By Continentaleurope at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

While over a million visitors can relish Malta’s eventful history and its heritage, these days, the little island rarely makes the international news. Imagine my surprise when one day in 2010, while I was visiting Kerala in South India, a handful of very smiley Indians began interrogating me about Malta… because it was being reported on an Indian newspaper. But why on earth was Malta appearing on an Indian newspaper?

Now Malta has many wonderful understated qualities and natural and manmade wonders. It was home to some of the world’s most ancient cultures, for example, as demonstrated by its abundance of megalithic remains. Or an intriguing culture and language stemming from a unique combination of both European and Arabic roots. Yet what landed Malta on international news on this particular occasion was a strange monument that was causing quite a stir; and an amusing one at that.

Pope Bendedict XVI was about to visit the Maltese Islands and, as a result, there was a scurry about whether this particular monument should be removed from its location as a sign of respect to the holy man. Why? Well, it’s a little bit of a joke these days, but what is colloquially known as the Mambra Monument, Luqa Monument or Lidl roundabout monument, located nearby the airport, looks very much like, well, a giant blue penis.

The ten-foot monument was designed by Maltese artist Paul Vella Critien in 2006, who describes it as abstract art representing the colours of the Mediterranean in a representation resembling an Egyption obelisk. To the rest of us commoners with less artistic vision yet a familiarity with human anatomy, it just looks like a big bright phallus.

John Schembri, Luqa Mayor, had requested its removal, and the monument has been described as ‘vulgar’ and ‘obscene’. Hence the intrigue and interrogation in India, where the phallus is revered as divine rather than obscured as offensive. Anyhow, Malta-Surveys concluded that the majority wanted it to stay, certainly due to a sense of humour rather than an appreciation of art.

Despite it not actually having a MEPA permit and being on legal notice ever since it was erected, excuse the pun, the Colonna Mediterranea still stands proudly in the middle of a roundabout on one of Malta’s busiest roads, even if now conveniently hidden by palm trees.

The pope episode received extensive coverage by the BBC, The Daily Telegraph, The Huffington Post, ABC News, USA Today, Times of Malta, Malta Today, The Malta Independent and other local and international media, making Colonna Mediterranea the most talked about monument in Malta. It even has a song and video dedicated to it, written by comic Maltese singer Joe Demicoli; it is called ‘I saw the monument.’ And indeed, it has been more than seen.

When you visit Malta, ask your taxi driver to let you see the monument too! It has to be one of Malta’s stranger things!