One of the most splendid chapels in St John's Co-Cathedral, the ornate chapel of the Langue of Germany, is to be restored thanks to a sponsorship by the German government.
The project is being carried out on the initiative of the German Ambassador, Dr Hubert Ziegler.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited St John's in January and took special interest in the chapel, commenting that she was overwhelmed by the beauty of the church.
The president of The St John's Co-Cathedral Foundation, Paul A. Attard, welcomed the sponsorship, He urged other entities, especially those benefiting from tourism, to contribute towards the preservation of this unique and precious monument.
Cynthia de Giorgio, the curator of St John's Co-Cathedral, said that this project will consist of the restoration of the elaborately carved dome and wall-carvings within the chapel, the restoration of the main altar, the altar piece and the paintings fitted into the lunettes.
Ms de Giorgio added that the chapel had suffered severe deterioration from the infiltration of rain water from the dome which caused the erosion of some of the carvings and the irreparable loss of the gilding. The lower strata of the walls also suffered similar damage caused by rising damp. The carvings are covered by a thick layer of dust and candle soot deposits that accumulated over the years.
The first stage of the restoration process shall consist of the removal of the layers of dust and candle soot and other stubborn encrustations with appropriate cleaning solutions. A layer of linseed oil applied during the twentieth century will be removed using poultices of alkaline solutions. This will be followed by the consolidation of the loose stone carvings and mortar joints. The walls will then be prepared for re-gilding, adopting the same gilding process used in the seventeenth century. The paintings will also receive restoration.
The chapel of the Langue of Allemagne, as it was referred to during the time of the Knights, is the first chapel in the north aisle of St John's Co-Cathedral. The chapel was originally assigned to the Langue of England. It was however reassigned to the Langue of Germany in the Chapter General of 1603 when the Church of England was established.
The elaborately-decorated wall carvings were executed following the bequest of Knight Fra Christian Von Osterhausen who bequeathed 1200 scudi for the adornment of this chapel in his will dated 28th June 1664. A further sum was put forward by the Prior of Hungary Fra Francis de Sonnemberg.
The altar painting depicts the Adoration of the Magi whilst the paintings fitted into the lunettes on either side of the chapel depict The Nativity of Christ and The Massacre of the Innocents executed in the seventeenth century by the Maltese artist Stefano Erardi (1630-1716), who studied in Rome. They were the gift of the knight Fra Giovanni Ernesto Conte della Torre in 1667.
Amongst the wall carvings are the coat-of-arms of the members of the Thun family Fra' Franz Sigmund Graf von Thun and the Archbishop and Prince of Salzburg John Ernest von Thun.