Palaces
Sant’ Anton Gardens
Sant’Anton
is not only rich in artistic and historical legacies, but as a magnet for
hosting, entertainment and celebrations, even as a job-provider and an
apprenticeship for Attard residents. This palace has greeted royalty too
numerous to list – from Queen Marie of Romania to the Russia Empress Marie
Feodorovna, from King Edward VII to Queen Elizabeth II in this century alone;
it has seen the most distinguished visitors in contrasting personal situations
– Napoleon’s younger brother Louis
Bonaparte as a prisoner, the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge as an admiring
recluse.
Governor
Borton opened its botanic gardens to the public in 1882 for picnics and strolls. Its shaded open courtyards today may
ring with the classical music of an occasional chamber orchestra or string
quintet, but the gardens regularly host extremely popular shows, fairs and
competitions, from plants to flowers, to pet cats and dogs, to birds, chickens
and rabbits.
Museums Railway Track
In
the past century Attard’s role as a pivotal communications centre was probably
best demonstrated by the stops of the Malta Railway between 1883 and 1931; it
was the only place in Malta having no less than three railway stations or
stops: one near Sant’Anton close to what is now Balzan, another up the road in
what is now the Gnien l-Istazzjon, and further up, in Tas-Salvatur, on the way
to Rabat, Mdina and Mtarfa.
The late Mr. Nicholas
Azzopardi, a long time resident, has documented these railway activities - the
trains, the bridges, the entrenchments, the wagons, the stops, the
ticket-collectors, the flag-waving, warden known as ‘tal-katina’ who closed the
road to man and beast as the train approached; he has exhibited an impressive
photographic collection on railway history. The Railway Museum is situated at 37, St Domnic Street, H'Attard
Important Residences
Already central because of its geographical location, Attard since the first quarter of the seventeenth century, was increasingly so because of Sant'Anton Palace, where the first Grand Master and subsequently the Governor resided. Today it is the President's residence. Several grand old houses of note are found in Attard. Casa de Piro in Mosta Road is now the private residence of the Grand Master of the Order of St. John, Fra' Andrew Bertie. Villa Apap Bologna, in St. Anthony Street corner with Triq il-Linja, with its extensive gardens, now the residence of the American Ambassador.
Villa Bologna, formerly the residence of Lord Strickland, who was prime minister of Malta from 1927 to 1930, with probably the largest private gardens and rain water reservoirs in the islands, a venue for parties, fairs and weddings. 'Villa Bologna may be the finest eighteenth century country house ever built for a Maltese family'. Adjoining it is a ceramic factory and shop, started by the heirs after the war and still open for business; this was the first of the ceramics establishments to open in Attard, of which we now have four (three are in the Ta' Qali area).
The Tunisian Ambassador, the Chinese Ambassador and the New Zealand Consul General General also live in Attard, while the EU resident representative lived in the vicinity at Tal-Mirakli on its border with Lija. When Pope John Paul II visited Malta in 1990 he stayed in Attard - at the residence of the Papal Nuncio, then Dean of the Diplomatic Corps. Increasingly a number of Maltese Ambassadors past and present, members of the judiciary and of academia, leading businessmen, journalists and other personalities also live or have kept permanent residence in Attard.
Tourists Attractions
Ta’ Qali
H'Attard’s
Ta’ Qali area and the village that was all too close to it, played an important
role in wartime: Air Raid Precautions and Victory Kitchen, the Royal Army
Ordnance Corps, the various regiments stationed here from ‘Buffs’ to Basutos,
the searchlight installation up the Mosta Road corner with Railways Track.
Subsequently,
Ta' Qali was used as a national park and sporting centre, most recently also
having a vineyard called ‘Meridiana’. Hangars, barracks and nissen huts were
transformed into crafts shops manufacturing and selling anything from ceramics
to jewellery, the famous glass-blowing skills producing decorative glass, a
good souvenir to take away; the national football stadium; an amphitheatre
popular for open-air concerts; and even a miniature jet d’eau in faint imitation (albeit in sunnier weather) of Geneva
or Strasbourg. This part of H'Attard now hosts an Aviation Museum-model planes
are regularly flown there.
Ta’ Qali Industrial Zone :
Alka Ceramics, Bristow Potteries (proprietors are Attard residents)
Ceramika Maltija - A Maltese Heritage Pottery
Within short walking distance from San Anton Gardens and The Corinthia Palace Hotel in Attard is Ceramika Maltija. Set in the beautiful gardens of Villa Bologna, Ceramika Maltija is a functioning heritage pottery and shop which has been operating for nearly 60 years. The Pottery produces many traditional items, most of which are hand painted with vibrant under glaze colours.
A wide selection of slip cast functional ware is produced on site and decorated with fish designs, fruit and the popular scroll pattern. Elegant lamp bases are still being made from the original pineapple and dolphin sculptures created by British artist Sheila Mitchell in the 1950s and a range of saint plaques and sea creatures made by local artists who worked in the pottery over the decades, are also still in production.
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5pm
Saturday 8.30am to 1pm
30, St Anthony Street, Attard ATD1282, Malta