Island that launched a thousand scripts

In this article published 28 Aug 2003 on The Mail on Sunday Sarah Hartley tracks the Brad Pitt experience in Malta and goes on to review Malta's status as a film location as well as the reasons why foreign buyers (including stars such as Billy Connoly, Gary Neville and Cameron Mackintosh) continue to purchase property in Malta:

The truculent Achilles in Homer's Iliad was forever storming off to his tent in a huff and letting the Trojans run amok in the Greeks' camp. Brad Pitt, who plays the semi-mortal hero in the forthcoming blockbuster Troy, had rather more creature comforts awaiting him if he ever came over prima donna-ish during filming in Malta: a stunning villa, with swimming pool, four bedrooms, staff quarters and even stabling for 12 polo ponies. For two months earlier this year, home for Brad was the Villa Pespes, at Maghtab, a small village overlooking the sea, five miles from Valletta on the north-east coast of the island. In the car port, gym equipment was specially brought in for the star so that he could hone his thighs to muscular, waxed perfection.

And with his wife Jennifer Aniston - pictured with him on our cover - paying only a brief visit to the island during filming, Brad's closest companion was Brendan, the Mizzi family's dog which still wears the black studded collar Brad gave him. 'Brad was charming,' says Desmond Mizzi, an antiques dealer whose property was 'househunted' for the star. 'He stayed in the main bedroom for hours studying the 700-page script, rode the polo ponies and worked out in the gym.' Mizzi and his estate agents reckon the villa's brush with stardom is too good an opportunity to miss and have now offered it for sale at [pounds sterling]3million. It might be an idea, however, to remove the heap of dismembered bodies stacked against an outbuilding. Shockingly lifelike, these latex stunt dummies were fallen warriors, discarded after the filming of Troy.

Whether any buyer will be prepared to pay such a price for the villa - in spite of the lure of sleeping in the same bedroom as Brad, with a bath big enough for two and a loo with uninterrupted sea views - remains to be seen. Locals are surprisingly blase about the influx of celebrities to Malta, which has quietly become the movie capital of the Mediterranean. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Cutthroat Island, Gladiator and a host of other films have been made there, attracted by the mild climate, the dramatic shoreline and the thoughtful encouragement of the Maltese government. The film industry has contributed more than [pounds sterling]100million to Malta's economy over the past four years, and stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Sharon Stone have been spotted shopping in the streets of Valletta.

Yet, in spite of its recent starry influx, Malta remains a restrained and conservative corner of the Med. Whereas in other resorts the British can be the object of dread - think Faliraki on Rhodes - in Malta they are genuinely welcomed, with older Maltese recalling the Royal Navy's 164-year occupation of the island and the heroic siege of the Second World War. Desmond and his wife Sheila bought their villa, then a humble farmhouse, ten years ago and transformed it into a miniature luxury estate. The polo ponies, shipped from southern France for the winter, echo the days when thousands of British soldiers - pre-stardom David Niven one of them - were based on the strategic island which controlled the central Mediterranean and the routes to Suez and the Empire.

The villa's key assets, according to estate agent Grahame Salt, as well as the uninterrupted view to the sea, are its three acres of land. Malta is only 16 miles long, yet has 400,000 inhabitants. 'It's the amount of land that gives a house an increased value,' explains Salt, who - inevitably - was an extra on Gladiator and used to work out beside Russell Crowe at his local gym. 'For a farmhouse or older property, you're looking at a starting price of [pounds sterling]100,000 but more likely [pounds sterling]350,000 if there is a pool and some land.' With daily flights from London, Malta is fast being seen as an ideal place for a holiday home, or as a warm climate in which to retire. Crime is low, healthcare excellent and the sea and beaches are clean.

The nightlife of, say, St Julians and Sliema has none of the gross excesses of the Costas, and Malta does not have the get-rich-quick cowboys seen in southern Spain's development boom. Despite its lack of space, Malta and its neighbouring island of Gozo, where Billy Connolly owns a palazzo, have also become quietly fashionable. Musical impresario Cameron Mackintosh owns an old townhouse in Valletta and footballer Gary Neville has two apartments in Portomaso, an upmarket waterfront resort in St Julians. It is in these new developments where many international buyers choose to invest. More than 70 per cent of foreign sales in Malta are to the British - around 20,000 have second homes on the island - although they make up only one per cent of the permanent residents. There are attractive tax incentives for foreigners who pay only 15 per cent income tax - local Maltese can pay up to 35 per cent, and capital gains is not charged on property that has been a foreigner's principal residence for three years.

There are caveats though. Foreigners cannot own more than one property-except in designated areas such as a development like Portomaso. And a peculiar rule says you cannot spend less than approximately [pounds sterling]48,000 for an apartment or [pounds sterling]80,000 for a house unless you buy somewhere that requires renovation. Exactly a year ago, Londoner Magdalene Tayyar bought a spacious three-bedroom apartment in Portomaso which has a large balcony where she and her two small children eat their meals overlooking the expensive yachts in the marina. 'I'd been living in a flat in the Barbican for 15 years,' says Magdalene, 'and was getting fed up with London and service charges that were running into thousands of pounds. I wanted to settle in Malta, mainly because it's somewhere great for the children to grow up.' Here the service charge on her three-bedroom apartment is [pounds sterling]500 per year. With underground parking, restaurants and supermarkets to hand, plus inclusive membership of the adjacent Hilton hotel pools and gym, as a fulltime mother Magdalene couldn't be happier. 'The schools are fantastic here,' she says. 'Education and healthcare are so important and Malta gets it right. It's also incredibly safe. I feel the children can run around happily, whereas in London I was constantly looking over my shoulder.'

Strict planning regulations are preventing the rash of ugly high-rises seen elsewhere in the Mediterranean, and car-free zones are planned for new developments. Tigne Point, on the waterfront between Sliema and Valletta, was once a British barracks and stood derelict for some years. A former British army chapel, now the [pounds sterling]40million development's sales office, stands surrounded by cranes and diggers. When the project is complete, there will be 400 apartments, boutiques, shops, restaurants and swimming pools. Only four remain from the first phase of 200 apartments on sale - around 30 sold to the British - for between [pounds sterling]200,000 and [pounds sterling]400,000.

Not everyone seeks out modern waterfront properties. For the past three years Diane Moore and husband Peter, chief executive of the Malta Shipyards, have been living in the village of St Julians in a converted farmhouse. Now they are selling to move to something larger. 'We've liked its cosiness,' says Diane, pointing to the small interior courtyard that she says has been perfect for entertaining. 'But it's time to move - as I really want more room for my dogs and cats and somewhere with open views.' Outside, the walled garden, pool, patio and outdoor shower make the price of [pounds sterling]460,000 seem reasonable. 'I do love it out here,' says Diane, who is originally from Yorkshire. 'I can walk anywhere day or night and feel comfortable. But when I go back home to Leeds or Sheffield, I'm forever wondering where I should park or who is walking behind me.'

One person who recognises the negative aspects of a sought-after location is Lisa Grech, the publisher of the Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants in Malta and Gozo. Her mother is English and her father Maltese, and Lisa has spent the past 13 years living in an historic two-bedroom house in the medieval citadel of Mdina, known as 'the silent city'. Despite its having only 400 inhabitants, Lisa found Mdina's peaceful alleys were increasingly teeming with tourists. Two weeks ago, Lisa sold the house to a couple from Essex for [pounds sterling]142,000 - only [pounds sterling]1,000 less than the asking price. Her new home is in Vittoriosa, one of the 'three cities' that jut out into the Grand Harbour of Valletta.

Today, the once working-class district of the dry docks is deserted. However, the quiet streets and dusty squares are about to be rejuvenated with the Cottonera development, which includes a luxury apartment complex, a five-star hotel, casino, marina, bars and restaurants. Lisa believes this is a prime area in which to invest and has bought a former nunnery that had stood empty for 20 years. Complete renovation will cost around [pounds sterling]48,000 to create a three-bedroom house. The site - a few feet away from the historic Inquisitor's Palace - is excellent. 'It was on the market for [pounds sterling]130,000 but I bought it for [pounds sterling]118,000,' she says. 'Prices around here are already rising. But I think if I'd bought a couple of years ago, I could have acquired this place for about [pounds sterling]45,000.'

Perched on the waterfront, next to the formidable looking Fort St Angelo where the Knights of Malta still meet, there are only 25 three-bedroom apartments, costing upwards of [pounds sterling]165,000, left at Cottonera - and that is despite the development not being due for completion for another four months. Stepping over concrete rubble at the unfinished apartments, the views from balconies across to the Grand Harbour and Kalkara Creek are stunning. As Grahame says: 'You could easily fish straight from your balcony.'


Malta and Gozo Guide - by Conde Nast Traveller