Wignacourt arch

Wignacout aqueduct Archway Fleur-De-Lys

Arkata tal-akwedott ta’ Wignacourt Fleur-de-Lys

When I was still in Elementary School we had the Maltese reader 'Gabra ta' ward'. On one of the pages there was a photo of a beautiful archway, which those days was already dismantled. I'm referring to the Wignacourt aqueduct archway, which used to straddle the road to Rabat at the junction to Birkirkara. On top of it, this archway had three Fleur-de-lys flowers, which are part of the coat-of-arms of Grandmaster Wignacourt. The road that leads to Birkirkara took the name of 'Fleur-de-lys' Road exactly from these ornaments.

Meta kont fl-iskola primarja kellna l-kotba tal-Malti 'Gabra ta Ward'. Fuq pagna minnhom kien hemm ritratt ta arkata sabiha li dak iz-zmien diga kienu waqqghuha. Qed nirreferi ghall-arkata tal-akwedott ta Wignacourt li kienet taqsam it-triq li tihu ghar-Rabat fejn hemm it-triq li tihu ghal Birkirkara. Din l-arkata fuqha kellha forma ta tliet fjuri tal-Fleur-de-lys li jistabu fl-arma tal-Granmastru Wignacourt. Minn hemm, it-triq li tihu ghal Birkirkara hadet dak l-istess isem.

The arches which connected to it on both sides are still there but the more ornate arch was dismantled by the British during WWII after it was hit and ruined by some of their trucks. The arches start appearing at Attard town on the north side of the Rabat road, and then when they come to the Sta Venera roundabout end abruptly to appear on the other side of the road. Exactly on the site of this present roundabout, they used to be joined by this triumphal archway. Some of the other arches were also dismantled for road widening.

L-arkati li kienu jinghaqdu maghha n-naha ta fuq u n-naha t'isfel minnha, ghadhom hemm sal-lum izda is-sabiha li qed nitkellmu fuqha, waqqghuha l-Inglizi fis-sena 1942 wara li laqtuha l-ingenji tal-gwerra taghhom. L-arkati jibdew jidhru h'Attard fuq in-naha tat-tramuntana tat-triq tar-Rabat, imbaghad meta jaslu fejn ir-roundabout ta Santa Venera, jispiccaw u ikomplu f'daqqa wahda fuq in-naha ta Nofs-in-nhar tat-triq. Ezattament, mela, fuq fejn illum hemm ir-roundabout kienu konnessi minn din l-arkata triumfali. Waqqghu xi arkati mill-ohrajn ukoll biex wessghu it-triq.

Since this archway was always on my mind, it was one of my first subjects for painting, in fact I painted it four times. The first attempt was at the very start of my painting efforts but after gaining some experience I painted it again, once in the same setting but wider and more clear and crisp, and twice more with a tram (streetcar) passing nearby. Trams were still in use up to the 1930's and in the painting it is coming from Birkirkara towards Hamrun.

Billi din l-arkata kienet dejjem f'mohhi, kienet wahda minn tal-ewwel li pittirt u fil-fatt ipproducejtha erba’ darbiet tant oghogbitni. L-ewwel darba li pittirtha kont ghadni bidu imma wara li hadt il-qaghda ergajt pittirtha drabi ohra, darba l-istess xena aktar fil wisgha s'intendi b'aktar dettalji u carezza, u darbtejn ohra bit-tram ghaddej minn hdejha. Dan kien ghadu jahdem fis-snin 30 u fix-xena jidher gej minn Birkirkara u jdur lejn il-Hamrun.

A little about its history: Many tourists and even Maltese think that these arches were built during Roman times but are from the 17th century. During the reign of Grandmaster Wignacourt the population was increasing and this brought with it the need for more water for Valletta and the surrounding areas. An expert, Padre Giacomo was brought in and he laid out plans for an aqueduct carrying water from around Rabat to Valletta, which had just been built. Work started in 1610 after two years of drought and took five years to complete. It was paid for from the Grandmaster's own pockets. On the triumphal archway was the inscription in Latin stating that "The spirit of water runs to reach and give new life to the new city of Valletta". The arches continue and end in a tower where the land slopes down. From there everything runs underground like the part between Rabat and Attard. Some years ago, the majority of the regular arches were restored and a replica of the triumphal arch was built recently in the roundabout. The Bank of Valletta donated funds for this project and by the end of 2016 it was ready.

Xi haga fuq l-istorja taghha: Hafna turisti u wkoll Maltin jahsbu li dawn l-arkati ta zmien ir-Rumani izda huma mis-seklu sbatax. Fi zmien il-Granmastru Wignacourt il-popolazzjoni kienet qed tizdied u ghalhekk kien hemm aktar htiega ta ilma fil-belt Valletta u madwar. Ingab espert minn barra jismu Padre Giacomo li fassal pjan ghal akwedott li jihu l-ilma mill-inhawi tar-Rabat ghall-belt Valletta li kienet ghada tinbena. Ix-xoghol beda fl-1610 wara sentejn nixfa, u dam hames snin sa ma tlesta. Ghalih hallas parti l-Granmastru nnifsu. Fuq l-arkata s-sabiha li semmejna kien hemm skrizzjoni bil-Latin issemmi "l-iSpirtu tal-ilma li kien jigri biex jilhaq u jati hajja gdida lill-belt Valletta". L-arkati jibqghu nizlin sat-tarf tal-gholja ta Sta Venera fejn jispiccaw f'torri. Minn hemm sal-belt kollox that l-art bhan-naha ta bejn ir-Rabat u h'Attard. Xi snin ilu kienu rrestawraw il-bicca l-kbira tal-arkati u ricentement ukoll inbniet replika tal-mina n-nieqsa tan-nofs fir-roundabout stess. Il-Bank of Valletta hareg xi fondi ghal dan il-progett u ghall-ahhar tas-sena 2016 kienet lesta.