V A L L E T T A, Statues, Niches, Small Churches, Public Fountains, Public Clocks, Monuments & Marble Tablets was launched today at the Malta Chamber of Commerce. The book aims to fill a void in the publications about Malta’s capital city, which has been written about many times, in several languages, author Michael Galea said today.

A characteristic of Valletta, which in 1988 was declared by UNESCO a city of European culture and a World Heritage Site, are the many statues, fountains and niches which embellish its streets and alleys.

“Monuments and marble tablets have a story to tell. They are a lasting memorial of an event or a personality that made a mark in the annals of a nation. A monument or a marble tablet is in itself a tribute and a public recognition of a particular event or of a national figure.”

The many monuments in Valletta continue to embellish this 16th century city. Some marble tablets record the past, others contemporary history. They are, indeed, another form of writing and transmitting history. The streets of Valletta are very rich in history, as this book intends to show.

The books aims to bring to light the reasons behind the setting up of these embellishments, which “we sometimes take for granted” Mr Galea said.

The book has been published by Allied Publications.