Restoration works on the interior of the national library in Valletta have started in the main hall and the main staircase. Works outside had started in 2009 with the cleaning and restoration of the facade and the portico. The Biblioteca, as it is known, was built between 1785 and 1795 and its restoration forms part of a government project to restore four architectural jewels in the capital. The other three are Auberge de Castille, the President’s Palace and St John’s Co-Cathedral.