Project Description
The area beyond the Valletta land front ditch and Triton Square is commonly known as the Biskuttin, now ithing the council boundaries of Floriana. It’s a wide and paved avenue lined with benches and trees that bisects Vjal ir-Re Dwardu VII. Its main feature is the imposing bronze statue of Christ the King by Antonio Sciortino, with a kneeling figure at the base representing the devotion of Malta to the Christian religion. This monumental statue was erected to commemorate the XXIV Eucharistic Congress held in Malta in 1913. Its strange name is reputed to have different origins but the most obvious is that since it’s a continuation of the Mall, which had been converted into a landscaped garden, many referred to this extension as ‘boseottino‘ (little garden) or Biskuttin in Maltese. In Maltese, the name Biskuttin also refers to an elongated pastry with rounded ends, of which the area does bear a resemblance.
The area had received damage during the war and some shrapnel scars are still evident on the statues and the nearby palm trees.
After the war, the Biskuttin was embellished with new paving, lights and benches and remained until the new project for Triton Square materialised.
As part of the Triton Square Project, the embellishment of the Biskuttin was another important area entrusted to the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation (GHRC). The works involved the replacement of most underground services, new paving, street furniture, planting of additional trees, the restoration of the Christ the King monument and a new lighting system. In addition, works were undertaken on both sides of King Edward VII Avenue, on the side of the Phoenicia Hotel and the opposite side to serve as access to the bus terminus and facilitate the alighting of passengers from the busses.
Il-Biskuttin
Iż-żona lil hinn mill-foss tal-Belt Valletta u l-Pjazza tat-Tritoni hija magħrufa bħala l-Biskuttin, li issa tinsab mal-konfini tal-Furjana. Dan il-vjal hu wiesgħa u ppavimentat, b’bankijiet u siġar u li jaqsam Vjal ir-Re Dwardu VII fi tnejn. Il-karatteristika ewlenija tiegħu hi l-istatwa imponenti tal-bronż ta’ Kristu Re ta’ Antonio Sciortino, b’figura għarkobbtejha fil-bażi li tirrappreżenta d-devozzjoni ta’ Malta lejn ir-reliġjon nisranija. Din l-istatwa monumentali ttellgħet biex tfakkar il-XXV Kungress Ewkaristiku li sar f’Malta fl-1913. Isema stramb li huwa reputat li għandu l-oriġini l-aktar ovvja li peress li hu kontinwazzjoni tal-Mall, li kien inbidel fi ġnien pajsaġġuż, ħafna rreferew. għal din l-estensjoni bħala ‘boseottino‘ (ġnien żgħir), li saret Biskuttin bil-Malti. Bil-Malti l-isem Biskuttin jirreferi wkoll għal krustin tawwali bit-truf tondi, li ż-żona ukol tixbah.
Iż-żona kienet irċeviet ħsarat matul il-gwerra u ftit marki minn shrapnel għadhom evidenti fuq l-istatwa u s-siġar tal-palm fil-qrib.
Wara l-gwerra, il-Biskuttin ġie msebbħ b’pavimentat, dwal u bankijiet ġodda u baqa’ sakemm immaterjalizza l-proġett il-ġdid għal Pjazza Tritoni.
Bħala parti mill-Proġett ta’ Pjazza Tritoni, it-tisbiħ tal-Biskuttin kien qasam ieħor importanti fdat f’idejn il-Korporazzjoni għar-Riġenerazzjoni tal-Port il-Kbir (GHRC). Ix-xogħlijiet kienu jinvolvu t-tibdil tal-biċċa l-kbira tas-servizz taħt l-art, pavimentar ġdid, bankijiet godda, tħawwil ta’ siġar addizzjonali, ir-restawr tal-monument ta’ Kristu Re u sistema ġdida ta’ dawl. Barra minn hekk, saru xogħlijiet fuq iż-żewġ naħat ta’ Vjal ir-Re Dwardu, fuq in-naħa tal-lukanda Phoenicia u n-naħa opposta biex iservu ta’ aċċess għat-terminus tal-karozzi tal-linja u jiffaċilitaw l-inżul tal-passiġġieri minn l-istess-karozzi.
