In my neighbourhood, there stood, until recently, a Maltese ‘house of character’ with an attractive, age-acquired copper patina on its limestone facade. It had a lemon-coloured, traditional wooden balcony with louvred windows.

It was flanked by two smaller al fresco balconies with wrought-iron railings. These side balconies on the second storey had lemon-coloured, louvred doors opening out on them. A short flight of steps led up to a terrace in front of the main door.

This dignified house of character, until recently still in good condition, has been reduced to a caricature - a mere shell of its demolished, former self - in order to be replaced with a block of flats.

The prevailing preservation ‘philosophy’ of Maltese property owners and their cronies at the Planning Authority is reminiscent of Potemkin ‘cardboard villages’. As long as they keep up the facade, they think they’re doing their bit for posterity.