Casa Rocca Piccola

In the heart Valletta lies the Cassa Rocca Piccola .....

A visit was made on the 5th of Decemeber 2010 by myself Alexis Owusu and Bo Willams....

The Cassa Rocca Piccola, some may say is a palace and now a museum. It was once a home of the noble maltese family, De Prio. Our tour started on the main rich staircase made with marble, as we climbed the stair case was a double door opening leading to the De Prio humble adobe. The first thing seen was the family tree of the De Piro family, it had the likes of Cosimo De Piro, Lorenzo, Jerome and many others who carried the rightous name. As we went around the house we noticed the collection of different items they had collected from all over the world such as chest games from China, carved wood from Africa, Lace from Malta and portable hand fans from France. 

 

The next room was the chaple room which was their

 sancturary, they worshiped there and said their prayers.

 Inside was a hand carved wooded protable chaple

 which in those times their servents carried where ever

they needed it to go. The De Piro family had a priest in their family who was also the society priest. He led the family in worship, founded a charity and went around Malta and Gozo preaching teh word of God and healing the sick. He provided shelter and feed the poor. To him, everybody was the same, he did not discriminate, he used real clean silver equiptment on those who needed procedures done i.e. needles, surgical equipements etc. In the mansion was a table in 'the morden' room which had some of the equipment used. 

In one of the rooms were a childrens room and in it was dolls, hair brushes, a walker, a dressing mirror and a childrens cot bed as well as a single bed draped in hand stiched lace.The next room was 'the prophyry room' it had a beautiful wardrope, a shiny chandlier and portrates of the De Piro family. There was one perticular painting of the Giovanni De Piro, he was the first to travel in that line of family therefore his portrate repesented it as it had mountains in the back. He was also appointed ambassador represent ing the grand matser, as time went on he gained trust and married into a wealthy family. Indeed, Gio De Piro earned a well desevered good name for him self. On his tavels he wrote to his family back home and in the next room was an archive/libary where books were kept and letters written from these varies journeys were kept. They were in different categories from family gossip, medicine, food, to language and tavel. Also, in that room were gifts recieved from friends such as Queen Elizabeth II.

http://www.casaroccapiccola.com/marquisate.php

The De Piro family had two dinning rooms, a winter dinning room used in winnter which had dark furniture and the summer dinning room used in summer with a bighter atmosphere and a view of the garden.

In the Garden were oranges trees, sunshine

 and a stair case that lead somewhere....................

The stair case led to the bomb shelters......

This was built during world war II and here is a picture of the daily graphic informing the public oof the coming war. There were three parts the these shelters, there was the big, the small and the family bomb shelter. Up too one hundred pople cramed the big bomb shelter, up to thirty people in the small bomb shelter and the family bomb shelter belonged to the honourable De piro family. It was the first bomb shelter.  

 

In the mansion were also a resturant, an art gallery and a book shop. Untill this day the family members of the De Piro remain in the mansion.