Country Profile And History Of Malta Tourism Essay

Situated in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, only some 93 km away from the southernmost part of Sicily and 288 km east of Tunis, the Republic of Malta is one of the smallest, albeit most densely populated (1307 inhabitants/km²), European countries. The population of 412 970 [1] is spread over Malta and Gozo [2] , two main islands, which together with their corresponding archipelago comprise a surface area of 316 km2.

The tale of the Maltese history is a very turbulent one and it has seen a succession of many different powers ruling its islands throughout the course of time. Maltese islands have been already colonised in prehistoric times when the first settlers came down from the nearby Sicily, establishing their Neolithic communities around 5000 BC (Trump 1972). The period around 4100 BC marked the beginning of the so-called Temple Period (Å»ebbuÄ¡ phase) around the islands, characterized by the appearance of the rock-cut chamber tombs. The peak of the Temple period ensued in the Ä gantija phase (3600 – 3200 BC), named after the eponymous site on the island of Gozo (Trump 2002). This was the first phase of the extensive building activity in the form of the megalithic structures, while the second phase took place around 3000 BC However, the prolific era of architectural prowess ceased towards 2500 BC, the buildings were abandoned and islands depopulated, until the advent of the Bronze Age with new populations arriving and raising their settlements (2500 – 700 BC).

In the period between 700 and 500 BC, Malta was colonised by the Phoenicians who saw the importance of islands’ strategic location and used their harbours for their trading business. After almost 300 years of Punic domination, which started around 500 BC, and their resulting defeat in the Punic wars, the power over the islands fell into the Roman hands in 218 BC, who incorporated them in the province of Sicily and thus the Empire. After the division of the Roman Empire, Malta was briefly occupied by Vandals and Ostrogoths in the 5th century, but in 535 AD, during the reign of Emperor Justinian I, it was assimilated by the Byzantine Empire where it remained until the Arabian conquest in 870 AD (Bonnano 2005). A chaotic medieval period followed where different rulers and ruling dynasties were replacing each other, for example, Normans, Swabians, Angevins, Aragonese, just to name a few. For a brief period of 50 years, Malta was a part of the Spanish Empire, until 1530 when it was consigned to the Knights of the Order of Saint John who were expelled from the island of Rhodes by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Under the constant threat of the Turkish attack, Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette built the first fortifications on Malta (Birgu and Isla) and Fort St. Elmo to guard the entrance to the Grand Harbour. The inevitable Turkish invasion began in 1565 marking the event known in history as the Great Siege of Malta. The attack was successfully warded off and in 1566 the Knights started constructing their new city, which was to carry the name of their victorious Grand Master. For the next 232 years, Malta stayed under the command of the Knights until the French occupation in 1798 led by Napoleon. However, after only two years, the French will surrender the territory to the British and Malta will become a crown colony by the provisions of the Treaty of Paris (1814). [3] 

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As an important strategic naval base to the Allied forces, Malta suffered great damage and loss of lives during WWII, while being bombed by the German and Italian forces. On 15th April 1942, King George VI awarded the country with George Cross for bravery, a symbol that is today embedded in the Maltese flag. [4] 

During the British rule, the government structure was constantly shifting. Malta was granted self-government in 1921 by the provisions of the Amery-Milner Constitution, which also allowed for the first Parliament to be established. The Constitution was suspended, restored and withdrawn in the period of three years (1930 – 1933) as the result of a political crisis (Zammit 2005). Nevertheless, self-government was restored to Malta between 1947 and 1964. Finally, on 21st September 1964, Malta gained independence from the colonial rule, gained sovereignty within the Commonwealth and joined the United Nations. In the following year, Malta also joined the Council of Europe. It was not until a decade later that Malta declared itself a republic, on 13th December 1974, with Sir Anthony Mamo as its first president. With the termination of the military base agreement, British troops and the Royal Navy withdrew from the islands in 1979. [5] In 1993, local government was reintroduced by an act of Parliament. Another milestone in Maltese history occurred in 2003 when the Treaty of Accession to the European Union was signed and on 1st May 2004, in the biggest enlargement of the EU history, Malta joined the Union with other nine states.

Today, Malta is a parliamentary democracy whose government structure and public administration are modelled on the Westminster system. Its political scene is governed by two major political parties, which shifted in power since WWII, namely, the Nationalist Party (Partit Nazzjonalista; Christian Democratic Party) and the Labour Party (Partit Laburista; Social Democratic Party), with Nationalist party being currently in power.

2.2 Legislation on cultural heritage

The earliest legislation on cultural heritage in Malta dates back to 1925 when the colonial government issued the Antiquities (Protection) Act which was the consolidated edition of a series of earlier ordinances issued from 1907. The Act was followed by the creation of the Antiquities list in 1932, which contained the records of sites and properties under protection.

Heritage was next mentioned in 1991, in the context of Act Nr. V of the Environment Protection Act which proclaimed that “ministers responsible for the environment have the power to declare any natural or cultural site as protected”. In the succeeding Development Planning Act of 1992, cultural heritage is introduced through the scheduling of properties for conservation.

The old Antiquities Act was superseded in 2002 by the Cultural Heritage Act which was to rectify the imbalances that had existed since the times of antiquated governance and institute structural changes which would reflect the current needs by making provisions for management, regulation and conservation of cultural heritage (Grima & Theuma 2006).

The Cultural Heritage Act (2002), the principal tool that protects the cultural heritage in Malta, defines ‘cultural heritage’ as “movable and immovable objects of artistic, architectural, historical, archaeological, ethnographic, paleontological and geological importance and includes information or data relative to cultural heritage pertaining to Malta or to any other country.”

The CHA established a number of different entities, such as Heritage Malta, Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, Committee of Guarantee, Malta Centre for Restoration (merged with Heritage Malta in 2005), National Forum and Cultural Heritage Fund (administered by the Committee of Guarantee). The functions and objectives of selected entities will be detailed later in this chapter (2.3).

Guardianship Deed is an important tool introduced by the CHA (Article 48), with the SCH in charge of the administration process. It encourages involvement at grassroots level by allowing cultural heritage NGOs and local councils to enter into contract with the State which can transfer to them immovable cultural property in guardianship. This can only be done with properties such as archaeological sites, fortresses, towers and buildings which are public property. If the agreement in the notarial act is for some reason cancelled, the land returns to the government and the public ownership of the site is not lost.

Government gives LCs or NGOs special rights on these properties, especially economic rights, because they can make money from the sites through fundraising and keep the money for restoration of buildings. This is an exception because usually, an NGO cannot perform fundraising activities on a public property. A GD is extremely helpful because it allows the state to transfer the neglected properties which would otherwise probably never be restored.

Up until now, ten properties were entrusted to NGOs (nine to Din l-Art Helwa and one to Wirt Artna) and one to the Tarxien Local Council for a WWII shelter (SCH 2010). The number seems to indicate either a lack of interest or poor awareness of the opportunities offered by the GD (SCH 2010).

The National strategy for cultural heritage was published in 2006 by the Ministry for Tourism and Culture as a further step in the implementation of the Cultural Heritage Act. The main objectives identified in this document are citizen participation, improved governance, development of cultural resources and sustainable use of heritage resources (MTC 2006a).

The Local Councils Act was approved by the Maltese Parliament on 30 June 1993. It was based on the COE’s European Charter of Local Self-Government which the Government ratified earlier that same year. The Act created a system of local government authorities and gave them considerable responsibilities and functions, all of which are described in Articles 33 through 48. In relation to cultural heritage, the LCA limited LCs’ involvement in cultural heritage projects, however, Article 48 of the CHA enabled them to assume the role of custodians by entering into the Guardianship deed with the government. This process has already been discussed earlier in this text.

The Development Planning Act was created in 1992 and makes provisions “for the planning and management of development and for the establishment of an authority with powers to that effect” (DPA 1992, 1). The articles 46 through 47 are of interest here as they refer to cultural and natural heritage and authorize the agency in question (MEPA) to schedule property for conservation, to manage and review the list of scheduled property and to make emergency conservation orders.

The Structure Plan for the Maltese Islands was published in 1990 by the Planning Services Division of the Ministry for Development of Infrastructure. It is different from the DPA, in that it designates various types of conservation areas and properties, Chapter 15 of the SPMI identifies complementary policies which apply to those areas and properties. It further ranks the properties according to their significance and degree of protection. Listed buildings in Urban Conservation Areas are graded as Grades 1 to 3; Areas and Sites of Archaeological Importance are classified from Class A to D, while Areas of Ecological Importance and Sites of Scientific Importance are rated from Level 1 to 4 (SPMI 1990).

2.3 Relevant authorities

In the last twelve years, culture has shifted between several ministerial portfolios, presently constituting a part of Ministry for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports (Attard 2010). Before the CHA of 2002, there was only the Museums Department, the state administrative unit, which was both the operator and the regulator, functions which are today performed by Heritage Malta and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage. Since the Museums Department was not covered by law, there was not much information to be found on the subject. They had no autonomy, but they had a budget with which they ran the museums, while the revenue from the ticket sales went back to the government (Cutajar 2010).

The Superintendence for Cultural Heritage (Sovrintendenza Tal-Patrimonju Kulturali) is a national agency responsible for the regulation of all matters pertaining to the cultural heritage of Malta. Their mission, as defined by Article 7, paragraph 1 of the CHA is “to fulfil the duties of the State in ensuring the protection and accessibility of Malta’s cultural heritage”. Article 7, paragraph 5 details all the functions of the SCH, some of which are: development, managing and updating the National inventory of cultural property; promoting research in the field of cultural heritage; authorising and conducting excavations; keeping and managing documentation and archives in relation to cultural heritage; the monitoring of import and export of cultural goods; enforcement of the laws; advising the Minister and MEPA on heritage matters; administration of Guardianship deeds with NGOs and local councils. SCH is headed by the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage and currently consists of eleven staff members (Attard 2010). Since 2007, they have administered the Cultural Heritage Inventory Management System (CHIMS) project, a national database for heritage data management, which attempts to improve access to information.

The agency keeps a meticulous record of their publications namely, Annual Reports and State of heritage reports which can be accessed online on their official website.

Heritage Malta is an operating agency, established “to ensure that those elements of the cultural heritage entrusted to it are protected and made accessible to the public” (CHA 2002, Art.8, para.1). HM’s main task is management of State-owned museums and heritage sites, their related collections on the islands of Malta and Gozo, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites (HM 2008). The agency is governed by a Board of Directors. In 2005, the amendment to the CHA merged the former Malta Centre for Restoration with HM, and thus gave rise to the Institute of Conservation and Management of Cultural Heritage which offers academic and vocational courses in conservation in collaboration with MCAST and the University of Malta. [6] 

Further functions of the Agency are elaborated upon in Article 8, paragraph 4 of the CHA, some of which are acquisition of properties, collections, sites and buildings; performing or commissioning conservation or restoration of owned or administered cultural properties; promoting education and appreciation of heritage to the general public; ensuring that all of the heritage sites entrusted to them are managed, conserved, studied and presented in the best way possible.

HM has successfully managed to capitalize upon different EU funding schemes for their cultural heritage and conservation programmes. Following is a selection of some of the ongoing projects: SMARTmuseum (FP7) – development of a platform for innovative IT services; Rehabilitation of Roman Baths and Christian Catacombs in Mgarr and Mosta (EAFRD); MINERVA Digitisation Project; ĦaÄ¡ar Qim and Mnajdra Archaeological Park (ERDF) – installation of protective shelters, conservation and presentation, Med.Archeo.Sites: Study and Valorisation of Archaeological Sites of the Mediterranean Area. [7] The latest and a rather significant project is a 9.2€ million Archaeological Heritage Conservation Project (ERDF) launched in mid-2008. It will run until March 2013 and includes works on three sites, two of which are part of the Maltese Megalithic temples WHS (Ä gantija and Tarxien temples), while the third is on UNESCO’s Tentative List (St. Paul’s Catacombs in Rabat). The project includes construction of elevated walkways for both WHSs, a museum and a visitors’ centre at Ä gantija, and a temporary protective shelter, similar to the ones at ĦaÄ¡ar Qim and Mnajdra, over the Tarxien temples (HM 2008).

Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) was established by the provisions of the Development Planning Act (1992) and its role further reinforced by the Environment Protection Act (2001). It is a national agency in charge of “land use planning and environmental regulation in Malta”. [8] MEPA is subdivided into the Development Planning Directorate, Environment Protection Directorate, Directorate for Corporate Service and the Chairman’s Office, all of which are carrying out the agency’s responsibilities.

The Planning Directorate is further split into the Forward Planning Division and the Development Services Division. It is within FPD that the Heritage Planning Unit (HPU), which is responsible for all matters pertaining to cultural and natural heritage, is placed. A full list of HPU’s obligations and duties can be found explained in detail in Structure Plan for the Maltese Islands (Chapter 15), EPA and DPA (Chapters 46 – 48). Some of the main tasks of HPU are providing general information on heritage, legal protection of immovable heritage and heritage related planning, scheduling properties and maintaining the Malta Scheduled Property Register, publishing guidelines for restoration, [9] internal [10] and public awareness projects. [11] 

Within the “Public Awareness” section of the HPU’s website one can find links to X-Plain and One World. X-Plain is a four-page long newsletter on MEPA’s monthly activities, whose first issue was published in May 2007. There were seven issues published in 2007 and only three in 2008 which clearly shows that the newsletter has been discontinued. One world, on the other hand, was a special column in Times of Malta newspaper where, in the period from May 2007 until June 2009, a series of articles on cultural heritage of Malta were published.

There is also an informative section with answers to some frequently asked questions such as the definition of buffer zones, how to check if one’s property has been scheduled or which works can be carried out within scheduled property without development consent.

MEPA and HPU are encouraging citizen involvement so, for instance, every citizen can request a property to be scheduled and thus legally protected and enlisted in MSPR by filling the appropriate form available on the MEPA website.

The Maltese National Commission for UNESCO was created when Malta gained independence in 1964. Although a national commission, it comprises of volunteer staff members whose energy, resources and time they can spend are infinitesimal compared to national commissions of other countries that employ full-time personnel. The Maltese National Commission for UNESCO organises local projects which are in line with the mission and objectives of the parent organisation located in Paris. [12] Some of the projects related to Malta’s WHSs include a preparation of a reactive monitoring report for City of Valletta and publication of “The Tarxien Temples: Teacher’s Resource Book & Worksheets”. The Commission runs the official website where one can gather information about their activities and members. The News section of the site brings updates on news related to global UNESCO’s activities.

Local councils, as already mentioned in the section on legislation, were created in 1993 as required by the LCA. There are altogether 68 local councils of which 54 are located in Malta and 14 in Gozo. LCs are, by legal definition, responsible for a number of things (Articles 33 – 48, LCA), and specifically excluded from a number of other things, most of which are dealing with cultural sites. They have the right to organise local festas or other folkloristic activities, and deduct funding for culture from their own resources. LCs spend a lot of money on restoration of local chapels and publications, but national monuments, such as the Megalithic temples WHS, are not their responsibility as those are funded from the government budgets and managed by the national agency (Heritage Malta). Tarxien, Qrendi, MÄ¡arr and XagÄra are local councils of special interest here since the Megalithic temples WHS are situated in their administrative units. Following is a short analysis of information that these LCs provide on the temples to interested parties.

The office of XagÄra Local Council does not contain any HM brochures on Ä gantija. A member of the LC informed the author that they do not receive these brochures from Heritage Malta at all. However, they do have a catalogue which lists all the sites of historical interest in XagÄra, though it wasn’t specified if this is something available for purchase or only for library use. The book was not available for viewing at the time of the author’s visit.

The official website of the LC was no more informative either. It contains a link [13] which shows an interactive map of XagÄra with clickable points of interest. Upon clicking the point for Ä gantija, the visitor enters a new page with information on Ä gantija temples and one photo of the site. The text does not mention that Ä gantija is UNESCO WHS. Another link [14] provides some brief information on the history of Gozo, starting from prehistoric times, and includes one more photo of Ä gantija.

The website of MÄ¡arr Local Council provides specific information on the Ta’ ĦaÄ¡rat and Skorba temples accompanied by one photo of each site. [15] Almost everything is in Maltese, with only some content translated into English. The English version of the site displays information on the history of the village featuring links to the HM website and their information on the temples. [16] The author did not have a chance to meet a representative of this LC despite several communication attempts.

The office of the Qrendi Local Council, just like the XagÄra LC, does not contain any HM brochures. The secretary of the LC stated regrettably that there is no cooperation between them and Heritage Malta although they have expressed their interest on many occasions. On the other hand, the LC seems to cooperate and consult more freely with MEPA concerning cultural heritage issues. From time to time the council organises cultural and educational outings, however, none of these were done at ĦaÄ¡ar Qim or Mnajdra WHSs. They have also designed several “heritage walks”, itineraries through the village of Qrendi and its significant buildings, mainly local chapels and churches, a palace, a tower and a public garden. [17] 

In 2009, the council organized a cultural event “From prehistory to the digital era” during which one lecture on the temples of ĦaÄ¡ar Qim and Mnajdra was held.

The official website of the LC is available in both Maltese and English. One of the links entitled ArkeoloÄ¡ija contains three further sections on the archaeological sites around the village, two of which are ĦaÄ¡ar Qim and Mnajdra. The article on the temples is short but it does mention their WH designation. [18] Another link allows access to a number of press releases related to the landfill site controversy issued by the Council. [19] 

At the time of the author’s visit, the Tarxien Local Council offices were closed and further efforts to establish contact with an LC representative have failed. The official website contains a couple of links which refer to the temples, although their contents are questionable. The link which describes the history of the village, including several (incorrect) references to the temples, quotes heavily from an outdated book, published in 1932. [20] Another link, although entitled “Postijiet Interessanti” (eng. interesting places), did not find the temples interesting enough to be included in the overview. Finally, the last link brings a short article on the Tarxien temples WHS with three images. [21] The website is available in Maltese with Italian translation.

2.4 Cultural Heritage NGOs

The two major cultural heritage NGOs in Malta are Din L-art Helwa and Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna which are both interested in various aspects of cultural heritage. Several other NGOs, with varying degrees of involvement, are also included in this overview.

Din L-art Helwa (National Trust of Malta) is a voluntary organisation established in 1965. Their mission is protection, conservation, management and maintenance of historic monuments and buildings, taking care of the environment and environmental issues, raising awareness and the promotion of heritage to the public. Din l-Art Helwa functions as a Trust, implying that it is restoring the sites “on behalf of the State, the Church, and private owners” (Vigilo 2010). Membership in the organisation is open to all.

Since 2003, Din l-Art Helwa holds nine properties in trust which were transferred to it by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage via the first Guardianship deed. [22] Sites are manned by volunteers who keep them open for visitors. The Organization’s website offers in-depth information about their sites, campaigns and projects. Moreover, it is often updated with information about current events and offers e-mail subscription to their newsletter. There are also many useful publications available for download, such as brochures with proposed walks through their sites and Vigilo, the organisation’s bulletin.

Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna (The Malta Heritage Trust) is a voluntary organisation established in 1987. Their focus lies on restoration, presentation and management of mainly neglected rural and industrial sites, as well as British and medieval military heritage. [23] 

The foundation both owns properties and holds them in trust. Apart from one prehistoric temple in their ownership, [24] the rest of the properties are mostly late medieval and 20th century military structures such as ramparts, bastions, forts, towers, bridges and defence posts. There are several sites currently open to public [25] which are looked after by the volunteers and paid staff. Wirt Artna is running many different projects as diverse as conservation and restoration works on their properties, historical re-enactments as an interpretation tool (“Living history”), education and awareness raising about military heritage among schoolchildren (“Hands-on Heritage”). Membership in the organisation is open to all.

The official website of the foundation does not offer a subscription to a newsletter, however, they do make good use of new internet media and opened a group “Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna” on Facebook, a social networking platform anyone with a Facebook account can join and automatically keep track of the group’s updates. The foundation’s Facebook group also contains photo albums with images of various events they organised. The group currently has 813 members.

Wirt GÄawdex is a non-governmental organisation created in 1981 whose activities and projects are primarily concerned with the historical, archaeological and natural heritage of the islands of Gozo and Comino. Wirt GÄawdex is involved in restoration projects on monuments such as late medieval watchtower, chapels, bastions and a gunpowder magazine. [26] They are also organizing tours to sites of cultural significance on the islands and holding public lectures.

In relation to the Megalithic temples WHS, there has only been one lecture entitled “Prehistoric Temples of Gozo”, held in April 2010, since the organisation started with the lecture programme in 2006. Furthermore, in the period between 2006 and 2009, there were only a total of eight tours organized, and apart from the visit to Hypogeum and Tarxien Temples in April 2007, there were no other visits to WHS, surprisingly, not even to Ä gantija which is situated on the island itself.

The official website does not offer a newsletter subscription, but some of the issues can be downloaded in .pdf format directly from the site. Membership in this organisation is open to all.

The Old Temples Study Foundation (OTSF) is a US non-profit organisation established in 1994 whose mission is to foster education and research related to prehistoric culture in Malta. The foundation has lately only been focused on organising educational travel trips for Americans who wish to visit Malta and holding lectures and exhibitions in the US on Maltese culture and heritage.

In the past, the OTSF organised a number of different activities and projects, what follows is a selection of those that were addressed to the Maltese population.

Student Prehistoric Heritage Awareness Project: in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and former Museums Department, OTSF published a teacher’s handbook on Maltese prehistoric heritage which was distributed in Maltese schools. The year the project was undertaken has not been published on their website and there is no possibility to see what the handbook looked like.

“Tell me about the Maltese temples” is another book which evolved from the previous project. It is an illustrated bilingual (Maltese – English) book for use in classrooms which was published in year 2000.

In 2003, the Foundation organized an international conference entitled “Exploring the Maltese Prehistoric Temple Culture (EMPTC)” which gathered experts from around the world. [27] 

The OTSF hosts a FAQ section on their official website which provides information on the megalithic culture of Malta for children.

The author attempted to arrange a meeting with a representative of the Foundation while in Valletta and left her contact details with the secretary, unfortunately, there was no feedback afterwards.

Archaeological society Malta (ASM) is