Naxxar's newest block arrives certified 'very dangerous' and liable to fall without warning
Built on a backfilled quarry, the islands' most thrilling new address keeps every visitor admirably in the present moment.
Few buildings come with a written guarantee from an independent expert. Naxxar’s newest block has one. A structural report, commissioned and signed, describes it as “clearly unstable,” “very dangerous,” and liable to fail “without warning.” You cannot buy reviews like that.
The block rises on a former hardstone quarry, its weight carried, in the assessor’s telling, by single courses of masonry and hopeful mortar. Where other foundations aim dully for permanence, this one keeps every visitor in the present moment. Nothing focuses the attention like a wall that might.
A Richard Serra, at no extra charge
The great sculptor once propped tonnes of steel against nothing but balance and invited you to stand beneath it. Naxxar offers the same frisson at the scale of an entire building, with the added authenticity of being unintentional. The tension is real. So, the report stresses repeatedly, is the danger.
See it while it stands
This is, by any honest measure, a Last Chance attraction. The hoarding is up, the order to stop is served, and the structure waits in the particular calm that only a backfilled quarry can provide. We recommend viewing from a generous and respectful distance, which is in any case the only kind currently permitted.
