Malta puts up net to make crumbling cathedral spire safe
St Paul's Anglican Pro-Cathedral is seen during urgent restoration works, in Valetta, Malta February 27, 2019. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi
VALLETTA (Reuters) - The cathedral spire that has dominated the skyline of Malta’s capital Valletta for generations is crumbling and restorers have put up a thick net to stop deteriorating stonework falling on passersby.
The 68-meter-high (220-foot) spire of the 175-year-old St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral was Valletta's tallest building until the mid 20th century when Catholic friars built a slightly higher dome nearby.
"It is an accident waiting to happen," structural engineer Charles Sciberras told the media as workers swinging from ropes clambered around the structure.
A tourist photographs the skyline of Valletta, dominated by the church spire and tower of St Paul's Anglican Pro-Cathedral and the the dome of the Carmelite church, in Sliema, Malta February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi
A campaign launched in 2017 to raise 8 million euros for restoration has secured EU funding of 4.2 million euros. Britain's Prince Charles, who lived in Malta as a child when his father was based there as a naval officer, has donated an undisclosed amount, the restoration appeal has said.
The serious restoration work starts in the summer, with removal and replacement of dislodged intricate stonework and repairs to the cathedral’s roof, the iron and timber structure inside the spire, lighting and boundary walls.
Works are expected to continue till late 2021.
The skyline of Valletta, dominated by the church spire and tower of St Paul's Anglican Pro-Cathedral and the the dome of the Carmelite church, is seen from Sliema, Malta February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi
(Reporting by Chris Scicluna; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
Specialist workers abseil from the church spire as strapping and a debris-containing nets are installed during urgent restoration works on the tower of St Paul's Anglican Pro-Cathedral in Valletta, Malta February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit LupiSpecialist workers abseil from the church spire as strapping and a debris-containing nets are installed during urgent restoration works on the tower of St Paul's Anglican Pro-Cathedral, in front of the dome of the Carmelite church, in Valletta, Malta February 28, 2019. Picture taken February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit LupiThe church spire and tower of St Paul's Anglican Pro-Cathedral are seen while undergoing urgent restoration works, in front of the dome of the Carmelite church, in Valletta, Malta February 28, 2019. Picture taken February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi
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