Altarpiece at Gozo cathedral restored

The rich colours of the majestic altarpiece of St Ursula in the Gozo cathedral have been restored by Emanuel Zammit.

The restorer spent the last six weeks diligently removing the dark varnish from this work, painted by the Nazarene artist Giuseppe Hyzler in 1851. It is considered to be one of his best.

The painting is also signed by another artist, Canon Gaetano Bondi, who donated the piece to the cathedral. His coat of arms can be seen at the bottom of the canvas.

The painting, which measures 152 cm by 273 cm, was last restored in 1903.

St Ursula is one of the patron saints of Gozo. Legend has it that when the Turks attacked the sister island, her statue - consisting of just her bust, with relic bones showing in her chest - was taken to the bastions to scare them off... and it worked.

Mr Zammit has been restoring various parts of the cathedral, more recently its vault and other paintings.