Valletta's Mandraġġ : the long and tortured road to demolition

Abstract

The Oxford Concise Dictionary provides two definitions for the term slum in English. The first definition describes it as ‘an overcrowded and squalid backstreet, court, alley, or district in a city.’ The second definition reflects the word’s etymological roots, tracing back to the early 19th century when it referred to ‘going about the slum to visit or examine the conditions of its inhabitants.’ It is worth noting that the first edition of this dictionary was published in 1911, while the 1964 edition has been consulted to uncover these meanings. Until the 1970s, the term ‘slum’ in Malta referred to overcrowded and squalid districts, often characterised by alleys and substandard buildings. Such areas were common in various Maltese cities, with Valletta’s Manderaggio being particularly notorious. This dissertation examines the history of this specific district in Valletta, tracing its development from its origins until its clearance after the Second World War. The study emphasises how this area deteriorated into a slum, aligning with the second definition provided by the Oxford Concise Dictionary: ‘going about the slum to visit or examine the conditions of its inhabitants.’ Additionally, it explores the regeneration projects, particularly the one planned in the late 1930s, aimed at eradicating the area’s squalid conditions. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Malta’s slums and degraded areas were concentrated chiefly around the harbour conurbation, particularly in the southern regions. An exception was Victoria, the capital of Gozo, which, despite its central location on the island, had its own slums. In the minds of 19th and 20th-century Maltese people, overcrowding and poor living conditions defined a district as a slum. Erin Serracino-Inglott, in his dictionary Il-Miklem Malti, notes that the Maltese term for slum came to signify ‘an area inhabited by poor people.’ Today, these areas are being revalued as conurbations expressing vernacular habitat. However, this is a recent perspective. In the past, there were considerations to clear all these areas to provide residents with modern and commodious dwellings built according to contemporary sanitary standards, plans which, in some cases, never materialised. As many of these slums have been cleared, a form of nostalgia has developed, with these areas becoming part of a romanticised historical narrative, especially amongst those whose parents or other relatives originated from these areas. Today, the view differs substantially from that generally expressed during the 1930s and previous decades. Nowadays, descendants of the residents of these places speak with particular pride about this past and their ancestors. Yet, this element of pride is not reflective of the actual history of these areas, which at most times were considered dark places. This dissertation investigates the transformation of Il-Mandraġġ in Valletta into a slum, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary. The area originated during the rule of the Order of Saint John, who began constructing a mandracchio, a sheltered harbor for galleys in 1566. The project was abandoned, and by the late 16th century, unplanned housing developments led to overcrowded and squalid conditions, marking the area’s decline into a slum. [...]