Romano Carapecchia was one of the most versatile architects that Malta has ever known. He came to Malta with little experience in his home city of Rome but ended up transforming many of our smaller churches. He was also a great designer, enjoying designing furniture, chandeliers and all that was necessary to make his baroque churches even more baroque.

The church of St Paul in Valletta is one of the most important churches in the capital. No doubt, it has always been a mecca for Catholic Malta as we celebrate the saint who actually visited us and made us Christians. During the long period of the Knights' stay on the island, the church was adorned with a multitude of rich artifacts. It has a stunning collection of silverware, silver altars, paintings, reliquaries etc.

It also has, without doubt, one of the most beautiful and artistic processional statues in Malta. Melchior's Gafà's masterpiece celebrates not only our most important patron but also the incredible workmanship of Malta's most prominent sculptor.

Among the many works that have been taken in hand at the church ever since Archpriest Fr Alfred Camilleri took over is the beautifully simple and elegant new niche that inaugurated this year, a fitting piece of furniture for this important statue that was moved there in the 1980s after serious threats had been received. (It used to be placed behind one of the side doors of the church.)

This new niche is a fitting continuation of the furniture the church has. The church has a multitude of artifacts of all forms and materials. It has some of the most beautiful marbles found in any church. It is adorned with precious stones, paintings etc. The confessional booths are among the most beautiful in the island. The church also has Carapecchia's beautiful sacristy, beautiful both in terms of architecture but also because of the furniture designed by him.

While doing my Masters, I re-studied the Carapecchia drawings that had ended up in London. Among the Courtauld album, already referred to in earlier studies by other authors but further examined in the course of my studies, were two drawings of furniture that no one had identified. When I first saw them I had no doubt they were in fact two versions of the furniture of St Paul's sacristy. Few of the drawings in Carapecchia's album refer to projects actually executed; one of these drawings was.

So when Carapecchia designed the sacristy he also designed the large cupboards there. These are a masterpiece in their own right. The design is, as one can expect, more architectural than that of normal furniture, though there is a very long tradition of elaborate sacristy furniture in Europe and elsewhere. These were, however, designed as part of the scheme of the room and so they fit perfectly. Their elaborate but at the same time quite simple decorations fit in so beautifully. It is clear they were built not only by a carpenter but by an architect. They have intricate interior space, hidden compartments, all fitting beautifully.

For once we are faced with a completely integrated design that is one that takes in not only the architecture but also all that is in it.

These beautiful sculptured cupboards are being restored. The project was started by the Valletta Rehabilitation Project (VRP) some four years ago. The project then had to stop due to lack of funding but was re-started last year. The project reveals the original varnish and is doing away with many layers of varnish over-paint. The restored furniture will give more elegance to the sacristy.

The sacristy itself is also beautifully proportioned, a perfect addition to the beauty of the church itself. In spite of the difficulties of different street levels, Carapecchia has designed an elegant sacristy that is massive but at the same time contained. One hopes that some student will do further research on all the artifacts in this space, which is almost a chapel in itself.

VRP took in hand a number of important restoration projects in this church including the chapel of St Michael with its precious stones and metals, the gilded balcony of the choir, a masterpiece in its own right, plus other works such as the restoration of the main altar, some of the marble and other minor but not less important artifacts. When Sante Guido and Giuseppe Mantella did the chapel of St Michael they also restored for free the most important reliquary of St Paul (that of the hand bone) and the marble column which is said to be part of the original column upon which St Paul was martyred.

These works could never be financed by the church itself. This is part of our patrimony and should be considered national heritage in every sense. The present archpriest has done a lot to continue to embellish the church. The authorities would do well to continue these conservation works, especially of some of the important paintings in the church.