One of the sectors under my remit that is giving its all is undoubtedly the Restoration Directorate, doing its utmost to continue preserving our National Heritage. The Malta Arts Council, Festivals Malta, the Culture Directorate are also on the forefront where preserving our heritage is concerned.

Heritage is not just the buildings, palaces the wayside chapels, shrines, temples and the like, but also our folklore, our traditions, our band clubs and fireworks – both tangible and intangible heritage that our ancestors passed on from their generations to ours.

Even the local ftira (flattened sourdough bread) and its culinary art, will be submitted through the Culture Directorate as the first local element to be part of the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list.

My ministry and all the entities for which I am responsible for, are carrying on with the preservation of our heritage to make sure that this is there for us to enjoy and learn from, but also making sure in this process, that all that we inherited, will be dutifully passed on to the next generations.

We are defending Malta’s heritage – and will continue to do so.

There are projects underway, there are projects on the table, and there are projects that need time and discussion before we embark on their restoration. No site or project is the same. Even a modest shrine can have its complications, let alone larger sites, especially those that have been at the mercy of the natural elements for years, if not centuries.

During these past weeks, I visited some of the projects that either have been restored to their former glory, or on which restoration will begin. Visiting these sites, the beauty and the richness of our heritage always amazes me. Words of praise for the work done coming from those concerned, be it the Parish Priest or the Local Mayor or even the locals, are an encouragement and an impetus for me and the Directorate. It is gratitude from the people that matter – those who appreciate our interventions to save our history, our heritage and their local pride and joy.

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It is envisaged that restoration works on Our Lady of Porto Salvo Church in Senglea, estimated to be around €115,000 will be completed by June 2019.

Visiting the works, I remarked that through this restoration headed by the Restoration Directorate, we are strengthening our local heritage for the benefit of our community. This church is a symbol of our national identity, and as a government, we are committed to keep on improving accessibility within the sector, as part of our culture strategy.

Restoration on this Church, also known as St Philip’s Church, include three main aspects: the restoration of the dome, its drum and replacement of the deteriorated apertures and waterproofing, the external, and internal restoration of the lantern on top of the dome and its apertures and the external restoration and structural strengthening of the belfry of the church.

Designs for new windows which will be weather resistant and stronger than the wooden apertures in the cupola which were destroyed, sending rainwater pouring into the church below, are currently being finalised. One has to keep in mind that this church was heavily battered in the storm hitting our island in February this year.

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Restoration works currently underway on the Church of the Virgin of Mercy form part of the 71 restoration projects currently at hand, completion of which is envisaged in 20 months.

I reiterate that it is through such dedication and commitment that we can ensure the strengthening of our local cultural product, which forms an intrinsic part of our national identity.

The project will see the restoration of both the internal and external building fabric. The first phase will focus on the external building envelope, with the intent of preventing any further rainwater ingress into the structure. This phase will see the retention and restoration, wherever possible, of the existing traditional deffun roofing screed and the repointing of open or damaged mortar joints.

A second phase will focus on the building’s internal fabric. Apart from interventions on the stone, restoration will also see the removal of the various layers of paint applied to the interior walls with the intent of trying to establish the original interior colour scheme and its re-applying.

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The Ministry - through the Restoration Works Scheme for Local Councils, managed by the office of the Restoration Directorate in collaboration with the Department for Local Government, embarked on an ambitious plan to help the local governments preserve our heritage that dot our islands.

Thanks to this scheme, local councils have the opportunity to propose local historic landmarks for them to be restored, as these sites serve as an intrinsic aspect of our local heritage forming part of our identity, but also ensuring that they are available for the accessibility of locals and foreigners alike.

Case in point is the Ħajt tal-Matla, an elevated stone passageway that dates to medieval times, connecting the old parish of Mqabba - St Basil Church – with the now extinct village of Ħal Millieri. The passageway is on top of a stone wall laid in dry construction of about 1.35 metres thickness.

 Works included cleaning, scraping using surgical blades, and cleaning of biological soiling, structural consolidation, matching and replacement of missing stone elements in the original Ħajt tal-Matla (the wall supporting the passageway), and rebuilding of lacunae in low wall on top of the passageway.

The project was professionally completed in three months.

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Preserving and defending our heritage is not an easy task, but my ministry will leave no stone unturned to accomplish this. We are giving a new lease of life to all that we inherited. We are changing our islands through restoration - preserving our heritage for posterity.