An 18th century baroque Palazzo and its surrounding gardens situated in the heart of Attard’s village core has been given the highest protection status as a Grade 1 property by the Planning Authority.
Villa Barbaro which is a single storey property has been scheduled for its significant architectural and historical importance. The property was built by the Barbaro family as a country retreat residence. The Palazzo’s imposing wide façade, separated into a number of bays by means of pilasters, is furnished with highly decorated windows. The main entrance is flanked by two Tuscan pilasters which act as supports for an overlying open stone balcony. Immediately surmounting the entrance is a carved putto face and a marble slab inscribed with the original name of the house 'Bello-sguardo Villa Barbaro'. The name is indicative of the rural setting the villa once had and the extensive views it enjoyed.
The most renowned and exceptional feature of the property is the enfilade of reception rooms to the left of the main entrance hall which has been architecturally treated by playing with wall thicknesses, so as to create a straight axis eliminating the pronounced façade splay. These three rooms include cross and barrel vaulted ceilings together with decorative stone work. The most renowned of the three rooms is the Zodiac Room which is roofed by a central cross vault and barrel vault at each end. The room is decorated with mythological and astrological subjects and was purposely built by the Marquis Carlo Antonio Barbaro to house his collection of antiquities, numismatics and natural history artefacts; this collection being one of the first private museums on the island, which was visited by a number of foreign gentries while on their grand tour.
The Marquis erected a wooden arch in front of his house in 1776, to greet Grand Master de Rohan's procession as he made his way from San Anton Palace to Mdina to make his solemn entry into the City after his election as Grand Master. His son, Romualdo Barbaro, was Lord Lieutenant for the district during the French occupation and the Villa was also used as a court during this time. During this time, meetings between the leaders of the Maltese insurgents were held in the Villa so as to organize the uprising against the French.
Over the past years, the Planning Authority through the Irrestawra Darek grant scheme twice assisted owners of scheduled properties to lessen the financial burden when carrying out restoration and conservation works within their property.