Project Description
Pale-maille or Palla-Maglio (Pall-mall) was a lawn game that was mostly played in the 16th and 17th centuries. The game was popular in Italy, France, England and Scotland and in other parts of Western Europe in the 16th century, which also found its way to Malta through the Order of St. John. The Mall at Floriana was built by Grandmaster Lascaris in 1656 for the recreation of the Knights.
An interesting feature about the Mall is that it lies along an axis stretching from St Philip Bastion at Floriana, along Republic Street in Valletta and which ends at the spur of Fort St. Elmo at the bottom of the same street.
The garden was opened to the public by Sir Alexander Ball, Governor of Maltese Islands, in the name of King George III. Until the year 1942, the gardens were enclosed by high walls but, after the war, the high eight-course on each side wall was removed and replaced by a lower boundary wall with iron railings to be visible from the street. In late 2021 the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation (GHRC) commenced a €5 million regeneration project for the Mall Garden at Floriana, a link to connect the Argotti area with the Biskuttin, Triton Square the entrance into Valletta.
The project included the improvement of the aesthetics of the garden through restoration and rehabilitation such as new irrigation facilities, garden furniture, installation of a new lighting system inside and outside the garden, some 7,500m² of new paving including the outside pavements, a new boundary wall, the restoration of the monuments and the entrance arches and the re-construction of the fountain. Prior to conclusion, other service works will be installed.
Il-Mall – il-Furjana
Pale-Maille jew Palla-Maglio (Pall-mall) kienet logħba fuq il-ħaxix li kienet tintlagħab l-aktar fis-sekli 16 u 17. Il-logħba kienet popolari fis-seklu 16fl-Italja, Franza, l-Ingilterra u l-Iskozja u f’partijiet oħra tal-Ewropa tal-Punent, li wkoll sabet it-triqtha lejn Malta permezz tal-Ordni ta’ San Ġwann. Il-Mall tal-Furjana nbena mill-Granmastru Lascaris fl-1656 għar-rikreazzjoni tal-kavallieri.
Karatteristika interessanti dwar il-Mall hija li jinsab tul il-linja li tibda mill-Bastjun ta’ San Filep fil-Furjana, tul Triq ir-Repubblika fil-Belt Valletta u li tispiċċa f’l-ixprun tal-Forti Sant’ Iermu fil-qiegħ tal-istess triq.
Il-ġnien infetaħ għall-pubbliku minn Sir Alexander Ball, Gvernatur tal-Gżejjer Maltin, f’isem ir-Re Ġorġ III. Sas-sena 1942, il-ġonna kienu magħluqin b’ħitan għoljin it-tmien filati ma’ kull ġenb, iżda tneħħew wara l-gwerra, u nbidlu b’cint baxx b’gradilji tal-ħadid mad-dwaru biex ikunu viżibbli mit-triq.
Lejn l-aħħar tal-2021 il-Korporazzjoni għar-Riġenerazzjoni tal-Port il-Kbir(GHRC) bdiet proġett ta’ riġenerazzjoni ta’ €5 miljun għall-Ġnien tal-Mall fil-Furjana, li tgħaqqad iż-żona tal-Argotti mal-Biskuttin, Pjazza Trioton u mad-daħla tal-Belt Valletta. Il-proġett kien jinkludi titjib fl-estetika tal-ġnien permezz ta’ restawr u riabilitazzjoni bħal faċilitajiet ġodda ta’ tisqija, għamara għall-ġonna, installazzjoni ta’ sistema ġdida ta’ dawl ġewwa u barra l-ġnien, mal-7,500m2 ta’ pavimentar ġdid inkluż il-bankini ta’ barra, bankini ġodda. saru ċnut ġodda madwaru, ir-restawr tal-monumenti u l-arkati tad-daħla u l-bini mill-ġdid tal-funtana. Ser jiġu installati servizzi ohra bħal kameras tas-sigurtà u l-internet.
