A fortune on fortifications

Manuel Micallef

Jun 22nd 2008, 01:00

Do you know what this is....

BLA BLA BLA.... a lot of words, and dreams and nothing ever happens in reality.... like man other promises of building up the opera house, of having an alternative trqansport system, and of having a wind farm....

How come people never realise that this is only TALK and NO FACTS

j. n. ebejer

Jun 20th 2008, 23:09

Such use of funds should be considered as an investment rather than an expense. Our fortifications make Malta a unique destination, relating episodes from history one can hear nowhere else.
A permanent exhibitionon on fortifications should be sited in place which should become a centre for the study of fortifications for the whole Mediterranean region.
The study and interpretation of fortifications has been a valid tourist product all around Europe, when managed by capable, learned persons.
We have good examples, alas very limited, of what assets we have been sitting on, grumbling on loss of product competivity, in the efforst of our NGO's.
Hopefully, we have learned the lesson that these become a real sustanable tourist product when properly managed and not easily leased out to serve as outlets or other uses which on much too many occasions have not respected or outright destroyed them.
An effort should be made to get together those persons who have a proven track record in proper management and appreciation of such sites to guide the Government in it's task.

emanuel Ebejer

Jun 20th 2008, 20:37

I hope they don't forget Fort Mosta.

v.pulis

Jun 20th 2008, 17:45

this is certainly GREAT NEWS! may I suggest the macina in Senglea as the site for the envisioned exhibition mentioned by the minister. This building has been lying idle and derelict ever since its function as the MLP HQ was dicontinued. The Cottonera lines are a gem if cared for properly. the gates next to Ghajn Dwieli gate are works of art. and please be careful with fort St.Angelo. this fort has been abused for far too long. Don't turn it into some modern amenity. it deserves to be restored to its pristine glory and opened to the tourists and local population.

steve busuttil

Jun 20th 2008, 17:24

Well done,

However isnt it about time that someone noticed the stench there is in citygate?

The disaster is there for everyone to smell, can it be that no one from the local council or member of parliament even walks through it and feels sick within seconds?

Come on this is our Capital city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, don't let anyone use it as a toilet!

Raymond Sammut

Jun 20th 2008, 16:50

Thanks for your thought, Mr Barrett. But that wasn't smart. We have to first address, and question, the manner in which they arrive at our shoreline. It should be clear by now, after the many contributions that have been made by concerned citizens, that it is everyone's duty to do so. If African men and women wish to come to Malta to work, and there is work to go around for everyone, then we can have absolutely nothing against that. When the British administration in 1910 (from memory) decided to build the Breakwater of the Grand Harbour, they brought 10,000 men (not including their families) from Italy/Sicily. There is nothing to suggest that there were any social problems during that part of our history. We have been the most hospitable and the most accommodating people on this planet. But frankly, we are disgusted by what has been going on over the past four years, and by the dismal state that Marsa and Hal-Far are in right now.

Alfred Grech

Jun 20th 2008, 16:39

Somehow some money has to be made available to save our historic sites. Perhaps the government should ask big companies and banks in Malta to make a substantial contribution to restore old buildings.

We have hundreds of them around and some are in a very poor shape and unless something is done soon, we're going to lose them.

Why can't the EU give us some extra Euros to help salvage them?

David Agius

Jun 20th 2008, 15:47

A good step in the right direction. We need to make it a walk or a long hike though!

Raymond Sammut

Jun 20th 2008, 15:45

Victoria Lines would be the most challenging, and I think they are equally important. They may have ultimately deterred the axis from landing, and chose Crete island instead. Now that was British military engineering. But don't forget the Arabs. Their ingenuity gave us the most beautiful, most compact yet self-contained, fortification among the many Medina's that they built. And Italian engineers contributed greatly to the Three Cities and to St Elmo (Malta's pentagon) long before 1530.

Paul Barrett

Jun 20th 2008, 15:38

Perhaps if there is a shortage of manpower it might we worth asking some of our boat people "guests" if they would like to assist in a project like rebuilding Victoria Lines. It would help them to pass the time during their 18 months wait, give them something useful to do and help a little towards the cost of saving their lives and supporting them during their stay.

Just a thought.

Mario H Calleja

Jun 20th 2008, 15:02

This is a most welcome step towards the conservation of our common heritage. Any exhibition should show off the Knights' fortifications as they were originally build. We can in this way appreciate better the engineering that went into designing and building these remarkable defences. Fortifications were not only built by the Knights and there are many examples of what the the British left behind them. Amongst them are the Victoria Lines and its fortifications which I think merit some attention as well. I believe some of these gems are now pig farms and if so I think that something should be done to remedy this.. There must be a better way to make use of them.