Countryside embellishment project shows off Girgenti’s palace and the Providence Chapel near Siġġiewi, with similar schemes planned for other rural areas
Nature lovers with a religious or cultural leaning can now trek along a walking path in Girgenti to visit the freshly embellished surroundings of the Providence Chapel in the Siġġiewi countryside.
Both the walking route and spruced-up chapel environs form part of the €2 million EU-funded Malta Goes Rural project, and join an already launched countryside path known as the Fawwara Walk.
The path takes walkers past Girgenti’s palace and its valley, Is-Salib tal-Għolja and the Providence Chapel, ending up in the centre of Siġġiewi.
Environment Minister Mario de Marco said that work on other walking paths in places such as Qrendi, Żurrieq, Dingli, Baħrija, Marfa and Lija would start soon.
Walks are clearly signposted and route maps are available online from the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), explained Dr de Marco, who also serves as Tourism and Culture Minister.
He said the MTA would be paying €100,000 to advertise Malta as a rural destination, over and above its standard advertising budget.
The Malta Goes Rural project began in 2009. By the end of this year, it will have organised 220 activities across the Maltese Islands. The Government has decided to extend the project for a further year.
Aside from Girgenti’s Providence Chapel, chapels in Qrendi, Safi and Żurrieq, all with impeccable views and natural surroundings, are also undergoing embellishment work.
Such projects helped improve Malta’s attractiveness to tourists interested in nature walks and rural activities, the minister said. A 2011 MTA study had found 46 per cent of tourists visiting Malta had gone for a countryside stroll.