Reclaim the bastions

The participation of the three Cottonera mayors in the EU-funded Walled Cities of Europe Conference, held in Evora, Portugal, is indeed most welcome. The mayor of Vittoriosa, John Boxall, is also to be congratulated for his election to the vice-presidency of the executive board of this highly prestigious organisation.

Representation at this European institution, particularly at the highest echelons, implies a much greater responsibility by the Cottonera mayors to ensure the conservation and preservation of the Cottonera fortifications stretching for miles. These are unique in the world with their complex network of defence systems comprising ravelins, deep ditches, bastions, cavaliers, curtains and crowned horn-works planned by Europe's outstanding military engineers.

Ornate gates pierce these fortifications headed by the magnificent Notre Dame Gate with the bust of Nicholas Cotoner overseeing the vast countryside from the Zabbar side. This imposing baroque gate is now in the safe hands of Wirt Artna, which has taken upon itself the task of expensive restoration. Unfortunately, the rest of the Cottonera Lines, together with their deep ditches, are in a pitiable state and no local council has yet sounded the red alarm, loud and clear enough for the responsible authorities to stop the rot.

Salvatore Gate and another gate under St Louis Bastion, a baroque extravaganza, worthy of the most noble city in Europe, is left to rot and literally wallow in the dung of cows and pigs of a farmhouse that has blocked access to locals and visitors alike. What is heart-breaking is the bitter realisation that no single MP in the area, no local council, no eminent personality from Cottonera, have voiced their complaints strongly enough to be listened to.

In a recent seminar, eminent anthropologist Jeremy Boissevain, whose close association with Malta goes back to the mid-1950s, devoted almost his entire erudite presentation to the apocalyptic state of Malta's deteriorating environment. He said thus: "One problem in particular has struck me most forcefully. This is the massive destruction of the environment since you became independent. Your countryside and architectural heritage, your coastal zone, the sea surrounding you... quite literally have been and still are being raped... they are being exploited for private gain".

Harsh words indeed but it is the unpalatable truth.

With regard to the architectural heritage of the Cottonera fortifications, the least one can expect from the Cottonera local councils, and I venture to include the Kalkara council, is a report funded by the Walled Cities of Europe institution about the state of these fortifications.

Furthermore, the local councils should ensure that the bastions are opened up to the public at least to pre-war status. From personal experience, and I limit myself to the Vittoriosa side of the fortifications, I must point out that, while carrying out historical research, I could not gain access to the Salvatore fortifications, an important landmark in our history. Even more frustrating is the complete inaccessibility of the Post of Castille, an important complex of fortifications within the city walls of Vittoriosa whose vulnerability during the Great Siege of 1565 was twice highlighted by the painter D'Allecio in his frescoes at the Palace of the Grand Masters in Valletta.

Furthermore, as a seasoned rambler who still easily recalls the immediate post-war period, I fail to fathom the reason behind the closure of the path from the right side of St Lawrence cemetery up to St Louis Bastion, which offers an exceptional panoramic view of Sta Liberata Convent and beyond. The ditches around the Cottonera Lines have also been similarly hijacked.

One final point, which really underlines the insensitivity or the emotional weariness of an impotent nation, is the lack of any form of protest by certain historical organisations and similar institutions whose silence may be interpreted as condoning the "uglification" of our most noble, most magnificent fortification, Fort St Angela, described by the Malta Tourism Authority as "the jewel in the crown of Malta's fortifications".

The St Angelo Health Farm recently approved by Mepa makes a mockery of the EU celebrations of three years ago when Fort St Angelo was chosen as the focal point of the festivities, specifically because it represents the first enclave of European sophistication.

To be fair, one or two MPs on the Mepa board did sound a dissenting voice but stopped there, putting all the blame on the Heritage Superintendence for failing to submit a report on the project. But, in all honesty, couldn't other bodies or experts have been consulted? With apologies to Dragut I venture to ask: "If Fort St Angelo, the brightest jewel in Malta's crown of fortifications, has been surrendered so cheaply, so wantonly and so irreverently, what is going to happen to less important sites?"