Villa Bonici

Villa Bonici

Villa Bonici in a dilapidated state; above balcony figure representing Emanuel Testaferrata Bonici Ghaxaq
General information
Status Intact
Type Villa
Architectural style Baroque[1]
Location Sliema, Malta
Coordinates 35°54′44″N 14°30′15″E / 35.91222°N 14.50417°E / 35.91222; 14.50417
Current tenants Alfred Gera de Petri[2]
Named for Bonici family
Completed 1872
Technical details
Material Limestone

Villa Bonici is a baroque 19th century villa in Sliema, Malta. It was built by Marquis Emanuel Testaferrata Bonici Ghaxaq (Asciak) as a country residence.[3]

History

Villa Bonici Arch

Villa Bonici is a large building that was built in the 19th century, before 1872, as a country residence by aristocrat Marquis Baron Emanuele Testaferrata Bonici Ghaxaq (Asciak).[3][4] The villa has passed to his next generations of his family: first to Lino Testaferrata Bonici, then to Agnes Gera de Petri, and then to Alfred Gera de Petri.[2] Apart from the building of the villa the property has a separate farmhouse and the terraced gardens for what it is well known, making it unique in the overdeveloped areas of Gzira[5] and Sliema.[6]

Modern

Testaferrata Arm on façade

The villa had previously served as one of the few open air cinema theatres in Malta.[1][7] It also served as a school until 1969[8] and became an educational institute again as part of the St. Louis School.[7] Today Villa Bonici is in a depilated state.[7] It is surrounded by modern building development and had become an issue of development itself by its owners as being a high potential economic asset.[3][9]

Maltese Heritage

The historic parts of Villa Bonici were scheduled as a Grade 2 by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) in 2010.[3]

Garden

The villa has three archways designed for its large gardens with one being found still in Sliema as part of the Villa, another one in Gzira (back then also part of Sliema) that was opened to the public to give way and eventually cut off from the gardens to build Gzira road and another was located in Ta Xbiex now demolished. Today the archway in Sliema is referred to as the Villa Bonici Archway while the distant one in Gzira has different references but egenrally referred officially as Fawwara Gate.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110528/local/organisations-call-for-scheduling-of-villa-bonici-gardens.367701
  2. 1 2 http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100301/local/sliema-villa-owner-defends-right-to-private-property.296224
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Villa Bonici owners to propose development brief". MaltaToday.com.mt. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  4. ↑ http://user.orbit.net.mt/fournier/testaferrata_Bonici.htm
  5. ↑ http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-02-03/news/sliema-council-to-uncover-prince-of-wales-street-name-795443200/
  6. ↑ http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100330/local/sliema-residents-propose-to-create-low-rise-area.300549
  7. 1 2 3 http://archive.maltatoday.com.mt/2009/04/01/l2.html
  8. ↑ https://books.google.com.mt/books?id=KlImAQAAMAAJ&q=villa+bonnici&dq=villa+bonnici&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj64cKN9_nJAhVEfg8KHQh2CiIQ6AEIGzAA
  9. ↑ "MEPA turns down Villa Bonici development application", Times of Malta.
  10. ↑ http://sharingoldphotos.com/2015/05/testaferrata-gzira-malta/
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