FIMBank, the Malta-based specialist trade finance bank, will be sponsoring the conservation of the nine monuments that embellish the Maglio Gardens in Floriana, better known locally as “il-Mall”. The project will be coordinated by Din l-Art Helwa.
The Maglio Gardens date to the time of Grand Master Lascaris (1636-1657), and it is recorded that he created them as a recreational area for the Knights, where they could indulge in pastimes including a game similar to croquet, called ‘palamaglio’, hence the name. The gardens were opened to the public during the British period.
The monuments that will be the focus of the conservation project commemorate personalities who made an impact on Maltese society, namely Sir Luigi Preziosi, Sir Adrian Dingli, Sir Ugo Mifsud, Marquis Joseph Scicluna, Sir Hannibal Scicluna, Dr Filippo Sciberras, Marquis Vincenzo Bugeja, Aloisio Pisani and Giovanni Di Nicolo Pappaffy.
The project, which it is estimated will take between six and nine months, will begin once the required permits are issued and the work involved has been entrusted to The Heritage ResCo conservation team, composed of academically-trained and experienced conservators Ingrid Ross, James Licari and Frank Chetcuti – the latter two being conservator-restorers and members of the lecturing staff at Heritage Malta. They are coordinating the work with Floriana Local Council and Environmental Landscapes Consortium Ltd. Thanks to the assistance of architect Norbert Gatt, the scaffolding will be provided by the Rehabilitation Projects Office as a further contribution towards the project. Work on the various monuments will be carried out according to their individual state of preservation, but will generally address the effects of unfavourable atmospheric conditions, in particular the natural weathering process caused mainly by salt deposition, as well as the effects of vandalism.
Commenting on the project, FIMBank president Margrith Lütschg-Emmenegger said: “Following last year’s successful conservation of the Great Siege Monument, it is a great pleasure for FIMBank, as a Malta-based institution, to be able to contribute once again to safeguarding an important part of Malta’s rich historical heritage. The personalities which these monuments commemorate contributed greatly to Malta’s social development and the transformation of the Islands into a community of which we are proud to form part.”
Din l-Art Ħelwa vice-president Prof. Luciano Mulè Stagno said: “Din l-Art Ħelwa is grateful to FIMBank for their vision and ongoing support of Malta’s artistic – and, in this case, social – heritage, as represented by the monuments in the Maglio Gardens, some of which are the work of accomplished 19th and 20th-century Maltese artists such as Antonio Sciortino, Vincent Apap and Ġanni Darmanin”.
Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, the Environment and Culture Mario de Marco said that the project enriches our cultural and tourism product. He pointed out that Malta’s cultural and historical attractions draw a substantial number of tourists to the Islands and these should therefore be preserved. Dr de Marco stressed the importance of the government, the authorities and private enterprise continuing to work together in the preservation of cultural and historical treasures for the enjoyment of present and future generations.