Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Government Owen Bonnici visited the bastions situated near Crucifix Hill in Floriana, where a total of 4,500 square meters of bastions have been restored. He said that even though nowadays the bastions no longer serve their main principal purpose, it is important that they are preserved since they are representative of our country’s long history. “It is essential to preserve our past so that our future generations will be able to appreciate our country’s heritage”, stated the Minister.

This section of the bastions, which overlooks the Grand Harbour and the cruiseliner terminal, was in particularly bad shape. The stone had deteriorated, pieces had started to fall off, while the rock was also fractured.

The works carried out include the changing of stones, pointing, the consolidation of deteriorated stones, as well as interventions to strengthen the rock. A lot of work was done on third-party properties; therefore, special precautions were taken to ensure that no damage was done. Platforms were built to isolate the yards, which allowed for scaffolding to be built upon said platforms. The required were brought down from the garden located above the bastions.

These bastions form part of the ones designed by military engineer Pietro Paolo Floriani in 1635, when Antoine de Paule was Grand Master (1622 – 36), in order to protect Valletta from artillery attacks the range of which was ever-increasing. Therefore, the Floriana bastions are around 800 metres away from the ones in Valletta.

Parliamentary Secretary for Consumer Protection and Valletta 2018 Deo Debattista said that these bastions keep the structural legacy of our capital city and Valletta 2018 ongoing. Furthermore, Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government and Communities Silvio Parnis stated that, as evidenced by this project, the Government never ceases to help and strengthen local councils. Floriana’s Mayor Davinia Sammut Hili was present at this visit.

Works are being carried out by Irrecs Ltd, under the supervision of the Restoration Directorate within the Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government.  It is estimated that the total works will amount to around €600,000.