On the City, the Village, and Nostalgia in/of Malta

This is not my first time on Malta.

This is also not my first time on Gozo.

This is also not my first attempt to better understand Maltese culture from an ethnographic approach, after attending the Off the Beaten Track anthropology field school last summer on Gozo for three weeks.

This is, however, my first extended stay on the island of Malta that I find myself unable to distance my experiences in Valletta from my memories of Gozo – and as a result, I find the differences between the two to be an interesting point of departure.

The history of Valletta is unique, as it was constructed in the 16^th century by the Order of St. John to be a fortress. In order to protect the knights from potential invasions, the city at large is built with heavily fortified walls and a series of intentional hills and valleys which create a notable saddleback shape, offering protection to those inside. Since then, the history of colonization and occupation has transformed the architectural landscape while maintain the walls, turning the plentiful limestone into whatever style of the time was in vogue; mannerist apartments, baroque churches, an assemblage of historical moments united by the continued heritage and livelihoods of the Maltese people. Many of these historic buildings now find themselves overshadowed by their ground floor shops and stores from abroad, only revealing their true age when one looks up towards their gallerias. 

Groups of tourists crawl through the streets, soaking in the history they feel encompassed by while locals walk by quickly and push through the herds with no reservations. The containment of the city also contributes to a patchwork effect of people, with local cafes full of older Maltese men only meters away from a line of horse drawn carts filled with groups of older predominantly white tourists. With only foot traffic through most of the city, Valletta takes on an amusement park quality that sees the city today as a hybrid product of a globalizing history of cultural exchange, where even the most highly commercialized aspects are embraced as the victory of globalization rather than a process of exploitation.

Gozo, however, is not like this. The villages blend and merge, where construction and development is concentrated in the larger or more visited villages but is occurring at a notably slower rate than on Malta. I learned last summer of the neglect that Gozo receives, a sort of extension of Malta that doesn’t require as much support as the mainland. The Gozitans are seen to be less advanced, more localized and even potentially less European. I remember how last summer, I met a group of friends who all had happened to be out at a club on Gozo, yet even then their Gozitan friend was seen as a butt of the joke in this way. With Valletta as a city that embraces modern European ways of life while still recognizing it’s historical significance (mainly due to architecture), the difference is significant when compared to Gozo where many traditional methods of farming, washing, and cooking are still used regularly. In this contrast, I found an interesting point. While the tangible heritage of both locations has generally stayed intact (albeit with developments on both sides), the attitude towards intangible heritage is particularly used and framed based on the motives of the ECOC program. Valletta has come to represent the center for modern, happening events, while Gozo is left as a living archive, somewhere to experience nature, restoration, some may say even a sense of nostalgia that reaches for a deeper longing to break away from our modern chaotic world.

Gozo became an incredibly special place for me last summer, somewhere I find myself even for a single afternoon able to relax and slow down more than any other places. The views are stunning, the water is always crystal clear, but above all—the people are warm and embracing beyond that of anywhere else I’ve been. While the architecture can be preserved while removing the heart of a building or altering its purpose, a people and a way of life is something that does not disappear as easily. I hope to find the kind of light and beauty that I found within the people of Gozo in someone, somewhere along this trip to Valletta.