More than 3,000sq.m of urban gardens in Pietà given high protection status

More than 3000m2 of garden area in the urban conservation zone of Pietà, together with a row of houses in Strait street Valletta have been given Grade 1 and 2 protection status by the Planning Authority

Scheduled Pietà gardens
Scheduled Pietà gardens
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More than 3000m2 of garden area in the urban conservation zone of Pietà, together with a row of houses in Strait street Valletta have been given Grade 1 and 2 protection status by the Planning Authority, following collaborative work carried out together with the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage.    

A number of properties in Triq Santa Monika and Telghet Gwardamanga have had the garden area surrounding or at the back end of the property scheduled.

This protection has been granted by the Planning Authority to safeguard these open spaces which are not only integral to their adjoining property but also to the morphology of the Pietà village core area.

The buildings of all the properties had been scheduled by the Authority some years back.

The extensive gardens surrounding the Parish dedicated to our Lady of Lourdes have been given the highest grade of protection. Over 20 other properties in Telghet Gwardamanga, in the close vicinity of St. Ignatius School, which include Casa Gwardamangia, Villa Calypso, Dar Ida have had their gardens scheduled as Grade 2 properties.

Further down the street, door number 28 was scheduled as Grade 3 so that a stretch of similar houses now all have the same protection. This property forms part of five identical adjacent houses that have the same massing, rhythm, design and traditional features. They are protected for their collective value.

A row of houses in Strait street Valletta, opposite Vincenti Buildings, was also given a Grade 2 protection status.

Scheduled houses in Strait Street in Valletta
Scheduled houses in Strait Street in Valletta

The houses, although not monumental in style and character, were built in 1787 by the Assembly of the Venerable Langue of Provence to increase their revenue.

They chose to build these houses in the back garden of their Auberge which overlooked Strait Street. The Assembly appointed well-known architect Stefano Ittar to build a workmanlike structure suitable for its purpose, which was to provide urban residential units as quickly and as inexpensively as possible.

The facade is adorned with a tight row of windows on the first and second floor and three staggered wooden balconies.

The buildings are full of apertures mainly because Strait Street was narrower with natural light being limited. Although the facades are rather plain, there is a flash of the old brilliance in the carved pediments of the second floor.

Today, the houses are used as one single building by the Ministry for Home Affairs and National Security.

In Malta, Polish-born Architect Stefano Ittar is primarily known for the design of the Biblioteca in Valletta.

He was commissioned by the Council of the Order of St. John after having worked and extensively contributed towards Sicilian architecture.

His masterpiece remains the facade of the Basilica della Collegiata in Catania.

More information on all the scheduled buildings and properties in Malta and Gozo is available at www.pa.org.mt   

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