Letters to the editor - July 20, 2024

The plastic invasion

Valletta is a UNESCO-listed city, however, its palace facades and buildings are now partially concealed by the sheer volume of tables and chairs lined up in the city’s streets.

Outdoor furniture and incoming traffic make it almost impossible to go about one’s business during the day. That’s part of the problem. Another is that Valletta needs to be better protected from over-commercialisation, which is allowing its streets to be taken over by outdoor furniture.

St John’s Co-Cathedral. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Malta’s number one monument, St John’s Co-Cathedral, is soon to open its doors to a Gobelin Tapestry Museum. The cathedral, which houses Caravaggio’s Beheading of St John and whose glorious ceilings are graced by the hand of Mattia Preti, is surrounded by tents, umbrellas, chairs and tables, making it difficult to clearly view the cathedral.

The effect of all this clutter within the immediate proximity of St John’s is damaging its visual appeal. How can this be allowed to happen?

It is unlikely that the equivalent of St John’s Co-Cathedral elsewhere would ever have to succumb to such an invasive degradation. Would St Peter’s Basilica, in Rome, be surrounded by plastic tents? Would Santa Maria del Fiore, in Florence, and Notre Dame, in Paris, be surrounded by umbrellas, tables and chairs?

MADELEINE GERA – Valletta

Summer of darkness

Right on cue, hello summer and hello power cuts.

While acknowledging and appreciating the difficult work of Enemalta personnel, one dark (lame pun intended) thought occurs.

Anyone who survived 1980s Malta will never forget the strategic constant water cuts.

What if some bright spark has decided to manage an unsustainable power infrastructure as we heave under the strain of too many damn people and cheap tourists by rationing electricity selectively and spinning the usual cable/tripping, explanations!

No, I’m probably too jaundiced... perhaps we should rebrand ourselves as ‘Isle of No TV’ (or air-conditioning, appliances and other joys).

ANNA MICALLEF – Sliema