Custodian of the country's identity

Having just watched another excellent feature about the mystery of the many Maltese temples on a foreign station (Voyager, RaiDue), I must express my strong feelings about how I feel my country should be promoted.

At commercial levels, when you have a product, especially one which is not totally unique to the market, you seek those elements about it which can really make it stand out. And Malta's uniqueness is its millennia-old culture - specifically, the Temple period.

Starting with the very origins of life on the islands, Malta stands out as a rather small land mass with an immense depth of history. What lies on the surface of today's Malta is the product of all that came before.

The Italian documentary I watched expressed near-total awe at the concentration of temples Malta has, their complexity, their technology and the mystery of their builders. It stated that which the Maltese know (or should) that all this makes of it such a unique island. It was captivating.

These factors would be an ideal focal point for an endless promotional campaign. The elements of mystery are the perfect enticement for scholars and tourists alike. It is also something most of us inhabitants would love to be more knowledgeable about. Yet, despite such archaeological and historical wealth, few outside the strictly scientific are familiar with the existence of Malta's temples. Then again, everyone, or nearly, has heard about Stonehenge.

Our temples are many, different, complex, all concentrated on a very tiny parcel of land and just as mysterious. An excellent publicity campaign should be creative, utilising alternative media available to us today and ideally include an investment in a locally financed, professionally researched, international feature/documentary which broadcasts the Maltese prehistoric wonders to TV/internet/ CD viewers across the globe. Variants on the theme are many. And a series of mini-productions could also focus on other fascinating periods of international interest such as that of the Knights and their unique monument to urban architecture, Valletta.

Obviously, all this would need real endorsement in Malta and this brings me to one of the country's biggest bones of contention: the former opera house site and environs.

I think I can safely say that all the museums Malta has are ill-housed in buildings constructed for another purpose. And, in view of all this, together with a history and heritage that spans millennia, it is difficult to believe that the authorities have never considered actually building a national museum, which houses the chronicles and story of our islands and people.

Such a museum, if specifically designed, could incorporate any amount of collections, together with those now housed in separate, small and inadequate buildings, such as those in the Archaeology and Fine Arts Museum. It should be spacious enough to also bring to the fore the collections in cold storage for which no place is now available.

It should include new collections about all the specific periods that make up the Maltese story, bring together stored artefacts and scattered exhibits and, finally, housing them in one representative building.

A new state-of-the-art building may even become an international talking point and a monument in itself. The building of a structure that houses the country's heritage and identity over the centuries would really be a challenge and could place Valletta even more firmly on the global map, especially if the designs are the result of an open competition that include a local and international call for concepts.

Its use could be multiple as it would house sizeable and comprehensive representations of Malta's history bringing it right up to contemporary times. The national museum should be a state-of-the-art building, designed to house extensive galleries and include fine art expositions, sculpture, permanent exhibitions of any size, multi-media lecture halls, a library, product-related outlets, cafés and even a theatre. The possibilities are endless. All that is needed is the national goodwill and creativity.

This is probably the only possible site for such a prestigious and essential institution available within the capital at the moment. And I am nearly certain that some of those oft-quoted funds will be made available for something as culturally representative as this. Furthermore, seeing as little is done in this country without reference to tourism, it is right to remember that it would do so much to enhance our touristic product too.

I believe that such an undertaking is a really valid representation of the nation and its memory. Something to really bring to the fore the elements of the past, which have indisputably forged today's identity but which often get overlooked and sometimes even disregarded in our hurry to move forward without pausing to glance backwards.

Our identity exists.

This should be its custodian and showcase.

Ms Galea has carried out anthropological research on Valletta.