The recent illumination of the baroque facade of Auberge de Castille in Valletta has elicited various comments, not least from our ecclesiastical elite referring to it as ‘Las Vegas-style lighting’.

Apparently this harsh criticism was a bit too hasty as I understand that with some adjustments the lights have been rendered more effective.

The idea behind the illumination of a historical site is that, through professional designing and fine tuning, discriminating visitors can observe far more than expected, with the floodlit facade offering a visual experience that goes beyond their expectations.

Today aesthetic floodlighting is the exclusive professional realm of light designers workingin conjunction with architects and special luminaire manufacturers.

The comments on the lighting of the Auberge de Castille have prompted me once again to consult the writings of the erudite Italian medievalist Umberto Eco.

His discourse on the aesthetics of light discussed in the early stages of monasticism, which could have included Malta, is very revealing. Papal legate Pietro Duzina in his pastoral visits to our churches in the 1570s, throws some light on that time of darkness. Duzina was evidently on the side of the sanctity of darkness rather than on the beauty of light.

This preference to darkness rather than to light in places of worship beggars the question – isn’t beauty in the eyes of the beholder? What are the main standards of beauty and is beauty transcendental? Of course, people have different views on what constitutes beauty. This is an academic debate that has been going on since Classical Greece.

The beholder’s opinion may be a product ofhis poor, uncultured and unsophisticated environment; on the other hand it could be a result of erudition and an artistic mind.

The illumination of the facades of historical and ecclesiastical buildings is a relatively recent field of lighting and our architectural gems deserve the best professional exposure. Floodlighting should never be in colour or intensity but should give consistency in order to avoid flattened images.

Now is the time to give all our recently aesthetically rehabilitated historical edifices, including our impressive churches and the impregnable bastions, their hour of glory with professional lighting.