Mdina’s ‘controversial’ neo-gothic house that’s become a museum

Casa Gourgion has been turned into a walk-through heritage home museum

A landmark, stately, 19th-century house in Mdina’s main square is now accessible to the public after the family who inherited it embarked on a four-year restoration project to turn it into a walk-through heritage home museum.

Anyone visiting the Silent City would have noticed the neo-Gothic – and somewhat “alien” – Casa Gourgion, bang in the heart of a medieval, baroque city. Now, they can satisfy their curiosity about its interiors and life beyond the iconic red apertures, with their pointed arches and intricate stonework.

Casa Gourgion has barely opened its doors. But locals are particularly interested in stepping inside the “nobleman’s home” they could only photograph on the outside, its owners say.

The unique property was inherited by Marian Galea in 2016. But due to old rent laws, it took a four-year court battle for them to take possession of her great-granduncle Baron Giuseppe De Piro Gourgion’s home.

Galea, however, already had clear plans for it from the get-go – and they did not include moving in, or the financially viable option of renting it out.

“I had visited a house museum in a similar piazza with a cathedral in Cuba and I thought it would be ideal for Casa Gourgion,” she said.

The plan was to preserve it for posterity, given that so much heritage was being lost, Galea continued.

So she enlisted her children and their spouses – two of whom are architects, Alan Galea and Andrea Vassallo Cesareo – and together, the team embarked on a “labour of love”.

The family also involved researchers and an in-house curator to piece together the puzzle, digging up information about their ancestor, his architect Andrea Vassallo and old plans of the house to recreate the layout of the 1890 home to bring it back to its former splendour.

In 2020, when the Galea family entered their property, they noted several changes that had to be removed to return it to its original state. The starting point was to be “as authentic as possible”, so anything from floor tiles to doors and apertures were retained and renovated.

Undoing the interventions of the previous occupants involved a lot of work, the family said. But through original plans and testimonies, its past could be retraced.

asa Gourgion was originally the garden of the adjacent palazzo on the prestigious Pjazza San Pawl, where Pinu, as he was known, lived. Until the late 1800s, the town square was also built up, explains her son, Alan Galea.

When the piazza changed, the extravagant and flamboyant dandy decided to “build a folly”, he continued.

The baron did so in a neo-Gothic style, which was popular elsewhere, but caused controversy among the local gentry because of its contrast with the surrounding architecture.

“It was opposed by many then, but he must have been an influential man and forged ahead,” the architect said.

The resulting eye-catching façade, the details indoors and “incredible stonework” on the ceiling are all testimony to the owner’s “colourful” character, reflecting his exuberance and love for floral motifs and decorations.

“Working on another architect’s project was an incredible experience,” Galea said.

Where they could not make out the coat of arms on the façade, because these had disintegrated beyond repair, they studied the family history to recreate it.

“Where possible, we replicated to the finest detail the stonework that was still in good condition, having withstood the test of time because it was well done,” they said.

And through the craftsmanship of a fine stonemason, they managed to follow in the footsteps of Vassallo, who was himself a master at intricate stonework.

A commissioned portrait of Pinu, taken from an old black and white photo, greets visitors in the entrance hall, and its animated version, hanging from a gold frame in the sitting room, introduces visitors to the property through a voiceover, bringing him and the space alive.

Antique furniture and artworks the mother had were used to decorate the house. Kept in storage and restored slowly, the legacy of the De Piro and Gourgion estates could now be gathered under one roof.

“Ninety per cent of the items in the house come down from the same bloodline,” Galea said. “Now, as I walk around the rooms, it is very emotional for me. I see my mother’s sala, because the furniture came from there, going back into the same family, and other items that remind me of my late aunts and uncles and have passed through the generations.”

The dining table is laid using fine crockery and silverware from the family’s inherited collection – now being put to good use, rather than collecting dust in storage.

Upstairs is the former owner’s living quarters, with his study and library of books, dating back to 1552; a free-standing bath in a spacious bathroom; and balconies overlooking the majestic St Paul’s Cathedral.

The baron’s inviting living quarters could soon host guests for a “night at the museum”, while the former maids’ quarters at the back of the house have been turned into two Airbnb bedrooms.

Twilight on the terrace and viewpoint rooftop of Casa Gourgion, with its floating, reversible platform and mock fortifications, is a unique experience, according to the family, with the cathedral – “so close it could almost be touched” – lit up and the chatter from the lively square beneath.

A mini souvenir shop has also been set up, complete with merchandise unique to Casa Gourgion, with its trademark flower pattern from the rose window at the front door, and sketches of the property by Galea’s son.

The cellar has been turned into an exhibition space, showcasing the old washroom, Roman stones and a shelter in the process of being excavated.

Key milestones of Mdina’s history in the period the house was built are chronicled in the basement, which also includes a permanent exhibition in tribute to the life and works of its “underestimated and unappreciated” architect.

Vassallo had also built the Ta’ Pinu Basilica in Gozo, although his son had signed off the work.

His original plans for the house, submitted to Public Works in the late 1800s, are hanging on the wall – although back then, a permit application was a letter from the owner, merely stating that he intended to build a home.

It is no surprise that in a video interview rolling on the basement wall, Prof. Peter Vassallo, who was born in the house during World War II, says Casa Gourgion was “like a castle” in the eyes of the young boy.

He still has fond memories of it, recalling how it was home to eight families during the war, each occupying one room.

Describing its restoration project as “splendid”, Vassallo hoped it would serve as a model for all houses that deserved to be preserved and brought back to life.

_{credits: Watch: Inside Mdina’s ‘controversial’ neo-gothic house that’s become a museum (timesofmalta.com)}