Refurbished Roman Villa due to open soon

The Roman Domus in Rabat, better known as the Roman Villa, currently undergoing extensive refurbishment to upgrade the museum and present the collection there in a more professional manner, is expected to reopen in the first quarter of next year, Suzannah Depasquale, Heritage Malta's Curator of Archaeology, said.

Works started around February, 2002. "We planned a small clean-up job for the site that could have lasted up to five months. However, dealing with cultural heritage always means dealing with many unknowns," Ms Depasquale told The Times during an onsite visit.

Due to the exigencies of the site and certain problems, it turned into a fully-fledged project, she said.

"Now all outstanding issues that plagued the site are being dealt with, instead of patching up problems as was done in the past 80 years."

The collection was suffering from problems such as fluctuation in temperature, humidity, dust pollution and environmental pollution, especially from the coaches parked constantly outside the site, she said.

It also required routine maintenance conservation interventions that had never been performed, Ms Depasquale added.

"Our rich cultural heritage is worth investing in. If we want our nation's economy to grow, we cannot continue expecting visitors to come to our island for sun and the sea - we have so much more to offer."

Therefore, the Roman Villa will present the collection in a more professional way, provide more information for visitors and feature a new, revitalised display focusing on the Arab cemetery and other buildings found in the area.

The works include the cleaning of the façade, refurbishment of the museum to facilitate access, security equipment, anti-fire equipment, new electrical and plumbing installations and sanitary facilities as well as the mosaics which rank among the finest and oldest mosaic compositions from the western Mediterranean.

The National Commission for the Disabled also provided much support to make the site accessible to people with special requirements and, therefore, the refurbishment included the establishment of a platform lift, ramps and a unique level walkway.

"Visitors should come and experience the temples from pre-history; tombs from the Phoenician period, houses and catacombs from our Roman inheritance age; material and intangible heritage coming from the Arab period, on to the Normans, Knights, French, English and contemporary heritage."

Ms Depasquale said this was an inheritance that should be treasured and passed onto future generations.