Palazzo Dorell

Palazzo Dorell

Front façade of Palazzo Dorell
Location within Malta
Former names Bettina Palace, Villa Dorell, Villa Bettina, Palais d'Aurelle
General information
Status Intact
Type Hunting lodge
Palace
Architectural style Palladian architecture[1]
Location Gudja, Malta
Coordinates 35°51′2.27″N 14°30′25.29″E / 35.8506306°N 14.5070250°E / 35.8506306; 14.5070250
Named for Pietro Paolo Dorell Falzon
Completed 1670
Owner Gino, Baroncino di San Marco
Technical details
Material Limestone
Floor count 2
Xlejli Tower

Palazzo Dorell[2] (French: Palais d'Aurel[3]) also known as Bettina Palace,[4] Villa Bettina,[5] Villa Dorell[6] (Villa d'Aurel[7]), Xlejli Palace[8] and among the nearby community as simply 'The Palace' (Il-Palazz),[9] is a 17th-century Palladian[10] palace located in Gudja, Malta.[11][12]

History

The property was built during the Order of St. John by Count Ignatius Francesco Moscati Falsoni Navarra as a family home and country residence in 1670.[13][14] The palace was bought in 1760 by Pietro Paolo Falzon d'Aurelle (English: Dorell) Falzon,[15][16] and is interchangeably named for him and his daughter Marchesa[17] Lady Bettina Testaferrata Dorell.[18]

The palace served as the headquarters for the British forces, under General Graham, during the French blockade (1798–1800).[19]

Gardens

The Xlejli Tower and a chapel are located inside the walled private gardens of the property.[20][21] At the garden one can still find a small cemetery where British armymen who died during the French occupation of Malta are buried.[22]

Modern

Today the palace is a private residence and is not open to the public.

The palace is scheduled as a grade 1 scheduled property by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) and listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands (NICPMI).[23]

Other Dorell residences

The aristocratic French family d'Aurelle had other notable properties in Malta. The palace should not be confused with Palazzo Bettina[24] in Birgu, nor Casa Dorell in Valletta;[25] which both belonged to the same family once.[26]

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=nMRhDlyU0p4C&pg=PA87, p. 87.
  2. ↑ "Palazzo Dorell" (PDF). National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  3. ↑ Zammit Tabona, Kenneth (2015). "The Age of Elegance". Miranda Publishers.
  4. ↑ Gozo Tourism Association, "Dorell Palace and Xlejli Tower Overview in Gudja, Malta", Island of Gozo.
  5. ↑ "Palazzo Dorell" (PDF). National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  6. ↑ http://www.bdlbooks.com/melitensia/3934-splendor-of-malta.html
  7. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160801092526/http://website.lineone.net/~stephaniebidmead/Chapter123.htm
  8. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=3gXjAAAAMAAJ
  9. ↑ Gaul, Simon (2007), "Malta, Gozo and Comino", New Holland Publishers, p. 229-230.
  10. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=nMRhDlyU0p4C&pg=PA87, p. 87.
  11. ↑ http://www.maps7.com/list/Palazzo%20Dorell,%20Vjal%20It-Torri,%20Gudja,%20Malta.html#.VkT03np4WrU
  12. ↑ https://www.um.edu.mt/iibs/longessays
  13. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=Fevix8jSqg0C&pg=PA229
  14. ↑ http://www.maltaramc.com/articles/contents/hiccup.html
  15. ↑ https://www.visitmalta.com/en/file.aspx?f=15556
  16. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=nMRhDlyU0p4C&pg=PA87, p. 87.
  17. ↑ http://www.azure.com.mt/words-from-henri/lord-nelson-romance-with-malta.html
  18. ↑ http://www.discovermalta.org/cottonera/pages/gb/p5vittoriosa.asp?m=129
  19. ↑ "Palazzo Dorell" (PDF). National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  20. ↑ http://www.mydestination.com/malta/sights/177561/gudja
  21. ↑ Zammit Tabona, Kenneth (2015). "The Age of Elegance". Miranda Publishers.
  22. ↑ Cassar Pullicino, Joseph. "The Order of St. John in Maltese Folk-Memory". Melitensia. p. 157.
  23. ↑ "Palazzo Dorell" (PDF). National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  24. ↑ Palazzo Bettina
  25. ↑ Description
  26. ↑ http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120417/environment/Palazzo-Bettina.415814
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