Strait Street, February 2000. Photos: David Pisani

Valletta writes its own story in degree zero, floating islands of meaning in the middle of a sea that you, as a reader, can navigate with your own interpretations.

It’s a series of moments: pigeons making kissing sounds in empty streets, pensioners dunking their good morning in a steaming cup of coffee, clean laundry flapping in the breeze like a proud coat of arms, and the kind of architecture that rhymes like poetry in stone.

You want to capture these moments forever.

Yet what is it that makes Valletta so photogenic?

“The most obvious element is that Valletta is so rich in architectural detail,” says photographer David Pisani, who has been capturing moments in the city for the past two decades.

“It’s not just the sheer quantity of it, but also the fact that it is concentrated in such a small city. It is overwhelming for the first-time visitor, but not only – after 20 years of photographing Valletta, I still find new things to photograph.

To capture the soul of Valletta, you are in for the long haul

“The second important element is the play of light and shade,” the photographer adds. “The way Valletta is built – in a grid pattern – as well as the combination of high buildings and narrow streets means that during the day, the streets have one side in the shade and the other in the light.

“The orientation of the sun is also very particular. Architect Francesco Laparelli designed the city in such a way that it has the best possible light all year round – that explains why Republic Street is aligned with the winter solstice.

“All this makes it easy for Valletta to look beautiful.”

From subject to photographer – do you have to live and love Valletta in order to take photos of it?

“To capture the soul of Valletta, you are in for the long haul,” says Pisani. “There are things which you need to observe over a stretch of time. You have to know your subject. Take Valletta’s topography for instance – it is built on a hill but has a valley, either natural or man-made, in the middle. The dip in Old Mint Street takes you by surprise.

“Then there are the sounds of the city. The way they resonate is like ventriloquism – you hear sounds coming from streets afar. The echoes of Valletta charge me emotionally and, in turn, influence my photos.”

For Pisani, Valletta’s residents are also an important element.

“A city is about its residents and the way they interact, or don’t. Valletta, for instance, has always been divided into parishes, quarters and streets. In the old times, residents from the lower ends of Valletta wouldn’t walk past Archbishop Street, as that was the accepted entry to the gentrified areas of the city.”

Pisani says that he is unashamedly romantic about Valletta.

“The city allows you to be nostalgic,” he says. “I, for instance, loved the Valletta of my childhood, when it was dirty and smelly. Now that it has been cleaned up, it has lost something, but also gained something.

“Valletta is nostalgic, but it is also aware of its future.”

Recently, Pisani was involved in the Transit project – this collaboration between academics and creatives aimed to chart the social reaction to the demolition of the old city gate and to the prospect of a new entrance to the capital.

“The demolition of City Gate defined the end of that project,” Pisani says. “It also marked the city’s desire to move forward. Valletta is, after all, a modern city – a cosmopolitan place where new things can happen.”