Tag Archive for: St John’s Co-Cathedral

The Council of the Kamra tal-Periti has concluded professional conduct proceedings opened in connection with restoration works carried out at the Bartolott Crypt, St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta.

The Council opened the case on its own initiative (ex officio) in January 2025, following a report published by The Shift News on 18th January 2025, headlined “New floor caves in as St John’s Co-Cathedral project in collapse“, which alleged that a newly installed raised floor within the Crypt had caved in and caused severe damage to the historic resting place of approximately 600 Knights of the Order of St John. Given the seriousness of the allegations and the cultural and historical significance of the site, the Council undertook a thorough investigation.

Over the course of eight hearings held between April 2025 and June 2026, the Council gathered sworn testimony from the periti involved, the project’s archaeological monitor, the main contractor, and the CEO of the St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation, together with an extensive body of correspondence, technical documentation, and photographic evidence.

The Council’s determination was made personally against Perit Danica Cachia Mifsud and Perit Konrad Buhagiar of AP Valletta, who held direct professional responsibility for the works in question. Having examined all the evidence, the Council found that:

• there was no evidence that the Bartolott Crypt floor collapsed, or that any damage was caused to the Crypt or the burial chambers beneath it;
• the localised movement observed in the historic stone paving arose from pre-existing conditions documented as far back as 2014, predating the respondents’ involvement by roughly a decade, and not from any act or omission on their part;
• the matter was identified, reported, and remediated diligently and transparently, in consultation with and with the approval of the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage at every stage.

On this basis, the Council found both respondents not to have been in breach of any of the four grounds for professional misconduct under the Periti Act, by a unanimous vote of 8–0 with no abstentions, and no disciplinary sanction was imposed. The Council’s decision further records its concern that The Shift’s reporting on this matter was materially misguided.

The Council has decided to publish this decision in full, departing from its usual practice of confidentiality in cases resulting in no finding of misconduct, for two reasons: first, because the allegations giving rise to this case were already in the public domain, having originated in The Shift’s reporting; and second, because of the national and international public and cultural interest attaching to Valletta as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

 

Photo source: https://timesofmalta.com/article/preservation-of-st-johns-co-cathedral.581730