^[12]

During the 2020 coronavirus epidemic, the building was fumigated by the Civil Protection Department.^[37]