We were puzzled as we started to explore Malta by the vast amount of old buildings in a state of disrepair. We don’t just mean the odd one, but lots in every town we visited. This is something we just could not understand as you could see that most of these buildings used to be beautiful, full of history and character.
We soon discovered from the Maltese that the cost is too great to restore these old buildings and homes. They explained that they wait until the property is in that bad a state that they are allowed to knock it down. This process apparently is very cheap. They then build an apartment block that houses six or eight homes in the same space that one house stood. They then sell each apartment and make good money. This is why everywhere in Malta there is building work and why many locals comment on Malta as being a continuous building site.
We cannot see this effect in the walled city of Valletta, is this because it is the capital city or because it is where the tourists flood for the history. If it is the latter then surely they can see that it pays to keep these historic beautiful buildings well maintained in all towns and not just in Valletta.