Beauty unveiled

Jesmond Micallef

Feb 10th 2010, 13:08

Mr. Raymond Sammut,

Good to see that you do your homework. I compliment you.

My comment has indeed much more substance to the subject matter you seem to selectively concentrate on.

Have a good day.

Raymond Sammut

Feb 10th 2010, 12:01

@ Jesmond Micallef

Why a simple sentence like "I think not." sounds "very British Upper lip" to you? What standards are you using?

You claim: "It was Italian bombs that destroyed the "Royal Opera House"." Which source are you quoting?

You say: "Luftwaffe Pilots were people who do not fly sky high, drop their bombs and "leg it"." So who were the pilots that did so?

You also said: "A massive structure like a theatre is very easy to hit." But Valletta is egg-full with such structures, yet it was the theatre that was precision hit and not the surrounding buildings during that particular air-raid.

You mentioned something about the Italian air-force: "the Italian Air Force was the first to use chemical agents against the peacefull Civilian Population, in Abyssinia" What has this got to do with the bombing of the Opera House?

You guessed wrong about Carmelo Borg Pisani. He was dropped off at Dingli Cliffs more than a month after the bombing of the Opera House. Whoever passed the information had to be near the theatre to ensure that no civilians were inside --else it would have amounted to a war crime.

Jesmond Micallef

Feb 10th 2010, 10:19

Raymond Sammut, "I think" not sounds very British Upper lip, to me.

It was Italian bombs that destroyed the "Royal Opera House". The German Luftwaffe Pilots were people who do not fly sky high, drop their bombs and "leg it". Dive Bombing was a precision tactic devised by the German Luftwaffe, The Junkers JU87 Stuka was purposefully designed for such purpose. Actually the Italian Air Force of the time used these machines too, rather less succesfully !!

A massive structure like a theatre is very easy to hit. Anybody can acknowledge that.

While the Maltese where leaving the islands by the ship loads, Europe was being rebuilt, economies revived, people having babies, the Economic Miracle !! Maybe you should seek how the airports, the harbour, the nice living areas where the all mighty British forces enjoyed the Maltese sunshine, where built. !!

Not subject matter here, but it is also to be reminded that the Italian Air Force was the first to use chemical agents against the peacefull Civilian Population, in Abyssinia, very very much before other much more famous events.

Who provided the information to the Luftwaffe ?, let me guess Carmelo Borg Pisani ?

C.Busuttil

Feb 10th 2010, 08:25

@ Brian Grima

Glormu Cassar was born in 1520, hence the 16th Century. In fact Auberge de Castille was built in the 16th Century and the original project did not include most of the upper floors. These came later in fact and all add-ons were completed by the 18th Century under the 68th Grandmaster of the Order of St. John, Emm. Pinto de Fonseca.

The two columns adjacent to the front door, amongst other items, were also added later under early British rule.

Raymond Sammut

Feb 10th 2010, 04:58

@ Jesmond Micallef --"Considering it was not German bombs that destroyed it in the first place, rather very nice of them, don't you think."

I think not. It was Luftwaffe bombs that largely destroyed the national treasure. And there was nothing "nice" about them POWs --ask some who lost loved ones beneath the rubble strewn around Malta. The Governor was right to have them expelled. The citation for the following can be found presently in Wiki.

"On the evening of Tuesday, April 7, 1942 the theatre was devastated by Luftwaffe bombers. The next morning a people hardened by aerial bombing inspected the remains of their national theatre.... The portico and the auditorium were a heap of stones, the roof a gaping hole of twisted girders. The rear end starting half way from the colonnade was however intact. ...In 1946 German prisoners-of-war in Malta reportedly offered to rebuild the theatre for a nominal charge. The Government declined to accept the offer, bowing to Union pressure for job protection at a time of massive unemployment and emigration."

And who on Malta provided the information to Luftwaffe on how to target the theatre while leaving the surroundings mostly intact?

Antoine Vella

Feb 9th 2010, 22:42

DORIS VARRAZZO

Some people are never happy because they love being miserable. Whining and complaining can become an addiction: moanoholics.

Jesmond Micallef

Feb 9th 2010, 21:22

Dear Doris Varrazzo,

There was an offer made by German POWs in Malta after the war to rebuild the theatre as it was. Considering it was not German bombs that destroyed it in the first place, rather very nice of them, don't you think. German POWs built places like the building housing the DCA in Luqa airport. It served my fathers ex-superiors very very well, most especially during the cold war were RAF Nimrod crews enjoyed their stay there. Some of these people still refer to those days as the "Good old days" !!! During these "good old days" most Maltese were leaving the islands !!

I would recommend a visit to the Carmelite church in Valletta and to the Senglea parish church. Just read what the plague at front of the church says. The internal sculptural decorations in the Carmelite church were done single handedly by one man.

With reference to the German siege on the island, that was simply to the fact that Malta was a military base to the all mighty British Forces. Mind you they still decide who exists and who doesn't. !! They form part of the nuclear "collective" !!

Good work indeed.

DORIS VARRAZZO

Feb 9th 2010, 18:59

But why aren't you never happy. Well done, it is just a beauty and we should be
proud that we have such building. We should have imposed that the Valletta
entrance should have been similar and had our theatre as it was originally

Raymond Sammut

Feb 9th 2010, 15:41

@ brian grima

Major works in Valletta, such as some of the original auberges (including Castille), were the brainchildren of Glormu Cassar. True what you say, almost. The auberge de Castille was virtually re-built in the mid-18th century. But again it was partially re-built following sustained damage from the French siege (18th century) and once more from the German siege (20th century). What is significant, however, is that the architectural features always remained Glormunian; namely, counter-Reformationist 16th century baroque -- which pioneered 17h-century baroque in Italy that was to show northern Europe as to who was truly powerful.

Anthony Pace Gouder

Feb 9th 2010, 15:28

This is the GLARING difference , for those who REALLY want to see , between the Architectural Splendor of our City with the Piano-Gonzi Mediocrity. A SCAR (praying God it will never materialize) on the City main entrance .
















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brian grima

Feb 9th 2010, 12:25

The auberge was built in the mid 18th century - not 16th!!!

Jesmond Micallef

Feb 9th 2010, 11:50

N.Lawrence,

I am no expert in the field but would expect that cleaning would freshly expose the limestone to the atmospheric elements. I would expect that after cleaning, some kind of protective treatment is applied to the stone masonry surfaces. Furthermore, structures like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco Bay are continuosly painted. Once the other end is reached, they start all over again. It is indeed a job for life, keeping such treasures in good order, be it Maltese or any other, ............................elementary Dear Watson !!!

J Oatmon

Feb 9th 2010, 11:45

Excellent work cleaning up the place, and adding more value than the proposed breakwater bridge.
I would also suggest putting proper arrangements in place, to use illegal immigrants in street cleaning, graffiti removal, picking up leaves, painting etc - and pay them a small recompense for their work.

J Azzopardi

Feb 9th 2010, 11:22

Let's hope that the facade of the Auberge d' Italy opposite will not have to wait much longer to be cleaned. It would make a marvelous spectacle across Merchants Street with the restored Palazzo Parisio and this side of the Auberge de Castille facing it.

M Tabone

Feb 9th 2010, 11:06

Prosit....a good job indeed

C Cassar

Feb 9th 2010, 11:03

Fantastic job, well done! No doubt there will be the moaners as usual who can never undrestand investing in maintenance.

There have been some fantastic projects completed to date over the last few years, let's hope it continues.

N.Lawrence

Feb 9th 2010, 10:32

With Malta's uncontrolled and unregulated pollution, it wont take long for the grime to return. Still, it keeps one group of workers in a job for life.