Gozo, my beloved island, has endured relentless attacks over the past decade.
Ugly high-rise buildings have sprung up across Victoria and the villages, with Marsalforn and Xlendi now competing for the tallest and most hideous cement building block.
The renowned British artist Edward Lear (1812-1866), who visited Gozo between 1848 and 1866, once wrote: “Gozo’s scenery may truly be called pomskizilious and grophibberous, being as no words can describe its magnificence.” Were he to visit today, he would be appalled by how Gozo now looks.
In May 2023, I penned a scathing opinion piece in this newspaper titled ‘What we are doing to Gozo did not even happen during WWII’. I reiterate my previous words from last year: “Across Gozo, the environment clamours for its right to be respected because of its contribution to harmony on the tiny island. The light, the space, the trees, the flowers, the valleys, the brooks, the hills, even the reflections of the sea, all of nature itself must be appreciated and preserved.”
Now, the overzealous developers of Gozo are not only happy to overbuild the island and to build in the areas designated as ODZ (outside development zones). Now, they have set their focus on our cultural heritage too.
A huge apartment block was given permission to be built in the protective buffer zone of the one of the world’s oldest free-standing buildings, the Neolithic Ġgantija Temples. The building of the so-called Ġgantija Heights apartment block risked that Malta could have lost the World Heritage Site UNESCO status, incorporating all of the main prehistoric temples of Malta.
Astonishingly, in spite of this, the Planning Authority gave the go-ahead to the developers to start to build it.
A number of eNGOs and Heritage Malta appealed the PA’s decision and the Coalition of Gozo (formed by the Gozitan eNGOs Din l-Art Ħelwa Għawdex, Għawdix and Wirt Għawdex) took legal action against the PA to stop the permit. They were successful, for now, since the developer has not given up.
Gozo’s beautifully restored Ċittadella, also vying for World Heritage status, faces a similar threat from high-rise blocks obscuring its view and with recent plans for a huge boutique hotel on Triq It-Telgħa tal-Belt, the road leading to the citadel.
The plight of the other only fort of Gozo, Fort Chambray, is well known.
When it was given to private entrepreneurs in the 1990s, we all hoped that the fort would be properly restored and taken care of and not overbuilt. Unfortunately, this has not happened.
Two-thirds of the fort was built up with modern maisonettes, villas, swimming pools and underground parking. This commercial part is well taken care of, yet, the rest, including the Knights’ and British barracks and the fort’s historic bastions, unique polverista (a gunpowder magazine) and most of its defensive walls, is crumbling away.
In the Times of Malta, Judge Emeritus Giovanni Bonello gave us ‘In pictures: Early Gozo landmarks that are no more’ (July 15). The erudite judge presented photographs and illustrations from his collection of a number of Gozitan sites that have been destroyed. He wrote: “What harm the natural and man-made environment of Gozo suffered either lies at the door of nature itself, or, more frequently, wears the badge of man’s insensitivity, greed or triumphal ignorance.”
Despite being abandoned for decades, it is anything but derelict- Fr Charles Cini
If the rapacity of the over-developers of Gozo goes unabated, Bonello will soon have to add another important Gozitan historical building to his collection of “Gozo landmarks that are no more”.
Around 1898, the British constructed a military married quarters barracks in Fort Chambray, one of the first in their huge empire. This impressive two-storey, south-facing building is located in the southwest section of the fort’s enceinte and is distinguished by its use of local globigerina limestone (ġebla tal-franka), which gives a warm, natural hue to the structure.
The architecture features a rhythmic repetition of arched doorways on the ground floor and arched openings on the upper floor, creating a sense of continuity and elegance in the façade.
While typical of buildings constructed by the British colonial powers in Malta for similar purposes, this barracks is unique in Gozo, boasting distinct characteristics due to its particular location and historical context within a fortification dating back to the Knights’ period. Despite being abandoned for decades, it is anything but derelict, as the overzealous developers are insisting.
The building remains in remarkably good condition, a testament to the craftsmanship of renowned Gozitan master mason Vitor tal-Qanfuda (Victor Vella), who also built the basilica of Ta’ Pinu.
In the original plans for the fort in the 1990s, these spacious barracks were intended to be converted into hotel rooms. Now, the fort’s overzealous developers seek to demolish the only British barracks in Gozo and replace it with maisonettes for prospective private buyers.
How is this possible? Why were these barracks never listed for preservation by the State? All similar barracks in Malta have been scheduled. Why is Gozo’s history being neglected by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage? How can our Gozitan members of the Maltese parliament and the new EU Gozitan deputy allow this to happen? Where is our opposition party? Where is the Għajnsielem local council?
Why are we, the people of Gozo and Malta, accepting the destruction of a vital piece of our historical fabric as if it holds no significance for us?
How are the future generations going to judge us?