Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1124848
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 JUNE 2019 NEWS window for restoration after the Arabs had been ex- pelled and Malta returned to the western cultural milieu," according to heritage publi- cation Vigilo editor Joe Azzo- pardi. This would be a strong in- dication that Malta's cultural contacts with the Arab world continued well after the Arab period. Muxrabiji are most com- monly found in the villages whose inhabitants lived away from the safety of Mdina and fortified cities around the harbour area, providing extra security. This is evident in the geographic distribution of the surviving specimen. The muxrabijiet were "symptomatic of a closed, insular society" according to Azzopardi, who notes that it was during the British period that the muxrabija acquired the connotations of "eaves- dropping that are still at- tached to it". Other muxrabiji are found in Tal-Karmnu Street, Victo- ria Gozo, in Sqaq il-Qajjied, Siggiewi, Triq Santu Rokku in Birkirkara, in Ta' Gham- mar in Gozo, in Triq il-Knisja in Gharb and in Triq Doni in Rabat. The St Thomas Bay farmhouse is one of 36 buildings which include a muxrabija and was granted Grade 2 protection by the Planning Authority in 2016 (composite: OldHouseMalta. com) The muxrabija is also known as 'in-nemmiesa', 'ix-xerriefa' and in Gozo 'il-kixxiefa' or 'lkixxijìja' and 'il-glusija' (probably derived from the French jalousie meaning envy) JAMES DEBONO WHEN the Planning Authority gave legal protection to the Villa Leoni home in St Ju- lian's in 1994, it failed to schedule its gardens. Despite this omission the PA website still shows the garden as being protected, a detail emerging from a case officer's report object- ing to a hotel development that eradicate Villa Leoni's garden. The application seeks to add four receded floors on the villa. More than 900 objections have been pre- sented against the application. A final de- cision will be taken by the Planning Board on 6 June. Villa Leoni is located inside the Urban Con- servation Area of St Julian's and has two front- ages on Triq Il-Kbira, and Telghet Birkirkara. The property is a distinguished 19th century house, with a formal garden extending at the rear of the building, inside the UCA. Accord- ing to the Superintendence for Cultural Her- itage, both the villa and its garden have his- torical and architectural value. But while it was originally believed that the entire property, including the garden, was scheduled, it emerged that only the façade of the villa is protected by law as a Grade 2 monument. The PA's case officer referred to a discrepancy between what was officially scheduled in 1994 and what has been plotted out on the authority's maps. Despite the absence of legal protection the case officer still deemed the development of the garden as being in breach of existing poli- cies protecting the integrity of green enclaves and the character and amenity of urban areas. A permit was already issued in 2009 for the construction of an apartment block compris- ing four apartments and two penthouses on part of the site. Villa Leoni hotel set for refusal, but garden lacks protection