The project will cost approximately €28 million, with the initial phase being cofinanced by the European Union as part of the European Fund for Regional Development for the sum of €10 million. The subsequent phase, at a cost of around €18 million, is being financed by the Maltese government. The initial phase is expected to be completed by the end of next year, with the entire project being ready by 2025.
The restoration of the palace’s corridors is part of the initial phase of this ambitious project which, once completed, will offer visitors a totally different experience of the palace to the one enjoyed previously.
Mattia Preti’s masterpiece Boethius and Philosophy returns to Malta after 100 years
After over a hundred years of it being missing from Malta, the famous Mattia Preti masterpiece, named Boethius and Philosophy, will be returning to the island. The Maltese Government acquired the 17th century oil on canvas painting for the sum of €1.3 million after it had disappeared mysteriously from the Grandmaster’s Palace at the end of the 19th century. It is believed that the painting was commissioned by Andrea di Giovanni, Knight of the Order of Malta.
It was purchased after it turned up at Sotheby’s Old Masters Auction in New York and will now be added to Malta’s National Collection.
Minister for National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government José Herrera, whilst thanking the Board of Governors of the National Development Social Fund and Heritage Malta, stated that this acquisition is proof of government’s commitment to continue to protect and enrich the cultural and artistic heritage of our country.
