Leading insurer GasanMamo is supporting Din l-Art Helwa with the final stages of restoration of the Delimara Lighthouse enabling the heritage NGO to conclude the restoration of this prominent landmark.

“The project for the Delimara Lighthouse has been a huge task. Its isolated and exposed location and difficult logistics have proved challenging. Now thanks to the generous support of GasanMamo we can finish this most delicate and exciting part of the conservation exercise” said Simone Mizzi, Executive President of Din l-Art Helwa.

“During this last phase, the extensive copper and iron canopy, and the lighthouse lantern will undergo restoration. These have suffered erosion from exposure to the elements. The unique red and white hand-cut glass prisms of the lantern have been damaged by vandalism and the beacon clock mechanism, currently being researched, is totally missing.” said Ms Mizzi. Din l-Art Helwa has already secured the outer masonry of the lighthouse, provided new apertures and security systems, and acquired furnishings for the interior. The Organization plans to finish the project by summer 2012 when the lighthouse, which previously housed its keeper and two families, can offer heritage accommodation to the discerning and adventurous visitor.

GasanMamo has already been associated with Din l-Art Helwa in the past. Managing Director Albert Mamo visiting the lighthouse with officials of Din l-Art Helwa, said: “We acknowledge that Malta’s rich heritage requires mammoth effort and resources to be maintained and restored. We are particularly drawn to this project because we see a ‘perfect fit’. Insurance finds its roots in maritime insurance, hence GasanMamo’s lighthouse logo. Naturally the interpretation we seek to make here is the beacon of light that gives assurance to ships, either to steer clear or confirm their location.”

“Our Corporate Social Responsibility policy is an integral part of our strategy,” said Mr Mamo. “We recognise that we are in a position to make a difference, and this we do. Significant efforts are made in respect to our environment, our history and vulnerable persons or groups in our society. Every little bit counts are we are confident that through collective effort and solidarity we can contribute significantly.”

Commissioned in 1850 by the British administration when maritime traffic from the North African coast to Valletta’s harbour became more frequent, the lighthouse occupies a splendid location at the tip of Delimara Point and is the only surviving lighthouse to still exist in Malta, the other one being at Ta’ Giordan in Gozo. Until 1896, the lighthouse boasted a static red lantern but this was then replaced by a more powerful gasoline lamp, operated by hand-wound mechanism, that produced beams of alternating red and white light flashed at intervals of 30 seconds.  Its arc of visibility ranged from a bearing of 19 to 295 degrees up to a range of 19 nautical miles. This continued to operate till a new electric signal tower was built close by rendering it obsolete. The lighthouse was then decommissioned and was devolved to Din l-Art Helwa by the Malta Maritime Authority.

Din l-Art Helwa, National Trust of Malta, is a non-governmental non-profit voluntary organisation founded in 1965 to safeguard the historic, artistic and natural heritage of Malta. Since then it has restored some 38 sites of national historic and environmental importance and holds 16 in guardianship or in trust from the Government and with the Church.