Casa Leoni and its Gardens in Santa Venera: Viewpoints from the 1930s - Conrad Thake

Casa Leoni and its Gardens

IN SANTA VENERA VIEWPOINTS FROM THE 1930s

by Conrad Thake

Aerial view of Casa Leoni, Santa Venera in the 1930s, showing the entire extent of the gardens.

The history of Casa Leoni, Santa Venera is welldocumented. It was constructed in 1730 by Grand Master Antonio Manoel de Vilhena (r.1722-36) as his summer residence in the tradition of the Italian villa suburbana, offering during the hot summer days a most welcome respite from the stress of living in a densely-populated urban area. It was built on the outskirts of Ħamrun, now forming part of Santa Venera, and facing a segment of the Wignacourt Acqueduct. Casa Leoni features prominently in a fresco at the Grand Master’s

Palace in Valletta, whereby the artist presents us with an elevated frontal view that depicts it within its rural setting and with the old parish church of Birkirkara in the background.

Casa Leoni ranks as one of the finest

Baroque-era suburban villas constructed during the eighteenth century alongside Villa

Bologna, Attard; Villa Preziosi and Villa

Gourgion, Lija. It was designed by the Order’s

French resident military engineer, Charles

François de Mondion (1681–1733).1 Mondion is primarily renowned for implementing

Vilhena’s ambitious urban renewal of the entrance to Mdina including the Magisterial

Palace, the design of Fort Manoel on Manoel

Island, and several imposing military gateways that were erected within the landfront fortifications of Mdina and Cottonera. The external appearance of Casa Leoni is restrained in terms of explicit architectural decoration. One should note that it was not designed with the intention of impressing the masses. It was a rather modest building in terms of size, with sparse architectural decoration, and the main focus being its extensive landscaped gardens.

Sir Harry Luke, who together with his wife, Joyce Fremlin, resided in Casa Leoni throughout his tenure as Lieutenant Governor of Malta (1930-38)2, writing in Malta: An Account and an Appreciation, described the building as follows:

Nowhere is his domestic taste more happily in evidence than in the country-house – in this case a genuine villa in the Southern European sense – which he constructed for himself in the small parish of Santa Venera. It is a house simple in style, as plain and unadorned as Baroque can be, almost its only embellishments being four square-rumped stone lions from his coatof-arms – to whom it owes its popular name of Casa Leoni of Dar il-Lyuni, [Dar l-Iljuni] the House of the Lions – statant on the terraces of the low wings that curve towards the road. And a country-house it was in every sense of the term at the time when he built it. Now that the populous casals of Ħamrun and Birkirakara have spread into the background, the front entrance to the house stands in a built-up area, on the main artery which connects the island’s new capital with the old.3

Fresco depicting Casa Leoni at the Palace in Valletta.

Above: Cabreo plan of Casa Leoni (National Library, Valletta)

Below: Front façade of Casa Leoni.

The gardens of Casa Leoni

The main attractions of Casa Leoni are the extensive landscaped gardens that were designed in the spirit of the grand manner of Baroque absolutism. The walled-in gardens are organised in accordance to a strict hierarchical sequence, symmetrically laid out along the central passageway that runs continuously from the main forecourt through the internal reception hall, all the way to the very end of the gardens. A detailed watercolour drawing of Casa Leoni and its gardens forms part of the ‘Cabreo of the Fondazione Manoel’4 within the archives of the Order of St John at the National Library, Valletta. The corpus of drawings in the cabreo were prepared and collated during the magistracy of Grand Master Vilhena, probably under Mondion’s direction.

The gardens are organised as a series of walled-in land compartments situated at the back of the villa. There were three main components; the first compartment was the Giardino Vecchio with its trapezoidal configuration (one of the side walls being at an oblique angle) subdidived into four quadrants with a circular fountain placed along the main passageway; a doorway set within the back wall led to the so-called Giardino Oblongo, which was flanked on both sides by smaller and separate walled-in spaces referred to as Giardinetto a Sinistra and Giardinetto in Dritta; the third and last compartment, was the Giardino in Figura Amphitheatrale which had a parabolic form and was the largest in terms of area. From the cabreo drawing one can make a number of observations regarding the nature of the landscaping. It appears that the Giardino Vecchio had the highest coverage of trees, there were also a number of trees lining the perimeter of the individual parterres within the Giardino Oblongo together with a continuous line of trees (probably cypress trees) along both sides of the central pathway in the Giardino in Figura Amphitheatrale.

Harry Luke depicts in vivid and colourful prose, the state of the gardens in the 1930s:

For before him stretched as far as he could see, sloping gently downward , a perfect eighteenthcentury Mediterranean garden of seven or eight acres in three separate compartments, each compartment bounded by high walls of creamy stone rich with the architectural flourishes and decorations of the period. Through the ornamental arches topped by Manoel’s shield of lion and winged sword, which gave access from one compartment to the other until they were blocked up after the war, appeared in enchanting vistas – vistas of orange- and tangerine-trees, in due season fragrant with blossom and heavy with golden fruit at one and the same time; of slender cypresses rearing their deep-green columns against the azure sky; of spring-time double narcissus and jonquils richly yellow, delighting eyes and noise alike; later, of masses of sweet-scented stocks along the foot of the walls, perfuming the evening air. In the middle of the topmost compartment is a graceful Baroque fountain, and in all the right places are carved stone benches supported by curved and friendly dolphins.5

Harry Luke and the management of the gardens

From this description one can surmise that the gardens were well attended to and cared for. Beyond the beauty and enchantment of these gardens, there was an underlying meticulous and efficient management that ensured that the land was well maintained. Shortly after Harry Luke had established his residence at Casa Leoni, there is correspondence dated to November 1931 with the Public Health Office stating a list of specific measures to be undertaken in order to prevent mosquito breeding.6 These measures included the periodic emptying of water reservoirs, the application of a film of paraffin on the water surface in certain cases, and the provision of having tight-fitting covers to the open reservoirs.7 (See Document One).

On 1 February 1932, Harry Luke entered into an agreement with a certain Alexander Farrugia, presumably a farmer who was granted tenant’s rights to cultivate and maintain the gardens at Casa Leoni.8 The agreement goes into a lot of details specifying the obligations of both parties, including clauses relating to the apportionment of the sale of the various agricultural produce, an obligation to maintain the gardens, and also specifying the party which would bear the expense for the supply of seeds, water, and manure, amongst others.9 The full text of the agreement is being reproduced in Document Two.

Amongst the personal correspondence of Harry Luke within my collection, there was attached to this agreement a tattered sheet of paper with a handwritten list divided into two columns, one listing the summer and the other the winter agricultural products derived from the gardens.10 Presumably the list was drawn up by the tenant farmer himself and a copy was forwarded to Harry Luke. The rich variety of vegetables grown within the landholding is impressive, to say the least. The list of agricultural products is as follows:

Summer products: potatoes, beetroots, carrots, spinach, lettuce, leeks, sea kael, vegetable marrow, long marrow, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, Maltese turnips, radish, onions, sage and asparagus, horse

Document One - Letter to Public Health, 1931.

TIME LINE

Casa Leoni Santa Venera

1730

Construction of Casa Leoni to the design of the architect and military engineer Charles François de Mondion; summer residence of Grand Master Antonio Manoel de Vilhena and subsequently other grand masters. During the French blockade, Casa Leoni served as the command base for the Maltese insurgents National Congress Battalions, a special grenadier company known as Granatieri set up to guard the headquarters. Residence of Col. George Whitmore and his family. Residence of Lieutenant Governor Harry Luke and his wife, Joyce Fremlin; 1945+: Museum Department depository.

1798- 1800 1820 s 1930- 1938

Portrait of Sir Harry Luke by Edward Caruana Dingli (Museum of the Order of St John, London) Document Two - Agreement between Sir Harry Luke and Alexander Farrugia, 1932 (private collection).

radish, parsely, creole, French beans, cabbages, klechley sweet, Burpee’s peppers.

Winter products: potatoes, artichokes, globe artichokes, beetroots, carrots, spinach, celery, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, enclive, kale, parsley, beans, peas and radish, lettuce, swiss chard, cabbages, leeks, English turnips.

From the terms of the agreement a portion of this produce was for the needs of the Luke family household (purchased at half the cost price) whereas the bulk was to be sold on the open market and the proceeds thereof shared equally between the tenant farmer and Harry Luke. Luke was amply satisfied with this state of affairs as can be gleaned from an advisory note penned by him in his handing-over letter to his successor:

A word about the garden of Casa Leoni, your official residence. The gardener there is more or less adscriptus glebae and his family have been there under many Lieutenant-Governors. I enclose a copy of my agreement with him which is identical with the agreement between my predecessor Best and the gardener’s namesake and predecessor.11

Casa Leoni was included in the Antiquities List (1925) and its current status is that of a Grade 1 national monument, National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.

1945+

Residence of Col. George Whitmore and his family

1952

Converted into a Museum

c 1955- 1968

Government primary school

1977- 1978

Restored and used as accommodation for visiting dignitaries

1980 s

Various government departments and Ministry of Education and Culture

PRESENT

Offices of the Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change

proposal to intervene in the casa leoni gardens

In May 2021, plans were announced by the Ministry for the Environment and Climate Change to ‘upgrade’ the Romeo Romano gardens, Santa Venera. Some of the photomontages that were presented seem to suggest that a part of the garden (outlined in orange on the below aerial photograph) would be transformed into a landscaped play area for children. Although the project appears to be currently on the back burner, the proposals as presented should be rescinded out of hand on the basis of the following:

1The gardens of Casa Leoni are one of finest examples of eighteenthcentury Baroque gardens in Malta based on a hierarchical arrangement of walled-in compartments, central axis and uncompromising symmetry.

2The whole ensemble of gardens should be preserved as one integral whole. No piecemeal development should be entertained. Any conservation programme should be based on the principle that this is a holistic entity.

3The area indicated for the formation of a play area is the Giardinetto di Sinistra and is an integral part of the gardens. The clearance of trees and vegetation, and its substitution with conventional artificial turf or otherwise and planters runs counter to the spirit of the place.

4One cannot justify the proposed intervention (the ‘play area’) by stating that only constitutes a small fraction of the entire garden area. This is not a question of quantity or the extent of the intervention but it is of paramount importance that the garden ensemble be preserved as one entity.

5The gardens should be preserved in full respect of its architectural and cultural value. The historical memory of the gardens needs to be respected.

6During these times, of heavily-congested urban environment, these gardens provide a green lung to the local community and visitors alike. It should be retained as a place for quiet relaxation and tranquility. Any proposal should ensure that these qualities are respected to the full.

‘Adscriptus glebae’ is the Latin term from Roman law meaning ‘a tenant tied to the soil’, which would be equivalent to the local term, qbiela which status confers legal rights to the occpuant farmer to cultivate the land and sell its produce, whilst paying a nominal rent. However, it appears that soon after Luke’s departure from Malta, the lease agreement pertaining to the garden was not renewed. An entry in Governor Bonham Carter’s diary dated 31st Janaury 1940,12 stated that he was making arrangements for the garden to be taken over by the Agricultural Department at once. The reasons for this decision are not clear although during this time a major renovation project for Casa Leoni was then in process.

Performances at the gardens

The gardens were also, at times, used for entertainment and cultural events. On one specific occasion in June 1937, Harry Luke, in his role as chairman of the Malta Amateur Dramatic Club (MADC), hosted one of their performance based on extracts of plays by William Shakespeare. One of the invited guests wrote the following vivid account of the event:

It transpired that a feature of this event, if not the object, was the giving by local amateurs of extracts from Shakespeare. We were told that all was ready and we were to descend to the garden, where an experience awaited us which for sheer beauty I had not known before. This is an old garden of stone, flowering trees, terraces and exquisitely scented herbs. Carefully, in the dark we made our way to the scene of the plays, where a number of people who had not been at the dinner were sitting in a semicircle facing a floodlit terrace and the circular stone stairs that descended from it.

It would not have mattered had this been the chef d’œeuvre of the evening, but much more was to follow. A prologue was read by Sir Harry Luke, followed by a recital by a costumed man of what was to come. The Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night and As You Like It were the plays from which parts were to be taken. Now and then a fiddle was played somewhere in the darkness or a woman player stood unaccompanied and sang Elizabethan songs. Lights cleverly placed gave an effect which it is hard to describe, the masses of rosemary at our backs adding still more to the beauty of it all. A brilliant moon hung in a cloudless sky to complete this conspiracy of loveliness. The acting reconciled me to an amateur caste.13

Governor Bonham Carter was also in attendance and made the observation in his diary, that ‘the circular steps leading to his kitchen garden made a very perfect Elizabethan stage and the acting by Miss Warren, Miss Smith (Rediffusion Broadcasters) and the two sailor wives was very good.’14

Conclusion

From this account it transpires that the gardens of Casa Leoni were in the 1930s well managed and administered both in terms of landscaping and the cultivation of agricultural produce. The experience of hosting cultural performances within the unique setting of the garden was also one appreciated by all those who attended. The gardens need to be valorised more and made more readily accessible to the local public. However, in doing so it is imperative that both its historical memory and ethos as a place of tranquility and being in touch with nature be safeguarded to the full. n

Three entries in the Timeline on pp.6-7 were amended in the digital version of this article. NOTES: 1. Denis De Lucca, Mondion: The Achievement of a French Military Engineer Working in Malta in the Early Eighteenth Century (Malta: Midsea Books, 2003); 2. Conrad Thake, ‘Sir Harry Luke (1884-1969): Loyal Servant of the British Empire’, in Lino, a Tribute: Festschrift in Honour of Lino Spiteri, ed. by D. Fenech, V. Fenech, J.R. Grima (Malta: PEG, 2008), 337-5; 3. Harry Luke, Malta: An Account and an Appreciation, 2nd ed. (1949; London: George G. Harrap & Co., 1960), 192; 4. Conrad Thake, ‘The Cabreo of the Fondazione Manoel’, in Treasures of Malta 3:1 (Christmas 1996), 47-52; 5. Luke, 193; 6. Official correspondence, Sir Harry Luke documents (private collection); 7. Ibid.; 8. Luke documents; 9. Ibid.; 10. Ibid.; 11. Ibid.; 12. John Manduca (ed.), The Bonham-Carter Diaries 19361940 (Malta: PEG, 2004), 454; 13. Luke, 193; 14. Manduca, 165.

Architect Conrad Thake is associate professor in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Malta