Good reaction to Valletta 2020 national conference

Several readers of The Sunday Times reacted to the announcement last week of a full-day conference entitled Valletta 2020.

The conference, to be organised by CityPro, the specialist estate agency, at the St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity, is being held on March 20.

Following are some of the e-mails received by CityPro in reaction to the announcement.

Claudine Attard Pace (glcmalta@onvol.net)

First of all I congratulate you for organising this event. I stand to be corrected, but this is the first time that such a collective symposium on a newspaper by different persons about Valletta has ever taken place.

In 2020 I would like all to see Valletta blooming with the green colour and with the colours of different flowers.

It's very difficult to rejuvenate Valetta with night life, which has shifted to another place.

But perhaps one may give more breath to cultural societies to hold their sittings and celebrations there. For example, why have cultural societies to pay a high price to hold a cultural evening at St James Cavalier?

One may hope to see the Opera House and the entrance to the City rebuilt and be worthy of such a historical City.

Perhaps in 2020 I won't be here; if so, I would like, from the place where I'll be installed, to look at Valletta and say: ''I never felt happier seeing my capital City in such a respectful and spectacular state.

Carmel Mallia (lavojo@melita.net)

I am so glad to see that finally there are some people who are actually taking an interest in promoting and why not, even improving one of the world's best heritages. This unfortunately has been left amiss for a number of years and although there are organisations with the aim to promote Valletta they usually all follow their own particular agenda, i.e. business interests or history.

With this venture you are finally putting all possible viewpoints together and this is especially appreciated from my side as a former resident in Valletta and also a business owner.

Adrian Galea (galeaadrian@hotmail.com)

I am a Maltese citizen, currently undergoing postgraduate training in the United Kingdom. It is a pleasure to see Valletta on the agenda like this. I strongly believe that we have a jewel in Valletta, but one we need to learn to take care of properly.

For a person born and bred in Malta, Valletta remains to this day an experience. Sights and sounds, nooks and crannies, highs and lows, history but also, future. I am a believer of Valletta remaining dynamic and not just a museum piece outlining the last 450 years.

It needs to respond to the present, but being sensitive to its past. It pains me particularly to see the destruction ravaged by cars entering the city and believe that a proper, tailored, transport policy for Valletta is of paramount importance.

Alternative means of transport within the city can only reduce wear and tear to the infrastructure, preserve historic buildings and enhance the experience that is Valletta. I am also a believer that Valletta is not in isolation.

It is the centrepoint within a wider geographical area taking on Marsamxett harbour on one side and the three cities on the other. I also take note of various restoration programmes over the past decade and the current debate within Din l-Art Helwa. Valletta, as the capital city, is the symbol of our nationhood. The way we treat it may say a lot about what we think of ourselves. Congratulations on this initiative and wish you the perseverance to initiate progress.

Mariella Azzopardi (mariella@ovltd.com)

I remember Valletta when it was the actual hub of all age groups of the Maltese. Saturday evening Republic Street would be overflowing with people. Cafes and bars all filled with people; a struggle to find a table to sit at.

But then the young people started to move out and all of a sudden Valletta became what we know it now: a ghost town in the evenings. A new era had began. After shop hours Valletta becomes a dead city. I know that a lot is being done to try and revive Valletta but it seems that all this is to no avail.

Quite a considerable number of bars and restaurants have been opened. Activities are held at the St James Cavalier; thus people get into Valletta after 7 in the evening but still it is not as it used to be and in my opinion it would never be.

Here I am talking about the commercial side of Valletta, but what do we say about the residential side? In Valletta one finds some wonderful houses, some of which, unfortunately, are left abandoned. Thus lack of maintenance will lead to irremediable repair.

We really have to see what we can do for our priceless gem, an old city with its charm and beauty. Valletta will combine beautifully with the future, if we appreciate it more and do not neglect it. It should be like wine which gets exquisite with the passing of time and priceless like a rare antique.