Viewpoints

by Petra Caruana Dingli    ‘Gwardjani tar-rahal’ by Stephen C. Spiteri We can all think of imaginary places which we wish we could visit. Perhaps Tolkien’s Middle Earth, or the world of the Game of Thrones. These are fictional, magical landscapes which resonate in the imagination. Old European tales include forests, mountains and castles, picturesque towns and...

The discipline of archaeology teaches us that no copy or imitiation, no matter how cleverly done can substitute the original. There is an intrinsic importance in the original artifact, which links us with the time when this was created, in a way that a copy cannot. The same principle applies to buildings; whether they originate from an archaic age, such...

One thing which has not let up in the summer heat is resident protests against development. In an unusual twist to the usual story, the Environment Minister himself has protested in the streets. One snag for him is that he will now be expected to support other protests too. I don’t know whether this has happened before. On Żonqor, the previous...

by Martin Galea Our environment, both natural and cultural, is under siege. There is a spiralling increase in construction in our outside development zones, demolition of our vernacular historical buildings, and as yet an unnoticed tacit approval of five floors in all our three-floor areas within development zones. We are told that we need high-rise to ensure that we do not create...

by Petra Caruana Dingli In his thought-provoking ‘Midas Curse’ article on high-rise projects last year, Archbishop Charles Scicluna worried about the skyline with the impact of these “cement monstrosities on the soft rambling contours of our countryside and traditional townscapes”. Soon afterwards, government whip Godfrey Farrugia said the skyline is “a natural heritage domain” belonging to everyone and that no land owner...