Final phase of restoration on chapel of Italy starts

The second and final phase of the restoration of the chapel of Italy at St John's co-cathedral, in Valletta, has started.

The restoration is being carried out by Sante Guido and his team. It is one of two projects currently underway by the Valletta Rehabilitation Project (VRP) within the cathedral, both being financed by the Italian government and the VRP. The 16th century organ at the oratory is also being restored.

VRP executive coordinator Ray Bondin said restoration of the chapel started last February and is expected to be finished by next September. The Italian government is funding €420,000 and the VRP is footing €50,000 of the bill.

Two experts from the Istituto Centrale per il Restauro - Giulia Tamanti and Anna Maria Marconi - have joined the restoration team to help in the decision-making about the final appearance of the chapel. The institute is representing Italy as the technical reference for the projects.

The main decisions to be made revolve around the treatment that needs to be given to the walls, the final appearance of areas where original gold gilding was lost and the conservation of the three paintings.

The chapel of Italy, built in 1578, includes a work by Mattia Preti, showing the mystic marriage of St Catherine of Alexandria.

Dr Bondin said the IRC team showed an "enormous appreciation" of the work that had already been done. People visiting St John's could see that a lot of the original gold gilding was still there under the dust of hundreds of years. He said that in areas like the cupola, where it was thought that no original gilding still existed, a substantial amount was actually found to be still present. Despite problems with rising humidity and salts, the stone surface was still in a very good condition.

Officials of the St Johns co-cathedral Foundation, in particular executive secretary Claude Busuttil and curator Daniela Apap Bologna, were also taking part in the discussions on the chapel's restoration. The project is being done with the collaboration of the Metropolitan Chapter of the Cathedral and the foundation.

Italy's ambassador to Malta, Alvise Memmo, and the first secretary at the embassy, Lucia Pattarino, visited the chapel and showed their appreciation at the "excellent" results being achieved.