Sicily and Malta's Differences Show that Geographic Proximity Does Not Automatically Lead to Cultural Similarities

Forests of citrus trees, towering mountains in the distance, and expressways as far as eyes can see... These were the first sights of Sicily, a much larger island just north of Malta. I, the first-time visitor, was surprised how the two islands could look so different despite having the same climate and coastal geography. Malta's rocky interior is filled with rocks and stone buildings, without the lush vegetation that the Sicilian hinterlands are filled with. Even with that first sight, it is no wonder that Sicily is an agricultural powerhouse that exports to Malta and beyond after filling the stomachs of its 5 million people.

The colorfulness of the Sicilian countryside has rubbed off on its cities too. Whereas the Maltese cityscape is almost uniformly the color of sandstone, owing to the nearly standardized design of its stone buildings, Sicilian towns are filled with diversity. Short and tall buildings, some stone, others brick, and even others wood, are painted a kaleidoscope of different colors. The contrast of yellow, red, and green gives even the smallest towns a sense of life and vibrancy that Maltese counterparts, solemn in preserved stone, simply lack in comparison.

One of the vaulted goals of the European Union is to create a unified European identity despite national borders, based on shared values, if not language and ethnicity. Italy and Malta ought to be the easiest to reach that goal. A large expat population of Italians live in Malta, while a significant portion of the Maltese speak the Italian language. Italian TV channels, food items, and other cultural tidbits are commonplace in Malta, not to mention the shared cultural values of Catholicism, family-based collectivism, and a relaxed but animated lifestyle.

Yet, even a day trip to the other side shows that what divides the two countries is not just a narrow strait that a ferry can traverse in an hour and a half. The natural geography of the land and the human geography of culture can easily outweigh those similarities. Malta's density, driven by immigration of a globalized workforce, has no parallel in the sparsely populated, homogenous Sicily. And the diversion of the Maltese economy, which includes tourism, IT, finance, and English education, has long surged past idyllic Sicily, with below-average income even within Italy. 

The sheer differences between Sicily and Malta, then, become a visible rebuttal to those who assume that cultural and geographical proximities can trump political and economic ones. Its implications go far beyond these two islands or the European Union. Those who attempt to argue for similarities between mainland China and Taiwan, Russia and Ukraine, North and South Korea, and the US and Canada, among others, cannot be fully justified in their arguments without a large caveat. Indeed, to use similarities as the rationale for political integration, forceful or otherwise, will find plenty of resistance.

Instead, integration may require even more incentivization for interactions. The surprising differences, in population density, architecture, and natural looks between Sicily and Malta after thousands of years of people-to-people exchanges illustrate that those exchanges need to be much deeper and more frequent for convergence to truly occur. Having a cheap ferry that takes people across is not enough. People need to be given even more motivation to use the ferry. The motivation has to be personal, whether familial links, economic opportunities, or cultural affinities so intimate that frequent visits are warranted.

Creating societies that are more open to new ideas and people is a good start. Malta's openness to foreign workers is a good start. Others can replicate such policies while going a step deeper, pulling in people by giving them more to love besides a safe place to live and a good-paying job. Identifying and highlighting those factors that have the potential to really create cultural resonance among people of different nationalities will be helpful. Shared festivals, holidays, and other cultural events can go a long way to entrench concrete output of similarities, such as food, music, and religion.

At the same time, it is worth putting in effort to suppress any lingering doubts about how cultural similarities may lead to a loss of political independence. The long journey of human history is filled with stories of ethnic groups that are annexed into new polities and then subsequently disappear as they assimilate into larger social groups. It is understandable that a smaller group like the Maltese, Ukrainians, or the Taiwanese fear the loss of an independent identity. But if the ultimate goal is to create a new identity that supersedes any national one, then they should be given something to love about sameness too.