An article about the Addolorata Cemetery by journalist Julia Farrugia has been awarded the Silver Medal in this year's Cultural Heritage Journalist Awards.

Ms Farrugia of Illum newspaper secured the prize with the story titled L-Akbar Belt f'Malta - described as a "charming and evocative study of the historic Addolorata Cemetery written in excellent Maltese" by Din l-Art Helwa, organisers of the event.

In her story, Ms Farrugia makes an appeal to the authorities for more resources to be dedicated to the restoration and upkeep of this important place, whose fine monuments were designed by Emanuele Luigi Galizia in the 19th Century.

The cemetery today houses more than 260,000 burials, making it therefore L-Akbar Belt f'Malta (Malta's biggest city).

The second award, the Diploma, went to Lino Bugeja, a previous Silver Medal winner, for his article in The Sunday Times called The Elgin Marbles in Malta - An Outburst of Neo-classical Architecture in Early 19th Century Malta.

This interesting and admirably researched article on Malta's unusual association with these historic sculptures says that the Elgin marbles lay in the Maltese docks for several years having been removed from Greece on their way to England, and traces the influence of neo-classicism on Malta's rich architectural legacy.

The Din l-Art Helwa Cultural Heritage Journalism Award Scheme has been designed to encourage the writing media to raise awareness on cultural heritage in their writing and press coverage.

President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnici presented the awards at the headquarters in Valletta. Martin Scicluna, vice president of the organisation said that this year's written pieces were an example of outstanding contributions to the better understanding, defence and appreciation of Malta's built cultural legacy.

The Din l-Art Helwa Cultural Heritage Journalist Awards are sponsored annually by the Tumas Fenech Foundation for Education in Journalism and are supported by the Maltese Institute of Journalists.