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7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 SEPTEMBER 2026 NEWS The Peel villa, Gianni's painting and a historical mystery A planning dispute over Villa Degiorgio has turned into an unlikely historical detective story. Developers are challenging the heritage watchdog's identification of the villa in Girolamo Gianni's 1875 painting, claiming instead the painting shows Villa Arrigo A planning dispute over Villa Degiorgio at San Pawl tat-Tarġa has developed into an argument over a 151-year-old painting and the identity of a long-deceased cotton merchant. The Superintendence of Cul- tural Heritage initially cited Gi- rolamo Gianni's 1875 painting as evidence of the historical signif- icance of the villa's gardens. The watchdog identified the building depicted in the painting's back- ground as Villa Degiorgio, using it as one of the arguments to ob- ject to a planning control appli- cation to construct a cul-de-sac, leading to future development of the villa's gardens. According to the SCH the painting underlines the his- torical significance of the villa shown in the background with St Paul's Church and the Cap- tain's Tower in the foreground. The heritage watchdog said the painting showed "that the vil- la and gardens form part of a significant cluster of heritage buildings, further enhancing its value". It also stated that the villa had been built in the 1820s by Sir Robert Peel, a wealthy textile manufacturer and father of the British Prime Minister Robert Peel. However, the applicants' ar- chitect subsequently challenged both contentions, arguing that the building in Gianni's painting was Villa Arrigo, originally Villa Garcin, rather than Villa Degior- gio. But the SCH rebutted with a fairly straightforward objection to that interpretation: Villa Ar- rigo was built in 1887, while Gi- anni's painting dates to 1875. The heritage watchdog also pointed to the relative position of the villa and the Captain's Tower. Villa Arrigo is approx- imately at the same level as the tower, whereas the villa shown in Gianni's painting is consider- ably lower, as is Villa Degiorgio in reality. The SCH also clarified its refer- ence to the Peel family. It says it never suggested that the former prime minister built the villa, but that the historical connec- tion was to his father or brother, citing Mark Bertram's Room for Diplomacy: Britain's Diplomatic Buildings Overseas 1800–2000. The SCH originally referred to Robert Peel, the cotton mer- chant who built the villa, as the father to Prime Minister Robert Peel, "best known as the founder of the modern Conservative Par- ty and the Metropolitan Police, which served as the model for modern police forces". The historical detective work, however, is secondary to the her- itage watchdog's main objection. Following a site inspection, the SCH said it considers the villa and its gardens to have architec- tural and historical value, with the gardens forming an integral part of the villa. The proposed planning control application, if approved, would not involve any works on the vil- la but will introduce a cul-de-sac and subdivide the gardens into eight residential plots. The SCH maintained that this would in- evitably result in the loss of the gardens and negatively affect the value of the villa. JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Developers are challenging the heritage watchdog's identification of the villa in Girolamo Gianni's 1875 painting, claiming instead the painting shows Villa Arrigo Vegetable production down 38% between 2001 and 2021 MALTA'S vegetable produc- tion decreased by 38% between 2001 and 2021, a research pa- per that examined weather trends shows. The paper, compiled by George Attard, Charles Galdies, and Anthony Meli, examined temperature and precipitation trends, agricultural production and agricultural land use be- tween 2001 and 2021. The study showed that au- tumns and winters in Malta are gradually becoming warm- er, with October noted as the consistently warmest month in those seasons. When it comes to rainfall, the research showed 2020 and 2021 saw less rainfall across a num- ber of months. When looking at data gathered from the two decades, researchers noted a reduction in December rainfall, as well as less rain during cru- cial agricultural months. If the trends persist, farmers will be forced to increase their ir- rigation capabilities, while the milder cli- mate might indicate pest infestations that arrive earlier in the year than usual. When it comes to utilised agricultural area, the study saw a 19% increase between 2001 and 2016, as this rose by about 2,300 hectares. However, by 2020, the utilised agricultur- al area had decreased by 10%. The change in Malta's climate pointed toward a clear 38% de- cline in vegetable production, equivalent to 31,600 tonnes of produce, with 2019 marking the start of a sharper decline in production. The research showed that as temperatures rose in autumn and winter, po- tato yields shrunk, as did cultivated agricultural are- as, while a reduction in rainfall led to reduced cereal output. Specifically, cereals, potatoes, and vines were among the products revealed to be climat- ically vulnerable throughout the 20-year study. Interestingly, tomato produc- tion wasn't hit as hard by rising temperatures, which suggests that the effect was cushioned by irrigation. Fruit produc- tion, on the other hand, saw an increase, especially when it comes to grape output. The research paper noted that modernised water man- agement and adapting to changing climate trends are ways producers can combat the impact of climate change. Following this year's scorching hot summer, farm- ers had told MaltaToday that they foresee a "bleak" future for their industry. The farm- ers noted that their products are simply not adapted to such heat, and that this is evident in the quality and quantity of their crops. The heat and dry conditions also mean that farmers face increased costs in order to ad- equately water their crops. All the while, farmers must com- pete with cheaper produce im- ported from abroad. The heat is also placing a heavy burden on dairy producers, who are looking toward meas- ures such as cooling systems for their cows to combat the effects of rising temperatures. High- er temperatures cause cows to produce less milk, a situation that prompted Benna, the larg- est milk producer, to advise customers earlier this month that some of its products may have to be rationed. MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt