The pictorial and historical record shows that the façades of the Knights of St John’s buildings and fortifications, wherever they were, were lime-plastered where necessary and then painted in bright, bold colours. So why has the paintwork in its original colours not been returned to these so-called restored buildings?

The two pairs of probably 17th century stone race-track posts on the road below Saqqajja, Rabat, employed for the races on June 29, are still painted red and yellow – the red of the Order and the yellow of the Papacy, although the tone of these colours and the pigments that are employed today are not original and they are unrestored and falling down, but they at least retain this traditional colouring.

Will the lower section of the façade of the 17th century wash-house, limits of Mdina, be restored to its original red and the upper section painted yellow, when this important building in danger of collapse is finally restored?

Will the remaining Knights’ depot (sail-makers’ hall) that stands today by Dock No. 1 in Cospicua be restored to its original colour scheme – the ground floor yellow, the first floor red – in its forthcoming development?

Will the façade of the Palace in Valletta finally be returned to its original red, the same hue of red as coloured the Order’s galleys, as Fredrick von Brockdorff’s early 19th century coloured lithograph in the Fine Arts Museum attempted to record, with an orange colour rather than the real red? The current restoration work on the palace has already stripped off most of the traces of the original paintwork.

Will Fort St Elmo be returned to the white plastered state it was in the 17th-18th centuries, to clearly indicate to shipping the location of the port city of Valletta and thereby the entrance to the two harbours, in addition to the lighthouse?

Or does restoration in Malta today mean the stripping of the last remaining traces of the original paintwork – destroying Malta’s architectural heritage and calling this vandalism ‘restoration’? This has already happened to the restored façades along the Birgu waterfront, to the restored side of the Palace facing the National Library and to other Knights’ period buildings.

The recent restoration of the fountain at Saqqajja has not returned the paintwork to its original red but instead introduced a novelty pink – so much for authenticity!

Restoration requires knowledge of both the historical record and of the pigments and processes employed as the Knights’ buildings and fortifications were painted. Yet today, after a so-called restoration has taken place all we are left with is a stripped stone façade. This is not restoration; this is deceit.