Newly-restored lunettes at St John's

Two newly-restored lunettes were put back in place at St John's Co-Cathedral, in Valletta by workers of the Valletta Rehabilitation Project, under the direction of executive coordinator Ray Bondin and Giuseppe Mantella, from the firm Sante Guido.

The restoration work on the two large lunettes was carried out by Cristina Russo and Paola Scapgliati, both from Sante Guido. They did a complete relining of the two paintings, prepared new wooden frames and restored the painting itself.

The two lunettes were previously thought to have been painted by Mattia Preti but it is now known that this is not the case, although they are attributed to his school.

Dr Bondin described the operation to put the lunettes back in place as a "very delicate one" because the lunettes are larger than the opening of the Cappella d'Italia, in the Co-Cathedral.

The restoration job was part of the comprehensive project of the chapel and was financed by the Italian government and the VRP.