17,000 notarial documents are being restored in a €4.9 million project, €4 million of which are coming from EU funds.

The work is being done by Prevarti, which is located at the Mosta Technopark.

During a visit to the company, Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis and EU funds parliamentary secretary Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi said the process includes the disinfection and physical conservation of the manifests, their digitisation, and cataloguing of the collection.

Zammit Lewis said the historic documents were rich in history with the majority recounting hidden episodes which showed the country’s strategic importance along the years.
 
Zrinzo Azzopardi said the preservation of the collection, which dates to the 16th century, will give all those interested in history an opportunity to discover life as lived by the Maltese at the time.

He said that another part of the project was the restoration of the notarial archives in Triq San Kristofru, Valletta.

The building will be open for national and international researchers. There will also be a museum to host the documents being restored. This was besides a number of planned exhibitions, which will include digital aids and footage, with the aim of making the attractions as interactive as possible.