Minister for Resources and Rural Affairs George Pullicino, on a site visit at Ta’ Liesse area in Valletta, said that a € 30,000 restoration and rehabilitation project was currently underway. The works are being carried out by the Restoration Unit within the Works Division at the MRRA in collaboration with the Valletta Rehabilitation Project (VRP), who are responsible for the works on the stairs at St Ursula Street leading to St John’s Street.

Works was being carried out at Victoria Gate, built in 1885 and named after Queen Victoria the then reigning sovereign, the steps leading to St Ursula Street, St Barbara Bastions and at the Church of Notre Dame de Liesse.

The Victoria Gate, once considered to be one of the two main entrances to the City of Valletta, might not be as popular as it was in the past, yet many people especially tourists arriving by cruise liners, pass under the arch day in day out. After passing through the gate tourists often opt to utilise the steps at St Ursula Street to enter the main streets of Valletta. The only main costs incurred here are those related to labour and to the purchase of materials such as marble powder.

It was therefore decided to carefully reconstruct the pavement of the steps, sort out their erratic structure that had developed with use over the years and fit newer and better-quality tiles. During these past 15 months the façade of the St Barbara Bastions were undergoing intensive restoration works involving 4000 square meters of bastions. Works at the Church of Notre Dame de Liesse includes the replacing of a dangerous room in the church’s sacristy, the removal of aluminium shutters, and the restoration the dome and bell tower.

Minister Pullicino said that future projects in Valletta and other localities should follow “a street envelope concept”, meaning that works and structures undergoing restoration should adhere to the style in which they were created, respecting the tradition and styles of our ancestors.

“Furthermore”, continued the Minister, “no parking should be allowed on the pavements, while all the cable wires that have sprouted up over the past years need to be covered up”.

Perit Claude Borg, executive coordinator of the Valletta Rehabilitation Project (VRP) and Perit Mireille Fsadni from the Restoration Unit are entrusted with the supervision of these works. Perit Borg said that the restoration of the steps proved to be a harder task that originally anticipated. A drainage problem was noticed as the works initialised, which had to be solved prior to the commencement of the actual works. Apart from this, it was also obvious, from the stench permeating the area, that the steps were more often than not being used as a public convenience, which gave a wrong first impression to the tourists that used the steps to visit our capital city.

Perit Fsasni, commenting on the restoration of the church, said that the dome was in dire need of particular attention since rainwater would sometime seep through and permeate the inner structure of the church. The bells also required significant restoration because of the dust and corrosion accumulated throughout the years.