Uncover the importance of restoring, conserving and preserving the Maltese identity through architectural conservation in towns and villages.

In certain areas of Malta, one can still find several spectacularly wondrous buildings gracing our towns, endowing them with striking characteristics and charm. Maltese townhouses, palazzos, farmhouses and houses of character greatly benefit from restorative treatments aimed at providing the protection and preservation of our architectural legacy. 

Maltese homes play a crucial role in conserving our identity and cultural essence while supplying us with a sense of community. These buildings are what add texture, layers and personality to our towns — they’re what makes our motherland Malta. 

Despite their appeal and priceless historical value, many of these remarkable structures are in dire need of repair — abandonment, poor management and neglect have led to the decline of these once-glorious buildings. Thankfully, all is not lost as numerous building restorators and conservators can give a healthy dose of much-needed TLC to these enchanting structures. This can be achieved through restoration, conservation, preservation and renovation.

What’s the difference between renovation, restoration, conservation and preservation?

Renovation is the art of making something look as good as new. This method does not perceive the critical importance of a building’s history. When you renovate a home, you could simply be modernising, refurbishing, repairing or decorating it.

Restoration is a sustainable treatment that focuses on preserving and reusing the property’s materials to revamp and fix deteriorating parts. Restorers work in a manner that highlights the building’s historical significance by respecting the existing structure and layout. 

Conservation maintains and increases the property’s value and aesthetical elements by adhering to its original form, such as using Maltese tiles. This system is applied when one wishes to retain the building's essence without imposing any major alterations.

Preservation is designed to keep the building from further deterioration while remaining irredeemably unaltered. Preservation is designed to retain the original building’s fabric. Repairs are done with minimal or no modifications to the original work in terms of materials and methods implemented. Preservation techniques follow the same processes applied when the building was first constructed. 

The importance of preserving traditional Maltese buildings 

They are visually appealing 

The preservation or restoration of historical buildings — including townhouses and houses of character, delivers numerous benefits, namely originality and identity — this visual appeal is what makes traditional homes in Malta and Gozo stand out. 

These gorgeous and functional structures offer dwellers the added bonus of unique architectural features that are very difficult (and at times impossible) to duplicate when creating the now overflowingly common and character-lacking rectangular constructions. Apart from beautifying towns, old buildings can act as a prominent lure for sightseers, which leads us to our next point. 

They attract better-quality tourism 

Tourists are fascinated by traditional Maltese architecture, and who can blame them? With our wonderfully eclectic roots and distinctive characteristics, our buildings are a prime reflection of our spectacularly rich history. 

Those who appreciate culture tend to become awe-struck when gazing at a townhouse, a house of character or a palazzo — making these structures a priceless asset that could potentially add revenue to the local community.

Traditional houses connect us to our culture 

Restoring and preserving our buildings means that we become more connected to our history. Character structures are physical reminders of what our forefathers built and created, which is why they so phenomenally add a sense of culture to any neighbourhood.

Old buildings in Malta are made up of uniquely outstanding characteristics that help us get a sense of belonging and pride, particularly when we own them. 

Traditional homes unveil our past by showing us how our ancestors lived and the intelligent building practices they implemented to keep their homes unassailable from harsh climates.

Cared-for buildings revitalise towns 

The restoration and repurposing of vacant or neglected buildings can boost community value and in turn bolster neighbourhood-controlled rehabilitation projects. 

Rather than concentrating on constructing insipidly sterile and uninteresting apartments, one should focus on restoring and conserving heritage buildings that will severely increase the market value of the whole neighbourhood. 

Building rejuvenation offers better living standards

Urban regeneration is a model that could be reasonably applied in Malta, as it focuses on highlighting history and aesthetics when it comes to urban planning and infrastructural development. 

When infrastructure and urban planning are done skilfully and with diligence, they significantly improve social living conditions for residents. Enhancing an already-built environment by conserving and restoring buildings will rejuvenate and beautify towns while giving a more satisfactory standard of living and increased quality of life to its current and future residents. 

They’re great for the environment

Any form of building restoration is environmentally friendly as you are not debilitating resources to build new structures from scratch. The restoration of old homes means that you will have to incur fewer costs when transforming them into habitable spaces. In urban areas, traffic and parking issues along with environmental degradation will drastically decrease if existing buildings are not preserved. An added advantage to living in an old home is that it was built to withstand the Maltese climate in an energy-efficient manner — think of how thick walls, stone ventilator shafts and high ceilings in a townhouse keep both the heat and cold bearable, as they provide fool-proof insulation.

They’re aesthetically pleasant

Townhouses, houses of character, farmhouses and palazzos are all truly exceptional buildings and no two are the same. The now (almost) forgotten art of creating these spaces and their ever-increasing rarity makes them an absolute jewel for anyone to behold. Restoring and conserving these buildings in Malta and Gozo is a great way for people to have one-of-a-kind, functional and spacious homes while investing in our extraordinary heritage, history and culture. 

Embrace our architectural heritage and identity through local building restorers and conservators on Yellow.

Written by Chiara Micallef