MoV
1600s A living City
1566-1600
- Valletta becomes the CENTRE 2. Establishing a foothold
for the Order (religious, military, hospitalliers)
for Malta - a harbour City
Sacred and ritualized spaces - how long does it take for parishes to be established? Who are the saints who first make an appearance? When do feasts emerge? What ceremonies establish themselves early on? What was their role? Would they have drawn people from all classes and were they a system to distribute charity?
Establish a safe stronghold - why was this so important for the Order? How did it influence the design?
project the Order as still relevant - to Europe - as a defence against Ottoman expansion
pull of a new urban centre - in practice how did birth of new Capital play out? Who were the new residents? What drew them? How did they establish a foothold? What work was there?
a planned City - what City was planned? - the philosophy and vision; rules for building; hygiene; challenges of Valletta's topography
getting a footing
religious orders
knights
nobility
Commercial entrepot - what trade routes was Malta part of? What routes did trade follow in and out of Valletta and through the Island?
How does Water define the City?: harbour; hygiene; fresh water. How did different classes wash? How often?
how did locals capitalize on these new commercial opportunities?
how did landowners capitalize on this shift from safe haven to commercial entrepot?
impact on buildings
labourers
1700s Urban theatricality
How has the Order changed in 150 years and how does Valletta reflect these changes? Buildings? Pomp and spectacle?
Knowledge - what is being published? Who are Malta's Intelligensia? Is there a challenge to the Order and the Church or are they part of them? Where do they occupy within the City - theatre? salons? clubs? library? private museums?
Why were Foundations established? Where did their power lie and did they result from the decline in the power of other entities (eg. Church)?
Is Church still as powerful as it was? How do Churches manifest the Baroque?
1800s Empire
What was the impact of the 3 year barricade of the French on Valletta? Followed by plague? Do people leave Valletta and if then how long does it take for people to move back? Does property change hands? What new opportunities are offered within the new order of things and to whom?
Popular culture: What was the lingua franca of Valletta? What connections did Knights keep with their old countries? What fashions, food etc were offered in Valletta?
what trades? professional services? confraternities?
New hierarchies; how do the British assert their power in Valletta: tangible (Eg. flags, emblems) intangible - Civil Service; Military basis to ceremonies and impact on local culture: eg. brass bands; where do new fashions arrive from (fabric, cloth ... Ville de Londres) and how are they displayed
How role does water play in 19th century Valletta? - trade, drinking water, sanitary systems in houses, sewers, use within discourses of progress. How did people wash? How often? what is considered clean for the streets and inside houses?
Valletta/Malta is no longer the seat of power but a peripheral outpost of a world empire. What new trade routes are established? Who are the people passing through Valletta?
1900s Modernity
what did people eat? where did they eat? street food? how did people cook their food?
Industrialisation: of the Grand Harbour and services; on food production (eg. canned food) ; new transport systems bringing people and services to Valletta by land rather than sea. from rediffusion to Xandir Malta; tourism: sun and beaches
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World War II - destruction and reconstruction. Harrison and Hubbard; Social Housing; exodus; welfare state.
Nationalist discourses - publications; law courts; clubs
Festi
Independence. Departure of the Services from Valletta: impact on commerce and commercial importance of Valletta. Does Valletta hold any symbolic importance to the new nation and its chosen symbols? Museum of Valletta.
Broad emerging themes: Inside/outside (Home-street; Valletta-Malta; Island of Malta-Europe/Mediterranean/World) street scapes and ideology; Sacred space and time; role of the Harbour; Enterprise; Spectacle/theatricality
2000s
Heritage values
European