©Palazzo Parisio

Palazzo parisio
malta
These are the extraordinary gardens nurtured by Baroness Christiane Ramsay Scicluna behind the home so lovingly rebuilt and extended by her great-grandfather between 1900 and 1906. These monumental gates seem weightless, borne upwards by carved stone wings at their summit. They were designed by the Milanese architect Carlo Sada, responsible for the decoration of the Opera House in Catania, along with the original garden layout and other architectural features.
When the reconstruction by Marquis Scicluna was completed the grounds were much more extensive than now but were later reduced in size, leaving two distinct gardens. The first is formal and walled adjoining the palace leading into a luxuriant second garden beyond, full of botanical treasures, both Mediterranean and exotic. The first rigorously symmetrical garden is divided into four parterres with a central pathway, the perfect setting for fairytale weddings. On one side it is flanked by a wall of exuberantly cascading bougainvilleas, an explosion of colour. The other side is enclosed by a magnificent eighteenth century orangerie, unusually constructed entirely in stone, containing a grotto dating back to the seventeenth century, housing an elaborate water feature, no longer in use, which sprayed water from every stone within. The Baroness would dearly love to house exotic plants and birds, inspired by Lady Walton at La Mortella on Ischia. An intricate watering system runs below the gardens and under the palace itself consisting of extensive waterways, a cistern and wells which keep the garden cool in times of drought. The stone removed from the ground to create these waterways was used to build the palazzo
Palazzo Parisio
29, Victory Square
Naxxar NXR 1700
Malta