Maltese and Sicilian catacombs will be examined and rehabilitated after funds were secured from the European Union by the Mosta local council, the Comune di Ragusa and the Sovrintendenza ai Beni Culturali e Ambientali di Ragusa.
On 29 and 30 June a meeting was held at the Mosta Local Council premises, with the participation of all partners in the Cultexchange project, within the Interreg IIIA program of the European Union.
The Mosta Local Council is the leading partner in this project that includes also the Comune di Ragusa and the Sovrintendenza ai Beni Culturali e Ambientali di Ragusa.
The endorsement of this project by the European Union means that funds have been approved so that through co-operation between Malta and Italy, two different catacombs would be examined and rehabilitated in due course. These are: the Ta' Bistra Hypogeum in Mosta, and La Catacomba delle Trabacche in Ragusa, Sicily.
The Mosta Local Council has already set up a team of experts whose main goal is to examine, take care of, and rehabilitate the entire site, for the benefit of both present and future generations. The Mosta Meeting with the participation of all partners in the project had this fundamental aim to achieve.
Representatives of both the Maltese and Italian partners, together with experts engaged by both sides, amongst others Heritage Malta, took part in a valuable exchange of experiences and discussions. These were meant to gather information about what has been already achieved to date, and what future plans are in the pipeline.
All meetings provided an evidence of commitment by both the Maltese and Italian representatives. This project also showed that this is clearly another way to enhance the already existing excellent relations between the two countries.
Both sides had the opportunity to express their views as well as inform the others of the projected action to be undertaken in the immediate future. This is a project that has as a specific target: that of adding yet another niche in the cultural tourism of Mosta.
During the meeting participants were of the common opinion that to date a lot of preliminary work had already been carried out and that this was an evident sign that all concerned were showing utmost interest in the success of the project.
The second day of the meeting started off with a session at the Mosta Local Council premises, where the local side put forward its presentations. The Italian representatives were full of praise for the professional work carried out by our team.
At the end of the session all present were then invited to go straight to the Ta' Bistra site. This exercise was meant to make participants aware of the present state of the catacombs. Once on site, those present discussed the necessary action to be taken in the immediate future so that rehabilitating Ta' Bistra would continue as quickly as possible.