The statue of St Paul perched on the islands of St Paul has again become a victim of the elements over the last year and is now undergoing restoration in an initiative by Din l-Art Helwa and the Malta Tourism Authority. This most iconic monument to Malta’s patron saint was found to have suffered many stone losses over the winter months and part of the saint’s right arm and hand had fallen off. Fortunately Din l-Art Helwa volunteers are always vigilant over this statue’s state of health andvisit the island regularly.
Dr Stanley Farrugia Randon, Council Member of the heritage NGO found the missing pieces. Din l-Art Helwa applied to the authorities to be allowed to carry out emergency restoration works and MTA came to the rescue with the necessary funds. The biggest challenge that presented itself, however, was the moving of heavy scaffolding and materials over the bay to the island and up to the statue itself. However help was at hand when Azzopardi Fisheries and AJD Tuna Ltd offered assistance using their own vessels to move the goods there. Heritage Resco conservators James Licari, Ingrid Ross and Frank Chetcuti are carrying out the treatment to the statue.
The large statue of St Paul on St Paul’s Island is the work of two sculptors, Sigismondo Dimech (1780-1853) of Valletta and Salvatore Dimech (1805-1887) of Lija. Both Salvatore and Sigismondo Dimech performed many other artistic works. The statue alone is about 4 metres high and represents St Paul holding a book in his left hand while holding high the right one. At his feet lies the snake which, according to the Acts of the Apostles, came out of the fire and bit his hand.
The statue stands on a platform 8.3 metres high, the work of Francesco Spiteri. The stones are travertine of second grade, and for every four orders of height, pieces of stone shaped like a chain were fixed. The mixture required to fill in the joint lines of the stones is made of lime mortar, sand and fabricated cement with puzzolana of first quality. On the platform a marble slab was fitted with the following words chosen by the Latinist Dun G. Zammit (nicknamed Brighella):
'To the Apostle St Paul, Master and Doctor of the Church of all People, Father and Patron of the Maltese. This statue is the same place where he was shipwrecked - together with 275 others - on this island where he had to come and teach the faith of Christ, as his friend St Luke says in the Acts of the Apostles Cap.XXVII. Salvatore Borg, in memory of this event - in the year 1845 - worked hard for its erection'.
The statue was inaugurated and blessed on 21 September, 1845.