Restoration of the statue of St. Publius Floriana

Restoration of the statue of St. Publius Floriana

Saint Publius’s church in Floriana started being built in 1733 and was based on a design attributed to Francesco Maradon. By 1844, the church of St. Publius in Floriana became a parish and continued to expand over time.

On 28^th April 1942, during World War II, the church suffered heavy damage, particularly to parts of the 19^th-century façade designed by Nicola Zammit.  Works to rebuild the damaged parts of the church took place after the war was over in 1945. ¹

The stone statue of the patron saint of Floriana, St. Publius, is located at the side of the church. According to the marble inscription on the pedestal of the same statue, the statue was erected in 1914 in commemoration of the role that the parish church had in the twenty-fourth International Eucharistic Congress held in Malta in 1813. The plaque we see today is a replica of the original which had been destroyed in 1942 during World War II.²

Restoration Works

The statue and the pedestal were stripped of several layers of paint that had been applied over the years. Other residue was removed through dry/wet brushing. Joints were cleaned and refilled. Some repairs to the stone were carried out using plastic repair. The missing fingers of St. Publius’ right hand were recreated. A new crozier was also made. The statue and the pedestal were repainted. An aluminium door in the pedestal was replaced with a wooden one. A new lantern was also made in front of the statue. The letters of the marble inscription were given a coat of black paint so that they could be read.  Works were carried out in 2022.

References:

1. Church of St. Publius. (2012). NICPMI Inv. No. 00508. National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. 
2. Ciantar, N. (2013). Statwi u Niċeċ Reliġjużi fit-Toroq ta’ Malta u Għawdex.  APS Bank