Old University Building | |
---|---|
L-Università l-Qadima | |
Former names | Collegium Melitense Societatis Jesu |
Alternative names | Valletta Campus |
General information | |
Status | Intact |
Type | Educational building |
Architectural style | Renaissance |
Location | Valletta, Malta |
Coordinates | 35°53′54″N 14°30′56″E / 35.89833°N 14.51556°E |
Construction started | 4 September 1595 |
Completed | 1602 |
Opened | 1597 |
Owner | University of Malta (since mid-2020)[1] |
Technical details | |
Material | Limestone |
Floor count | 3 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Giuseppe Valeriano Francesco Buonamici |
The Old University Building (Maltese: L-Università l-Qadima or L-Università l-Antika), also known as the Valletta Campus, is the original campus of the University of Malta, located adjacent to the Church of the Jesuits in Valletta, Malta. Construction of the building began in 1595, and it originally housed a Jesuit college known as the Collegium Melitense Societatis Jesu.[2] The building had to be repaired after being damaged in an explosion in 1634 and an earthquake in 1693.
The University of Malta was established in 1769 after the Jesuits were expelled, and it continued to use the same building.[3] Although the university moved to a much larger campus at Tal-Qroqq in Msida in the 1960s, the Old University Building still houses a number of university departments and it is used for some lectures and conferences.