TMID Editorial: Traditions and history
From its historical sites, to its traditions and local cuisine, Malta is a country rich in heritage and culture.There are traditions that are so ingrained in Maltese society that we cannot even begin to imagine what Malta would be like without them.
From its historical sites, to its traditions and local cuisine, Malta is a country rich in heritage and culture.
There are traditions that are so ingrained in Maltese society that we cannot even begin to imagine what Malta would be like without them. One of those traditions which is arguably the most popular, is the village Festa.
There are sites that are so stunning that even when abroad, people from Malta try and compare. A case in point here is St John's Co-Cathedral. Malta is home to heritage sites both ancient, and in comparison, more modern. Here we refer to the temples, but also the forts, palaces, churches, coastal towers and more found around the islands. All of this, every single site, is easily reached within an hour. A blend of so many eras in reach within minutes.
Continuing to guard our heritage, and protect those sites and those traditions should be a top priority. Doing so is not only important from an economic standpoint, given that tourism is essential for the country, but far more importantly we should do so for ourselves as a people, so that future generations can enjoy these very same things, and not only learn about where they came from, but literally see and touch history.
But there are traditions which have been lost over time, and historical sites which, due to lack of action, lack of care or poor decisions, have been lost or altered in a bad way. When it comes to crafts for instance, many instantly think of glass blowing, which seems to be doing very well. But what about others like Bizzilla - Maltese Lace? More initiatives to keep such traditions going should be introduced.
When it comes to historic sites there are some which have been left abandoned. A case in point would be Fort Campbell, another Selmun Palace.
There are others that have seen highly controversial decisions taken by the authorities - one such example is the recently approved Fort Chambray application to dismantle and then rebuild the British Barracks. NGOs are now planning on filing an appeal against the permit.
Not only should more heritage buildings, like the aforementioned barracks, be assigned protected status and be preserved, but more importance must be given to the surrounding context of heritage buildings. If a part of a building is protected for example, far more care than we have seen in the past should be taken when it comes to the kind of development allowed on that site. If Malta doesn't take better care when it comes to such sites, then they could be lost, forgotten about.
Related
Share this page
Guest Posts by Easy Branches
