The government is committed to the conservation of Malta’s unique architectural and historical patrimony, said Resources and Infrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit yesterday.
Mr Zammit was addressing a full-day seminar entitled “Valletta: from Hospitaller Fortress to World Heritage Site” at the Dolmen Hotel, which was co-financed by the EU Interreg IIIC programme Pagus.
“Foremost among the country’s assets are the historic fortifications. The major restoration and rehabilitation projects earmarked by the ministry seek to address the problem of restoration and rehabilitation of the decaying architectural fabric of Malta’s important fortifications, as we aim to revalorise them as an integral and focal part of the island’s cultural product,” said Mr Zammit.
Aware of the scale and magnitude of the task, the ministry has sought to benefit from the assistance offered by the EU through its many of its programmes for the study, documentation, interpretation and intervention of cultural property.
Two such programmes undertaken in the past year were the Citadels 2000 programme, which focused on the Gozo Citadel, and the Pagus project under the Interreg IIC programme.
Yesterday’s seminar brought to conclusion the activities undertaken under the Pagus project, which was initially intended to solely address issues of urban regeneration.
However, a decision was taken in December 2005, to concentrate all efforts on the Valletta fortifications. This was done to complement the ministry’s efforts aimed at securing additional EU structural funds for the restoration of the major fortifications.
All three components within the Pagus project were rethought and presented in an integrated approach.
The main emphasis in the Works Division’s efforts was designed to address training issues, interventions and management methodologies in fortified cities like Valletta.
One of the main aims of the subproject was to explore the eventual use of technology in an interactive way. The model makers at the Works Division produced a three-dimensional model of Fort Se Elmo was produced and another informative teaching tool in the form of a large scale relief model of the Valletta fortifications, showing the defences as they stood historically prior to modern interventions.
These models will help students following the fortress restoration course, which was conceived and designed as part of the Pagus project.
The government is now making use of European Structural Funds to start tackling some of the most urgent restoration work that needs to be carried out on the fortifications around Valletta, Mdina and the Gozo Citadel.