Although Malta has a good number of monuments to historical figures, heroes, artists, men of letters and other personalities, we do not have a single monument to Jean Parisot de Valette, the hero of the Great Siege of 1565 and the founder of our capital city, Valletta.

It is a shame that De Valette's memory has been neglected for so long. However, now that government is embarking on plans to rehabilitate Valletta, it should give this matter some priority and erect a monument to the Grand Master with the support of the local council, cultural associations and, of course, the public.

May I suggest that an ad hoc committee be immediately set up to make the public aware of the importance of such a monument, to open bank accounts for the public to contribute to the monument, to choose an artist to design and build the monument or to hold a competition among Maltese artists, and to find a suitable location for the monument.