The process of urbanization (settlement and production) of the Grand Harbour of La Valletta, unusually long and when compared to the anthropization of the Mediterranean territory, finds the reasons of his unique critical result in the natural conformation of the area and in the events that have characterized the history of the archipelago. Its particular location in the middle of the Mare Nostrum, if on one hand, allowed to constantly enrich and hybridize cultures in it, on the other, prevented a rapid and permanent occupation because of its difficult defensive conditions. The conquest of the whole island territory of Malta and Gozo starts only in 16th century, in conjunction with the arrival of the Knights of St. John and the narrow escape of Turkish siege. In fact, the building of La Valletta at Sciberras made by the Knights started the gradual population of the coast that will complement the small settlement system consisting of the village of Birgu, only medieval settlement of the waterfront, and of a series of small isolated inland urban fabrics. This settlement process, expressed in some phases where spontaneous results opposed to planned reflections do appear, will find a full implementation through the total occupation of spaces that shape the territory around the current Maltese capital. However, if the transformations implemented in just three centuries (17th–19th), may still show a perfect balance between nature and the artificial structuring, those produced especially in the last sixty years are clear evidence of the inability of the current planners to conquer those natural hierarchies typical of a big complex settlement "organism" as the Harbour. Here, the built environment, particularly the one resulting from recent speculative renovation, proves a senseless consumption of the territory where urban structures appear devoid of their own identity. Outcome of a forma urbis incomplete and missing its originality, squandering the traditional formal-structural values that have qualified the diversity, in time and space.

Il complesso processo insediativo e produttivo del Grand Harbour di La Valletta, eccezionalmente discontinuo se paragonato alle modalità di antropizzazione dei territori mediterranei, trova nella conformazione naturale del luogo e nelle vicende che hanno caratterizzato la storia dell’arcipelago le ragioni del suo singolare esito. La particolare collocazione al centro del Mare Nostrum, se da una parte, ha permesso di arricchire e ibridare costantemente i connotati delle culture in esso presenti, dall’altra, ne ha impedito la rapida e stabile occupazione a causa delle difficili condizioni difensive. Solo con il XVI secolo, in concomitanza all’arrivo dei Cavalieri di S. Giovanni e allo scampato pericolo dell’assedio turco, si avvia la definitiva conquista dell’intero territorio insulare. La costruzione di La Valletta a Sciberras ad opera degli Ospedalieri, infatti, diede inizio al graduale popolamento della costa che andrà ad integrare l’esiguo sistema insediativo costituito dal villaggio di Birgu, unico abitato medievale del waterfront collegato a una serie di tessuti di modesta entità interni all’isola. Tale processo insediativo, che vede diacronicamente intervallare fasi in cui compaiono esiti spontanei a momenti segnati da riflessioni critiche, troverà piena attuazione solo con la totale occupazione degli spazi che plasmano il territorio circostante l’attuale capitale maltese. E tuttavia, se le trasformazioni attuate in soli tre secoli (XVII – XIX) possono ancora manifestare un perfetto equilibrio tra natura e strutturazione artificiale, quelle prodotte specialmente negli ultimi sessant’anni testimoniano l’incapacità degli attuali pianificatori di conquistare quelle naturali gerarchie proprie di un “organismo” insediativo, sia pure complesso come quello dell’Harbour. Qui l’edificato, specialmente quello risultante dalle recenti ristrutturazioni, testimonia un inspiegabile consumo del territorio in cui compaiono costantemente assetti urbani privi di identità, costituiti da figure di agglomerato tutte reciprocamente discordi ed opposte. Esito, come noto, di una forma urbis incompleta e carente di originalità, che ha dilapidato i tradizionali valori formali-strutturali che hanno qualificato, nel tempo e nello spazio, le diversità culturali.

Criticità e contraddizioni nel processo di trasformazione del Grand Harbour di La Valletta (Malta)

Ieva, Matteo
2017-01-01

Abstract

The process of urbanization (settlement and production) of the Grand Harbour of La Valletta, unusually long and when compared to the anthropization of the Mediterranean territory, finds the reasons of his unique critical result in the natural conformation of the area and in the events that have characterized the history of the archipelago. Its particular location in the middle of the Mare Nostrum, if on one hand, allowed to constantly enrich and hybridize cultures in it, on the other, prevented a rapid and permanent occupation because of its difficult defensive conditions. The conquest of the whole island territory of Malta and Gozo starts only in 16th century, in conjunction with the arrival of the Knights of St. John and the narrow escape of Turkish siege. In fact, the building of La Valletta at Sciberras made by the Knights started the gradual population of the coast that will complement the small settlement system consisting of the village of Birgu, only medieval settlement of the waterfront, and of a series of small isolated inland urban fabrics. This settlement process, expressed in some phases where spontaneous results opposed to planned reflections do appear, will find a full implementation through the total occupation of spaces that shape the territory around the current Maltese capital. However, if the transformations implemented in just three centuries (17th–19th), may still show a perfect balance between nature and the artificial structuring, those produced especially in the last sixty years are clear evidence of the inability of the current planners to conquer those natural hierarchies typical of a big complex settlement "organism" as the Harbour. Here, the built environment, particularly the one resulting from recent speculative renovation, proves a senseless consumption of the territory where urban structures appear devoid of their own identity. Outcome of a forma urbis incomplete and missing its originality, squandering the traditional formal-structural values that have qualified the diversity, in time and space.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11589/199360
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