Just days after the collapse of the Azure Window, the Maltese government announced an international consultation initiative for suggestions on how to memorialise the iconic structure.
Several officials, including Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis and Minister for Sustainable Development Jose Herrera, made the announcement, and said that the government wants the site of the Azure Window to be ‘adequately remembered’ while still continuing to attract thousands of visitors.
The Government of Malta’s statement put forward several options it is willing to consider, which includes leaving the site as it is; recovering parts of the collapsed structure and putting them on display; use of digital technology to recreate the site for tech users; artistic installations at or near the site; or an interpretation centre that would showcase the structure in all its former beauty. While initially ruled out, a later press release said that an artificial recreation of the structure itself was still potentially on the cards.
Sadly for divers, while this consultation process is ongoing, the Malta Environment Resources Authority has issued a Conservation Order which prohibits scuba diving in the area. According to the authority, this ban on diving will stay in place until the remnants of the Azure Window are ‘properly located and studied, and in order to protect the said remains’.
