[attach id=404967 size="medium"][/attach]

Lino Bugeja, Vittoriosa: An ancient city of culture. Malta 2014, 144 pp.

Lino Bugeja hardly needs any introduction. Blessed with an active old age, today he can look back with satisfaction on his achievements as a sportsman and educationalist.

He is also one of the stout defenders of our natural heritage, being the prime mover behind the Ramblers’ Association, which is doing its best to preserve what is left of the natural beauty of Malta in the face of the overwhelming power of Mammon and its myrmidons.

In addition to sports and education and, of course his family, his native city of Vittoriosa has been Bugeja’s other great abiding passion.

Indeed, his co-ordinating and co-editing of the splendid two-volume Vittoriosa – A Maltese Maritime City in 1991 seems to have set Bugeja off in his research, which he has so assiduously continued with regular contributions to this newspaper.

The great amount of information he has amassed is now being presented in a single book that is a great source of pleasure and knowledge, which he often peppers with his own personal experiences and observations.

Bugeja’s is not an academic book. It lacks footnotes but it reads well and should serve as an authoritative introduction and companion to the visible and less visible aspects of this unique jewel which deserves to be better appreciated by all of us.

More and more people, both locals and tourists, are rightly discovering its unique still unspoilt charms which in a way surpass even those of the far more popular and tourist-oriented Mdina.

Because it is a single volume, this book is far more handy than the monumental two-volume collection of studies mentioned before. It also has a very use-ful index of names and places which increases its value and efficiency.

The book would, however, have benefited greatly, aesthetically, had it had wider and more comfortable margins and a slightly larger point size.

On the other hand, good use is made of the excellent photographs by the late Marquis Anthony Cassar de Sain who had also been responsible for the photography of the larger Vittoriosa book.

Calling Vittoriosa an ‘ancient’ city may smack a bit of hyperbolism since definite documents only date it to the Middle Ages although there is no doubt of its huge importance in the maritime history of the islands.

For over 40 years, it was the city of the Hospitallers and it retained its historical, cultural, architectural, and social importance until the bombs and the devastation of World War II scattered its population of elites and craftsmen.

It is only in the last 20 years or so that the city has been undergoing its renaissance with the opening of the marvellous Maritime Museum and the extensive public and private restorations, eventually and hopefully soon to be capped with that of Fort St Angelo, which had been so wilfully desecrated since it fell into our hands.

The book is divided into eight chapters, starting with ‘The Medieval Sites’ and ending with ‘The Clouds of War’, which also includes an account of the author’s childhood, which was devastated by war when Vittoriosa became a ghost city inhabited by a few resilient tunnel dwellers who refused to seek safety in the countryside.

The book reads well and should serve as an authoritative introduction to the visible and less visible aspects of this unique jewel

Vittoriosa suffered greatly and, though much was lost, much survived, and it thankfully did not suffer the devastating fate of Senglea which lay cheek by jowl with the dockyard.

The Hospitallers’ decision to opt for Malta was based on its fine harbours and Vittoriosa provided one of the most sheltered creeks in the magnificent harbour.

A few Classical, Arab, and Early Medieval remains testify to prior habitation but it was the knights who really brought into its own with fine buildings, improved maritime facilities, and surrounding fortifications that would save it from falling to the Turks in the iconic siege of 1565.

The historic piazza is calling out for tasteful restoration and the very recent decision to rebuild the historic clock tower in time for the commemoration of the siege is definitely interesting and praiseworthy.

One also hopes that the nondescript post-war flats behind it be given some kind of facelift or else a screen.

Another 13 contributions deal with the maritime connection highlighting such aspects as the great naval battle fought off St Angelo in 1283, which decided the fate of the Central Mediterranean, the plague outbreak of 1523, which led to the cutting-off of Vittoriosa from the rest of the island.

There were also Vittoriosa’s connections with Dubrovnik, famous mariners and sea captains and the notorious Maltese corsairs.

The section dedicated to the early knights’ period includes an essay on the artistic treasures of the first conventual church of St Lawrence which suffered a disastrous fire a couple of years after the arrival of the Order.

Although the knights took most of their treasures with them to St John’s, there are still important artefacts. Pride of place must go to a Sacra Conversazione by Palma il Vecchio. This is one of our greatest artistic treasures that deserves far greater national recognition and perhaps greater security.

Bugeja describes its actual discovery in the chapter hall of St Lawrence church in which he had a direct role.

There is also an ample account of the numerous artistic treasures that have survived the ravages of war and also of man, as well as recorded ones that did not.

A whole section is dedicated to the Holy Week devotions with Vittoriosa’s Good Friday procession being one of the few that have strongly retained its penitential nature. The joyful procession on Easter Sunday is another thing altogether.

Bugeja dedicates four contributions to the Greet Siege which was, of course, mostly fought around it and which was to earn it the proud title of Vittoriosa.

He makes a plea that the September 8 commemoration should also feature the city as had been the case until 1926 when they moved to Valletta following the inauguration of Sciortino’s monument.

The last section is dedicated to Vittoriosa’s role in the war which brought about the destruction of a good part of Cottonera and the diaspora of its people.

Bugeja lived through that sad time as he was on the thres-hold of his teens. He describes how the initial war hysteria soon gave way to doubt and fear and led to most of its people seeking safety far away from the harbour.

Bugeja’s family stayed behind in what was practically a ghost town, even when the family home received a direct hit, and he witnessed it all though his young eyes. Only about 1,500 people remained defiant from an original 7,000.

The book could have done with a concluding contri-bution. Today, Vittoriosa can look forward with optimism to the future.

Slowly, it is being transformed into a chic residential area and one hopes that disastrous aesthetic decisions will not be taken. The disgusting block of flats built across from Fort St Angelo are more than enough for a national disgrace.

More and more houses are being tastefully restored, the residents have recovered their sense of pride and outside visitors are being constantly surprised with its sheer beauty.

One only hopes that success will not mar this jewel for future generations.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.