Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/803478
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 MARCH 2017 17 emphasising the importance of monu- ments having both "gravity" and beauty. They also reflect the identity of a nation. Schembri Bonaci says monuments are an essential part of the "myth-sustaining process which is essential for all national identity", or as Petroni put it, "the embodi- ment of collective memory." They offer a glimpse at the core of a na- tion – its culture and genius, strength, se- riousness, and political maturity can all be gleaned from the type of monuments a na- tion erects, Schembri Bonaci says. "The act of building an important civic or public building, and also that of erect- ing monuments is a political act in itself," Thake says. "The powers that be, includ- ing those of the past, have all sought to establish permanent reminders of their existence. It is not accidental that Valletta, our capital city, is the main locus for all these monuments." Thake argued that through the erection of monuments, urban space becomes a battleground in which permanent and tangible reminders of personalities, per- ceived achievements, events and symbolic mythological statements on the state of the country's nationhood are established. "I believe Valletta is currently suffering from an overdose of these," he says, while questioning the extent to which recent monuments engage with the public. Xuereb went further, explaining that multiple monuments erected within lim- ited space are normally planned by "des- potic regimes" in a bid to brainwash the public into loyalty or submission. "In the old Soviet Union, this was ram- pant and most of these monuments were pulled down after its fall. In Valletta, this is also very evident with some eight British royal insignia erected when Malta became a colony at the start of the 19th century. They were intended to help the com- munity forget the strong presence of the Knights and inculcate loyalty towards the Crown," he says. While some question the relevance and purpose of recently erected monuments, it could also be argued that a great number of today's iconic monuments and land- marks around the world faced similar crit- icism when they were first erected. Schembri Bonaci acknowledged that more often than not, monuments are met with strong criticism, but pointed out a crucial difference: this criticism was al- ways rooted in clashes between different schools of artistic thought and an underly- ing philosophy for or against that opinion. It was not confined to a simplistic argu- ment of whether people "like or don't like it". Likewise, Petroni says that judgment of the installation should not revolve around whether one likes it or not. "The piece [A Flame that Never Dies] is nonsensical, it says nothing and bears no meaning despite the attempts to impose a subject on it. And yet a despicable amount of money was spent on it. What about our existing but forgotten heritage, those buildings and objects which require reno- vation and conservation?" asked Petroni. A Flame That Never Dies was commis- sioned by Heritage Malta. Questions sent to CEO Kenneth Gambin were un- answered at the time of going to print. News Marked by the powers that held sway: Valletta's Hastings Gardens honour the memory of Alexander Ball with this majestic mausoleum erected under British rule, while the Maltese patriot Mikiel Anton Vassalli (inset, left) 'only' marks the gateway to his native Haz-Zebbug, taking pride of place on a roundabout on the motorway. Politics of topography: below, Queen Victoria (with pigeon) surveys all from the centre of Pjazza Regina in front of the Biblioteca, while Jean de Valette, founder of the Capital City, occupies a corner that was recently uncovered during the reconstruction of City Gate.