Initial phase of Maritime Museum restoration works nearing completion

The initial phase of restoration works at the Malta Maritime Museum is almost complete. Financed through the EEA Norway Grants 2014-2021, this phase saw the restoration, demolition, reconstruction and rehabilitation of dilapidated areas at the back of the museum.

The subsequent phase will entail general modernization, with a Masterplan being drawn up for all the spaces within the museum. A renowned museum designer has been hired to assist Heritage Malta during the second phase of the project. This phase will be implemented primarily by means of national funds, but the agency is not excluding efforts to acquire other European funds towards this aim.

Dr Owen Bonnici, Minister for the National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government, and Dr Chris Bonett, Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds, were given a run-through of the works involved in both phases during a visit to the museum. They were shown around by Heritage Malta’s top management and by the museum’s Senior Curator, Liam Gauci.

The funds allotted by the EEA Norway Grants totalled €1,713,200. The grant not only financed restoration works but also the setting up of a Digitization Unit within Heritage Malta and the purchase of all necessary equipment for the digitization of the Maltese Islands’ maritime heritage.

During the past two years, thousands of artefacts from the Maritime Museum collection have already been digitized. A Collection Management System (CMS) has also been established, providing for the cataloguing of whole collections with the aid of specialized software.

Restoration and restructuring works at the Maritime Museum were officially kickstarted on 30th April, 2020. The original plan, including the digitization part, envisaged completion by 31st December, 2022. However, it was agreed that the contract’s timeframe was to be extended by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Now that restoration works have been completed in various areas of the building, such as the silos, the warehouses and the main staircase, and delapidated roofs have been rebuilt, the second phase of the project has started to be implemented. A team of local experts from Heritage Malta, together with the foreign expert, are devising a masterplan for the restoration, modernization and design of the remaining spaces within the museum, including the permanent display and interpretation. The second phase will also comprise the restoration of neglected spaces on the ground floor, where the old naval bakery is located, and the recreation of the ditch at the back of the museum.