Restoration at St John's

I refer to Peter Portelli's letter regarding restoration works being carried out by The St John's Co-Cathedral Foundation (April 3).

I would like to assure Mr Portelli that all restoration projects at St John's Co-Cathedral are carried out respecting conservation and restoration ethics and are entrusted to highly qualified and experienced restorers. There are different schools of thought where restoration philosophy is concerned. One must point out that St John's Co-Cathedral is not an archaeological site but a church which has been in continuous use for over 400 years, as a place of worship and, more recently as a major tourist attraction, and thus maintenance and restoration, such as cleaning and re-gilding, is justified.

The restoration projects in questions were both in a most pitiful state. With regards to the carved walls, these were in an advanced stage of deterioration having suffered water infiltration resulting in incrustations and biological growths. The cleaning that is taking place is now revealing the brilliance of the original gold which has remained untouched. It is in the lower stratas where the gold leaf was completely lost that regilding is taking place in order to retain the original coherence and beauty. The "loud" effect referred to by Mr Portelli is the natural brilliance inherent to gold and also the result of the techniques originally used which actually differ from one chapel to another. One needs only look at the top part of the triumphal arches which have been cleaned but not gilded in order to appreciate the original "brilliance".

In the case of the Crucifixion group, this was infested with woodworm and had been coated with a thick layer of plaster which had not respected the original sculpture.

This had been stated in various articles and press releases which seem to have escaped Mr Portelli's attention. What was removed during the recent restoration was not original but the result of the earlier intervention that had significantly covered details of the beautiful modelling that the sculptor had originally intended, that is, to look like marble statues. The accumulated grime over the years actually hid the original beauty and given the sculptures a greyish colour. Moreover, one may record that the material used in this restoration is reversible. Furthermore, all projects are documented in detail.

However, the Foundation appreciates Mr Portelli's interest in the projects being carried out at the Co-Cathedral.