There stood once upon a rock a disciple of Christ, a political prisoner seaward bound to Rome to face trial before Emperor Nero's Imperial court, as befitted a free Roman citizen, a shipwreck's castaway of whom legend says converted Malta to Christianity, and in the process rid the storm lashed island of venomous snakes. As befits most historic events in Malta, hype and reality fuse as to make one indistinguishable from the other. Whether Paul ever set his wet toe on Maltese soil, is not as important as his alleged legacy of christianizing Publius then governor of a heathen island province, and its barbarous inhabitants. While Luke chronicles the 60 A.D. event in the Acts of the Apostles, no historic evidence exists that it ever occurred.
The same kind of historic ambiguity holds that it was Roger the Norman in 1090 who gave Malta its red and white flag, by tearing off a portion of his own banner in the heat of battle against its Arab occupiers. His spontaneous act gained the valiant knight a revered place in the history of Malta, though many notable historians question the occurrence as fallacious, an invocation of fancy nurtured by euphoric sentiment. One would argue this matter with the Maltese at grave risk of suffering bodily injury! True or not, is not the issue within a culture that sees perception as reality. What matters is a high state of national pride and emotion, flared by indiscreet questions about the origination of Malta's beloved banner. As a warm blooded Mediterranean people, who are justifiable proud of their rich heritage, the Maltese are all too ready to embellish their past with acts of valor which suit their purpose. In this trait they are not unlike others who see their homeland as a place of extraordinary happenings, which are of significant historic importance. Witness the ability of mortal warriors in Greek mythology fighting Gods and Goddesses in pursuit of some noble cause. Was it not Hercules and his hormonal challenged crew that were tempted by the swan song of mermaids, as they sailed past the Maltese island of Gozo, then known as Calypso, during their long Mediterranean odyssey.
It is not as if Malta needs to fabricate its place in history, as a treasure throve of mammoth proportions. Strategically situated dead center within the confines of a quasi inland sea, it sits astride the confluence of three continents. Its position in a geographical area which is acknowledged worldwide as being the cradle of western civilization, made it a logical target for conquest by maritime nations seeking control of the Mediterranean trade routes, who in turn gained regional military supremacy over the millennia. Akin to the classical love episode of the Sabine women who were forcibly carried away by soldiers serving Romulus, the racial composition and outward appearance of the multi-lingual Maltese bears living testimony of inter-marriage, which took place under conditions of successive foreign occupations. The island is literally saturated with buried ancient artifacts found nowhere else in the world in large concentrations, over so small an area of discovery. Phoenicians, Greek, Carthaginians, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Norman and other early settlers buried their indelible mark, a calling card for future generations to unearth. It was not for naught, that so many alien armies shed blood and treasure to occupy this tiny rock of a nation, which held the most magnificent natural deep-water harbor in all of Europe and the entire Mediterranean littoral coastline. It was also this very same coveted semi-arid land that in recent history Britain occupied under questionable stealth circumstances to use as a main naval refueling base, as a way to control its once flung empire in Egypt and Asia.
Being an island nation, and in spite of foreign intrusions in its internal affairs the locals have managed to retain a distinct language, attitude and mindset which is insular, proud and unmistakably Maltese. Located at the southernmost fringe of Europe, Malta is devoutly Catholic, family oriented and pays tribute to the laidback Mediterranean aversion shared with their Sicilian brothers towards hard work. They are also quick to take offense if any aspect of their culture is criticized, particularly by outsiders. Its Byzantine government policies and undertakings, rife with nepotism, are more attuned to middle-eastern bazaar wheeling and dealing than to the modern and efficient European/American business model. Malta is currently applying for full membership within the E.U., a move which if successful will necessitate a dramatic overhaul of its legal coda and export/import trade regulations. The more than comfortable preferential arrangement between church and state, where Catholicism is the declared official religion, where divorce and abortion are illegal, will likewise require major revision.
Living on a rock, which cannot sustain the needs of its growing population, the Maltese nonetheless have taken to emulate their European brethren in affluence and life style. Nowhere is this materialistic situation more manifest than in the unfettered rebellious attitude of its young people towards authority, and the ownership of cars, which is seen as a birthright and a symbol status rather than a travel necessity. Malta rivals other large mega cities in road gridlock. The unstoppable move towards modernity has led to the unregulated destruction of priceless older buildings of character to make way for multi-storied edifices, constructed more for their utility value than architectural aesthetics. The miniscule size of Malta makes it all the more imperative that the reconstruction process proceed with great care and deliberation, but not so agonizingly slow that the once fabled opera house in Valletta remains a bombed relic of WWII. A gross miscalculation of architectural proportion can be seen at the rebuilt (1947) courthouse in Valletta, a monstrous non-descript design of a building, standing amidst the surrounding splendors of an ancient city. It is to be hoped that the proposed reconstruction of Valletta's city gate and the opera house will fit nicely with the original beauty of the capital city, as envisioned by the Vatican's master architect Francesco Laparelli, under contract with the Grandmaster of the Order of Saint John, Jean Parisot De La Vallette, for whom the renaissance city now declared a world site by UNESCO, is named. The replacement of beautiful older residences by newer multi-storied versions of no design value facing the scenic Sliema front, is yet another case of anguish. In the long term this wholesale disregard for the environment in pursuit of profit will negatively impact the island as a point of final destination, for wealthy folks who travel the world searching for antiquity and a place to retreat back in time.
That a rock of an island so small has withstood the ravages of foreign domination for so long, to emerge as an independent nation, gives testimony to the hardy character of its people. It matters not that its long history is scattered with unsustainable accounts, as is equally true with other nations' questionable past. What counts most is the here and now, the collective resolve of its citizens to learn constructively from past ill-advised choices, to move with a new attitude ever so cautiously towards a secure future. The best is yet to come.
E-mail to Joseph Vella: vellajoseph@msn.net
|
|
