Watch: Malta Has Become More Beautiful In Past 20 Years, Developers’ Boss Believes
Malta Developers Association President Michael Stivala has expressed his belief that the island has become more beautiful overall in the past 20 years.
“Certain localities have become more beautiful while others have become uglier, but overall Malta has become more beautiful,” Stivala said in an interview on Jon Mallia’s podcast show Il-Podcast ta’ Jon.
Questioned whether his point of view is in line with public sentiment, Stivala admitted it may not be but argued that people may have been influenced by a certain “anti-development” bias within parts of the media.
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“Even certain positive articles include photos of the ugliest building they can find,” he said. “There’s a certain movement against the industry, partially for political reasons and partially for clicks, but an anti-property sentiment has been fomented.”
Stivala admitted that while certain old buildings constructed out of Maltese limestone are aesthetically more beautiful than their modern counterparts, stonemasonry is a dying craft.
“It’s practically impossible to construct those kinds of buildings nowadays because we have lost the traditional, skilled bennejja and the only remaining masons are around 70 years old,” he said.
“We would like more youths to enter this trade, but how many parents encourage their children to do so? They all send them to university… closing down the trade schools was a big mistake.”
The full four-and-a-half hour interview with Stivala is available to Patreon subscribers of Il-Podcast ta’ Jon.
Do you think Malta has become more beautiful over the past 20 years?
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