Like any other city, Valletta is a series of neighbourhoods – in religious Malta, the frontiers are dictated by parishes, and in Valletta, you have three. You also have finer divisions, which are translated into inner city turfs such as the Camarata, Baviera, Archipelago, Duwi Balli and the Mandraġġ. These divisions are not just physical, but also social.

There is also another barrier – that between the residents who were born in the city and those who have moved into Valletta in recent years. How strong is this barrier?

Born in Valletta, Paul Mangion says he is keen to see new residents setting up home in Valletta, although he admits that newcomers will never quite understand what growing up in Valletta means. That said, couple Joanna Delia and Henry Peterson say that if you treat people nicely, they will be happy to help you.

V-blood

Paul Mangion grew up in Valletta in a family of four. They initially lived in St Christopher Street before moving to Strait Street, which is still his home.

Mangion is keen to explain the pride that Beltin (people from Valletta) feel towards their capital city.

“We say we have V-blood,” he says smiling. By this he means that people from Valletta feel something special in their blood. Although he stresses how keen he is for new people to move into the city and breathe new life into it, he notes how people who move in now will never “feel what we feel”. They do not know what it means to have grown up in the city, to have played football in the streets or to remember the Valletta of old when sailors walked the streets and kicked up fights in Strait Street.

Mangion takes me back to his favourite childhood haunts: the Upper and Lower Barrakka Gardens which still remain the most beautiful spots in Valletta. He says that for those born in Valletta, these are the most beautiful gardens in the world, stressing the rare, magnificent view of the Grand Harbour the gardens provide.

For those growing up in the 1970s, Valletta used to be packed on a Saturday night and that’s where Mangion and his friends used to hang out. But due to a mass exodus of people from the city to other localities with better commodities, the city began a slow death. Of course it always remained lively during the day because of the offices and tourists but after office hours the city was deserted.

He comments how the population of Valletta once stood at 22,000. Now it is a mere 6,000. Things are, thankfully, starting to change and we are seeing a regeneration of the city. People are enjoying going back to Valletta and this is having a positive effect on the city. Previously dilapidated houses are being done up, restaurants line the streets and the cafe life is buzzing.

Mangion also moved out and lived for seven years outside the city. But he moved back again and says nothing quite beats coming home from work, walking down Republic Street, perhaps going to the Lower Barrakka to relax and enjoy the view.

“Anyone from Valletta is proud to say they are from the city,” he explains. “It’s Malta’s capital city, rich in history. It’s such a beautiful city. The best way to experience Valletta is to walk with your head held high.”

Being from Valletta also means you are an expert on the feasts – in Valletta there are three parishes: St Paul, St Dominic and the Carmelite Madonna (even though the feast of this parish is St Augustine). Carnival is also a red-letter day.

“It’s part of our culture. We’re renowned for our floats and dance companies.”

Sports too is important, be it waterpolo, the regatta race or football.

“We say football is our religion. We’re very passionate supporters,” he says, admitting that there have been occasions when their behaviour did get out of hand.

But what is this divide that evidently exists between the old and new residents of Valletta?

He explains that although he is keen for new people to move into the city, the divide is that the new people will, naturally, not remember the Valletta of old – the sailors in Strait Street and the fights they would have, or the black van they were quickly thrown into should a fight break out.

“Growing up in Valletta remains a part of you,” he explains. Even those who moved out and returned will always say they are from Valletta.

Valletta is still in the process of receiving new people and the regeneration will take some years.

“I’m pleased when someone moves in,” he says. On the other hand, he admits that it’s not easy to get people who moved out of Valletta to move back in, quite simply because it doesn’t have certain commodities. What about him, would he ever move out again?

“Well, never say never,” he answers. But on further consideration, he adds, “I don’t think I will ever move out.”

Secrets too good to share

Joanna Delia moved into Valletta around 10 years ago, just after graduating. She wanted to have her own little corner in what she calls a “unique micro-reality” which her father had described so romantically when relating his adventures as a child living with his aunt and uncle in Valletta.

Her partner, Henry Peterson, moved in with her almost four years ago. Still relatively new to the country after his move from Denmark, he vividly remembers his first visit to the city for Notte Bianca in 2009.

“Entering through City Gate, I felt like I was entering a masquerade ball in Venice, bombarded with bright lights and a festive atmosphere.” But he says his first impression of Valletta is an ongoing feeling, “because I find new things to fall in love with every day: people, buildings, the culture”.

What were their first impressions of the city?

Delia explains that the locals are proud and possessive, and they are set in their ways.

“But,” she points out, “as soon as they realise you are here to stay, and that you love the city almost as much as they do, you become part of a passionate society that is hardy and surprisingly progressive.”

“When I moved here, Valletta stopped being Republic Street packed with strolling tourists and stressed errand runners, but became the side streets the public gardens with the local children playing hide and seek, and the elders discussing the latest scandals over coffee under the watchful eye of the Queen Victoria monument.”

The two agree how the city is all the better now that more areas have been pedestrianised.

“You can walk and drink and eat and chat under the stars, surrounded by baroque palazzos. And you don’t hear car engines and horns,” muses Delia.

Petersen agrees, commenting how he feels honoured to be a part of a city that is constantly evolving – they often see interesting new people moving in and new cafes opening.

“Sometimes I go around the city with our son Peppi and I find new fascinating spots every time,” he says.

When asked about these fascinating spots he admits he is tempted not to tell.

“The two best weeks of my life was when Peppi was born and we could go out for a cup of coffee every morning, either at Angelica, Cordina or Kantina, where you can sit and enjoy your espresso in the most stunning surroundings, with the bells ringing, gawking tourists and sun beams sneaking through the leaves above you.”

Somehow, when he says that Bridge Bar and its jazz nights, wine festivals and ‘secret’ restaurants are some of his favourite haunts, one suspects there are some others that have really been kept secret.

While Delia admits to having brainwashed herself to loving the city, Petersen does admit that the downside to living in the capital city is the “tad too loud, too early” delivery trucks.

Is it difficult to integrate?

For Petersen this is the first location in Malta he had to integrate into. Hailing from the Faroe Islands, he knows how islanders think and behave.

“If you treat people nicely, they will accept you and be happy to help you,” he explains.

What advice do they have for anyone wishing to live in Valletta?

“Buy an old place, take a roller-coaster ride of excitement and stress while renovating it, and stop worrying about parking spaces,” Delia says. “Valletta is by far the most culturally intense and soul gratifying part of this little country.”

While most European capitals already have an identity, Petersen believes the people living and moving into Valletta now are going to shape the true identity of this beautiful city.