what is present name of street known as "Strada Nuova" from
mid-nineteeth century to second world war? where is it located?

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Request for Question Clarification by tehuti-ga on 21 Apr 2003 07:13 PDT

Hello,

I have emailed the Maltese Tourist Authority with respect to the
contents of my comment below and will let you know if I get a
definitive answer.

Tehuti

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Clarification of Question by davidjenkinson-ga on 22 Apr 2003 11:25 PDT

Dear Tehuti

I am sure you are on the right track.

However,  maybe only a Maltese local historian can answer the
question.  It could  be misleading to find an equivalent name in
Maltese or English.  By 1945, Strada Nuova was no longer new (I have
seen a reference to a British resident of it in the 1860s) and as your
Strada Reale-Republic Street example shows, linguistic change gives
opportunity to change meaning.

My context is that I spent my infancy till age 4 in Strada Nuova.  My
father was engineer on Malta-based British warship HMS Penelope. 
Could Strada Nuova feature on British naval accommodation list?

For information: I shall be away from 11 May till after expiry of
question.

David Jenkinson
question ID 193197

Hello David,

Actually, I was on the wrong track!!!  I have now received an answer
from the Malta Tourism Authority giving the current name of the street
in Sliema known previously as Strada Nuova:

"Please refer to your email addressed to the Malta Tourism Authority
regarding your request for information.  I would like to inform you
that the street which was called Strada Nuova in Sliema now is called
Arturo Mercieca Street. Trust that you will find this information
useful.
Yours sincerely,
Stella Vella
Senior Executive
Customer Service Unit
Human Resource & Support Services Directorate
Malta Tourism Authority
229, Merchants Street
Valletta CMR01
Tel: 22915555
Fax : 22915896
svell@visitmalta.com"

If you look at the map on
http://www.maltaonline.info/on_line/Services/mapimages/sliemamainmap.jpg
you will see Str Arturo Mercieca  Look to the left of the page fold.
It is the third named street going at more or less right angles to the
road running alongside the coast at the top of the map.


I have not been able to find out about Royal Navy accommodation lists.
 I hope this does not disqualify my answer, since this was not part of
your original query.

There is an HMS Penelope Association with web site and newsletter
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mike.bee/Index.htm  The site gives a
contact email address, so perhaps someone from the Association will be
able to give you some further information about the accommodation used
by the Royal Navy in Malta at that time.

And here are pictures of HMS Penelope
http://www.pdwilson.co.uk/warships/penelope.htm
http://www.killifish.f9.co.uk/Malta%20WWII/Naval%20Operations.htm

My search also came up with the following resources, which might
contain some relevant information.  They do not appear to be readily
available, and information on them is sparse.  However, a library
might be able to help you to find them.

"The Royal Navy in Malta: a photographic record." by Bonnici, J., &
Cassar, M., published in Malta in 1989
Information, but with no further details about this book, from
http://www.xs4all.nl/~nizaar/Melita%20Historica/MH.10.4/A%20Select%20List%20of%20Books%20on%20Maltese%20History%20published%201986-1990.pdf
Source: Melita Historica New Series. 10(1991)4(413-422) A SELECT LIST
OF BOOKS ON MALTESE HISTORY PUBLISHED 1986-90 by Salv Mallia
featured on a site that collects articles about Maltese history
http://www.xs4all.nl/~nizaar/Index.htm

The Royal Navy at Malta : a collection of old photographs taken by the
Ellis family at Malta
Publisher: Maritime Books; ASIN: 0907771483
No further details given on Amazon, except that the book is out of
print
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0907771483/qid=1051095346/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/002-9565794-3357650?v=glance&s=books
Another site mentions two books of this title, dealing with the
periods 1865-1906 and 1907-1945, respectively
http://www.britishempire.co.uk/library/royalnavyatmalta.htm

Search strategy: 1. Sliema "Strada Nuova" 2. Sliema "New Street"  3.
English Maltese Dictionary  4. Triq Gdida  5.  "Royal Navy" Malta  6.
"HMS Penelope"
plus contact with the Malta Tourism Authority

Dear Tehuti
Congratulations> I am impressed. Not only 100% satisfactory answer,
but lots of quality supplementary information I can follow up.  Many
thanks
David Jenkinson

Hello,

I have not been able to provide a 100% confirmed answer, so am placing
this as a comment. It might assist other researchers in completing the
answer. On the other hand, if no further information is forthcoming
and you would accept the details below as a full answer, please
indicate this.

The Italian street names in Malta were changed into their English
equivalents after World War II. For example: "Up St John's (called San
Giovanni at that period when all streets bore Italian names) we
scampered past the Promotion Ring built into the wall of the
Castellania on the corner of Strada Merchanti (Merchants' Street) in
which was the market but it was on our return journey that we called
there because of siesta and so on. On the level now past the Co
Cathedral of St John's itself and across Strada Reale (Republic
Street)" http://www.aboutmalta.com/grazio/summer36.html

Strada Nuova means New Street.  There is a New Street in Sliema, as
shown by this address: Hotel Elba, 52, New Street, Sliema, Malta 
http://interhotel.com/malta/en/hoteles/46841.html

Here however, the trail runs dry, because I am unable to find a map of
Sliema at sufficiently high resolution and detail to show this street.
 The approximate location of the Hotel Elba can be seen on this map:
http://www.maltavista.net/en/map/big/7-8.html
The most detailed map I have found is here:
http://www.maltaonline.info/on_line/Services/mapimages/sliemamainmap.jpg
but I cannot find New Street on it.

The map has many names in Maltese, and I wondered if English names had
all been translated into Maltese after Independence, so I found an
English-Maltese dictionary
http://www.aboutmalta.com/language/engmal.htm I established that "New
Street" in Maltese would be "Triq Gdida" However, although a web
search turned this up as a street name in other Maltese towns, I did
not find it in the context of Sliema, which makes me think that New
Street is still the only current name of the street.

Thank you very much for the kind words and the tip. I was pleased to
be able to track this down for you finally!