Many cities boast of urban legends and myths, and the capital city of Valletta is no exception.
It’s a historical descriptive analysis of the city
Some believe there is a city of passageways built under its grid of streets and fortifications, and they have never dared venture down there.
Intrigued by these unchallenged tales, in 2005 Edward Said set off to explore subterranean Valletta to find out what really lies beneath the city and why it is there.
Seven years later, he has published a book called Subterranean Valletta, based on scholarly research that traces the city’s underground development from the ancient wells on Mount Sceberras to recent discoveries made during the City Gate regeneration project.
The journey kicked off when Mr Said was working on his Bachelor of Architecture degree thesis, and he has throughout the past years expanded on his research.
“The topic has always intrigued me and I wanted to do something to document this part of Valletta’s history which we do not know a lot about,” he said.
His main sources are historical documents and books, but Mr Said even took to the city streets to knock on the doors of houses. He is in fact grateful to all those living and working in Valletta who opened their doors to his explorations.
The book’s narrative is illustrated with period imagery, drawings, maps and photos taken by Mr Said himself. “But the scope of the book is not to survey the subterranean, but document history in a pleasant way. It’s a historical descriptive analysis of the city, its development and what was going on underground.
“Overground activities were reflected in the subterranean: when Malta was under the plague spell in the beginning of the 19th century, the sewage system was improved, while later on, during the Second World War, we saw the emergence of shelters,” Mr Said said.
The book Subterranean Valletta was launched on October 24 at Auberge the Castille and is being sold at €35.70 from local bookshops.