World renowned architect Renzo Piano is relieved that the monti stalls will not be cluttering the “subtly-designed” area next to Valletta’s new Parliament building.

However, he is not against having the hawkers selling their wares across the road from Parliament, along Ordnance Street.

“The market is quite interesting; it’s about contemporary life. I’m not against it,” Mr Piano told The Sunday Times of Malta. “Moving the market on the other side of Republic Street is a good move. Finally, I don’t think it will disturb the area; the way it’s located now is fine,” he said.

The initial decision to relocate the Valletta open market to Ordnance Street, including the area between the new Parliament and the Royal Opera House ruins, sparked a public outcry and concern it would ruin the capital’s iconic entrance.

Mr Piano’s lead architect on the City Gate, Antonio Belvedere joined the fray and described the decision as “shameful”.

He said, memorably: “It’s like making a cake and then spitting on it. It’s not an elegant metaphor, I apologise for it, but that is what it is.”

But last month, Economy Minister Chris Cardona acknowledged that aesthetically the decision did not make sense, and said the government had dropped its original plans; much to the hawkers’ disappointment and disbelief.

Mr Piano was asked about the monti during his whirlwind visit to Malta yesterday to inaugurate, together with Speaker Anglu Xuereb, an exhibition depicting the project’s human adventure.

The exhibits and their presentation were all prepared by staff of the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, in collaboration with the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation. Mr Piano said the plans to convert Valletta’s ditch into a public garden, accessible by lift from the City Gate area were still on the cards.

We need to have the garden in the ditch and a pedestrian square near the fountain

The Labour administration had shelved the garden in July 2013 as part of a cost-cutting exercise, but it started to rethink its decision earlier this year.

Mr Belvedere said to this newspaper that following discussions with Infrastructure Minister Joe Mizzi over lunch yesterday he was confident the process to restore the ditch and pedestrianise the area surrounding the Triton fountain would start soon.

“Everybody is convinced that to complete the overall experience we need to have the garden in the ditch and a pedestrian square near the fountain,” he said.

Although the government was planning to use part of the ditch for parking, Mr Belvedere said no cars would be visible from the City Gate entrance.

“I think the will is there to deliver on it. In this job you have to be optimistic… but with a hammer to push people to share in your vision,” he added.

The City Gate project has been in the incubator for the past 30 years, when Mr Piano was first summoned to the island in an initiative promoted by Prof. Salvino Busuttil, when he directed Unesco’s division for sociocultural environment and human settlements.

Prof. Busuttil recalled how Mr Piano had agreed to design a masterplan for Valletta, but regrettably it never came to fruition and over the years seemed to have been forgotten. “Renzo Piano had been so disappointed when the project was stalled because of the public outcry at the time – it was deemed too modern and not in line with a baroque city – that he vowed never to return to Malta,” he said.

Six years ago, Prof. Busuttil was again instrumental in helping persuade Mr Piano to give Malta a second chance and return to execute the City Gate project.

“At first his reaction was, ‘I like you, but I was treated shabbily’. It took me two days to persuade him, plus Valletta and its association with the Knights has always intrigued him,” Prof. Busuttil said, reminiscing on his long friendship with Mr Piano.

Sitting down and taking in the view of his work through Parliament’s glass entrance, Mr Piano does not begrudge the time it took for his designs to come to life.

“I feel happy… you shouldn’t think that taking time is wrong. Cities need to be built on time. Our profession is very dangerous because if you do something wrong it lasts forever,” he said.

“I feel we achieved what we set out to do. Now the adoption starts, the time when people start to make the place their own. I sometimes hide behind a column and watch people’s faces as they observe the building. It’s very inspiring to see them enjoy the space…

“This is not about politics but about community... Public spaces are the essence of urbanity and civic life. It’s the art of staying together, the art of building tolerance and diversity.”