Maltese has adopted lots of Italian words over the years, much to the amusement of Italophones. It is rather curious then that some Italian words have a different meaning when used in Maltese. One of them is our word for balcony which is gallerija. Why don’t we use the Italian word for balcony? How does a borrowed word’s definition change so much?

The Italian influence on Maltese

Maltese, as a language, comes from a specific form of Arabic that evolved in Sicily. While it still is a Semitic language, Italian has had a powerful influence over Maltese during the centuries. It reflects how important Italian and Italian culture was to the Maltese.

It’s puzzling to modern-day Italians when they realise they can understand chunks of Maltese. it’s perplexing when they figure out Maltese re-defined the meaning of some words.

One of these is the use of the Italian word ‘galleria’

What is a galleria?

In Italian, a galleria refers to a roofed, glass-enclosed, arcade. They are long corridors with shops which patrons can wander through, protected from the elements. One famous example is Milan’s Gallerie Vittorio Emmanuele.

In Maltese, a gallerija is a balcony.

The Maltese spelling reflects Maltese phoenetics. While the spelling differs the pronounciation doesn’t.

Why use an Italian word for something completely different? Why not use the Italian word balcone? Isn’t this confusing?

The key lies in the first balcony of its sort built in Malta.

The Grandmaster’s Palace

Balconies have been a common architectural feature for many centuries. The Arabic muxarbija probably influenced early constructions in Malta. This has a different function but it looks like a balcony. There are examples of centuries-old balconies, but it is hard to authenticate most of them.

In the 17th century, the Knights of St John ruled Malta. Grandmaster Cotoner had balconies on the two main facades of his Palace in Valletta. A mid-17th century sketch of the Palace shows the balcony over looking St George’s Square was open¹. He extended the masonry for the corbelling along the facade of the Palace and on to Old Theatre Street¹. This is what it still looks like today. He also had the whole balcony enclosed with large windows. Seventeen-century books about Malta describe this¹.

This was around the same time that the lost Orsi Tower was being built.

This became one single long windowed corridor. It’s close to the definition of an arcade and, people called it a galleria, using the Italian word. Cotoner would stroll along this galleria to observe the goings-on in Valletta¹.

People copied this artistic flourish, but they thought of it as a balcony. They also didn’t create long ones; the Grandmaster’s palace is unique in this regard. Valletta is today awash with these beautiful balconies all inspired by that one. And while they took inspiration from that grandiose one, they also took its name.

So an Italian arcade became a Maltese balcony.

References

1. Bonello, G. (2008). Mysteries Of the Maltese ‘gallarija’. [online] The Malta Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2008-04-11/news/mysteries-of-the-maltese-gallarija-2-206100/ [Accessed 15 Aug. 2024][↩][↩][↩][↩]

Remember: links were correct at time of publication.