Piano not the right architect for Valletta

Judging by the pictures spread out on the centre pages of The Times in a recent issue, as well as the way the Centre Georges Pompidou looks in Paris (I saw it during my last visit there), Renzo Piano is not the right architect for our fortress city, Valletta. After all, did he not design a City Gate project in 1989 that was highly criticised and dropped? So why go to him again?

I do not see why our Nationalist government goes to Italian architects in such matters. Was it not a Nationalist government who engaged architect Bergonzo who gave us a Fascist City Gate that now the government wants to change? What is wrong with Maltese architects? Are we so hopeless to be left out completely and never asked? In my opinion, Maltese architects should first be asked for a design and only then should one decide whether to ask outsiders or not.

Furthermore, building Parliament instead of the Opera House is wrong. Our Opera House was one of the most beautiful in Europe, actually considered the second best. So why not build it as it was before it was bombed? (I can still see the German bomber flying on to Valletta from the Ħamrun side and dropping the bomb). Somewhere I read that the German government was willing to contribute financially to its rebuilding. No doubt a proper opera theatre (we do not have one in Malta) will help boost culture in Malta and our tourism as well. Abroad opera theatres are not in every town and village and so tourists would be more inclined to come to Malta to enjoy seeing an opera as well as our historic and archaeological heritage. When I was in Australia on a cruise liner about 600 disembarked to see II Pescatore di Perle at the opera house in Sydney. More and more cruise liners are coming to Malta every year, so let us give them all the more reason to do so.

Parliament should be housed in Fort St Elmo. It has ample room for offices and parking. Besides, it is highly historic making it more apt for a government seat.