There are more than 17,000 volumes in the Notarial Archives in St Christopher Street Valletta, many of which have been heavily damaged over the years. The oldest document dates back to the 15th century. The building they are housed in is also in need of repairs and restoration.
Over the past few months the situation has improved: the building is being renovated and many of the documents have been properly indexed. Some have even been restored, thanks to the 'Adopt a Notary' scheme.
The Alfred Mizzi Foundation has become the first private entity to donate to this cause and has sponsored the conservation of all the works of a 16th century notary as part of the Alf Mizzi Group's corporate social responsibility programme.
The programme aims to find sponsors to fund the restoration of priceless notarial works, dating back hundreds of years. The notary that has been 'adopted' by the Alfred Mizzi Foundation is Bartholomeo Selvagij de Via, who served as the Sovereign Military Order's notary when the knights were still in Rhodes. His numerous acts, spanning from 1531 5o 1551, shed precious light on the first few decades of the knights' stay in Vittoriosa.
Addressing a press conference, Dr Joan Abela, the President of the Notarial Archives Resources Council, explained that, since documentation on this particular period is very sparse, the preservation of these documents is of the utmost importance to the Maltese historical studies as they shed light on a world that would have been otherwise lost to present day generations.
The volume displayed for the launch covers the period from August 1544 to September 1545. All notarial volumes of this notary, 52 in total, will also be given new parchment covers.
Conservator Therese Zammit Lupi explained that delicate restoration process. The first volume chose - Volume 36 - had medium severity of damage. After sitting neglected on a shelf for years, the document was damaged by mould, insect damage and ink corrosion, which was caused by heat and humidity. Each page was cleaned and treated with the appropriate materials. The paper was strengthened, the bits eaten away repaired and the ink consolidated. The cover, which was replaced during a 20th century rebinding, was replaced by a new parchment cover similar to the original. The material was bought from a company in the UK, one out of only three in the world that produce parchment in the old fashioned way.
As happens often during the restoration of old documents, there was a surprise discovery during the restoration process. The original cover was made out of a recycled medieval document which included mentions to King Alphonse of Aragon.
Justice and Culture Minister Owen Bonnici spoke about the shocking state the Notarial Archives had been found in last year and said the situation has improved. The premises are still in need of improvement but the first priority is the preservation of the documents.
Dr Bonnici said the initiative taken by the Alfred Mizzi foundation is exemplary and is a perfect example of how the government and the private sector can work hand in hand to preserve our heritage. The government, he said, has also set up a steering committee to acquire funds for the restoration of the Notarial Archives.
Mr Julian Sammut, a trustee of the Alfred Mizzi Foundation, said it was an honour for the company to contribute to such projects that will have long lasting benefits for Maltese society. The foundation was proud to "adopt the first child," said Mr Sammut, who hoped that other companies would follow suit. He also called for more cultural programmes to raise awareness on such issues.
Dr Joan Abela said the high standards being set in all of the projects mirro the NARC's commitment to transform the Notarial Archives into a centre of excellence for various disciplines. All work is being carried out under the conservation of Dr Zammit Lupi and a detailed report will be issued to record the conservation treatment of each job. During this process the NARC envisages to have aspiring book and paper conservation students participate in the work so that it instils in them the passion for preserving Malta's enormous paper heritage.
"These archives are like our children and we have found someone to adopt one of them. There are many more like it and we hope to have other sponsors, both members of the public and private entities." She also expressed the hope that more young people would chose paper conservation as their profession and noted that there are currently four students studying in this field.
The NARC is currently estimating the cost of repairs for some of the manuscripts held at the archives. A decision to prioritise the conservation treatment on some of the most precious and damaged documents was established and a range of documents will be made available for private sponsors and individuals to sponsor the conservation treatment on the collection. They can choose to sponsor an all the volumes of one notary, a single volume or an item scheme, which could be just one leaf of paper. The sponsorship scheme can vary from €100 to €50,000.
Photos:Jonathan Borg