Malta must be either the ultimate dream or the ultimate nightmare for an anthropologist if he or she were to have an in-depth look at our culture.

Both the stories on today’s front page deal with Malta’s past and ever changing present. In the story about City Gate and the Olympia Car Park, we delved a little into the changes which Malta has gone through over a 20 to 30 year period. But what we fail to realise, is the huge amount of change we have gone through in the past ten years or so.

The reason for this editorial is not to debate whether or not the process of change has been successful, but to remind that this is not the same place it was 20 years ago and that a lot has been transformed, both physically and in our psyche.

The changes highlighted on the front page are tiny little things, but it truly is a wake up call to see a day long parking receipt for 2 cents five mils, the mention of Kingsgate, the five digit phone number and a 30 cent ‘automatic’ car wash.

City Gate, in its present form is an eyesore and a completely unnatural entrance to Valletta - a baroque city, the first grid system, that famous city built by gentlemen for gentlemen. It is always easy to judge in hindsight, but Fascist architecture at the entrance of a city built in a completely different style was a mistake, and that is putting it mildly. But Renzo Piano’s designs for the entrance will enhance our Capital and return it to grandeur. We understand that not everyone will like each part of the project - the theatre, the parliament house, City Gate and the promenade below. After all, it is a matter of taste.

But Mr Piano has hit the nail right on the head in concept, the Opera ruins will be retained and the entrance will be take back to its original design, yet made contemporary.

But as we mentioned in the front page article, there will come a time when people will look at images of the current gate and see it completely differently than we do today.

We are not saying that it might come back into fashion, but they might get the exact same feeling as we do now when we look back at images of the docklands in the 1930s and 40s. Yes, some form of conservation should be made, simply for posterity’s sake.

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Today is l-Mnarja. The second front page story is about times gone by when this feast was a religious one under the Knights of St. John. It always had an agricultural undertone, but in the 19th century it became the highlight of the agricultural year and a chance for trade, seeing relatives, finding a bride, livestock competitions, merrymaking and more.

It has since gone from entertainment for the masses to a celebration of our culture, still always with an agricultural feel to it. The racing competitions are still on the go, as is the wine drinking and ghana. Many feel that Maltese culture and identity is being lost due to the ‘power of progress’. Others believe that who we are defines our culture. The truth probably lies something between the two as Malta is a very complex animal, but at least we rest in the knowledge that we can remember who we really are.