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15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 APRIL 2021 NEWS MATTHEW AGIUS SEVERAL of Malta's wealthiest landowning families, locked in a court dispute over the mul- ti-million estate of Baron Pietro Paolo Testaferrata Moroni Vi- ani, have been denied a request to remove two of the plaintiffs from the case. The case dates back to 2010, in which members of the Te- staferrata Moroni Viani family filed a court case against sisters Agnes Gera de Petri Testa- ferrata Bonici Ghaxaq, Caren Preziosi and Anna Maria Spi- teri Debono, on a dispute con- cerning properties that form part of a multi-million inher- itance. Gera de Petri and the other defendants were denied a re- quest to have two plaintiffs, wives of the Testaferrata Mo- roni Viani heirs. The case now continues. The surviving plaintiffs – brothers Christopher, Martin, and their cousins Peter Paul, Paul Stephen and Caroline Te- staferrata Moroni Viani – are co-owners of several proper- ties which form part of the so- called Primogenituri Testafer- rata estate, together with the defendants, their cousins. The Primogenituri Testafer- rata, administered under the name Testaferrata Moroni Vi- ani Estates, includes lands and buildings in Ta' Xbiex, Msida, Gzira, Mosta, Paola and Żeb- biegħ belonging to Baron Pie- tro Paolo Testaferrata Moroni Viani. He was survived in 1954 by his four children, but died intestate. Now there is a dispute over what parts of the original es- tate was bequeathed to his suc- cessors, with his grandchildren disputing the ownership of sev- eral properties. Specifically, there is a dispute over the part-ownership of Palazzo Testaferrata in Paola, a 20,000sq.m plot of land in Mo- sta and a villa on the Ta' Xbiex seafront, all forming part of the original estate, and how these should be divided between the parties. In 1950, when the law of first- born succession was abrogated, half of the Testaferrata Moroni Viani estate was bequeathed to Salvino, the eldest son of Baron Pietro Paolo. On the latter's death in 1954 without a will, the other half of the estate was inherited by all his four children – Salvino, Mario, Beatrice and Maria – each taking a one-eighth share. On their deaths, they were survived by their own children: in 1999, Baroness Maria was succeeded by her daughters, the defendants Agnes, Caren and Annamaria, who each had one-third of the one-eight share, working to 1/24th of the original estate – valued at some €26 million in immovable properties. Salvino was survived in 2017 by his sons Christopher and Martin, who own the lion's share of the original estate (€90 million). Mario was survived in 2007 by his children Peter, Paul and Caroline, each inheriting 1/24th of the Primogenituri es- tate (€20 million). Christopher and Martin in- herited a further 1/24th of the original estate from their aunt, the late Beatrice in 2007, as well as her one-eighth share in the Paola palazzo. Beatrice al- so bequeathed Peter, Paul and Caroline a 1/48th share of the original estate, and designated nieces Agnes, Caren and An- namaria as her universal heirs thereafter. But there is a disagreement over the apportionment of Be- atrice's share in the estate. In a bid to propose a plan for their division and avoid further fragmentation, the children of the late Salvino and Mario Testaferrata Moroni Viani, engaged an architect to val- ue the estate. They claim that defendant Agnes Gera de Petri has refused to consider the di- vision of the estate, and have called upon the court to deter- mine and identify all the prop- erties in which the parties are co-owners and determine their respective shares. Gera de Petri denied being against the legal partition of her aunt's share, but complained at the "abusive" manner in which the architect's report proposed the division of the estate, be- cause it put her and her sib- lings at a disadvantage. Land historically owned by the Testaferrata Moroni Viani primogenitura An architect's report valued the lands owned by the three groups of cousins, at a total of €140 million, the lion's share owned by the heirs of Baron Salvino Testaferrata Moron Viani. They include territory in Ta' Xbiex and Msida, and land known as l-Andrijiet and Faw- wara in Gzira: they include the Gzira stadium land itself, var- ious properties in and around Rue d'Argens, Testaferrata Street, Luqa Briffa Street, and pockets of undeveloped land at Ta' Xbiex (worth €30 mil- lion alone); Palazzo Testaferrata in Paola, Valletta Road, and undevel- oped territory at Blata l-Ghol- ja in Mosta; territory at Gnien id-Dwieli at Zebbiegh, Mgarr; a land portion known as 'Ta' Pastizz' or 'ix-Xatba' in Gzira; lands 'Ta' Forn il-Gir', 'Len- za tal-Hamra' in Gzira, and 'Balluta' in Sliema; as well as other properties and territory in Gozo. Testaferrata heirs in squabble over multi-million estate Maltese nobles in 11-year feud to have Testaferrata Moroni Viani estate valued in a bid to avoid fragmentation of estate The land on which the former Empire Stadium in Gzira stands is valued at €30 million alone Ian Borg ministry wants Mgarr road to get its Via Sagra JAMES DEBONO THE transport ministry led by Ian Borg is requesting a plan- ning permit for a government project that blurs the line with popular religiosity: a 'way of the cross' along Triq ir-Ruħ in the form of 14 permanent tableaux. The 14 commemorative slabs will be set in a hardstone frame along the existing rubble wall, with a statue of the Virgin Mary at a proposed rounda- bout at Mosta. The proposal had already been pro- posed by the Mgarr council in 2011, but was shot down by the Planning Authority. The ministry's plan now has the council's full support. But the council's original proposal had been refused because of its adverse impact on the neighbouring Ta' Ħaġrat archaeolog- ical site, and because a landscaping plan for a road approved in 1997 had never been implemented by the same council. But the refusal had been part- ly reversed by an appeals tribu- nal in 2014, in a decision which deemed the proposed struc- tures excessive, while recom- mending lowering the height of the sacred images from 2m to 1.2m. The tribunal also insisted on the incorporation of the origi- nal landscaping plan consisting of trees and planters, foreseen in 1997. But the decision was never implemented. As proposed now, the tab- leaux will respect the height recommended in the tribunal's decision. Plans also foresee the replacement of the exist- ing concrete pavement with a "porphyry and lava pavement". In another development, plans by Infrastructure Malta foresee the erection of a new 7m-high monument dedicat- ed to the Holy Mary, set on an ornate pedestal in the centre of the proposed roundabout. The monument was inserted in plans for the roundabout junc- tion and bypass lanes at Triq id-Difiza Civili, in Mo- sta as proposed by the Mosta local council. Another monument, currently located on the roundabout and built in a more austere style, and dedicated to Maltese missionar- ies, will be relocated to the entrance of the Mount Saint Jo- seph retreat house. The project will result in the uprooting of 22 trees, including 2 protected Aleppo pine trees.