“Church Trails of Malta” was inaugurated, a project through which churches located in 26 localities around Malta, were gathered geographically to improve the experience for the Maltese and the tourists who visit them while appreciating the Maltese cultural heritage.
The churches and chapels selected are the same that in the last five years have undergone conservation and restoration work through European funds, with many of the areas dedicated to Our Lady and Saint Paul . With the aim of these restoration works leaving a positive result on the Maltese tourist product, the churches were gathered in three groups of routes (the North, the Center and the South of Malta) in order to a tourist will be able to choose the route according to the area he wishes to visit.
In order to facilitate this choice, the website churchtrailsmalta.com was created with more details about the restoration project carried out at each place of the route. These details were announced in a news conference addressed by the Minister for Tourism Clayton Bartolo, the Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds Chris Bonett, and the Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Galea-Curmi, in the presence of the Administrative Secretary of the Archdiocese of Malta Michael Pace Ross.
Minister Clayton Bartolo pointed out how the “Church Trails of Malta” project will continue to strengthen the Government’s commitment to attract more religious tourism to our country. “Malta is one tourist area. In the field of culture and religion, every village and town in Malta and Gozo has a lot to offer the tourists who come to visit us. We are optimistic that this trail, among many other initiatives, will give an enormous boost to our efforts to strengthen this very important niche for the sustainability of the tourism sector in our country,” stressed Minister Bartolo.
Parliamentary Secretary Chris Bonett explained that through the European Regional Development Fund, cultural development is taking place around many localities in Malta. The aim of the project is to strengthen the position of already frequented churches while introducing others to local tourism. “This investment of around €4 million will help small places but with an important cultural heritage to continue to grow, and contribute to a more authentic Maltese tourism product”, Chris Bonett concluded.
The Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Galea-Curmi said that all the restoration projects carried out in these five years as well as the Church Trails of Malta project are an act of justice to those who came before us and left us this heritage through which they expressed their faith in a beautiful way. “Therefore we must do our best to protect this heritage so that it can be appreciated by all Maltese today and by the tourists who come to visit us, as well as by future generations to whom we want to leave a truly beautiful legacy. I look forward to more collaboration projects such as “Church Trails”, which leave good in our society,” repeated the Auxiliary Bishop while thanking everyone who contributed to this project, with in particular to the Cultural Heritage Foundation of the Archdiocese of Malta, to EMCS for the consultancy service, and to the various restorers who worked on all the projects.
