Villa Parisio is a

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

Lija Lija () is a small village in the Eastern Region, Malta, Eastern Region of Malta. Together with Attard and Balzan, it forms part of Malta's "Three villages of Malta, Three Villages" (). Lija has a baroque parish church and seven other small cha ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. It was built in the 16th century by the Muscati family, and eventually passed into the hands of the Parisio Muscati, de Piro and Strickland families. It is currently the seat of The Strickland Foundation, and also the home of Robert Hornyold-Strickland and his family for his lifetime. Mabel Strickland bought Villa Parisio in 1943. Whilst setting up The Strickland Foundation "for herself and her heirs in perpetuity" Mabel Strickland also left a clause that the seat of her Foundation could relocate to any other place in Malta.

History

Villa Parisio is believed to have been built sometime in the 16th century as the summer residence of the Muscati family. The earliest reference to the building dates back to 1567. In 1797, it was inherited by Paolo Parisio Muscati, and passed to his wife Antonia Muscati Xara following his death in 1841. The villa was purchased by Lady Margaret Strickland, the second wife of Lord Strickland in 1938. The Villa was then purchased 1943, by

Mabel Strickland Mabel Edeline Strickland, (8 January 1899 – 29 November 1988), was an Anglo-Maltese journalist, newspaper proprietor and politician. Family and personal life Strickland was the daughter of Sir Gerald Strickland, later the 4th Prime Ministe ...

, Lord Strickland's daughter from his first marriage, and she lived there until her death in 1988. It is now the seat of The Strickland Foundation, a foundation set up by Mabel in 1979. Mabel set up the ''

Times of Malta The ''Times of Malta'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Malta. Founded in 1935, by Lord and Lady Strickland and Lord Strickland's daughter Mabel, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in Malta. It has the widest circu ...

'' with her father Lord Strickland in 1935. The ownership of the villa is currently disputed between The Strickland Foundation and Robert Hornyold-Strickland, Mabel Strickland's sole heir.

Gardens

The villa has its own gardens, which contain a number of orange and olive trees.

References

{{reflist Parisio Buildings and structures completed in the 16th century Lija Limestone buildings in Malta

History

Gardens

See also

References