The joint chairmen of the Save Valletta Skyline Restoration Appeal announced that urgent work is to start on the restoration of the tower/spire of St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral.

One of Malta’s most-loved landmarks, the iconic tower of the Grade 1 listed St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral in Valletta, and Valletta’s skyline are about to be saved for posterity as a €3m contract between the Anglican Church authorities and a Maltese joint venture company (made up of leading contractors, Vassallo Builders Ltd, Agius Stoneworks Ltd and Vaults Ltd) gets the go-ahead.

Following the preliminary preparations (including erection of safety hoarding), work will commence within the next fortnight. This will start with the laborious process of the erection of the scaffolding surrounding the historic 67-metre bell-tower and spire of the cathedral and the removal of the six bells. This is a massive undertaking, which will be tackling the imperative need for the repair and reconstruction of the most vulnerable part of the cathedral.

A combination of EU funds and one fifth co-financing by the cathedral through its Save the Valletta Skyline Restoration Appeal have provided the funding for this important first contract.

The contract is the culmination of many months of architectural inspections and detailed technical tests of the tower and spire of the cathedral by restoration architects, AP Valletta. Their tests identified worrying signs of deterioration threatening the stability of the tower, the spire and the stonework throughout the cathedral, making this work an absolute priority.

Work is also actively now in hand to let the next contracts for this ambitious restoration project, which will tackle the external fabric of the remainder of the church, direct accessibility between the church and the undercroft and the internal tower timber works, to be followed in due course by restoration works to the roof structure and ceiling. 

St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral forms an intrinsic part of Malta’s cultural heritage. The cathedral is a universally-recognised landmark in the World Heritage city of Valletta.  Towering over the seaward approach to the Valletta skyline, the church, a Grade 1 listed building of local stone.