Italian photographer laments 'destruction' of Malta's gems

Enrico Formica, a professional Italian photographer who specialises in photographing still life, architecture and people, has lost count of the number of times he has been to Malta. But he can't stop being fascinated with the islands and cannot understand why the Maltese are slowly but certainly destroying "the gems" that make up the island.

"I have been commissioned to take photos of books about Paris, Monaco, Nice, Milan, Rome and a host of other cities and countries. Yet, I always find Malta one of the best places I have ever visited. It's an open-air museum where everything is within easy reach. Yet you are destroying it faster than you think," Mr Formica said.

The Italian photographer first came to Malta some 15 years ago after he was contracted by Miranda Publications to take photos for their book Malta 360°. It was such a success that it has sold some 24,000 copies since being launched and the idea spawned many others, such as Malta By Night, Underground Malta, and Gozo And Comino. More are in the pipeline.

"Sometimes they are little sins that people make that could be rectified with a little effort, like not taking your rubbish back home with you following a picnic. But most times you are making the mistake of destroying beautiful old buildings or buildings that are full of character to build unsightly blocks of flats that have destroyed the character of so many other places around the world," he says.

"Smaller sins include those committed daily by karozzin drivers. Why don't they wear comfortable but smart-looking clothes with a hint of local flavour? Can't they wear three quarters trousers and a smart shirt? I am not talking about a uniform. They don't all have to wear the same clothes. But these are your traditional modes of transport that are used by tourists who pay good money to ride them. They are your equivalent of the Gondola. Why do karozzin drivers wear gaudy T-shirts? I saw one the other day with an obviously fake T-shirt with a big D&G on it and in small print it read - Delicious And Gorgeous. It's just an insult. Imagine the gondolier in Venice wearing such things," he said.

Mr Formica said he did not want to be critical for the sake of it, but he loathed seeing Malta "disintegrate".

"You have so much to boast about and to show off to tourists. Malta is not being marketed properly with tourists. But on the other hand, some form of control must be exercised if you want to retain the Maltese flavour.

"The Maltese festa is a bombshell in many aspects. It is wonderful to see so many people together and so much revelry and fun.

"But then the take-away kiosks are not selling Maltese food but hamburgers and the mobile kiosks could have come out of any seaside resort anywhere in the world.

"Tourists go crazy over pastizzi, bigilla and gbejniet. Who is marketing Maltese cuisine? Bragjoli are heavenly, yet many tourists who come hear never hear about them.

"Village tea shops that have not been destroyed by aluminium are a delight to be in and to talk with locals, whose expressive faces are a story in their own right. And Cisk is one of the best beers in the world," he adds.

Mr Formica said he did not expect Malta to remain static like it was 50 or 100 years ago, but people should realise that their past and culture were unique and this was reflected in their buildings and their surroundings.

"When you start destroying that, you take the heart and soul out of a village and you will only realise what you have done to yourselves when its too late to reverse it."

Mr Formica is not the type to snap 100 photos in order to choose one. "Eddie Aquilina, the publisher, usually identifies the sites, I come over, tour the sites and study the subject. Then we see what kind of lighting we want. If it's underground, we see how to light it up as they used to in the past.

It often takes me three hours to take the right photo. I see it, study the light, and take it. I do not crop my images after taking them. I do the cropping there on the spot and when the picture is taken, that is the way it will appear in print," he said.

Mr Formica said he always tried to revive "people's feelings" in the photographs and used shadow and lights to create three-dimensional effects.

"The legacy you have in stone, both over the ground as well as underground, is simply incredible. Malta is a well from which one can always draw. But it can run dry faster than you think if people keep changing their old wooden door for an aluminium one.

"The beauty of Malta is that it is so small and everything is within reach. You could be admiring the breathtaking views at Dingli and within half an hour you could be sitting down in St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, soaking up the atmosphere and admiring the gems of sculpture and mosaics it contains. If Malta were in the United States, all of it would be declared a World Heritage Site," Mr Formica said.