In spite of Mr Piano’s self-declared long-standing “love affair” with Valletta, I am afraid that his plans for their future do not augur well for a happy union .

There are, in my modest opinion, very major flaws in the projected design for the city’s much-needed facelift and I will attempt to discuss the points that, in my opinion, call for closer reflection.

The gate

A gate is an integral part of any medieval city’s fortifications and was always given the greatest consideration during construction. Indeed, in later times, gates had on occasion even replaced the keep, providing the fort with its strongest shelter. Medieval sieges often came to a conclusion with the fall of the gate and because it presented an essential breach in the bastions, great pains were taken to ensure that this “fault” was, in times of need, rendered as impenetrable as the rest of the defences.

Mr Piano has come up with a novel plan that does away with the gate entirely and installs a permanent hiatus at the entrance to our treasured city. This might have been much appreciated of course by our ancient enemies but I am not so sure Jean Parisot de La Valette would have approved Piano’s blueprints. Indeed, I would not have liked to be in his shoes should he have dared put forward such a preposterous suggestion in the Grand Master’s presence!

There is also of course, as a secondary though surely not irrelevant consideration, the fact that the break in the overlying access road to the Hastings area brings about unnecessary rerouting of traffic flow in town with major disadvantages for the residents and businesses affected.

A gate, in my opinion, is essential to retain the character of Valletta as it was designed to be (imagine Mdina without a gate!), namely a fortified defence of Malta and its religion against the threat from invaders and a proud home and administrative centre for the princes of Europe guarding their treasures and the priceless natural harbour. I would suggest that when considering alterations to the present shabby entrance, it would be wise to try and replicate as closely as possible the original gate, perhaps with some limited adjustments to cater for present day demands.

The ditch

A dry ditch is another of the well-proven defence instalments that any medieval military architect would naturally have considered providing a city with. And indeed Valletta is surrounded with a superb example.

Today, the ditch is used to a large extent as a capacious and convenient car park in close proximity to the city centre. The car park however leaves much to be desired and indeed it is prohibited to park in certain places because of the risk of falling masonry.

Mr Piano’s plan of converting this area into a delightful garden with a lift reaching down to it erected on the outside face of the bastions to the right side of the entrance breach is in my opinion more of a nightmare than a dream.

Seven hundred parking places currently available in the ditch would have to be relocated elsewhere if the present level of activity and commerce in town is to be maintained. Furthermore, although easier access for motorists to this area is desirable and a lift is certainly a good idea, the siting of this to the side of the ‘gate’ is nothing short of blasphemous.

Does Mr Piano have any feeling for medieval architecture and symmetry? Would every tourist snapshot of Valletta Gate need to include this 21st century metal improvement? Would the authorities in his own country allow it at the entrance of one of their many medieval towns? Please Mr Piano go and try it out in Florence or Todi or Assisi first and then come back and show us the photos.

The ditch in Valletta does indeed need a facelift and a thoughtful conversion into a car park similar to the one in Mdina Ditch, even making it into a proper paying establishment, would still leave room for other embellishments and indeed plants, trees, toilets and so on. In a way it would still be serving its original purpose of keeping the hoards outside and servicing the garderobe. As for public gardens, may I remind Mr Piano that even in its present state Valletta and the surroundings are not short of public gardens and most of these are free, easy to reach, and well maintained.

The theatre

This structure has, since its demise, always presented us with a problem as to what to do with the few remaining scraps left behind. In a way, had there been nothing left it would probably have been forgotten like the rest of the structures, even older and more precious, which were demolished in WW2.

Piano himself admits that the ‘concept’ of the ‘Old Theatre’ is one that has remained in our collective unconscious, but thinking about it in a logical way I can find no real reason for wanting to hang on to or indeed rebuild a structure that after all was not all that old compared to its surroundings. The “necessity” for building a theatre of any kind in the same location does not hold up to close scrutiny.

I would personally be in favour of completing the demolition and converting the square into a ‘square’ shape thus opening up the view to include the two restored churches on the right-hand side. The natural rise in the level gong up towards Castile would allow for some sort of wide shallow stone staircase at the site of the present ruins that would probably provide seating for visitors as such areas tend to be used in similar set ups abroad.

Such a square would provide an excellent venue for medieval re-enactments, jousts, fairs, carnival parades, open-air performances and such like entertainments that a lively committee can come up with to boost Valletta’s image as the jewel in our crown.

And for the theatre – in my opinion, a small marble plaque on a broken pillar in a corner of the square should suffice to ease our conscience and pay our respects to a glorious time of hardship that our city had to endure in the more recent siege.

The Parliament building

Mr Gonzi, it’s your turn now. Put your hand on your heart and swear that in your heart of hearts you truly feel the need to build a modern House of Parliament at the entrance of our beloved medieval city! Do I notice a twitch in your fingers there?

Valletta still has a wealth of medieval palaces and Auberges that the Knights themselves used for administrative purposes. What better than to use one of them to house our Parliament, thus propagating their original function to cover our present-day needs?

I suggest Mr Gonzi that, in a show of nationalism, you would start by forgoing using the Castile Auberge as your own private office and shifting Parliament there. The Prime Minister’s Office need not be grand; after all 10 Downing Street is very modest compared to Castile and has served a stream of British prime ministers well. In this day and age a laptop can probably serve just as well.

Placing a modern building slap in the middle of the square at the entrance makes the square disappear and with it the only real “wide space” in the whole of Valletta where one can stage functions like the ones listed previously. Most medieval towns in Europe have similar spaces for tourists and visitors, often providing seasonal or permanent displays of one sort or another aimed at enhancing the feel of the place and its glorious history.

What is really and urgently required at the entrance of Valletta is a serious, sustained and energetic cleaning campaign. By this I mean a 24/7 rigorous street cleaning and maintenance, strict vigilance and green law enforcement. The general feel on entering Valletta is one of shabbiness, dirt and dereliction and this needs to be urgently rectified if one is to upgrade the look of our city. But a newly erected building, and a backdrop of tall lampposts, peeping through a wide breach in the bastions – I don’t think so.

Let us learn from previous mistakes and not embark on projects that future generations will have to redo in the way we are ourselves forced to do at the present time. Let us make future generations cherish our present work and expense in the way that all Maltese, I hope, treasure that of the original builders who chiselled out city out of a barren hill in 1566.

Maurice Falzon

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