26 March 2007 Rating 101% No Comment  

Two traditional Maltese wooden balconies have now enclosed two of the four apertures in the facade of the new St George's Parish Centre. The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from the wall. The two 'galleriji maghluqa' were made by two local carpenters, father and son Leone and Jason Scerri. They replace the original balconies which adorned the houses that were pulled down to make way for the new Priests House and Parish Centre. Work on the Parish Centre started in 2000 and the majority of the construction was concluded some three years later. Meanwhile other works were taken on including modification and renovation of other parts of the Centre built in the 1910s and in the 1970s. A neo-Romanesque cloister and a neo-Byzantine chapel have also been built and other projects carried out in the basilica. According to Maltese heritage scholar Joe Azzopardi, the wooden type of balcony derives from North African, mostly Moroccan, prototypes which again derive from the Arabic Muxrabija or "look-out place". It is probable that they flourished during the rule of the Knights of Malta when the islands were home to a large number of Turkish slaves, some of whom were master craftsmen. Wooden balconies are mostly made of red deal, are priced by the window section and usually match the style and colour of the main door. The new balconies form part of the Dar tal-Kleru or Parish House that is already functioning but is yet to be officially inaugurated. Its inauguration is now set to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary celebrations marking the elevation of the parish church of St George to basilica.