The son of the sculptor who crafted the bronze statue of Grand Master Jean de Valette, located in Valletta, is calling for better protection of the work of art after a photo showed a man climbing it and standing on the sword.

Christopher Chetcuti, son of the late Joseph Chetcuti who sculpted and cast the statue, is concerned that such acts would jeopardise the work.

“If a person climbs onto the back of the statue they are placing weight at the ankles. Such an action may have weakened them already. If this happened again and again the statue may just, one day, fall onto the next person who climbs it,” he said adding that his father, who passed away three years ago, would have been “very disappointed” at such a sight.

Sculptor Joseph Chetcuti working on the "bozzetto" for the La Valette statue

He was reacting to a photo, taken by Times of Malta photographer Jonathan Borg earlier this week, showing a man standing on the sword of the statue while holding onto the statue’s shoulders.

“My father was in favour of people enjoying his art and was happy so see children playing around the statue. But here we have adult men and women showing disrespect towards art,” he said adding: "We are very grateful that the statue is so popular with the people and hope that it can be protected for future generations to enjoy."

Christopher Chetcuti with his late father Joseph

The 2.5-metre statue of Grand Master Jean de Valette was placed in the centre of Pjazza de Valette in 2012. The 750kg statue is located just a few metres away from where the Grand Master laid the foundation stone of the city in 1566.

It formed part of the City Gate project designed by world renowned architect Renzo Piano. It was the first statue of La Valette, the founder of the Capital, since his statue on Porta Reale was damaged during the war and later removed.

Casting the La Valette statue's mould at the Chetuti foundry.

Chetcuti, who now runs the family foundry Funderija Artistika Chetcuti, worked closely with his father to make the statue. It took them about 18 months from concept to installation. During that time his father carried out extensive research to try to create a statue that resembled the grandmaster. The likeness was taken from a painting at the Grand Master's Palace as well as an  image on La Valette's tomb at St John's Co-Cathedral.

"My father was very proud to have been trusted to create a statue of a personality who was so important in Malta's history," Chetcuti said.

In the statue, De Valette is shown wearing armour and holding the city’s plan in one hand and the sword of victory in the other.

In 2017 the sword was damaged when a 15-year-old Russian student climbed onto the statue and used the sword as a handhold. The boy ended up in court where he was ordered to pay €1,750 for the repairs and was conditionally discharged for one year after admitting to causing the damage.