Chapel to be restored

Maltapost is sponsoring the restoration and conservation of the much vandalised 17th century chapel of St John the Evangelist at Hal-Millieri.

The company's chief executive, Robert Lake, yesterday handed over the sponsorship cheque to Martin Scicluna, executive president of the heritage organisation Din l-Art Helwa.

The chapel lies just 50 metres away from the beautiful medieval chapel of Our Lady of the Annunciation. The two form the only known remains of the hamlet of Hal-Millieri, which flourished in medieval times on the site of a late-Roman villa.

At its peak in the 16th and 17th centuries the hamlet had four chapels, but by the 18th century the settlement had become completely abandoned due to the gradual migration of its inhabitants to the nearby villages of Mqabba and Zurrieq.

Mr Lake congratulated Din l-Art Helwa on their continuing good work in favour of Malta's cultural heritage.

Mr Scicluna expressed hope that once the chapel has been restored and modern security systems introduced, the vandalism and dumping of rubbish in the area would cease.