Joe Morana, Sliema
Pitiful state of historic Wignacourt fountain
The historic Wignacourt fountain at St Philip Garden in Floriana, originally located on Palace Square, Valletta, was the first fountain erected after the building of the Wignacourt aqueduct; it was inaugurated during Eastertide, on April 21, 1615.
It features a large circular basin with three superimposed seashells like shaped basins, each one smaller than the one below it, supported on a cone-shaped pedestal with three dolphins with upturned tails. This beautiful and historic fountain was moved by the British military to St Philip Gardens so the Palace Square could be used for military parades.
Regrettably, while Mepa scheduled the Wignacourt fountain as a Grade 1 national monument in 2008, it has been neglected and left in a pitiful state, to be gradually destroy-ed by corrosion.
Restoration works are urgently needed to save this beautiful and historic gem from further damage.
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a.sciberras
Nov 7th 2010, 17:15
Funny how many Maltese are willing to voice their opinion in writing re divorce, politics, football etc etc and yet on issues like these, barely a comment.
I would compare the status of this fountain, especially where it originally laid, to the fountains in Trafalgar square in London, Piazza Navona in Rome, La concorde in Paris etc etc. Cant imagine these nations without their marvels with the consent of their people
Yet we! Well who cares. after all, there is no profit
Pule' Carmel
Nov 7th 2010, 14:30
*Every time I see a fountain, it reminds me of an interesting security situation in Malta.
One foreign person who worked for a well known popular foreign communication company at the time when the Hilton Hotel was to be built, this man was interested in abseiling on Dingli and ourCoastal cliffs digging the cliffs for prehistoric remains of which he found plenty along the cliffs. Also I was told that there existed a Small Historic Fountain in the area where the Hilton was built. Well, one clandestine night, this foreign man with additional assistance, demolished the fountain, and removed the stone to a private residence, the stones were cut in smaller pieces and stacked in boxes with the company’s name sending these boxes to a destination in NewZealand, where it still adorns a spectacular private garden. All the prehistoric findings were sent abroad in the same manner and under the letterhead of the company, these were treated as electronic parts, never investigated by any custom officers. I wrote a manuscript entitled,“ Target Castile” a sort of a James Bond story where I would take over Malta, and I included this character in it, to help me do it!
T Camilleri
Nov 7th 2010, 23:19
Pule' Carmel Since you know so many details about what this person did, can you get in touch with the authorities so that they will request the New Zealand Government to send it back because it was STOLEN?
This appeal also goes to anyone who knows about such stolen items so that they may be recovered. This is theft which I am certain would find the support of UNESCO to eb brought back to Malta where it rightly belongs.
Pule' Carmel
Nov 8th 2010, 10:34
Unfortunately, I did not know this particular person for the information came to me through others. But I did check about the existance of the fountain and it is true that it disappeared overnight. There were other interesting situations where I did report the issue but nothing occurred even when safety was involved. Last September after it rained heavily and Marsa was blocked and water rising, at 23.00 hours I went to Paola Police Station and reported the issue. The Police said it was not their cup of tea and so the officer was kind enough to put me in contact with the Emergency Refusal Dept and the man on the phone told me that I have to wait TWO weeks. I immediately contacted the Civil Protection Department and they said that it was not their buisness to clean up the debris in the floodwater channel but they will only assist AFTER disasters. Next day I even supplied the authorities with the photographs I had taken but all in vain.However I still try and help when I can.Also I reported debris being deposited in the wrong places, but nobody cared either! I reported flowers growing too, and police took action.