On the map

April 1st sees the start of a project that will place Valletta on the map. The Financial Times today features the project that will transform the entrance to the city:

It is 1565 and the Knights of St John have just recorded a famous victory over the advancing Ottoman Turks by resisting a four-month-long siege against their adopted home of Malta. How do they celebrate? Protracted feasting? Grand displays of vanity and hubris? No, they immediately start building. Galvanised by the fear of further raids, they erect what will become the fortifications for – and are still defining structures of – Valletta, the Maltese capital.

Flash forward a few hundred years and a similar sense of urgency again pervades in the southern Mediterranean island state, even if this time the stakes are not as high. Once more, Valletta stands poised at the brink of an epoch-defining construction project – perhaps the largest in scale since the knights’ initial undertaking. The historical comparison might seem a stretch but Malta is a place in which the past is ever present and it confronts the visitor at almost every turn – something that has led Italian architect Renzo Piano to note that “Valletta is full of ghosts”.

A facelift for St Magdalen?

Anyone who has stayed at Valletta G-House will have noticed a pretty old church at the top of North Street in dire need of TLC. Ok, this is speculation on my part, but could it be that it's in line to be restored to its original glory?

According to the Malta Independent today, the deconsecrated church (I don't think it's 'desecrated', Ms. Borg) will no longer be used as a store for Carnival floats because veteran enthusiast Pawlu Curmi, well known for his creative creations, has been instructed by the authorities to clear the building.

As much as I feel for Mr Curmi (hopefully he'll land on his feet and find a better place to store his creations), I can't but be happy at the idea of what could be in store for the church.

If I am not mistaken the church was dedicated to Mary Magdalen and it is the one that in the past served the Magdalene Asylum for poor and abandoned young women who were in danger of ending up in prostitution, also referred to in Catholic circles as Magdalens.

I'm intrigued to know if there is already a planning application as well as plans to restore the church.

The new entrance to Valletta

Great expectations in Valletta today as this evening world renowned architect Renzo Piano himself will unveil his plans for City Gate. A hand-built model of the project plans will be the main attraction in this long awaited launch outside the Museum of Archeology. The grand ceremony will also be televised live.

Piano interviewed on Bondi+
Renzo Piano Building Workshop

Square by Christmas

.


Various projects are mapped out for the north side of Valletta. There have been reports of a luxury hotel planned just up the road from Valletta G-House (where the Evans Lab building stands now), a boutique hotel where the fish market and the Rural Affairs Ministry now stands (as reported by The Malta Independent on Sunday 17 May 2009), and the development of Fort St Elmo into a centre for cultural and leisure activities with cruise liner berthing in the harbour below.

These are projects that will take some years to materialise. However, the transformation of the Palace Square from unappealing car park into an embellished pedestrianised square is to be ready by this Christmas. The proposed design (see picture) is to feature a lit water installation with 14 jets of water of different heights, lighting fixtures, public wi-fi and street furniture.

The Knights had built a fountain in the square to celebrate the piping of water into Valletta.
.

Valletta needs you

.
As you get lost in the streets and alleys of this World Heritage City, you can't help but notice that quite a few of the properties, some palatial in both size and style, seem to be empty and in need of some TLC. Have you always dreamt of embarking on a Grand Designs type of project? According to BuyAssociation.com, this is the perfect time to invest in a property in Malta.

It takes flair and courage, and most of all, it takes patience. Mediterranean style red tape and a laid back attitude towards work are two things you will need to learn to deal with. Sometimes you will also face a little bit of corruption at all levels and, at that point you will need to make decisions as to what's best to do - it is sometimes not as straight cut as one thinks.

An architect specialised in old properties, who knows his/her stuff can save you a lot of hassle. I have been in "restored" houses where such a lot of irretrievable damage has been done to the structure and integrity of the building that you feel like screaming out "idiots". A builder or even a mason who does not consult the architect because he thinks he knows it all is trouble waiting to happen. Don't even touch him with a barge pole.

I have a feeling that Global Property Guide's claim that Malta is "in the group of countries that has suffered from the most severe drops in property prices" is slightly exaggerated. In appearance I have not really noticed the decrease in prices GPG mentions.

...for people who are keen to own a home on one of the most popular islands for UK holidaymakers the recession could provide the opportunity to get a great bargain. Global Property Guide, along with almost every other industry watcher, doesn’t predict any significant upturn in the property market in 2009.

For those whose capital is not in EURO, they might have a problem:

Maltese property buyers are having to deal with the fact that the Euro has gained so significantly in strength against Sterling in the past six months, so the drop in prices is likely to offset this to some extent. In addition, the possibility of a rally in the value of the Pound against other currencies later in the year should mean that property in the Eurozone becomes cheaper for UK buyers, and may help the beginnings of a recovery for property prices.

Happy Anniversary

.


One piece of information I always share with our guests as I drive them from the airport, soon after I point out the three cities sitting pretty on the other side of the Grand Harbour, regards the Mediterranean Conference Centre. I speak of the healthcare background of the Order of St John and how they had already discovered the attributes of silver. The Knights insisted on silver cutlery being used at the Holy Infirmary for all patients, regardless of social status. These days silver is used extensively in healthcare for its healing qualities.

30 years ago this same building was transformed into a conference centre. The Malta Independent on Sunday featured this yesterday.

The Sacra Infermeria was considered to be one of the best hospitals in Europe and could accommodate 914 patients in an emergency.

Work on this vast edifice started in late 1574 during the reign of Grand Master Jean de la Cassiere (1572-1582) and was extended several times over the years. The “Old Ward”, which is the main attraction, was extended into the “Great Ward” during the years 1660 to 1666 under the rule of the Cotoners. This hall, 155 metres in length, was at the time one of the largest in Europe and described as “one of the grandest interiors in the world”.

In 1676, Grand Master Nicholas Cotoner (1663-1680) founded the School of Anatomy and Surgery at the Infirmary. This school was to be the forerunner of the Medical School of the University of Malta. Surgeon (Later Sir) David Bruce discovered the undulant fever germ (Brucellosis) in 1887, when the hospital was used by the British Military Forces as the Garrison Hospital (1800-1920). During World War II the building suffered serious damage and approximately one third of the complex was destroyed.

When the Order of St John left the Maltese Islands, the French took over the Infirmary in June 1798, just after the occupation of the island by General Napoleon Bonaparte. The Infirmary now became known as Grand Hôpital or Hôpital Militaire. The French carried out various structural alterations to improve the ventilation, sanitation, and lighting of the hospital.

The uprising of the Maltese against the French occupiers on 2 September 1798 meant the decline of the hospital as drugs, fresh meat, and fruit were no longer available at the hospital.

The situation in the hospital and indeed the whole island was so bad that General Calude H. B. Vanois, the commander in chief of the French forces surrendered the island on 5 September 1800 to the British forces.

From 1800 till 1918, the Centre served as a Station Hospital. Situated very near to Grand Harbour, the hospital was within easy reach of the sick and wounded servicemen as hospital ships brought them in. For this reason the Station Hospital was mainly used as a sorting base and also as a centre for dangerously ill patients who could not be moved.

The end of World War I saw the end of the Station Hospital. The Infirmary’s Hall was turned into Police Headquarters from 1918 till 1940. In the ensuring bombardments of Valletta during World War II, the Mediterranean Conference Centre received four direct hits.

Part of what remained standing of the Long Ward was the Entertainment Centre for the allied troops and became known as the Command Hall, from 1945 till 1950. The 1950s brought with them a phase of soul-searching and trying to establish what the purpose and role of this location should be. Between 1950-1951 it was turned into a Children’s Theatre, and from 1959 the Centre served as a school and Examination Hall. Several attempts at restoration and reconstruction of the derelict building were made in 1959 and 1975, with a final effort in 1978 when the building was transformed into the present Mediterranean Conference Centre. The Centre was inaugurated on 11 February 1979, and was awarded the coveted Europa Nostra Diploma of Merit for the “superb restoration of the Sacra Infermeria and its adaptation for use as a conference centre”.

Read the rest of the article on The Malta Independent on Sunday
.

Renzo Piano back to Valletta

The project for Valletta designed by Renzo Piano made no headway 20 years ago. Is there a possibility that Malta will this time allow the architect of Berlin's Potsdamer Platz and the Centre Georges Pompidou to put his stamp on our city, to put Valletta back on the international map?

Annaliza Borg reports for The Malta Independent:

Italian architect Renzo Piano is to redesign plans for the Royal Opera House building, with the part on the side of Republic Street to become a centre of cultural and historic value. The other area is to host the House of Representatives.

The idea of building an underground car park underneath Freedom Square, which was being considered for some time, was totally abolished as was the idea of developing an underground bus terminus. The bus terminus will be included in Piano’s plans for City Gate but a much smaller terminus for no more than 20 buses at one time will be designed. This would be part of the public transport reform by which the government is proposing some four or five bus termini around Malta rather than one main terminus, among other changes.

The projects will be financed by public funds, since no commercial centres are to be included at City Gate, thus a public-private partnership could not work out. Existing shops at City Gate are to be relocated to other areas. The government could also not obtain EU funds to finance the projects, Dr Gonzi said, since plans were not being drawn up on commercial lines but aimed at giving Valletta its original concept of a city at the centre of the Mediterranean. However, EU funds could be used for the regeneration of Fort St Elmo, Marsamxetto and the Grand Harbour.

While the government is focusing on City Gate and the Royal Opera House site, the Prime Minister pointed out that Fort St Elmo too should be restored. The government is proposing that Fort St Elmo becomes a “centre of culture and art,” part of which is to be used in connection with the cruise liner business. Dr Gonzi also put forward the government’s idea to start work on Fort St Elmo while the City Gate and Royal Opera House projects are in progress.