On 26 February, the award ceremony for the XV edition of the Din l-Art Ħelwa Awards for Architectural Heritage took place at Our Lady of Victory Church, Valletta. The prizes were presented by the Honourable Clayton Bartolo, Minister for Tourism and Consumer Protection.
The Department of Conservation and Built Heritage, Faculty for the Built Environment together with the Malta Society of Arts were awarded the Prix d’Honneur in Category B (The Rehabilitation and Re-Use of Buildings) for their “outstanding contribution to Maltese cultural heritage and the achievement of architectural excellence in Malta through the Rehabilitation and Re-use of Buildings in The Conservation of the Chapel at Palazzo de La Salle.”
The Department of Conservation and Built Heritage was entrusted with the conservation of two cycles of Knights-period wall paintings in the chapel at Palazzo de la Salle, Valletta, home of the Malta Society of Arts. The conservation project formed the practical training component for students on the 2016-2018 MSc in the Conservation of Decorative Architectural Surfaces, and was led by professional wall painting conservators who make up part of the Department's academic staff. Students and academics undertook a study of the materials and techniques of the paintings, their history and causes of deterioration, using the results of this work to make informed conservation decisions to support the long-term preservation of the paintings as well as improving their legibility and aesthetic appreciation.
Through this project, the paintings in the Chapel at Palazzo de la Salle can now be dated to the mid-17th and early 18th centuries and are recognized as some the few Knights-period wall paintings to survive in a domestic context, whose aesthetic and historic values have not been compromised by excessive restoration. Collaborative work undertaken during the course of the project with colleagues from within the University and other Maltese heritage institutions has further strengthened our understanding of the significance of the paintings and the history of the Palace as a whole.
The conservation of the paintings was only one component in a larger project to renovate the chapel from a storage space into an exhibition space, being carried out by Perit Adrian Mamo, President of the MSA. A close dialogue was maintained throughout the project between Perit Mamo, the MSA and the Department, to develop holistic strategies which would result in the best presentation of the space and artworks it contains while also ensuring the best preservation conditions for the wall paintings. We therefore feel that the project presents an excellent example of collaboration between architects and conservators and are that the Din l-Art Ħelwa award confirms this achievement.
The Department would like to thank Perit Mamo and the MSA for entrusting us with the conservation of these exceptional paintings and providing an excellent training opportunity for our MSc students, as well as setting such an strong example for collaborative conservation excellence.