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14 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 7 OCTOBER 2020 COMMERCIAL ĊENTRU Santu Rokku is a Church prop- erty (St Paul Shipwreck Collegiate Parish) located at 196, St Ursula Street, Valletta. Apart from holding and serving the so- cial needs of the Valletta community, the property also holds great historical worth. In the 18th century, it was owned by one of the foundations of the 'Soladi- ta dei Preti', 'Naves'. In the 1950s the property had passed to the Order of the Knights of St John, from where they op- erated the service of a Blood Bank while also serving as their headquarters. Once the Blood Bank was moved to another location, the Order also trans- ferred its headquarters to a new venue in the proximity of Our Lady of the Victories church. In the 1990s, the par- ish initiated its pastoral work from this premises to serve the community of the area and its surroundings. The property is currently being used as a youth centre, known as Teen Klabb. Teen Klabb was launched by Tabgħa Foundation. Its main aim has been that of creating a safe social space and pro- viding academic help to teens in Valletta and the surrounding region. Here vol- unteers assist youth with their home- work and schoolwork, while empower- ing them with social and life skills. Additional activities for the teens are also held, like movie evenings, outings, crafts, cooking and live-ins. The volun- teers also try and impart useful life skills and spiritual values. At Teen Klabb, teens are given the op- portunity to interact with other teens, while being monitored by helpers such as teachers, counsellors, and social youth workers. The main objective is to give the youth of the area a sense of empowerment and provide preventive care. Keeping tradition alive The property, which possibly be- longed at first to a wealthy family, was built according to the traditional style of the time, having a large open court- yard. A generously proportioned stair- case in the yard leads to the upper lev- els, including the sala nobile, whilst a stone spiral staircase connects the back rooms on all floors and was most likely intended for use by the servants of the household. It contains various alterations carried out in more recent times, including the division of the property into a number of tenements and the replacement of a wrought-iron balcony with that of tim- ber. The façade holds certain simple archi- tectural elements, namely the mould- ings around the doors and windows, the wrought iron railing of the open balco- ny and the balcony corbels. One also finds a bust and a coat of arms mounted on top of the main entrance. The book and the sword depicted on the coat of arms are the common attrib- utes of Saint Paul. A wordy inscription below the bust reads 'FUNDATIO NIS. NAVES. 1749.' The project Intense restoration works, due to the bad condition of the property's façade have been concluded. Internally, reno- vation works have been carried out on PA funds restoration of Centru Santu The Ċentru Santu Rokku, in Valletta, boasts great historical significance and offers an important safe space to socialize for the city's young people. Now, the building's full restoration is nearing completion, thanks to the Planning Authority fully funding the project through its Development Planning Fund