Mosta is set to benefit from e600,000 in two joint ventures with the Commune di Ragusa as part of the European Union Interreg III programme.

The two projects, Cultexchange and Smart, will focus on the restoration of

catacombs in Malta and Sicily and the revival of folklore in a contemporary manner on both islands.

Mosta mayor Joseph de Martino said that on 1 May 2004, the day of Malta’s accession to the EU, a twinning agreement was signed between Mosta and Ragusa. Since then, various meetings have been held between the two councils and both decided to submit proposals for development under the Interreg III programme.

Mosta council is the leader in one project, while the Comune di Ragusa is the leader of the other. The two projects are among six which have been approved out of a total of 19 projects that were submitted.

The first project will be for the rehabilitation of two catacombs, one known as Ta’ Bistra in Mosta and the other the Catacomba delle Trabacche in Ragusa.

The project will cost about e350,000 of which the EU will finance e325,000. The rest, said Mr De Martino, had been collected by private donations from Mosta residents.

Malta coordinator George Cassar said it was an exciting project because, although the catacombs had been excavated years ago, a lot remained buried. The ultimate aim is to be able to open the catacombs to the public, he said.

Dr Cassar said the catacombs were very large and important. He pointed out that Sicily and Southern Italy have the largest number of similar sites and they are widely regarded as experts in the field.

The Malta coordinator for the Smart project, Dr George Mifsud Chircop, said that reviving folklore, especially in a contemporary manner, was also important. He said that various countries around the world were using folklore as a focal point on important occasions. While Malta and Sicily are different, he added, there are still common elements because both are central Mediterranean islands.

For example, there are various countries in Europe that hold Good Friday processions, yet some do it differently than others.

Dr Mifsud Chircop said that the project was aimed at opening and consolidating a cultural partnership between the two islands through an exchange of knowledge and experience, reviving and evaluating, through various activities, the cross-cultural roots of both countries vis-à-vis tangible culture, focusing on particular areas of folk culture and common tradition.

Interior Minister Tonio Borg called on other local councils to follow the example of Mosta council. He said that being a member of the EU offers advantages, but they have to be identified and made the most of.

He pointed out that there are 42 local councils in Malta and Gozo, with a total of 53 twinning agreement, and if each and every one of them followed Mosta’s initiative, then the total amount of EU funding could run into millions rather than hundred of thousands.

Both projects will run for one-and-a-half years.