The San Anton palace began life way back in the 1620’s, when a French knight called Antoine de Paule was elected Grand Master of the Order of St John and decided to build himself a nice country retreat in Attard. Despite being variously described as “a man of loose life and conversation” and having “bought his dignity with money” he was celebrated enough for the town of Paola to be named after him.
The palace was designed to be large enough to house his not inconsiderable retinue, and the gardens consisted mainly of orange groves originally. These oranges were sent as gifts to those who met his favour, a habit carried on by the succession of Grand Masters who inherited the villa after his death.
The French took up residence during their (brief) stay in charge of the island around 1800, quickly usurped by the British, who installed their Governors in the palace until Malta declared independence. Since 1974 the San Anton palace has been the official resident of the president of Malta. The most recent incumbent inspired the following headline in the Malta Independent:
“Bizarre: President to open San Anton Palace doors for pre-wedding photo-shoots”
The article is about the president allowing couples to take ‘pre-wedding’ photos in the estate, meaning that the only “Bizarre” thing about the story is the use of the word “Bizarre” in its headline. It’s a pretty poorly written article, and the lack of enthusiasm expressed for civil unions may explain the ambiguous title.
(Sample extract)
San Anton Palace from now onwards can be used by couples, including gays and lesbians who can now tie the knot after she signed the bill on civil unions approved by Parliament, to pose for photographs before they get married, she said.
Try reading that aloud: the punctuation is astounding.
But apologies, I am wandering off the point here. The gardens are free to visit any day between 7am and 6pm (5pm from Sept – May). They have a Secret Garden type of feel, being surrounded by the high walls you might expect a Grand Master to knock up, and feature a refreshing abundance of green in the middle of this predominantly dusty-brown country. Some of the trees are as old as the gardens themselves, and there are plants from around the globe on display. Check the usual listings to see if there are any open air concerts or exhibitions going on that you may wish to take a look at.
If you fancy visiting a green oasis in Malta, take the trip down to Attard to check out the San Anton Gardens.
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Funny enough a friend of mine Rhi who also runs a blog (MALTA: Moving on up & away) visited here the other day 🙂 It looks really nice. And the article you wrote about where it seems to me the journalist is being derogatory about the fact gay & lesbian couples could have wedding photos at the palace, is this bigotry common in Malta? I know it’s a predominantly Catholic country but had heard that people were very kind and liberal on the whole. How do you find peoples views in these area?
Thanks 🙂
Scott.