The Peel villa, Gianni’s painting and a historical mystery

A planning dispute over Villa Degiorgio at San Pawl tat-Tarġa has developed into an argument over a 151-year-old painting and the identity of a long-deceased cotton merchant.

The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage initially cited Girolamo Gianni’s 1875 painting as evidence of the historical significance of the villa’s gardens. The watchdog identified the building depicted in the painting’s background as Villa Degiorgio, using it as one of the arguments to object to a planning control application to construct a cul-de-sac, leading to future development of the villa’s gardens.

According to the SCH the painting underlines the historical significance of the villa shown in the background with St Paul’s Church and the Captain’s Tower in the foreground. The heritage watchdog said the painting showed “that the villa and gardens form part of a significant cluster of heritage buildings, further enhancing its value”.

It also stated that the villa had been built in the 1820s by Sir Robert Peel, a wealthy textile manufacturer and father of the British Prime Minister Robert Peel.

However, the applicants’ architect subsequently challenged both contentions, arguing that the building in Gianni’s painting was Villa Arrigo, originally Villa Garcin, rather than Villa Degiorgio.

But the SCH rebutted with a fairly straightforward objection to that interpretation: Villa Arrigo was built in 1887, while Gianni’s painting dates to 1875.

The heritage watchdog also pointed to the relative position of the villa and the Captain’s Tower. Villa Arrigo is approximately at the same level as the tower, whereas the villa shown in Gianni’s painting is considerably lower, as is Villa Degiorgio in reality.

The SCH also clarified its reference to the Peel family. It says it never suggested that the former prime minister built the villa, but that the historical connection was to his father or brother, citing Mark Bertram’s Room for Diplomacy: Britain’s Diplomatic Buildings Overseas 1800–2000.

The SCH originally referred to Robert Peel, the cotton merchant who built the villa, as the father to Prime Minister Robert Peel, “best known as the founder of the modern Conservative Party and the Metropolitan Police, which served as the model for modern police forces”.

The historical detective work, however, is secondary to the heritage watchdog’s main objection.

Following a site inspection, the SCH said it considers the villa and its gardens to have architectural and historical value, with the gardens forming an integral part of the villa.

The proposed planning control application, if approved, would not involve any works on the villa but will introduce a cul-de-sac and subdivide the gardens into eight residential plots. The SCH maintained that this would inevitably result in the loss of the gardens and negatively affect the value of the villa.