The Lament of the Maltese Townhouse

The Malta Independent on Sunday printed an Opinion piece by Marisa Micallef, (Chairman Housing Authority) under the title "Ode to a dying Abode".

The Lament of the Maltese Townhouse


"I am baffled, confused, hurt.After all, I’m a good-looking townhouse, double-fronted (although that works against you these days because apparently I’m more suitable for redevelopment into flats that way), built and brought up in a well-located street in Sliema.

My stonework is now a bit grimy, my blue shutters faded and sunburnt and windswept to a nondescript grey. And I even once boasted a smart gallarija and pretty carvings too.So why on earth are these grey, badly dressed, pot-bellied guys putting some white, plastic-covered note on my side to say I’m going to be pulled down and replaced with more ugly flats? That’s all I can see around me anyway – ugly flats.

Why am I not worth keeping, I wonder? Why am I not loved anymore?I remember being carefully and lovingly built by hand by craftsmen that make today’s contractors look like cowboys........"

The full article can be read by clicking here.