Interpreting the landscape of the Maltese Islands

Abstract

The Maltese islands, located at the heart of the Mediterranean basin, have throughout their history been ruled by various foreign powers. This paper analyzes the morphology of the local physical environment as a discontinuous historical process, based on the assimilation of urban typologies from both European and Arab contexts. The Maltese landscape is unique in its superimposition of the mutually distinct Islamic and European Baroque urban traditions. The historical transformations of the built environment are interpreted as a product of the intricate and complex dynamics of secular and religious powers. This case study concludes with a conceptual methodological paradigm for interpreting traditional landscapes within the Mediterranean.