De Valette and Pius V

I refer to Guido Saliba's column "Once upon a Dream (July 4). The statues of the two Grand Masters that once adorned the old City Gate were completely destroyed during World War Two by shrapnel when a bomb fell on the bridge leading to the gate. As a result, the gate also suffered extensive damage.

Wartime photos taken after the air raid show the broken remains of the statues in situ. When the gate was demolished in 1963, the statues were no longer in their alcoves.

Dr Saliba stated that the bust of Pope Pius V which stood at the back of the old gate "can now be admired on the façade of St Dominic's parish church." I wish to correct this statement since this bust is a replica of the original which was made soon after the former had been removed from the old gate before its demolition.

The original bust of Pius V is kept at the Valletta council offices in South Street. For years Dr Ray Bondin of the Valletta Rehabilitation Committee and other entities have been engaged in a heated debate as to where this bust could be relocated without coming to a solution! I wish to suggest a place which so far has been overlooked and which would be a good alternative. This is the roundabout close to the Central Bank at the very end of Pope Pius V Sreet!

As for Dr Saliba's argument on De Valette's monument, it is clear that the Maltese people and especially the residents of Valletta could not have been more ungrateful to the person who gave them this gem of a capital city. Foreigners look in vain all over the city to get a glimpse of what the founder of the city looked like.

The authorities concerned should no longer ignore this fact. A life-size bronze statue of Grand Master De Valette should be erected in the heart of Valletta, that is in Republic Square, and this should be renamed De Valette Square.

With all due respect, Queen Victoria's statue should not occupy such a prominent place in our capital. After all, the longest reigning British monarch never found the time to visit Malta! Queen Victoria's marble statue by the famous Sicilian sculptor Valenti should be restored and relocated to the small square in front of the Valletta food market. Here it would make more sense since this building is a purely late Victorian structure.

By the way, as things stand now, the statue of an Empress-Queen in the middle of "Republic Square" is a gross incongruence which often brings a smile to the face of visitors. I hope common sense will prevail over pride in order to put these things right.