In December 1809, the Maltese set up a committee of "Deputies of the Nation" and petitioned the Acting Commissioner Francis Chapman to build a monument dedicated to Ball.[2] The Lower Barrakka Gardens was chosen as the site to build the monument, since its location on the fortifications overlooking the Grand Harbour was appropriate to honour a naval officer, and it was an area popular with the local population. The strategic location of the monument made it a powerful symbol of British rule in Malta.[1]
The monument was constructed in 1810, and its design is attributed to the Maltese architect Giorgio Pullicino.[1] The monument was built using funds collected by the local population.[3]
The monument deteriorated quickly after its construction since it is exposed to the elements. In 1883, Captain E. H. Seymour formed a committee to restore it,[2] and it was restored the following year by Andrea Vassallo under the supervision of Emanuele Luigi Galizia.[1] The restored monument was inaugurated by Governor Sir Lintorn Simmons on 18 December 1884.[2]
The monument was restored once again in 2001, as part of an overall restoration and rehabilitation of the Lower Barrakka.[3]
Architecture
The monument was designed in the Greek Revival style of Neoclassical architecture. It is built in the form of an ancient Greek temple with a solid naos and a Dorictetrastyle portico.[1] The design was inspired by the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens,[3] but the proportions are completely different since the monument is much smaller than the temple.[2] It is set on a high stylobate in order to make the structure more imposing. Each of the four walls of the naos contains a niche containing allegorical statues representing War, Prudence, Justice and Immortality. These statues are the work of the sculptor Vincenzo Dimech.[1]
ALEXANDRO IOAN BALL EQ. BAR.
MELITENSIUM PIETAS
ET SUORUM DESIDERIUM
SIMBOLIS PRIVATIS OB MER: P.P.
Two identical inscriptions, one in Latin and another in English, were installed at the base of the monument during the 1884 restoration. The Latin inscription reads:[2]
MONVMENTVM HOC
COLLATIONE POPVLI
AEDIFICATVM
A.D. MDCCCX
PARIQVE MODO
RESTITVTVM
A.D. MDCCCLXXXIV
(meaning This monument, erected by public subscription A.D. 1810, was by the same means restored A.D. 1884)