St George’s basilica façade restored to its former glory

Scaffolding hiding the façade of St George’s basilica in Victoria is being dismantled.

Most of the restoration works to return the façade to its former glory have been completed. Now, one can admire the intricate stone sculptures and carvings on the façade and belfries. For many years, the stonework faced damaging elements, including strong winds and saline deposits.

Fissures and cracks on both belfries were mainly caused by the rusting of iron, while the coating of the belfry with cement and other additives need to be removed. One of the belfries was extensively damaged due to rusting iron belts.

Main work involved the res-toration of stones or replacements. Practically, each stone was analysed to determine the way forward of conservation.

Most of the works will be completed in time for the feast of Saint George in the third week of July.

The restoration of the façade and belfries follows similar works on the cupola which were completed last year.

Restoration works were entrusted to ReCoop Ltd and the project was partly financed by the Gozo Ministry.

The building of the façade, on designs by Canon Salvatore Bondì, was carried out by Sigismondo Dimech and his son Ferdinando.

The intricate stonework on one of the belfries.