Don't kill Mdina

What is happening to my city of birth, Mdina? I have read, with great anguish, the correspondence of Maria Rosner and John Manduca and I feel heartbroken.

I come to Malta more than once a year and over the 36 years that I have been absent I have seen Mdina becoming more commercialised and unfeeling every time I visit.

I should not talk like this as I must have been one of the first people to open a souvenir shop near the Mdina Gate - it took the place of the Antiques Shop which my late father had just left empty. The only other souvenir shop was on the bastions, opened by a very good friend of mine, Anna Agius Ferrante. We were both kept busy and being at the far ends of the city we did not deface Mdina.

I left Malta and consequently my shop fell into the very capable hands of my brother and his wife. Then, all of a sudden, there was an explosion. Every house that became empty on Villegaignon Street became a souvenir shop and instead of being able to point out which house a particular monsignor or a countess lived in, one was faced with a gift shop. Most of these retail outlets sell the same items and all that is different among them is the price depending on whether they are guide friendly. This is something which I fought tooth and nail against as far back as 1967 and to date nothing has been done about it.

And now, shock, horror, Doris is going. The house next to Doris's shop has been sold and I should imagine the same person who bought that will want to buy the grocery shop too, thus having a large chunk of Mdina land to develop further into the gift business - that will mean a whole huge block on Villegaignon Street selling nothing but souvenirs. The next shop the developers will be after will be Horace's guilder's shop and that would go down very well on an up-to-date map of the city filled with palazzos that have been converted into retail outlets.

I thought that Mdina had a committee to look after these things. Where are they and what are they doing about it? We must not live in the past but one cannot ruin Mdina by trying to bring it up to date. Mdina wants to remain the Silent City, a unique city in Europe. Each square inch of the city oozes history and what are they doing? They are burying all this with commercialisation which simply does not suit the elegance of Mdina.

And what are they going to do when Doris retires? A convenience shop is definitely needed by the residents. Can one of these not be created in one of the side streets? But even so, Doris's shop must not become another gift shop or an extension of another one. Each shop should specialise in their wares and make their name by selling the best of Maltese manufacture.

Other retail shops which would complement the Old City would be antique shops and book shops and not a jumble of the same items.

Another wonderful idea would be to open a couple of the grand houses to show the tourists what lies behind those thick walls and obscure windows. This would not only generate interest but also finance, which is greatly needed to keep these palaces from falling into disrepair.

So, please, those who are responsible to give permits, stop and think about it. You may not have been born in Mdina but surely you are in love with the Old Girl. Do not overburden her because she is old and before long she will become tired, uninterested, listless and she might even die. Do not murder Mdina. The Old Girl could last ad infinitum. Let her live.