The news that parts of St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral, one of the most iconic features of the Valletta skyline, have been declared unstable is indeed disturbing.
In a report headlined ‘Queen’s Maltese church is crumbling’, The Sunday Times (of London) said that “the towering spire of the [St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral] dominating the skyline of Valletta [at which the then Princess Elisabeth and Prince Philip worshipped as newly-weds]… was deteriorating badly, prompting an appeal to raise €3 million to restore it to its former glory”.
A restoration appeal to ‘Save Valletta’s Skyline’ will be formally launched next week, the day before the feast of St Paul’s Shipwreck. The cathedral authorities are hoping it is an appeal which everybody who cares deeply about Malta’s cultural heritage and Valletta’s iconic skyline will wish to respond to with generosity. The appeal will be seeking help and financial donations both in Malta as well as in the United Kingdom.
External restoration is estimated to cost €894,000, the boundary wall restoration €383,000, the tower and spire €716,000, the ceiling €165,000, internal works €165,000 and railings €38,000. There are other expenses too, like the architect’s professional fee, technical surveys and an allowance for contingencies.
The target is to complete the job by November 2019, the 175th anniversary of the building of the pro-cathedral.
St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral was built between 1839 and 1844 on the initiative of the Queen Dowager Adelaide, widow of King William IV and the aunt of Queen Victoria. It is dedicated to St Paul, considered to be the spiritual father of the Maltese nation. Its unique and historic identity is complementary to and in harmony with the Archdiocese of Malta, walking together in faith.
It is the architectural masterpiece of William Scamp who took over the commission when the project faced serious structural issues and ensured it was successfully completed. The building is designed to a neo-classical architectural style with a grand temple-front portico with Ionic columns. An array of eight Corinthian columns embellish its interior.
The cathedral authorities have been advised that the roof and the bell-tower are in urgent need of restoration. High-level stonework around the edges of the building is deteriorating, with parts having already fallen.
While the small congregation meets the annual running and maintenance costs of the pro-cathedral, it has no endowment and receives no support from the government or the Church of England. Hence the appeal being made.
The pro-cathedral is a universally recognised Valletta landmark, especially in the case of visitors approaching the island by sea. With the bell-tower and its spire rising to over 60 metres from the ground, it is a vital part of Malta’s rich cultural heritage. The appeal committee could hardly put it better when it said that to imagine Valletta’s skyline without the tower of the pro-cathedral is just as inconceivable as imagining St Mark’s Square in Venice, another World Heritage City, without its historic campanile.
The appeal committee is composed of like-minded, distinguished Maltese and foreign residents who have Malta’s cultural heritage at heart and who consider the preservation of this handsome building, which is so symbolic of Anglo-Maltese relations over the last two centuries or more, as vitally important.
Save Valletta’s Skyline is an appeal that everybody living in Malta, and visitors, too, especially Britons, should feel inspired to support.