As a Mosta resident I was very glad to read that the Malta Environment and Planning Authority has included Villa Grognet at Mosta among the scheduled properties (April 7). Well done! Besides its architectural features, which need to be preserved, the building has historical connections.

At the time of the building of the Rotunda, the villa belonged to Notary Francesco Chetcuti, the procurator who undertook to provide for the needs of the project. George Grognet spent much of his time living at Mosta with the Chetcutis. At the time he was supervising the building of the dome. This is recorded in E.B. Vella’s Storja tal- Mosta.

Furthermore, the Chetcuti family deserve to be remembered for providing the Church with a number of prominent ecclesiastics. A member of the family, Daniel Chetcuti, was a well loved physician who was the first to run a clinic at Mosta with a government dispensary when government dispensaries were introduced in the villages during the mid-19th century. Mgr Gerolamo Chetcuti, the first parish priest of Mġarr, was a member of the family and he spent his last days at the villa.

The villa also served as a parish oratory and, during World War II, as a home for refugees.