Case Studies  A Regeneration Strategy for Valletta. Il-Biccerija Case Study

Introduction

The city of Valletta was founded by Grand Master Jean de la Valette following the end of the 1565 Siege. At that time, the Order of St. John, which administered the island since 1530, was considering either to abandon the island completely, or leave a small garrison on Malta, or to reconstruct the damaged defenses and build a new fortified city. The proposal for the construction of a new city on Mount Sceberras was continuously under review by the Order, almost since their arrival on the island. In fact various proposals and plans were made, namely by Antonio Ferramolino in 1541, by Bartolomeo Genga in 1558 and by Bartolomeo Lanci in 1562. Although the Order was aware that their base at Birgu was overlooked by higher ground on the other side of the Grand Harbour, and that for this reason, they were at a military disadvantage, the proposals for the new city were never implemented, mainly as a result of the constant fear of enemy attack.

After the Order pleaded assistance from the European Courts, the military engineer, Francesco Laparelli from Cortona, was assigned to prepare plans for the new city. His proposals and ideas are well documented in his codex (diary). Laparelli, described as a man of determination and ability, was inspired by Gabrio Serbelloni. He opted for practical, and the best of traditional, fortifications. In his codex he describes that his new city of Valletta is a combination of ideological ideas and practical experience (Miceli Farrugia 1996). Four main aspects were considered in Laparelli's project of the new city; these included the size of the city, the design of its fortifications, the layout of the streets and buildings, and finally the utilisation of labour and material. When proposing the size of the city, the main issue was establishing the boundary on the landward side. There were three options; a line at 700 yards from Fort St. Elmo, an idea which was aborted since the result would have been a small city, still overlooked by higher ground; a line at 1,900 yards from Fort St. Elmo, an idea which was also discarded because of the long distance between this line and Fort St. Elmo and the long seafronts; an intermediate line, about 1,200 yards from Fort St. Elmo was chosen. The fortifications were the first structures to be built. Laparelli wrote in his codex, "I will arrange the streets differently from what many are thinking." The contemporary concept of the ideal city was based on geometrical and symmetrical patterns. "So we shall make a town which is suggested by the site itself, and it seems to me that this should be done elsewhere." After allowing a large "piazza d'armi", behind the front line of fortifications, to allow space for the two cavaliers, Laparelli proposed one main street in the centre of the city - from the main entrance gateway to the gate of Fort St. Elmo. The innovation was that all other streets of the city were to be narrow and serpentine to follow the contours of land. This was not normal in Renaissance planning, however Laparelli argued:

".... a city in a hot, dry place must have narrow streets, whereas cities in humid climates should have wide streets so that the wind and the sun can take away the humidity. Narrow streets are cooler because they are not dominated by the sun. For windy places like Malta, it is necessary to find a way to break the wind with trees or high walls, but this cannot happen here because all the island and especially this place is bare and without trees, so it will help to make the street serpentine with sweetness like (medieval) Pisa...."
(From Laparelli's codex as qouted by Roger De Giorgio in A City by an Order.)

In addition to the main street already mentioned, there had to be four serpentine roads running in the same direction to this street. Each important building had to have a square in front of it, with the size relating to the importance of the building.

The city that was built is different from that proposed by Laparelli. There are no indications in the codex that his proposal was rejected, nor are there noted any amendments which reflect with the eventual plan. The city that was built is based on a rigid grid-iron plan. The main road runs from the entrance gate, in the middle of the landward fortifications, to the tip of one of St. Elmo's bastions, (and not to the gate). There are eight longitudinal streets compared to the four originally recommended. The idea of eleven public squares also seems to have been abandoned. Although Francesco Laparelli's original plans put aside contemporary ideas of town planning, the city was built according to the practices of that time. Therefore the city of Valletta may be considered as a worthy example of sixteenth-century town planning, and as a renaissance 'new town'. An additional aspect which makes Valletta an important landmark is that, the first Town Planning regulations were set up for its building, managed by the Officio delle Case. These regulations were and included conditions that buildings had to be built on official street alignments, and could not have self-imposed setbacks or front gardens; that corners of corner buildings had to be decorated with street shrines; and, that each building had to have its own water storage.

The first building to be built, in the new city, was the church dedicated to Our Lady of Victory. By the end of 1566, new buildings began to rise, and on December of that year, the Council carried out a compulsory purchase order on all the land which lay inside Laparelli's fortifications. On the 18th March 1571, Grand Master Fra Pietro del Monte, moved the headquarters of the Order from Il Borgo to the new city (Hughes 1969). The last areas to be developed in the new city were il Mandraggio, and the area of the Ghetto Valley (the area now bounded by Marsamxett Road, St. Sebastian Road, Old Bakery Street and St. Christopher Street). The development of the Mandraggio was delayed because the stone for the construction of the city was cut from this area, with the main objective of forming a sheltered basin within the fortifications, for the berthing of the Order's navy. This plan was subsequently abandoned, and the area was developed, and occupied by poor citizens. The urban pattern of this area did not follow the rigid grid-iron plan of the rest of the city, but was very similar to the inorganic medieval pattern of narrow and serpentine streets found in most of the local villages. The other area, the Ghetto Valley area, is one of the lowest parts of the city, and the closest to sea level. The area was also originally the site of a lime kiln, and therefore was considered to be an industrial area.

Throughout the past four hundred years since its foundation, the city of Valletta has seen very few transformations in its urban pattern. The most radical changes were made in this century, mainly as a result of damage during the Second World War, and of housing improvements in the latter half of the century. Il Mandraggio was totally cleared after World War II, and new housing blocks, respecting the grid-iron pattern of the city were built. The entrance of the city was also changed in the 1960's and 70's, by the creation of a large square just after entering the city gate. Another square was created in front of St. John's Conventual Church. Other changes were made in the area bounded by South Street and Windmills Street; along Fountain Street; the area around the Old Hospital (now the Mediterranean Conference Centre).

As a living city, various transformations were made to its built fabric. These changes were mainly alterations to the original buildings built by the Order, so as to accommodate uses, particularly commercial and other public uses. Once again, the most radical changes were made after the end of World War II; during the reconstruction of damaged parts of the city, new buildings were erected, mainly in the city centre. Following this 'reconstruction era', a phase of rehabilitation and 'slum clearance' followed. With the justification of 'slum clearance' and the need for social housing, extensive blocks of old buildings, many of which pertaining to the foundation of the city, were cleared and new, modern, blocks built instead.

Various other proposals and plans were made during the last decades, mainly aimed at revitalising the city but little success was registered in regenerating Malta capital. One cannot conclude this historical outlook of the capital city without mentioning the fact that the city of Valletta has been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage City.

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