The Chapel of the Langue of Germany in St John’s Co-Cathedral, Valletta, is due to undergo complete restoration on the initiative of the German government.
It is another significant project in the ongoing conservation process of the co-cathedral, which has suffered substantial deterioration over the last two centuries.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, during a visit to the co-cathedral in January, had taken a particular interest in the chapel, and an agreement has been signed between the St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation and the Federal Republic of Germany, which is sponsoring the restoration on the initiative of German Ambassador to Malta Hubert Ziegler.
The restoration is being financed through the cultural preservation programme of the German government, said Dr Ziegler, adding that the chapel was an important symbol of the two countries’ common history.
“Its restoration by an equally strong effort of Germany and Malta is, in this context, another symbol for the growing German-Maltese partnership in a continuously merging Europe,” he said.
The project consists of the restoration of the elaborately carved dome and wall carvings, the main altar, the altar piece and paintings fitted into the lunettes, said the curator Cynthia de Giorgio. The chapel had sustained severe deterioration from the infiltration of rainwater through the dome, which caused the erosion of some of the carvings and the irreparable loss of the gilding. The lower strata of the walls also suffered similar damage due to rising damp, while the carvings are also covered by a thick layer of dust and deposits of candle soot that have accumulated over the years, she explained.
The first stage of the process consists of the removal of dust, candle soot and other stubborn encrustations, followed by the consolidation of the loose stone carvings and the preparation of the walls for gilding, using the same process of the 17th century.
The chapel of the Langue of Allemagne, as it was referred to during the time of the Knights of the Order of St John, is the first in the north aisle of the co-cathedral. Over the last 10 years, the Foundation has allocated €4 million to a long list of projects but its available funds never satisfied the requirements for the maintenance and restoration of the co-cathedral’s works of art, said its president Paul Attard.
The ambassador’s initiative was, therefore, “much appreciated”, he said, encouraging other entities, especially those that benefitted from tourism, to contribute to the preservation of the unique monument.