at the pick-up point - even overnight. Unperturbed,
he opted to start waking up at five, make use of public
transport in such a way as to arrive at the pick up point
at seven o’clock, thereby allowing the truck drivers to
gain an additional hour in the day. Needless to say his
initiative was duly appreciated as the drivers valued
that someone bothered to come in an hour early to
support them in their work.
As described by Alfred, “the DNA of being disciplined
was definitely there. My interest at this point was solely
to reduce the hardship for others.”
Alfred Pisani then recalls how in November 1959
his father acquired Villa Refalo at the site that is now
known as Corinthia Palace Hotel. He recalls visiting the
notary with his father for the acquisition, and how
then this was followed some three months later with
My interest at this point was solely to reduce
the hardship for others
the death of his father. “The bread earner was no
longer there and we had to do something about it”,
muses Alfred.
As in his father’s original design, he started using the
site to hold wedding receptions and cocktail parties
charging Lm30 for each rental. New opportunities
came along, as Alfred realised that he could also gen-
erate revenue by handling the catering and this even-
tually led to the idea of changing the location into
a restaurant which would provide a more consistent
revenue stream.
Villa Refalo: the beginning of the empire
26
Issue 03
HOSPITALITY MALTA