Updated - Adds comments by Mepa CEO - The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage has refused to throw light on who may ultimately be responsible for the damage caused to the facade of Castille by the new illumination system.

The silence by the government and the Superintendence was condemned by the Nationalist Party, which said this reflected contempt for Malta's heritage. (See below) 

The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage – whose mission it is to protect Malta’s rich cultural heritage – had given its go-ahead to the €300,000 project, which was entrusted to RVC Limited. The Superintendence had set a number of conditions but has not revealed what they were.

Parts of the facade of the imposing knights-era building, which serves as the Prime Minister’s office, were damaged by holes larger than the size of table-tennis balls drilled right through the stone cornices to make way for the wiring system.

The incident has raised questions about the level of supervision exercised by the cultural watchdog. This newspaper has been chasing the superintendence for clarifications since last Tuesday but there were no replies by the time of going to print.

Meanwhile, Mepa CEO Johann Buttigieg said the authority had issued a permit for the works on the basis of clearance by the superintendence. 

He said the method used to pass the cable through the stonework, including the cornices, was unacceptable.

The irreversible intervention has fuelled a barrage of criticism from a number of architects, with one restoration specialist describing it as a “travesty”.

My questions is simple. Would you do such thing to your own house? The reply is obvious

The Dean of the Faculty of Built Environment, Prof. Alex Torpiano, said: “Drilling holes and laying wires in that manner goes against everything that has to with the respect of baroque, renaissance or any heritage buildings. My question is simple. Would you do such thing to your own house? The reply is obvious.” He also echoed concerns on the level of expertise behind the project, which involved the fixing of a number of stainless steel tubes with LED lights inside.

“A basic principle is to illuminate such buildings without actually affixing any fittings to the facade itself,” he said. Prof. Torpiano also said the superintendence was normally very strict on such works.

However, much would depend on the level of detail furnished to it by the contractor or those ultimately responsible, he added. When the contractor was asked questions he directed this newspaper to the Grand Harbour Regeneration Project, which was responsible for the revamp of Castille Square, but it has not replied to this newspaper’s queries.

PN REACTION

In a reaction, the Nationalist party said the government’s silence on what had taken place reflected contempt for Malta’s cultural heritage.

The party spokesman for planning and the infrastructure, Ryan Callus said two conditions laid down by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage laid down that: the routing of wires on the façade of the Auberge de Castille had to avoid interventions on the historic fabric and they had to follow existing routes which were closed during the recent restoration.

Furthermore, interventions had to be reversible.

It was worrying, Mr Callus said, that the Superintendence was failing to publish the conditions it had itself made , more so when it was evident that they were not respected.

It was also unacceptable that a building enjoying the highest level of protection had suffered irreversible interventions and no one was assuming responsibility.

The silence of the political leaders and the regulatory authorities seemed to show how the two had become one, to the detriment of Malta’s heritage.