The Valletta Summit on Migration , also called the Valletta Conference on Migration , was a summit held in Valletta , Malta , on 11–12 November 2015, in which European and African leaders discussed the European migrant crisis . The summit resulted in the EU setting up an Emergency Trust Fund to promote development in Africa, in return for African countries to help out in the crisis.
36-641: The summit was held at three venues in Valletta. The opening ceremony was held at Auberge de Castille , while the Mediterranean Conference Centre hosted the main conference. Fort Saint Elmo was used as a media centre. The summit was the largest one ever hosted in Malta, with around 4,000 people attending. The summit was held a few weeks before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2015 , which
72-531: A New York Times article of 1894, workers in the marble quarries were among the most neglected labourers in Italy. Many of them were ex-convicts or fugitives from justice. The work at the quarries was so tough and arduous that almost any aspirant worker with sufficient muscle and endurance was employed, regardless of their background. The quarry workers and stone carvers had radical beliefs that set them apart from others. Anarchism and general radicalism became part of
108-541: A pure white marble (coloring in other marbles arises from intermixture with other minerals present in the limestone as it is converted to marble by heat or pressure). However, by the end of the 20th century, the known deposits of statuario near Carrara were played out. The quarries continue to remove and ship up to a million tons/year of less-esteemed marble, mostly for export. This is predominantly streaked with black or grey. Bianco Carrara classified in C and CD variations as well as Bianco Venatino and Statuarietto are by far
144-477: Is called The Knot, and it symbolizes unity between Europe and Africa, as well as Malta's geographic position between the two continents. The monument was designed by the artist Vince Briffa, and was carved from Carrara marble . 35°53′58.2″N 14°31′4.8″E / 35.899500°N 14.518000°E / 35.899500; 14.518000 Auberge de Castille The Auberge de Castille ( Maltese : Berġa ta' Kastilja ), historically in full known as
180-557: Is linked to Auberge d'Italie across Merchants Street through a World War II-era underground air-raid shelter . Auberge de Castille was depicted on two commemorative coins minted in 2008 by the Central Bank of Malta . The coins show the auberge's portico on the reverse and the coat of arms of Malta on the obverse. [REDACTED] Media related to Auberge de Castille (Valletta) at Wikimedia Commons Carrara marble Carrara marble , or Luna marble ( marmor lunense ) to
216-689: Is now scheduled as a Grade 1 national monument by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority , and it is also listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands . Auberge de Castille is built in the Baroque style, and it is a two-storey building with a rectangular plan and a central courtyard . Its façade is divided into eleven bays defined by pilasters in
252-698: The Auberge de Castille et Portugal , is an auberge in Valletta , Malta . The auberge is located at Castile Place, close to Saint James Cavalier , the Malta Stock Exchange , and the Upper Barrakka Gardens . It sits at the highest point of Valletta and overlooks Floriana and the Grand Harbour area. Built in the Baroque style under the magistracy of Portuguese Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca in
288-574: The European Council held a meeting to discuss the situation of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. Among the decisions made during this meeting, EU leaders agreed to increase dialogue with the African Union and other countries involved in the migrant crisis by holding a summit in Valletta , Malta . The summit was meant to include leaders of the countries of origin, transit or destination of
324-557: The International Union of Geological Sciences as a Global Heritage Stone Resource . Calcite , obtained from an 80 kg sample of Carrara marble, is used as the IAEA -603 isotopic standard in mass spectrometry for the calibration of δ O and δ C. The black yeast Micrococcus halobius can colonize Carrara marble by forming a biofilm and producing gluconic , lactic , pyruvic and succinic acids from glucose , as seen in
360-749: The Po and the Ticino by boat. Starting from the 16th century, Genoese stonecutters-merchants also entered this flourishing trade. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the marble quarries were monitored by the Cybo and Malaspina families who ruled over the Duchy of Massa and Carrara . The family created the "Office of Marble" in 1564 to regulate the marble mining industry. The city of Massa , in particular, saw much of its plan redesigned (new roads, plazas, intersections, pavings) in order to make it worthy of an Italian country's capital. Following
396-666: The Schengen Agreement . An informal summit of EU leaders was held just after the Valletta Summit ended. The key points discussed included the threat to the Schengen Area, securing Europe's external border and relations with Turkey . In July 2016, Minister for Home Affairs and National Security Carmelo Abela announced that the Maltese government is planning a follow-up meeting to the Valletta Summit. The leaders who took part in
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#1732851816339432-803: The blockade of 1798–1800 . In 1800, the British occupied Malta, creating the Malta Protectorate in September of that year. This protectorate was officially ruled by the Kingdom of Sicily , but was in reality part of the British Empire . In 1805, the auberge became the headquarters of the British Armed Forces in Malta. In 1813, Malta officially came under British rule as the Crown Colony of Malta within
468-507: The 1740s, it replaced a 1574 building erected to house knights of the Order of Saint John from the langue of Castile , León and Portugal . Auberge de Castille was built in 1573–74 to designs of the architect Girolamo Cassar . The original auberge, which took over the role of an earlier Auberge de Castille et Portugal in the former capital Birgu , was built in the Mannerist style, and it
504-523: The British Empire. The auberge was then also used as a residence for British officers. In 1814, a group of crippled soldiers from the army of Egypt was accommodated in the auberge. A Protestant chapel was opened on the first floor in 1840. A signalling station with a large aerial was installed on the roof in 1889 to liaise with warships of the Mediterranean Fleet moored in the Grand Harbour . It
540-812: The General Headquarters of the Army for Malta and Libya , and also for Cyprus after 1954. Malta became an independent country as the State of Malta , with Queen Elizabeth II reigning as Queen of Malta , in September 1964. The country became a republic, as the Republic of Malta, in December 1974. On 4 March 1972, the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta moved from Auberge d'Aragon to Auberge de Castille. The Prime Minister leads
576-780: The Mediterranean, with the EU giving Africans better access to Europe in return. According to Muscat, the meeting was "less confrontational than expected". On 12 November, the European and African leaders signed an agreement to set up an Emergency Trust Fund to help development in African countries as well as to encourage those countries to take back migrants who arrived in Europe. The fund pledged €1.8 billion in aid, with other development assistance of €20 billion every year. The leaders also pledged action to improve
612-404: The Office of the Prime Minister of Malta . A monument was unveiled for the occasion. After the ceremony was over, the leaders were transferred to the Mediterranean Conference Centre . The summit itself began at 6:30 p.m. with a speech by Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat . On the first day, the leaders discussed a situation in which African countries would help to reduce migration across
648-545: The Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa and Carrara in the Lunigiana , the northernmost tip of modern-day Tuscany , Italy. More marble has been extracted from the over 650 quarry sites near Carrara than from any other place. The pure white statuario grade
684-448: The Valletta Summit are listed in the table below. Sudan was represented by its foreign minister as President Omar al-Bashir could not travel to Malta due to an international arrest warrant. Poland was only represented by an undersecretary of state due to a clash with the first sitting of the country's new parliament. A monument commemorating the summit was erected in Valletta's Castille Square, which had just been refurbished. The monument
720-631: The Venetian market, were able to create a dense commercial network, exporting the marble even to distant locations. Just to cite an example, starting from 1474, first the Maffioli, then the Buffa, supplied the marble for the facade of the Certosa di Pavia , also taking care of the transport of the material which, by ship, after having circumnavigated Italy, reached the construction site of the monastery after having sailed up
756-591: The business of the government from the auberge, and the name Castille (or Kastilja in Maltese) is often used as a metonym to refer to the Prime Minister and his office. Over the years, some of the stonework began to crumble and the façades were blackened. The building was restored between 2009 and 2014. The building was included on the Antiquities List of 1925 together with the other auberges in Valletta. It
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#1732851816339792-458: The bust is surmounted by Pinto's coat of arms. The centrepiece above the window bears the coats of arms of Castile and León and of Portugal . Just in front of the entrance are two historic canons, now used for decoration. The auberge has been called "probably the finest building in Malta". Both the exterior and the interior, especially the ornate façade and the steps leading to the doorway, were designed to be imposing. Auberge de Castille
828-401: The central bays or plain panelling in the outer bays. Ornate windows are set within recessed panels. The building has a continuous cornice , and its corners are rusticated . The main entrance is approached by a flight of steps, and the doorway is flanked by columns which support a trophy of arms and a bronze bust of Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca . A moulded window located above
864-505: The extinction of the Cybo-Malaspina family, the state was ruled by the House of Austria-Este and management of the mines rested with them. Massa Cathedral is built entirely of Carrara marble and the old Ducal Palace of Massa was used to showcase the stone. By the end of the 19th century, Carrara had become a cradle of anarchism in Italy, in particular among the quarry workers. According to
900-630: The heritage of the stone carvers. Many violent revolutionists who had been expelled from Belgium and Switzerland went to Carrara in 1885 and founded the first anarchist group in Italy. In Carrara, the anarchist Galileo Palla remarked, "even the stones are anarchists." The quarry workers were the main actors of the Lunigiana revolt in January 1894. The Apuan Alps above Carrara show evidence of at least 650 quarry sites, with about half of them currently abandoned or worked out. The Carrara quarries have produced more marble than any other place on earth. Working
936-862: The migrants. The heads of state and government of EU member states, the African Union Commission, the ECOWAS Commission, and states parties to the Khartoum Process and the Rabat Process were all invited to the summit, as were the Secretary-General of the United Nations and representatives from the International Organization for Migration . The Valletta Summit began with an opening ceremony in front of Auberge de Castille ,
972-516: The most common types with more expensive exotic variations such as Calacatta Gold, Calacatta Borghini, Calacatta Macchia Vecchia, Arabescato Cervaiole and Arabescato Vagli quarried throughout the Carrara area. Bardiglio has more black, and has been used since Roman times for architectural facings and floors. The marble from Carrara was used for some of the most remarkable buildings in Ancient Rome : It
1008-491: The quarries is and has always been dangerous. In September 1911, a collapsing cliff face at the Bettogli Quarry crushed 10 workers who were on lunch break under a precipice. A 2014 video made at a Carrara quarry shows workers with missing fingers, and workers performing hazardous, painfully noisy work who are not wearing protective gear of any kind. The prize yield from Carrara quarries through millennia has been statuario ,
1044-625: The situation in the Horn of Africa , the Sahel , Lake Chad and other parts of Africa to reduce the flow of refugees. They also promised to promote regular migration channels and implement policies for integrating migrants into society. The summit ended with a Final Declaration and an Action Plan. Donald Tusk , the President of the European Council, said that the migrant crisis was a "race against time" to save
1080-667: The time of Ancient Rome , when it was called marmor lunense , or "Luni marble". In the Middle Ages, most of the quarries were owned by the Marquis Malaspina who in turn rented them to families of Carrara masters who managed both the extraction and transport of the precious material. Some of them, such as the Maffioli, who rented some quarries north of Carrara, in the Torano area, or, around 1490, Giovanni Pietro Buffa, who bought marble on credit from local quarrymen and then resold it on
1116-459: Was also held in Malta. The European migrant crisis began when large numbers of migrants and refugees from various countries came to the European Union and applied for asylum. The term "crisis" has been widely used since April 2015, when a number of boats carrying migrants sank in the Mediterranean Sea , resulting in the deaths of around 1,200 people. Following the shipwreck of 19 April ,
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1152-564: Was also used in many sculptures of the Renaissance including Michelangelo 's David (1501–1504) whilst the statue to Robert Burns , which commands a central position in Dumfries , was carved in Carrara by Italian craftsmen working to Amelia Robertson Hill 's model. It was unveiled by future UK Prime Minister Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery on 6 April 1882. Other notable occurrences include: Carrara marble has been designated by
1188-550: Was built to designs of Andrea Belli , and construction was supervised by capomastro Domenico Cachia . Some alterations, including the enlargement of the main door, were made in 1791. The Order of St. John was expelled from Malta with the French invasion and occupation in 1798. The auberge subsequently became a headquarters for the French forces, and later housed a Commission for National Property. The building suffered some damage during
1224-574: Was known as the Castille Tower. The then Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II , worked with the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen Families Association (SSAFA) when it was housed at Auberge de Castile. In 1942, during the Second World War , the right side of the building was damaged by aerial bombardment. The damaged parts were later repaired, and the aerial removed. The auberge was also used as
1260-518: Was regarded as Cassar's most innovative design. The auberge had a single storey, and its façade had panelled pilasters dividing it into 11 bays. The design of the auberge is known from a late 17th-century painting and an early 18th-century drawing. The original Auberge de Castille was dismantled and completely rebuilt in the Spanish Baroque style between 1741 and 1744, during the magistracy of Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca . The new building
1296-411: Was used for monumental sculpture , as "it has a high tensile strength, can take a high gloss polish and holds very fine detail". By the late 20th century Carrara's highest-grade marble had run out; the considerable ongoing production is of stone with a greyish tint, or streaks of black or grey on white. This is still attractive as an architectural facing, or for tiles. Carrara marble has been used since
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