Villa Buleben, or “tal-Baruni” as it known locally is an 18th century baroque palazzo in the quaint locality of Żebbug.
It was the original home to Baron Gaetano Azzopardi - a medical professional for the infirmary of the order or St. John, and is one of Malta's most significant aristocratic country houses.
As far as I can see, this beautiful palazzo was last used as private residency, and its use has never changed within its lifetime.
Also part of the site is the Chapel of Our Lady of forsaken souls, which has been out of use for a similar amount of time. Both buildings are at-risk, but with plans to convert the palazzo into a hotel, and reuse the grounds for holiday "lodges".
The Derp:
This was top of my list for the week - we wanted to try something we think no-one else had seen in Malta yet. Of course, you have your Kordins and your underground flour mills, but we wanted to chill, whilst getting some lovely greemz on holiday.
We took a walk around the winding streets of Żebbug in the morning sun, checking out all the 90s shitboxes along the way until we turned a corner to see the lovely old villa -
(not my image)
On initial looks - it seemed to be easy enough to gain access, or it would have been if it wasn't for a man living in a clapped out Peugeot 405 on the street right next to our entry point.
We waited for some time until he'd pissed off to the shops, then @Ferret monkeyed up the wall, and I slinked past his "house".
From the back, it looked like we might have ran out of luck - every door was swinging in the wind, yet the gardens did not look trodden at all and the grounds were covered in olives fallen from the trees.
We walked inside and first found a few bare and empty rooms:
And things started getting nicer:
But these only gave me a taste of the reason why I came here in the first place. We searched all over looking for a particular room, and found that to get here we had to slide past the only PIR sensor and camera in the entire place.
Not wanting to fumble before the goal, we started hunting for another way.
After some searching, we found a "secret" spiral staircase. We went down, checking every floor for the pay-dirt. Eventually, at the ground floor, I peered out of the staircase..
BINGO
The detail in here is fantastical:
There was one last room off to the side:
And to end it abruptly, that's your lot. @UrbandonedTeam was right - my folders are full, but not from Malta, unfortunately.
Even so, this was a wicked day which we finished with a couple of cans of Cisk on the harbour
Thanks,
Wiss x
It was the original home to Baron Gaetano Azzopardi - a medical professional for the infirmary of the order or St. John, and is one of Malta's most significant aristocratic country houses.
As far as I can see, this beautiful palazzo was last used as private residency, and its use has never changed within its lifetime.
Also part of the site is the Chapel of Our Lady of forsaken souls, which has been out of use for a similar amount of time. Both buildings are at-risk, but with plans to convert the palazzo into a hotel, and reuse the grounds for holiday "lodges".
The Derp:
This was top of my list for the week - we wanted to try something we think no-one else had seen in Malta yet. Of course, you have your Kordins and your underground flour mills, but we wanted to chill, whilst getting some lovely greemz on holiday.
We took a walk around the winding streets of Żebbug in the morning sun, checking out all the 90s shitboxes along the way until we turned a corner to see the lovely old villa -
(not my image)
On initial looks - it seemed to be easy enough to gain access, or it would have been if it wasn't for a man living in a clapped out Peugeot 405 on the street right next to our entry point.
We waited for some time until he'd pissed off to the shops, then @Ferret monkeyed up the wall, and I slinked past his "house".
From the back, it looked like we might have ran out of luck - every door was swinging in the wind, yet the gardens did not look trodden at all and the grounds were covered in olives fallen from the trees.
We walked inside and first found a few bare and empty rooms:
And things started getting nicer:
But these only gave me a taste of the reason why I came here in the first place. We searched all over looking for a particular room, and found that to get here we had to slide past the only PIR sensor and camera in the entire place.
Not wanting to fumble before the goal, we started hunting for another way.
After some searching, we found a "secret" spiral staircase. We went down, checking every floor for the pay-dirt. Eventually, at the ground floor, I peered out of the staircase..
BINGO
The detail in here is fantastical:
There was one last room off to the side:
And to end it abruptly, that's your lot. @UrbandonedTeam was right - my folders are full, but not from Malta, unfortunately.
Even so, this was a wicked day which we finished with a couple of cans of Cisk on the harbour
Thanks,
Wiss x
