The village of Dingli, at 240m, is the highest village on the island. The cozy farming community is at the end are the Dingli Cliffs. Tommasso Dingli, a noted 16th and 17th century Maltese architect, and Sir Thomas Dingley, an Englishman said to have had a house nearby in the 16th century, are given equal credit for the village's name.
No more than two kilometers from the Dingli cliffs, and sitting under the watchful eye of Cardinal Grand Master de Verdalle's summer retreat, are Buskett Gardens. Panoplies of foliage spread their shade over the valley floor, providing a welcome respite against the heat of summer. There are orange and cypress trees, irregular cactuses, leguminous carobs, aromatic firs and the Judas tree, which foretells Easter with its pink blossom (this is said to be the tree from which Judas hung himself).
The cliffs fall 260m to the sea and are a paradise for walkers. The cliff road stops alarmingly at the precipitous edge.
During World War II a spy tried to infiltrate Malta from the Dingli Cliffs, but the cliffs proved too steep for him to climb. He was found, arrested and the British hanged him as a spy in 1942.
The Chapel dedicated to Ste Mary Magdalene was built in 1646 near the cliffs. A mass is held here every July.
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