One of the oldest and most important organs dating back to 1597 has been restored and is now being tuned.

The organ, of Italian origin, is found at the Oratory, St John's Co-cathedral, in Valletta after the Knights of St John transferred it from the church because they felt it did not match the Baroque grandeur of the conventual church. It is one of the few existing organs of its time, the executive coordinator of the Valletta Rehabilitation Committee, Ray Bondin, said.

The restoration project is being carried out by the Valletta Rehabilitation Project within the Ministry for Resources and the Infrastructure and is funded by the Italian Protocol but with a substantial Maltese contribution.

The organ will be inaugurated in October.

Speaking during a visit to St John's Co-cathedral by Resources and Infrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit, Dr Bondin said the importance of the organ did not only stem from its age but also from the fact that its builder had utilised an older type of mechanism as if he was unaware of the progress registered in organ building in Europe at the time.

The restoration project was aimed not only at reinstating the wooden case and the pipes but also to ensure that the organ could be played again.

Francesco Ruffatti, the Italian expert who carried out the restoration works on the musical parts, said a lot of effort and research went into the identification of missing pipes. The organ had only 40 existing metal and six wooden pipes. A total of 419 new pipes had to be recreated.

"This is an extraordinary organ by any standards and all organ restorers are anxiously awaiting the finalisation of this project," Dr Bondin said.