Editorial

Fort St Elmo and Fort St Angelo rate as the most historic in the annals of Malta’s long history. Both are in a pitiful state of repair and both, until very recently, had been virtually abandoned for the last three decades and – except for the Cavalier in St Angelo occupied by the Grand Master’s Knight Resident – left to deteriorate under the relentless battering of the elements.

The sorry state of both forts is a damning indictment of successive governments’ utter neglect for too long of these outstanding historic sites. The indifference to their maintenance is a salutary admonition to the government’s unconcern for the fortifications in Malta’s rich cultural heritage.

Yet, there are now hopeful signs things may be changing. EU funding has seen the start of a long programme of conservation and repair of the bastions. The latest harbinger is the publication of a document by the planning authority, which has been reviewing the 1997 draft development brief for the rehabilitation of Fort St Elmo and its environs.

A reading of the development brief for St Elmo’s regeneration is encouraging. It makes imaginative recommendations for transforming St Elmo into a major tourist attraction, complete with accommodation, catering and office facilities, as well as the restoration and promotion of the outstanding cultural heritage features of the site. Those who drew up the brief were rightly conscious of the need to balance the inescapable competing demands of commerce and cultural heritage.

The success of the whole venture will depend crucially on getting this balance right. The possible expansion of the excellent, but small, War Museum, one of Malta’s most visited museums, is greatly to be commended. The reinstatement of the Knights’ botanical gardens, the reconstruction of the old light-house, the restoration of the chapels and all the defensive elements of the fortifications will transform the whole look of this area and return it to its former historical glory.

But to achieve this will require huge investment of resources. Government or EU funds on their own are unlikely to be adequate to achieve the necessary results. There is a clear hint in the development brief of the need for public-private partnerships to be formed, which would raise the necessary funding for retail, catering and even accommodation and office space. None of this can be allowed, however, if it were to lead to undermining the authentic cultural heritage nature of the project. Indeed, the dismal attempt to insert a hotel within the confines of St Angelo 30 years ago stands as a stark reminder of how not to do this. Yet, there are successful examples overseas of such initiatives.

As to Fort St Angelo, of all the fortifications surrounding Valletta, St Angelo is the only one that pre-dates the Knights. The dilapidation of the fort has recently been rudely exposed, leading to the need for the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to approve an emergency conservation order to restore the main gate. Unless Heritage Malta is given significantly greater funds for the overdue restoration of St Angelo, both to reverse the accelerating deterioration and to develop it properly into a thriving, cultural heritage visitor attraction, its deterioration will continue.

There is a belated awakening by the government to the potential historic losses facing us at St Elmo and St Angelo. The key question now is: Is there the political will to find the resources to reverse the years of neglect which have led to this parlous state? The signs are mixed but hopeful.