Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar has expressed itself against the building of a long hall over the Great Siege cemetery on Merchant’s Street, Valletta flanking St John’s Cathedral.

The hall would be used to exhibit all the Flemish tapestries together.

In a statement this morning it said that while the proposed Caravaggio Centre and Cappella Ardente hall were well-conceived, blocking the view of the cathedral by the massive new structure on Merchants’ Street was far from acceptable.

The St John’s Cathedral Foundation has applied to expand its museum onto the cemetery, which is dominated by the communal grave where the remains of the heroes of the Great Siege were buried.

This FAA said, was to be dismantled and a far smaller ‘monument’ rebuilt on the side, to make space for ticketing booths, turnstiles and a giftshop.

It noted that concerns were voiced by the planning authority’s Heritage Advisory Committee about the height of the exhibition halls, stating: “the panel has misgivings about the negative effect that they might have on the Cathedral which is one of the major European landmarks. Therefore the panel requires that before making its recommendation, it is certified that the Cathedral and its outlying buildings do not provide any space that could be utilised for the said purpose.” 

However, these concerns were brushed asked and the authority also forgot about the regulation that the developer was obliged to produce photomontages of the proposed building, FAA said.

It said that in approving the project even before all details were submitted, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage overlooked the fact that such changes were not allowed by law on Grade 1 scheduled (protected) buildings.

Creating exhibition space could  neither be considered restoration nor rehabilitation of the building, and certainly St John’s Cathedral was already in active use, FAA said.

It said that the hall changed the area from a cemetery for the heroes who fell to defend Malta and Europe, into a lobby where a museum made money from the sale of tickets and gifts.

“It is especially ironic that the Cathedral that calls itself “The Home of the Knights of Malta” has chosen to pull up this grave on the 450th anniversary of the Great Siege, when we are constantly being reminded of the valour and sacrifices of the Great Siege heroes.

“The desecration of this cemetery by the St John’s Cathedral Foundation would be an outrage.

“The Great Siege was Malta’s finest hour, when it was universally acclaimed to have saved all of Europe and Christendom. It is unthinkable that the Church could permit its martyrs to be treated in this way.  No wonder foreigners look on in horror as we set about destroying our precious heritage for financial gain,” FAA said.

It maintained that with commitment and goodwill, alternative solutions that accommodated all the Cathedral’s requirements could be found.