I would like to support Andrè Zammit's plea to "save Valletta and our cultural traditions from the philistines" as per his letter Reflections On Valletta (January 7).

His suggestion to site Parliament on top of the Main Guard is commendable when viewed from several perspectives. In the first place, adding a second floor to the Main Guard will, as he points out, give the square its baroque proportions. Secondly, Parliament would be placed in the centre of our capital city opposite the President's Palace, which is undoubtedly a much more prestigious location than what is being proposed in the Piano project.

Another very important consideration is the saving of tens of millions of euros were this alternative to be adopted. With the money saved, Freedom Square could be developed into a multi-level car park (to make good for the reduction in car parking facilities in Valletta) and the street level would be "returned to the people" as an open square as has happened with St George's Square. This sounds like a win-win proposal if there ever was one. In one stroke, the country would complete the rehabilitation of St George's Square, provide an excellent and prestigious location for a new Parliament and, last but not least, give the people a new square/open space at the entrance to Valletta. It is, in my opinion, vastly superior to what is being proposed by the Piano project provided our parliamentarians are able to contain their extravagant visions of grandeur.