Valletta’s ‘gold shops’ should remain – Ray Bondin

In principle, I have always been of the opinion that the whole block of St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta should be administered by the foundation of the cathedral but the few shops selling jewellery on St Lucia Street should not be closed.

Every south Mediterranean city, and especially in Arab countries, has its ‘gold street’. Valletta has always had this small stretch of St Lucia Street where goldsmiths were concentrated. It is part of the history of Valletta.

It is an integral part of the urban fabric of Valletta, which has already been compromised through other developments in other areas. This feature should therefore not be destroyed as well. In any case, these few shops are very small, and little will be gained by closing them.

When I was a member of the Foundation Council, I had proposed that the new building of the museum on Merchants Street should extend all the way over these shops, for two very important reasons.

The first is that as planned the massive new structure will extend over the first shop in St Lucia Street which has been unused for many years. This area will house the beautifully designed circular staircase and the escalator going up to the tapestry...