Pictorial account of restoration jobs

As part of the celebrations marking Din L-Art Helwa's 40th anniversary, the national trust has mounted a photographic exhibition at its offices, depicting and documenting the heritage sites it has restored along the years.

The exhibition includes 34 photographs of about 13 restoration projects, captured on film by DLH council member, loyal volunteer and keen photographer Joe Chetcuti.

Mr Chetcuti, a pensioner, has been taking photographs since 1955. A former meteorologist, he was also a commercial and press photographer and considers photography to be a "vocation".

Involved with DLH for the last four years, he took it upon himself to photograph all the sites it has restored and to procure, reprint and retouch photographs showing the sites' previous state of neglect.

The exhibition, in fact, shows the properties before and after restoration, highlighting the improvements in their state, Mr Chetcuti pointed out.

It incorporates the first DLH restoration projects, dating back to about 1967, down to those that are in the pipeline.

Among the first projects were the Annunciation chapel at Hal Millieri in Zurrieq.

"It was totally abandoned and in such a bad state that it could not even be seen; the surroundings were overgrown and it was full of stones," Mr Chetcuti said, describing the "before".

The chapel of Santa Marija in Bir Miftuh, Gudja, was also among the first properties to be restored - in 1970 - while the most recent restoration was that of St John the Evangelist chapel at Hal Millieri earlier on in the year.

The latest image portrays the Delimara lighthouse, on which restoration works are about to start. "We are just waiting to set a date for the signing of the contract with the sponsor, the Malta Maritime Authority," Mr Chetcuti said.

The exterior of the lighthouse is not in such a bad state and is mainly in need of a paint job but the interior is another story. It contains all the original machinery, which DLH aims to restore to working order.

The exhibition, sponsored by Bank of Valletta and which was inaugurated by its chairman Roderick Chalmers, is being held in the Judge Maurice Caruana Curran Hall of the DLH offices in Melita Street, Valletta.

It is open to the public until October 31 between 9 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. Entrance is free but donations to the heritage and environment NGO would be appreciated and will go to the maintenance and upkeep of its properties.