One hole instead of two

The courageous decision taken by the Prime Minister and the Archbishop to drop the project to extend the museum at St John's Co-Cathedral by making an enormous hole bang in the centre of our capital city was the only possible correct step to be taken. This was a completely unsustainable and unacceptable proposition. In all the discussion about this proposal, however, everyone seems to have forgotten that there is another project for a hole in the ground, that in front of the Palace.

There is no doubt that the reasoning behind the need for the two projects is correct in that the cathedral does need more space for its artefacts (though not the amount of space it claims) and Palace Square (or more correctly St George's Square) should be liberated from parked cars and paved. It is unfortunate, however, that the discussion about these projects took place after the applications were submitted to Mepa and not beforehand.

Now that the decision has been taken to stop the extension to the St John's Museum one hopes that the Foundation would seriously consider alternatives that I and others have made over the years and throughout this recent discussion. A hole in the ground in a recently paved area in front of the cathedral was a no-go. Valletta could not sustain such a large project right in the middle of the city. Dust, vibrations and other disturbances are a major issue, as is the protection of the underground heritage. Covering up the cemetery was also a non-starter as this is simply unacceptable from all points of view. But there are many other improvements that could be made, including a proposal I put forward years ago to have another level over the St Lucia Street shops and improvements to the existing space. In their proposal, the Foundation did not state what they would eventually use the existing museum area for but on the contrary re-listed all the artefacts they have in the current museum to insist on the need for space for them.

The parking area in front of the Palace is certainly unacceptable. I am not very much in favour of digging up this square either but do understand that one must consider the need for parliamentarians to have parking space as well as the urgent need to get this area properly paved. The Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee of Mepa had shown grave concern over this proposal and listed a number of corrections that are needed. The committee also insisted that serious archaeological digs be carried out to try and identify whether there still exist historic underground elements such as the water system that used to bring water to the fountain in the middle of the square, the cistern and the base for the triumphal column at one corner of the square. (There are other considerations but I will not mention them all.) Two archaeological digs are currently being done which prove how right we were in our considerations. The investigations are certainly not enough but at least they show that the project, if done, must make a great effort to conserve any archaeological remains.

My colleague Herman Bonnici had remarked to me that the two projects could somehow be combined. This remark got me thinking about the possibility of combining the two projects. If the St George's Square project is to go ahead, though even here there are concerns about digging up the square (though different from St John's square) then at least we should perhaps consider putting the two projects together. The latest proposal is for one level of parking. Surely it would be possible to have two other levels to house part of the St John's collection as an extension to the St John's museum? Food for thought!

Dr Bondin was Curator of Valletta for 20 years.