The care and restoration of the first church built in Valletta, Our Lady of Victory, has been entrusted to heritage organisation Din l-Art Ħelwa.

Built by the Knights, the church, situated just opposite Auberge de Castille, was handed over to Din l-Art Ħelwa by the government yesterday on Victory Day. This day marks Malta’s defeat of the Turks in the Great Siege in 1565 and the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.

At the handing over ceremony, Culture Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco emphasised the importance of safeguarding Malta’s rich historic and cultural heritage.

Our Lady of Victory church was built on the foundation stone of Valletta in 1566 and was dedicated by Grand Master de Valette to the Virgin Mary in thanksgiving for his victory in the Great Siege. In fact, the Grand Master was first buried there and his remains were later transferred to St John’s Co-Cathedral.

The church was ingrained in Malta’s national identity, Dr de Marco said. Such national assets were “invaluable, not only from historic, artistic and cultural points of view but also as an inherent part of our tourism product and our environment”.

Conservation was high on the government’s agenda and it made perfect sense, he said, to invest in the restoration and management of these assets. The role of voluntary organisations such as Din l-Art Ħelwa was “absolutely crucial”.

Simone Mizzi, president of Din l-Art Ħelwa, said the date of the handover was not chosen by chance. “Din l-Art Ħelwa being entrusted with the care of a church built by the Order represents yet another victory for Malta and for Europe because yet another important piece of cultural and religious heritage will be secured,” she said.

She pointed out that the church had suffered from centuries of neglect. Its vault was badly shaken by the bomb that destroyed the nearby opera house during the war and was affected by water infiltration and damp over the years. It was indeed a miracle of divine intervention that it could still be saved, she said.

The organisation has already been working on the church for a number of years, including by carrying out research. Between 2000 and 2004, the structure’s external walls were restored, an essential process to protect the precious vault paintings by Maltese artist Alessio Erardi.

The church’s restoration had many difficult and sensitive priorities, Mrs Mizzi noted. These included the work on the vault paintings by Erardi, who was active between the late 17th and 18th centuries, the restoration of the church’s internal walls and their murals, the altars and many decorative structural elements.

Also, the sacristy and choir area urgently needed to be disinfested from termites “as they are quite literally falling apart”, while the church organ needed to be reassembled and restored.

Mrs Mizzi said the organisation wanted to see the historic crypt where Grand Master de Valette was buried “integrated and secure”.

The church also holds many historical artefacts and documents dating back to the Order of St John, which needed treatment.

The organisation would try to complete its work by 2018, when Valletta would become Europe’s culture capital. Mrs Mizzi spoke of “a phased programme of work that will ensure that the status of the church as a place of worship is fully respected”.

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