Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546363
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 AUGUST 2026 NEWS REST PUT YOUR THIS SUMMER MIND TO TRAVEL WITH ONE OF THESE AGENTS WHO ARE PROTECTED WITH THE INSOLVENCY FUND MALTA Choose from the following operators who are protected with the Insolvency Fund Malta. TRA/A/68 AA Malta Services Ltd TRA/A30 Amphora Travel Ltd TRA/A18 Arrigo Group Limited AGT-33753 Attard Travels TRA/M02 A.von Brockdorff Services Ltd dba The Cruise and Travel Group® TRA/B07 Bagis Sicily Day Tours TRA/B05 Bianchi Travel Limited TRA/E05 Britannia Services LTD TRA/D13 ROCS Travel (Charichelon Company Limited) TRA/C/01 Choice Holidays Limited TRA/C/51 Compass Travel Limited TRA/C/50 Connect Travel TRA/C/27 The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection obo Cruise Yacht OPCO Ltd TRA/D/36 Dan Escape TRA/D/30 Distant Horizons Ltd. TRA/E17 E.C Travel LTD. TRA/E/56 Eduquest TRA/E/55 Elite Travel Ltd TRA/E16 Enrico Travel TRA/E18 Europa Tours TRA/T/69 Evolution Travel Limited TRA/E22 Executive Holidays LTD TRA/G32 Global Travel Book Malta TRA/G/30 Go Sicily Travel TRA/D/23 Fun Travel TRA/H05 Hamilton Travel Services Ltd TRA/H09 Hans Travel Ltd TRA/V/18 Hatours Travel Malta TRA/K05 Karizia Travel Agency TRA/P/31 Kercem A' Tours TRA/K/18 Kraze Travel TRA/L/27 Let's Go Trek & Travel TRA/L/30 Lumos Travel TRA/L/29 LVR Adventures TRA/M/101 Malet Travel Limited TRA/C/20 Malta Holidays TRA/M51 Micallef Joe Travel TRA/M/34 Must Go TRA/G/0017 Narrow Gate Travels TRA/N/12 Next-Gen Cruises Limited TRA/O/74 Orange Travel Group Ltd TRA/P/38 Pawlikowski Ltd TRA/P/36 Pimaci Travel TRA/P18 Planit Travel Services LTD TRA/G/0004 PMC Tours TRA/R16 Royal Travel AGT-32013 Samuel Scicluna Photography Travel TRA/S25 Sant Travel TRA/S/14 S C Travel TRA/S/07 Sharon's Travel Sicily TRA/S26 Shqiponja Travel TRA/L/23 Sisu Tours TRA/M38 SMS Mondial LTD TRA/S/77 Staff Travel Limited TRA/S48 Sun Dreams Travel Agency TRA/T51/1 Take a Break Travel TRA/C03 The Commissariat of the Holy Land TRA/T/03 Touring Mediterraneo Ltd TRA/T/78 Tribe Travel Adventures TRA/T/44/1 Tristar Travel Limited TRA/U01 United Travel Agency Limited TRA/V12 Villager Tours (Mandela City) TRA/V11 Virtu Ferries Travel Limited TRA/G/0005 Vjaggi Pellegrinaggi Spiritwali TRA/Y02 Youth Travel Circle TRA/H/10 Hamilton Travel (Cruises) Ltd MTA LICENCE NUMBER AND ESTABLISHMENT NAME TRAVEL WITH CONFIDENCE Book with an agent you can trust FINANCIAL PROTECTION Your payments are safeguarded FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS Your holiday. Your memories. We've got your back. BOOK SMART. TRAVEL SAFE. Check that your travel agent is licensed. Check that you are protected. customers purchasing a package travel arrangement should ensure that they are provided with an Insolvency Fund Certificate covering the full amount paid for the package. TRAVEL PROTECTED TRAVEL WITH A LICENSED OPERATOR FOR THE LATEST LIST OF AGENTS WHO FORM PART OF THE INSOLVENCY FUND, PLEASE VISIT mta.com.mt/insolvency-fund CALL US +356 2291 5100 Naxxar church chooses heritage over air conditioners THE Naxxar parish has reject- ed calls from parishioners to install air conditioning in the historic Collegiate Church of Maria Bambina, over heritage concerns. Archpriest Canon David Gauci warned in a letter to the community that cooling the building could put its baroque heritage at risk. Gauci said he understood concerns about the heat inside the church during summer heatwaves. He said he would not respond by telling parish- ioners who cannot tolerate the heat not to come, or dismiss their concerns by pointing out that mass lasts only half an hour. In fact, Gauci noted, the per- son who feels the heat most is the priest celebrating from the presbytery, dressed in full li- turgical vestments. But the Naxxar church's sta- tus as a national and historical heritage site meant that com- fort could not come at the ex- pense of conservation, he said. The church contains marble altars, stone sculptures, wood- en furniture including the pul- pit, niches and choir, oil paint- ings on canvas, gilded frames and papier-mâché statues. Gauci said these materials are highly sensitive to changes in the building's microclimate and air conditioning would rapidly alter temperature and humidity, particularly when switched on and off. Such sudden and repeated chang- es could cause condensation and encourage mould growth, while also contributing to cracks in the globigerina lime- stone and marble and move- ment in canvas and wooden elements. Gauci warned that decorative layers such as paint and gold- leaf gilding could begin to peel or lose adhesion, resulting in damage that could be irrepa- rable. There are also major practi- cal difficulties in installing the infrastructure required to cool the church. Baroque buildings were not designed to accommodate modern air conditioning sys- tems. Gauci said installing such a system would mean drilling through thick globige- rina limestone walls, poten- tially compromising architec- tural features and introducing vibrations and pressure to an- cient structures. Such interventions would run counter to conservation principles and would face ob- jections from heritage author- ities, he said. But the sheer size of the church presents another ob- stacle. Gauci said powerful industrial machinery would be needed for cooling to be effective throughout the nave, aisles and chapels. The resulting electricity bills, he warned, would be massive and place a heavy burden on the parish community. "As custodians of this tem- ple built by our forefathers, our obligation is to protect it and hand it down intact to our children," Gauci said. "Com- fort is important, but it can- not take precedence over the preservation of the heritage entrusted to us." JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Naxxar church