Villa Bonici (housing St Louis School) is situated in Manwel Dimech Street, Sliema, two-thirds of the way up from the Ferries towards the Sliema police station. The gardens of this grand old villa stretch all the way down, almost to the Sliema Strand (behind Forestals), and span from Parisio Street on one side to St Agatha Street on the other.

Although sprawling over a massive area and still unbuilt, it is practically invisible to the man in the street, save for the plain dilapidated villa frontage on Manwel Dimech Street, the grand, Baroque archway entrance at St Agatha Street and boundary walls in both Parisio and Kurunell Savona Streets. This villa is best known to the older generation, who used to flock to the site for its open-air cinema, the only one in those days.

I have been researching Villa Bonici in Sliema to compile a historical background for quite some time but, unfortunately, so far I have come across very little information.

I would therefore like to appeal to anybody who has any information, pictures or even memoirs to send me copies by post to Flat 2, 'Tal-Mixura', Moroni Street, Sliema, or by e-mail to asgatt@yahoo.com