The chapel at Palazzo de la Salle and its painted decoration : findings from the 2016-2019 conservation project

Abstract

This paper presents findings from the 2016–2019 conservation project of the domestic chapel inside Palazzo de La Salle, Valletta, carried out by the Department of Conservation and Built Heritage at the University of Malta. The project stabilized and analyzed two previously known oil-on-stone decorative schemes: the early-to-mid 17th-century Altar Surround and the Baroque Frieze (dated via newly discovered heraldry to 1731–1736). Conservation interventions also uncovered two entirely hidden painted elements: a decorated wooden ceiling cornice and a lower illusionistic architectural architectural dado program. Material analysis revealed advanced oil-on-stone technical execution alongside extensive pigment alteration over time (specifically smalt and arsenic sulphides), dramatically changing the original aesthetic reading of the room.