The government has stuck to its story that damage to Castille’s façade near one of the new lighting fixtures was caused by a lightning strike, even though the weather has been unseasonably good of late.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the meteorological office said the last thunderstorm to hit the Valletta area was five weeks ago. The damage to Castille’s façade was first noticed last Monday with what appeared to be a brown, rust-like patch near one of the new fixtures. The bracket is part of the controversial lighting system installed last year on the facade, with LED lighting tubes and wires affixed to the building.

The meteorological office said the last thunderstorm to hit the Valletta area was five weeks ago

The system required physical interventions to the building, such as the drilling of holes for cables to pass through the decorative stone ledges and the attachment of fixtures to support the lighting tubes.

The government took exception to the Times of Malta’s report on the damage to the façade and said that preliminary investigations by the Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation and the restoration unit concluded the damage came from a lightning strike in close proximity to one of the stainless steel brackets, which in turn melted part of the same bracket.

The lighting system came in for harsh criticism last year from architects and conservation experts over its aesthetic inappropriateness and its physical impact on the historical building. The Archbishop also entered the fray, referring to the façade as giving Castille a Las Vegas touch.

This too apparently irked the government, which in a separate reply noted that the lighting system had been well received. The government claimed that the harsh criticism of the lighting system had transformed into praise.