Volunteers from Din L-Art Helwa will keep the Msida Bastion Historic Garden open to the Public today from 9am to 5pm. Refreshments will be available and there will be guided tours at 10, 12, 2 and 4pm.

The garden was first commissioned by Grand Master Antoine de Paul in 1635, on St Philip’s Bastion, overlooking Msida Creek. Between 1806 and 1856, it served as the burial place for people of the Protestant religion and its neo classic funerary monuments are testimony of the important persons buried in there including Mikhail Anton Vassalli and John Hookham Frere. In 1984, Din L-Art Helwa began the project of restoration, which saw the official opening by President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, in September 1995. In March 2002, Din L-Art Helwa was awarded the prestigious Silver Medal of Honour by Europa Nostra, for the historical research and restoration carried out to save the garden and its monuments.

Today’s opening of the Msida Bastion Historic Garden is part of the Floriana, Garden City of Malta and more, much more event organised by the Floriana local council. The garden can be found by taking the first turning left on Great Siege Road and again the first turning left after the Hotel Excelsior.

Admission is free of charge, but donations to Din l-Art Helwa, 133, Melita Street, Valletta, will be much appreciated.