While all ministerial statements have claimed that the money provided by the Italian Protocol was for the restoration of the façade of St Catherine’s church in Valletta, a document dated 23 March 2000, seen by this newspaper, provides the details of the project for the “restoration and rehabilitation” of the church; it does not limit the project to the mere restoration of the façade.

This seems to have fuelled the anger felt by Italian quarters in Malta and recriminations that the money should have been used for the restoration of the interior of the church as well; the funds should not have been allowed to run out the way they did with only the church’s façade renovated and the interior still very much in need of restoration. Besides which, lack of proper maintenance is causing further damage.

The document states: “The project involves the restoration and rehabilitation of the historic church of Sta Caterina d’Italia in Valletta and the training of personnel from the Works Division in restoration methologies and techniques. To date, the works undertaken include the documentation and cataloguing of the architectural and artistic features of the church and the diagnostic study of the architectural fabric. Tenders for the restoration of the façade are currently at the publication stage.”

The total cost of the project, the statement adds, spread over a three-year period, amounts to Lit 3,250,470,000 (approximately equivalent to Lm700,000).

A study of the wording reproduced above makes it clear that the restoration of the façade was never considered to be the be-all and end-all of the project but as a phase in the “restoration and rehabilitation” of the church. It would not make sense to say that the restoration of a façade is the “restoration and rehabilitation” of the whole church.

The project involved direct co-operation between the Restoration Unit of the Building and Engineering Department and the Dipartimento di Architectura e Pianificazione Territoriale (DAPT) Universita di Studi, Bologna.