NSTF scholarship students at Rome restoration

After having followed a four-month restoration of Mattia Preti's The Martyrdom of St Catherine of Alexandria under the supervision of restorers from Sante Guido Restauro e Conservazione at the Church of St Catherine of Italy in Valletta, three post-secondary students are in Rome for a month. The aim of this scholarship is to expose the students to the art of restoration and to help them identify their desire to pursue a career in this field.

Besides commissioning the restoration of Preti's masterpiece, NSTF, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, has decided to run a number of educational projects.

The students - Clayton Bonello, Claire Scerri and Francesco Sultana - are in Rome visiting and exploring various sites where restoration works are being carried out by the Italian restoration company. These include the Capitoline Museums, the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, the Basilica of St Peter and the Laboratories of the Vatican. They will experience the different techniques used for the restoration of murals, sculptures and ceramics, among others.

Francis Stivala, secretary general at NSTF, said he was extremely pleased that the foundation, with the expertise provided by Sante Guido Restauro e Conservazione, was in a position to contribute towards the development of these students in their ambition to become professional restorers.