Din l-Art Helwa has announced the completion of the restoration of the 7th and last painting by Mattia Preti, at Sarria Church, ‘St. Michael the Archangel’s Victory over Evil.’

DLH said that that it had reached another milestone in its efforts to safeguard Malta’s artistic heritage. Taking advantage of the relaxing of Covid restrictions, Giuseppe Mantella Restauri were finally able to complete the restoration of the 7th and last painting by Mattia Preti, at Sarria Church.

It said that thanks to the financial support offered by Sparkasse Bank Malta, the work has been completed and the lunette returned to its place high up on the left below the cupola as one enters the circular Sarria Church in Floriana.DLH explained that of the 7 paintings present in this unique building, this presented the most serious challenges. So much so, that, prior to the restoration, multi-disciplined diagnostic analysis and 3D surveying had to be carried out on it with the collaboration of the University of Malta and several universities in Italy.

The archangel can now be seen in all his glory wearing the robes of a Knight of the Order of Malta. He is accompanied by a host of angels defying the crowd of devils. It is a representation of the victory of all that is good over evil.

This church and all the paintings adorning it were a thanksgiving pledge by Grandmaster Nicolas Cotoner to the Immaculate Conception and the Saints for the freeing of Malta from the Plague of 1676.

It is hoped that the completion of restoration will see the end of the Covid 19 epidemic which has brought life to a quasi-stand still in recent months.

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