Pietà is one of the historical peripheral towns of Valletta dating back to circa 1800. It boasts a rich heritage of unique scheduled buildings, with a few having beautiful baroque and neoclassical gardens.

The Grade 1 scheduled property Villa Frere is perhaps the most well-known, as a result of the incredible work of Perit Edward Said and the team at Friends of Villa Frere. In addition, the locality also includes the beautiful but incredibly dilapidated Palazzo Windward and Villa Gwardamangia, the former residence of Queen Elizabeth II post WWII and recently bought by Heritage Malta. Furthermore, it includes St Luke’s Hospital, a fine building in its own right, a legacy of the best of the ‘40’s architecture in Malta.

A detail of Pieta peninsula in the Grognet Plan circa 1799, illustrating the presence of historic buildings along the entire waterfront circa 1800.

In spite of this rich architectural and historical legacy, Pietà is in a pitiful state. Its historic buildings are crumbling, unloved and disused. The worst off are those which line the waterfront, stretching from Triq ix-Xatt facing Ta’ Xbiex and extending to the junction with Triq L-Indipendenza. This stretch has a total of 36 scheduled buildings, where currently the scheduling is seen as a liability by the owners, as opposed to an asset.

This entire waterfront stretch of circa 500 metres is mainly burdened by the presence of a main vehicular artery which links Msida to Floriana, resulting in very high pollution levels which further exacerbate the condition of these historical properties, rendering them blackened, inaccessible, noisy and devoid of their previous connection with the sea.

Detail from a survey dating to 1740 showing lands pertaining to the nuns of St Catherine Valletta. Note the walled orchards on part of the site now occupied by the Zamittello gardens. Photo courtesy of Edward Said and the monastery of St Catherine, Valletta.

Several of the historic buildings in the first stretch of Triq ix-Xatt and other pockets along this road have been demolished and redeveloped with buildings devoid of any architectural qualities that may have even atoned for the loss of valuable and unique heritage.

The old post office was replaced...

...with these buildings on the waterfront.

The scheduling exercise by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage in 1999 was the first step in the right direction, in that it recognised the historical value of many of these buildings. In fact, by the sheer quantity of scheduled buildings along this waterfront, it recognises the historical import of this entire streetscape. However, scheduling buildings is simply not enough.

Giardino Zammitello outlined in yellow. Photo: Oliver Gatt

Proposals for the redevelopment of buildings along this water’s edge only offer one model of ‘rehabilitation’ in an attempt to make any kind of financial sense of the expense required to rehabilitate such buildings, and the only model on offer is that of internal demolition and with the construction of vertical extensions of up to seven floors or, in one particular case, 10 floors. This has already happened with one horrendous pencil development, setting a precedent for numerous other cases currently being assessed by the Planning Authority, the latest being PA 8485/20 proposed on part of Palazzo Windward – another pencil development rising 20 metres adjacent to Villa Frere. Of all these cases, the most prominent is that of a proposed hotel within the site of Giardino Zamittello (PA 698/19) rising to 11 floors. An application for the development is currently at appeal stage and is scheduled for a decision within the next few weeks.

The waterfront featuring the pencil development on the left, together with a render of the proposed 11-storey hotel development.

Is this the only way to go? Surely, there is a better way of rehabilitating this stretch of 18th and 19th-century waterfront and historical buildings? This very important part of our North Harbour deserves better.

This is a classic case illustrating the importance of the preparation of a master plan. This street is unique and a master plan for the area would catalyse the regeneration of all of Pietà and Msida. Sitting between the popular waterfront of Ta’ Xbiex and the fortifications of Floriana and Valletta, the gateway to Valletta, the Pieta’ waterfront is within walking distance of both Valletta and the Sliema, Gzira areas. It boasts views onto the fortifications of Floriana and the delightful waterfront of Ta’ Xbiex. It now also harbours a new marina which attracts luxury yachts and the recreational activity that goes hand in hand with boating and marinas.

The pencil development approved by the Planning Authority.

This problem is not new. In 1998, a similar stretch of waterfront buildings was crumbling, unloved and abandoned. The properties had a busy vehicular artery passing in front of them. As part of a group of architects, developers and planners, I tabled the suggestion that the vehicular road passing in front of these historic buildings had to be moved to the back, reconnecting their facades to the water’s edge.

The proposal was originally received with trepidation. However, this idea was soon backed by investors with vision. It gained traction and together with the Planning Authority, we developed a scheme which is now the Valletta Waterfront, a scheme which won several honours and prizes for rehabilitation. No vertical extensions were allowed and the main use of this stretch of waterfront is not just linked to the cruise liner activity but includes offices and food and beverage outlets.

The numerous amount of scheduled buildings threated by internal demolition and massive vertical extensions in current applications.

I relate this example since I believe that there is a future for a restored Pietà Waterfront to be given a new lease of life. The solution lies in the removal of the two-way vehicular artery in front of this stretch of buildings, leaving a minor one-way local access route, possibly even at a lower level.

The vision is that of a waterfront which is fully or partially pedestrianised, which allows the buildings along this stretch to be reconnected to the activities of the marina, whilst providing for an uninterrupted pedestrian and cycling route par excellence from Ta’ Xbiex to Floriana.

Whilst limited vertical extensions may be permitted to the same height as Villa Frere, they would not obscure the views from the gardens and buildings behind. The focus would be on the rehabilitation of the historic buildings themselves, together with their gardens. Hotels, commercial activities and marina related uses, would all be possible together with suitable complementary uses.

The removal of a main artery and the creation of a green space and pedestrianised route may at first sound outrageous, but the suggestion is not new, and similar solutions have been proposed and implemented all over Europe. It has happened successfully along the embankments of the Seine and the Tiber. It has happened in Madrid and Barcelona. All the current regeneration plans for inner-city cores across Europe seek the removal of vehicular activity and the replacement of roads with green liveable spaces. In many cases, the vehicular activity is minimised and where it is desirable not to totally eliminate traffic, this is moved below ground. In all recent examples, the regeneration has led to a marked increase in property values within the affected areas, significant economic boom, and with the addditional benefit of the successful regeneration of entire historic and inner-city centres.

Beautiful baroque gardens could be partially demolished and hidden behind an 11-storey hotel.

We have recently been provided with the first images of fresh proposals for a project for Msida Creek. It is yet another infrastructure project, with more millions to be invested, none too wisely, in the creation of flyovers for vehicles, in a misguided attempt to solve the traffic problem in the main Msida square.

It was described as ‘outrageous” by the President of the Kamra tal-Periti for a number of reasons, including the fact that there is no planning permit in place and the project fails to have gone out for public consultation, despite this being at the centre of the major residential areas of Gzira, Ta’ Xbiex and Pieta. This project may allow traffic to flow more freely, and faster, as ascertained by billboards put up by Infrastructure Malta, but it will only shift the problem further downstream, to the next junction, removing all potential for a liveable and attractive piazza at the end of Msida creek.

A digitally-generated render of the Msida Creek flyover project, provided by Infrastructure Malta.

On the other hand, we have a unique opportunity to elevate the Msida Creek Project, by providing an overall vision which will provide for the deviation of traffic away from the Pietà Waterfront and allow for the creation of a true city centre green plaza for Msida.

The solution may lie in a tunnel linking the beginning of Triq Mikiel Anton Vassallo to Triq L-Indipendenza. This would not only result in removing traffic from the Pietà Waterfront, but it would provide an artery from  Triq Mikiel Anton Vassallo (Regional road) to Valletta with the possibility of providing a link to a potential car park beneath Piazza San Luqa.

A possible tunnel linking Msida Creek to Triq L-Indipendenza with a node at Pjazza San Luqa would alleviate the main artery from the historic Pieta Waterfront. Also note the possible position of a pedestrian bridge marked with an arrow in green.

An enhanced Msida Creek Project could provide for better and greener solutions for this entire area. Removing traffic from the waterfront could also be linked with a pedestrian bridge at the base of Triq l-Abate Rigord across Msida Creek, elevated sufficiently for the small craft that dock in this inner part of the creek to pass beneath. This would be similar to the London Millenium Footbridge designed by Foster and Partners, linking Bankside to the city of London, which also catalysed the rehabilitation of the entire area around St Paul’s Cathedral known as Pater Noster Square.

The pedestrianised Valletta Waterfront, incorporating offices, restaurants and cafes. Photo: Shutterstock

The focus of both Infrastructure Malta and that of Planning Authority should be that of creating a unique masterplan for this historic area: a masterplan which allows the owners and developers of the buildings along the Pietà Waterfront to invest profitably in the rehabilitation of these buildings, without the need for overdevelopment. A masterplan would allow energies and investment to be channelled towards a vision which would give a future to a new, up-market Pietà Waterfront, whilst respecting the past.

In seeking a solution for the Pietà Waterfront, the focus should be that of creating quality urban spaces, improving accessibility not only for vehicles but also for pedestrians and cyclists. The focus of the masterplan needs to be widened in order to take on board the needs of the communities which live in Msida, Gzira, Ta’ Xbiex and Pietà and to include much-needed investment in the creation of better urban spaces: spaces where we can breathe clean air, walk safely to various destinations and provide for an overall improvement in our quality of life.

Joanna Spiteri Staines is an architect specialising in conservation and rehabilitation of historic buildings and sites. She is a partner at Openwork Studio and Nidum as well as a council member of Din L-Art Helwa.