Valletta's Phoenix phase

It's wonderful to see restoration projects reinvigorate the luminous stonework of our historical buildings and monuments. Valletta in particular is slowly coming alive again after years of abject neglect and encrusted grime, giving us a tantalising hint of its original splendour.

St John's Co-Cathedral, the Auberge de Provence, the Auberge d'Aragon, the Paladini and Perez d'Aleccio frescoes at the President's Palace, Palazzo Parisio and a handful of churches have all undergone extensive restoration, while St James Cavalier is an exceptional re-birth story all of its own.

Furthermore, miles of unsightly wires have been removed and a few streets repaved. That the Valletta Rehabilitation Project is currently working on another 12 major undertakings including the upgrading of the Upper and Lower Barraccas and Hastings Gardens promises more welcome news.

Of course, there's a mammoth amount of work still to be done so that a mere outline of the resources and time required might even make the most optimistic quail. Yet the restoration and conservation of our capital city (and all that our heritage encompasses) is not for the faint-hearted because it is intrinsically on-going and essentially vulnerable to clashing aesthetic ideals that in turn sink into the quagmire of political vagaries.

Most Valletta residents remain unmoved by the revamping projects and feel that priority should be given to upgrading the city's bleak spots, pointing to how living in dreadful residential areas precludes the hope of a resurgent pride in our heritage.

Valletta's notorious pavements (a challenge even when wearing the flattest of footgear) and side streets exemplify the tensions firing the clash between an ideal and a quick, possibly short-sighted solution to an urgent situation that will take years to rectify, if ever. The recent asphalt coating of St John Street between Merchants and St Paul Street (Triq tal-Ganc) is a case in point - showing that there isn't a mechanism in place to combine truly sensitive and expedient repairs.

As for non-Valletta residents, going to Valletta is basically restricted to the first five blocks of Republic, Merchants, St Paul, Strait and Old Bakery Streets and pockets of the side streets that connect the five parallel thoroughfares. The seemingly postponed facelift (estimated at Lm500,000) of St John Square plus the stretch between Auberge de Castille and the roofed market in Merchants Street is symptomatic of this mindset. So is the subtly nuanced lighting of the upper part of Republic Street.

City tours too mostly grind to a halt in front of the President's Palace. So, unless you are naturally curious, or have the Chamber of Commerce, Casa Rocca Piccola or Fort St Elmo (the lower part has you risking life and limb) on your agenda, interest in the city generally nosedives at the very same point that the city streets plunge into the pregnant shadows of the downward slopes beyond Archbishop Street. Same goes for the grid outside the commercial zone - again unless you have an out-of-centre appointment.

On a happier note, the lure of living in a delightful city apartment is growing beyond a bachelor's dream pad meaning several residential properties in Valletta are going upmarket forging the many links in the revamping chain. To hear that Valletta's cavalier buildings are now some of the 'hottest' in demand should not merely gladden the hearts of interior decorators and furniture/furnishings suppliers. Having lived in homes is one sure way of breathing life into dwellings whose destiny only a few years ago seemed tied to a road of eternal perdition. This snapping up of property amply proves how the viewpoint of equating a Valletta address with social housing has radically changed.

Even the ghastly gold and silver aluminium apertures decking shop fronts have mostly disappeared. Valletta also has some of the island's best eating-places as following your nose outside the bustling zone will soon have you discover. As for the arts scene, it's definitely more happening than today's beat generation can ever remember, though it's a far cry from what an impressive capital could boast of.

There's also a marvellous verve in how contemporary cool is marrying traditional grandeur in a good number of converted commercial outlets. The Stock Exchange at Castille Square and the new St Michael's store in Strait Street lead the pack of funky conversion projects.

Meanwhile, the 2005 inauguration of the Valletta Waterfront Project set to house a shopping, entertainment and cultural complex in the restored Pinto and Forni Stores, as well as the cruise passenger terminal at Crucifix Hill, looks forward to Valletta's vibrant new dawn.

But what about the derelict state of hundreds of residences and especially of vacant dwellings and defunct shops that continue to clamp Valletta by the throat perpetuating a vicious circle of economic slump, ingrained social ills and inertia associated with depressed areas?

Most of the dwellings registered as vacant require costly structural works. Fiscal incentives mainly comprising tax exemptions and/or grants are now in the pipeline clearly indicating that the current financial aid schemes are not enough.

Though a step in the right direction, the existing subsidies for the restoration of wooden balconies and other structural works are latched onto pre-1960 property valued at a maximum of Lm35,000 - and that's after restoration. It doesn't take much to imagine the dearth of such properties falling into this price bracket. Besides the repercussions of these repulsive dwellings is the overriding issue.

Prioritising brings the City Gate saga to mind. As much as I'd love to see a splendid City Gate that's hawker-free and not pinned to the height of carnival floats, do we really need to fork out millions to restore the Opera House? Why not clean up the ruins and let them speak eloquently of one of the most harrowing times the city lived through? After all it was the blitz years that sounded the siren of destruction and subsequent population depletion. Moreover, anyone who has been to an open-air performance at this site enthuses over it as a star-lit venue, more so if Palazzo Ferreria is given a good clean-up.

A city thrives on the dynamism of its multi-layered and organic aspects. This is why listening to what residents, the business community and restorers have to say and striving to strike a fair balance when meeting their aspirations galvanises urban regeneration.

The catalyst effect of private and public enterprise isn't merely confined to financial constraints. While protection and conservation of Valletta got a fillip since 1980, when the city was designated a World Heritage City and the Valletta Rehabilitation Project and Valletta Council embarked on several schemes, burning questions remain. How holistic are the plans to revamp Valletta as a whole? How truly sensitive are the works carried and being carried out?

While many words and deeds have been banded about to promote a holistic approach to the city's regeneration, not all have materialised with a true knowledge and sensitivity to the intrinsic symphony that constitutes the buildings and streetscape of Valletta. For instance, politically-motivated social housing may have supplanted horrendous slum areas but its totally unimaginative box frame design compounded by a shoe string budget has re-created another eyesore, adding to the abominable post-war buildings in South Street and the area around St Paul's church.

It's not a question of aping old styles. Doing so spells out an ossified mentality since new buildings ought to express today's understanding of spatial dynamics. But this understanding should be tastefully interwoven with a sensitive appreciation of the city's original and contemporary context. Furthermore, not all restoration projects adopted the cleaning with a poultice method (or a similarly non-abrasive technique) that Sider-Iteras S.p.A. used to clean the exterior of Santa Caterina D'Italia church. Consequently, irreparable damage may have been done to the protective patina that limestone naturally produces over time.

It's also ridiculous to pour out millions in restoration projects without repairing the surrounding pavements and cutting down on car fumes that are carcinogenic as well as pollutant. Look how the lower part of the newly radiant Portes the Bombes is already blackening.

What about the gimmick of safeguarding a façade while demolishing architectural and historical treasures as happened in March 1996 when Nos. 174-186 St Ursula Street were accordingly pulled down. It's not just stonework that gets bulldozed. The porfido (mountain stone) slabs used in repaving are not appropriate because they jar with the tradition of using hard stone or lava. Worse still, maintenance works in Merchants and Old Theatre Streets brought about the destruction of the Pinto-era lava slabs imported from Naples.

The new lanterns in Republic and Zachary Streets are oversized. There's also little appreciation of the centuries old paint work that still graces several front doors especially in St Paul and St Ursula Streets - the 18th century enclave of the affluent local business and shipping community that vied with the Knights' discerning tastes.

Admittedly, the debate on housing and restoration projects now encompasses pedestrian zones, an overhauled transportation system and affordable car parking. Yet the park and ride scheme comprising eight electric buses capable of manoeuvering the city's narrow streets has had a six-year gestation period despite posing minimal outlay. It will hopefully materialise without another agonising delay and clear the city streets of about 900 cars. It's not a high figure, but it's a start.

Valletta council is also striving to complete an underground ducting systems for telephone/television cables, water/drainage pipes, while stepping up general maintenance and cleaning services.

Mayor Paul Borg Olivier confirms that 7,000 tonnes of litter are collected per year from nearly one square kilometre. How about introducing an eco-tax that will encourage less litter while beefing up the council's sorely needed funds? Significantly, 65 per cent of the Lm230,000 allotted as the council's annual budget is spent on litter collection and keeping the streets and public conveniences clean which automatically leaves a paltry remainder - a remainder that is meant to cover the cost of keeping the capital habitable, accessible and safe.

Dr Borg Olivier is pushing the government to collate the services of the five contractors engaged to keep different areas of the city spruce into one contract so as to save up to 35 per cent of the current bill. He also plans to encourage the recycling of the heaps of stationery and wrapping material amassed by offices and shops, but admits that it takes a long time to change people's way of thinking and that "sensitivity from all quarters" is greatly lacking.

Another eco-friendly and self-financing proposal has been floated regarding pigeon control, which will have licensed bird trappers 'collecting' the countless pigeons that in turn will be transported to a huge aviary outside the city. Here, authorised personnel will group and ring the healthy pigeons before being offered up for sale. Unfortunately, no bright ideas are buzzing to rid Valletta's subterranean city from its filth and rats. This menace too is part of our capital city.

Vociferous wake-up calls to a holistic vision will only go beyond the refrain of a buzzword when all parties concerned - that's all of us - will care about the beauty of our capital. And to care means to know what to cherish. There goes the education argument all over again.

Yes, the required human, financial and technical resources for urban conservation are mind-boggling. But soulfulness is the X-factor to rid Valletta of its demeaned city streets.