New floor caves in as St John’s Co-Cathedral project in collapse

A new floor installed in the centuries-old Bartolott Crypt at St John’s Co-Cathedral has caved in, causing severe damage to the historic resting place of approximately 600 Knights of the Order of St John.

Experts believe the incident is the result of poor design by the project’s architects. The Foundation of St John’s Co-Cathedral, overseen by the archbishop’s representative, Monsignor Emmanuel Agius, has kept this information under wraps.

This incident is the latest in a series of scandals surrounding a multi-million-euro project intended to expand the museum at Malta’s most visited heritage monument.  The project was scheduled to open in 2018 but remains a construction site six years later.

Insiders told The Shift that despite their warnings about the raised flooring structure being too heavy for the underground chamber, they were still instructed to proceed with the installation.

The raised flooring was designed by renowned architects AP Valletta, The company did not reply to questions from The Shift.

The flooring caved in shortly after its installation, damaging the centuries-old flagstone that covers three other underground chambers where the Knights are interred.

“What we warned the architects would happen did happen, and we are furious about the situation. This could have easily been avoided; the signs were clear,” an experienced employee told The Shift.

The Shift has confirmed that the floor collapse and subsequent damage occurred around April 2024, and the situation has yet to be fully resolved.

This incident has further delayed the restoration of the Bartolott Crypt, located beneath the Cathedral’s Oratory. According to the Foundation’s latest plans, the project was supposed to be completed and open to the public by 2022.

When asked to confirm the incident and whether the Foundation’s management had informed the Superintendent for Cultural Heritage about these events, both President Emmanuel Agius and his CEO, Tonio Mallia, failed to reply.

They also declined to confirm if the project would lose hundreds of thousands of euro in funding due to ongoing mismanagement, which was intended to transform the Crypt into an exhibition space for the Cathedral’s silver collection.

€3.5 million EU funds at risk

The restoration of the Bartolott Crypt and the Caravaggio Wing, the only completed part of the overall project, is being financed through €3.46 million in EU funds allocated under the European Regional Development Programme in 2017.

However, since the Bartolott Crypt is nowhere near completion, the EU can choose to withhold around €1 million of this funding. Consequently, the project will need to be financed through the Foundation’s own resources.

It remains unclear who will be held accountable for this mismanagement.

According to a tender awarded by the Foundation to Camray Ltd in 2021, the Bartolott Crypt restoration project was expected to be completed within six months. Once again, as with the rest of the museum extension, the deadline has been missed.

Meanwhile, the Foundation continues to pay hundreds of thousands of euro to various consultants and project managers, with no new timeline for the project’s opening.

In 2023, Tonio Mallia, the Foundation’s CEO, said the total project would cost €13 million and set 2025 as the new deadline for completion.

Both targets are set to be missed again.

UPDATE: ADPD calls for investigation

In a statement following the publication of this story, ADPD asked the Ombudsman to investigate the damage done to St John’s Co-Cathedral.

ADPD’s Deputy Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo asked for the matter to be investigated in order to establish whether the St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation, the Planning Authority and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage contributed to the damage resulting at St John’s Co-Cathedral as a result of a lack of adequate regulation and monitoring of the works currently in hand.