Mdina monastery experiences a revival

Restoration works on the 17th century Carmelite Priory in Mdina have breathed new life into a "rather abandoned" building, and a monthly 1,000 visitors now venture into the museum on its ground floor.

The extensive works, carried out over a period of two years, have restored its former glory and guaranteed a future for the priory. The only monastery in Malta to have opened its doors to the public, the idea is to "keep it alive".

The priory museum may have started welcoming visitors last year but the job was never-ending, said the prior of the Carmelite community, Fr Alexander Vella. There was always some art work - of which the priory boasts plenty - that could be restored.

The first floor, the new seat of the Carmelite Institute, is enjoying a good lick of paint and finishing touches to be able to host lectures on spirituality being delivered there from next month.

Together with the University's Faculty of Theology, an MA in spirituality was being offered, Fr Vella said. And the public could also follow a yearly course on the subject, held once a week.

These are among the activities being organised to inject a new lease of life into the priory's walls.

Others include lunchtime concerts and Fr Vella has in mind to put up a monthly performance on Fridays too while public lectures are also held in its courtyard and exhibitions are regularly mounted.

Funds permitting, Fr Vella also plans to tackle the adjacent Carmelite church, dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the underlying crypt, which needs complete restoration.

The private company Cultural Heritage Project was instrumental in getting the project off the ground, funding a substantial part of the job and supplying the know-how and the contacts for it to materialise, Fr Vella said. It operates the museum, together with the Carmelite community, and rents out rooms for a café and gift shop.

Entrance fees to the museum only cover running costs, including wages, and do not come close to the amounts required for restoration. Funding depended on donations, Fr Vella said, pointing out that the next project, the small dome behind the sanctuary's main altar, would cost €10,000, which was donated by a group of related families.

Next in line, again, funding permitted, would be the six side chapels in the church, their works of art, altar pieces, paintings and marble.

But the biggest "headache" was by far the complete rewiring of the church, which was vital before anything else was done, Fr Vella said.

The electricity in the crypt also needs to be completely overhauled and when that is tackled it can be opened to the public every day. As it is, the crypt is accessible throughout November but only on request otherwise.

In the last years before the restoration project kicked off, only four friars resided in the "huge" monastery that had no other functions. Now, the community consists of three but their residence is confined to the second floor and the rest is open to the public.