It is always interesting to read articles relating to our heritage such as ‘Origins and history of Argotti Gardens’ (The Sunday Times of Malta, March 1). However, a number of omissions and inaccuracies in this article need to be pointed out.

The change of stewardship of the public part of Argotti Gardens occurred more than once. Up to 1924 it was managed by the Public Works department but in that year it was passed over to the newly instituted Department of Agriculture.

In 1933 it was handed over to the Royal University of Malta, only for both the private and public part of the gardens to be passed over to the Department of Agriculture in 1973.

The Department of Agriculture carried out extensive structural works in both gardens apart from converting the derelict ditch into a citrus orchard and opening St Philip’s to the public.

Argotti was also used by the department for theoretical and practical instruction sessions for apprentice gardeners, in addition to the continuation of providing plant material for research purposes, especially to pharmacy students.

In 1996, the private part of Argotti was passed back to the University of Malta with the exception of its public section and of St Philip’s Garden.

The photo of the Venus statue carried in the article is actually the goddess Diana, which was installed in a San Anton fountain in 1908.

The marble statue of the goddess Venus, which used to grace the Argotti nymphaeum, was removed in 1984 and taken to the President’s Palace, where it still lies in a niche near the palace’s main entrance, as seen in the photo.

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