Villa Guardamangia

Situated halfway on Guardamangia Hill, Villa Guardamangia is one of the earliest surviving residences in the locality of Pietà, dating back to the 18th century. Whilst the entire history and date of construction of the villa is yet to be found, enough has been dug up to nurture an appreciation for the evolution of the building, the locality, and the people who lived there.

The concept of the property is essentially a holiday home, away from the urban confines of the Grand Harbour.

The wealthiest among Maltese society sought a villa as their retreat, however, many from the middle class settled on a smaller house.

Whether a countryside palace, villa, or house, the main feature of the property would often be the gardens.

To date, research has provided many insights as to how the property and the locality developed over the course of three centuries.

The earliest reference dates back to the 18th century, offered as part of the dowry for the marriage between Lorenzo Fontani and Giovanna Crespi, both very close to Grand Master Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc.
In 1866, the property was purchased by Marquis Emmanuel Scicluna, more popularly known as “iċ-Ċisk”, to be used as a summer house. Ownership changed at the start of the 20th century, when it was bought by the prominent merchant Giovanni Battista Borda, whose heirs subsequently sold it to Antonio Cassar Torregiani, another pillar of recent Maltese commercial history.

In 1935, it was sold to Augustus Bartolo, one of pre-war Malta’s political giants who advocated for the establishment of English and Maltese as official languages.
Bartolo resided at the villa until his death in 1937, after which, his heirs sold the property to business magnate and politician from nearby Ħamrun, Joseph Schembri.

The British royal tenure of Villa Guardamangia began in 1948, during Lord Louis Mountbatten’s command of a cruiser squadron based in Malta.
Having been made aware of Mountbatten’s intention to rent, Joseph Schembri wasted no time in advertising the availability of his recently purchased villa to the Earl.
Shortly after the Mountbattens moved into Villa Guardamangia, Prince Philip was assigned to HMS Chequers of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla, based in Malta. Arriving in 1949, Mountbatten offered his new accommodation to his nephew.
Taking the opportunity to visit her husband, the then Princess Elizabeth stayed with the Duke of Edinburgh at Villa Guardamangia whenever he was not away at sea.
During their stay, both the Mountbattens and the Royal couple attended national and social events, effectively acting as emissaries for Britain at a time when decolonisation dominated policymaking.

In 2020, Villa Guardamangia was purchased with the intention to restore and open it as a historic mid-20th-century house as utilised by the Royal Family.
It will portray aspects relating to the history of the property and its owners, social history, Malta’s royal connection and colonisation.

Villa Guardamangia is currently undergoing a major restoration and rehabilitation project through a grant of €10.2 million from the European Regional Development Fund.

ACILITIES AVAILABLE ON SITE

Indoor / Outdoor Seating Area