Villa Bonici on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Villa Bonici is a
Villa Bonici is a large building that was built in the 19th century, some time before 1872, as a countryside house by
baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
19th century villa in Sliema, Malta. It was built by Marquis
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
Emanuel Testaferrata Bonici Ghaxaq (Asciak) as a country residence.
History
Villa Bonici is a large building that was built in the 19th century, some time before 1872, as a countryside house by aristocrat
The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...
Marquis
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
Baron
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
Emanuele Testaferrata Bonici Ghaxaq (Asciak). 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. 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 and Sliema. Originally the gardens were surrounded by a wall made of several arches. The garden used to extend to the seaside, but this side was developed with modern buildings.
Modern
The villa had previously served as one of the few open air cinema theatres in Malta. It also served as a school until 1969 and became an educational institute again as part of the St. Louis School. Today Villa Bonici is in a dilapidated state. 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.Maltese heritage
The historic parts of Villa Bonici were scheduled as a Grade 2 by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) in 2010.Garden
The villa has one baroque archway designed for its large gardens. Other arches at the waterfront were demolished to build up the open air cinema. The cinema was converted into a commercial outlet. This building was eventually demolished to make way for a block of apartments. Most of the gardens are still intact but are subject to development.See also
*The Green House, Sliema
The Green House ( mt, Id-Dar il-Ħadra) was a late 19th-century vernacular townhouse in Sliema, Malta. The historic residence was an icon in the area, situated at the end of St Mary Street of which name of street derives from the niche on the faç ...
* 33, Cathedral Street
* Fatima House
References
{{Reflist Bonici Sliema Buildings and structures completed in the 19th century Baroque architecture in Malta Theatres in Malta Defunct schools in Malta