KNIGHT HOOD

Once the realm of a resident noble, a Maltese palazzo receives a faithful restoration and an illuminating injection of 21st-century dazzle.

Maltese-born, London-based interior and furniture designer Francis Sultana lives life at a hectic pace, as anyone who follows his Instagram posts will know. At age 19 Francis moved to London from the tiny Maltese island of Gozo. Just a year later he landed a job with avant-garde gallerist David Gill. Today he is CEO of the David Gill Gallery and runs his own interior and furniture design studio and showroom. His clients are spread worldwide and he has a growing range of furniture under his FS Editions brand. But Francis never strayed far from his roots, returning to Gozo every month to visit his mother until her recent death.

In 2006, Francis and David who are partners in work and life, acquired a 17th-century palazzo in Valletta, a fortified city that is Malta’s capital and a World Heritage site, described by Benjamin Disraeli as a “city of palaces built by gentlemen for gentlemen”. Derelict but intact when the pair spotted it, the palace had been abandoned following World War II. “It was a beautiful challenge,” says David in his 2018 book, David Gill: Designing Art (Vendome).

This “beautiful challenge” became a restoration and renovation project that took 12 years. “Refurbishing a property of this size and scope was always going to take time because planning was complicated as was finding specialist craftspeople and builders. We wanted to do things such as create an indoor pool and add a lift (steep stairs are typical in the buildings that line Valletta’s narrow streets) so there was a huge amount of internal structural work to be done,” says Francis of the now-complete Palazzo de Torres.

“It was important to keep the central courtyard, the airiness of the rooms and the high ceilings – the sense of a hidden oasis that you discover when you walk through the front door off from the street,” says Francis. At the rear a traditional garigor, or spiral staircase, leads to three guestrooms. A palm tree shipped from Sicily takes centre stage in the courtyard where a horse and cart once resided, and original basement storerooms for provisions are now a sky-lit pool. The baroque features of the original palace have

been preserved and restored following the careful chipping back of the plaster to reveal the beautiful stone unique to Valletta.

While the palazzo’s ancient ambience has been preserved, the furnishings and art are decidedly contemporary. The couple’s wideranging collection of artworks and sculptural furniture blurs the line between art, sculpture and design and, along with some specially commissioned pieces, these are juxtaposed throughout.

On the main stone staircase a distinctive Madeleine Castaing tiger-patterned runner hints at the contemporary orientalist style that Francis used to theme much of the decorating. The main living room, or orientalist salon, with its high ceiling is his favourite spot. French conceptual artist Daniel Buren created a site-specific work of vertical stripes that was prefabricated and pasted onto the original beams. Mattia Bonetti’s sculptural ‘Abyss’ table sits between French windows with a pair of Oriel Harwood mirrors, along with a beaded candelabra by André Dubreuil, Mattia Bonetti lamps and chairs, and bronze and marble side tables by the Campana Brothers.

The turquoise dining room studded with gilded Maltese crosses takes its lead from the embellished walls of the highly ornate 16thcentury St. John’s Co-cathedral. The antique Venetian chairs were reupholstered in contemporary fabrics. A neon-light installation by Jason Rhoades hangs above the landing that leads up to the allwhite main bedroom where Francis has placed clear acrylic ‘Liquid Glacial’ pieces by his friend, the late architect Zaha Hadid.

The project complete, has life eased up for Francis? Recently made an Ambassador of Culture, he sits on the board of Malta’s new contemporary art space set to open in 2021. “Malta used to be my bolthole, a place to decompress after my hectic schedule,” he says. “Life now is just as busy as London but I still spend mornings and evenings on the roof terrace to get some peace and enjoy the sounds of Valletta all around me.” #

David Gill: Designing Art (Vendome) was launched in October 2018. davidgillgallery.com; francissultana.com.