As a southern Mediterranean country, Malta has been famous for its cacophony of noises for hundreds of years. Just look up what Lord Byron had to say about our country! Loud noises have become the order of the day and we have grown so accustomed to them, that we rarely bother to stop and think about the harm they cause. I wonder how much decibels a noise meter would register during our summer months when loud petards are served daily for breakfast, lunch and supper!
In August of this year, Prof. Victor Asciak, chairman of the Archdiocese Environment Commission, had said that noise levels need to be controlled and, if necessary, excessive noise stopped completely.
He said several experts insist that the maximum level of noise permitted should not exceed 115 decibels. In some cases, feasts in Malta produce groups that surpass all acceptable limits. He also warned that blast and tremors caused by powerful shells could also potentially damage frescoes and paintings adorning the inside of church cupolas. This check lies squarely in the hands of the authorities concerned and not the Church. We will wait patiently for the next festa season and keep our fingers crossed. I hope that the promises that are currently being made to disallow loud petards will be fulfilled next summer.
Knowing that too much bell ringing is an inconvenience especially for those who live nearby, the Church forbids – in its documents regarding local feasts – any ringing of bells during festa days between 1 and 4pm and also between 11pm and 6am. The Church also insists that since its bells are blessed, they cannot be used for profane purposes. I humbly ask why many church clocks are allowed to chime the night away every 15 minutes, when in its document on feasts the Church itself forbids any bell chimes between 11pm and 6am. Between 11pm and 6am, a church clock chimes 184 times!
A nice way to punctuate what’s left of the night’s silence. Isn’t this nerve-wracking for the people who live nearby? Aren’t clock chimes another form of bell ringing? So much so that where some people protested, church clocks chimes were either turned downed or abolished completely, at least for the night. Again, in this day and age, who during the night is in dire need of a church clock to know the time? Not to mention also those loud discos some cars have! These also contribute to the nightmare!
And yet the noise goes on, and on, and on, and on…
Charles Cirillo
HAMRUN