The ceiling of the oratory of St Joseph in Rabat is regaining its former splendour as the original colours of the paintings now stand out in their full brightness following restoration.
The revamp is the first phase of a restoration project being carried out by members of the restoration and conservation cooperative ReCoop. The work was commissioned by the Archconfraternity of St Joseph.
The oratory, which carries the title of national sanctuary to St Joseph, was built between 1665 and 1685 and was extended to the current footprint between 1804 and 1840.
"We were surprised with the amount of soot that smudged the ceiling when one takes into account the fact that the paintings were done only about 52 years ago.
"This apparently means that a lot of candles used to be burnt in homage to St Joseph," ReCoop member and site manager Agatha Grima said.
The main damage, however, was caused by the formation of salt crystals on the surface of the stonework which caused parts of the paintings which had been applied directly to the ceiling to peel off.
"Limestone contains salt and once it comes in contact with water, the salt turns into crystals on the outer layer of the stone.
"We suggest that before similar restoration is taken in hand, one checks the condition of the roof to see to any cracks that allow water to seep in.
"Ideally, roofs finished in deffun, which is a ground pottery mixture used to cover and protect roof surfaces, should be repaired with deffun because such a mixture allows water that seeps in to evaporate.
"Waterproofing membrane can be harmful because if water finds its way between the membrane and the roof, the water will travel to the ceiling on the inside of the building instead of evaporating," ReCoop restorer Paul Muscat said. The ceiling is divided into five parts with the main section having been painted by Mikiel Fsadni. He left enough space for works by Dun Guzepp Spiteri who painted three episodes from the life of the patron saint and busts of several Popes who promoted the cult of St Joseph. Fsadni who was born in 1869, completed the work in his 80s.
Dun Spiteri was born in 1898 and was ordained in 1923 as a member of the Missionary Society of St Paul. His paintings were done on canvas which had to be consolidated by the conservators to keep the canvas from sagging.
ReCoop members Robert Cassar and James Licari were responsible for treating the copper and iron nails that were originally applied to affix the canvas to the ceiling.
This first phase has taken six months to complete. The damage the restorers came across and the intervention they have undertaken have been mapped and graphically recorded and a complete document of the work done will be passed on to the archconfraternity for future reference.
The restoration included a framed painting of St Joseph by Edward Caruana Dingli - that does not form part of the ceiling - which was in bad state of repair.
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