Awareness and statutory protection of industrial heritage in Malta

Abstract

The industrial heritage of the Maltese Islands includes a wide range of buildings, some still complete or still possessing parts of their original equipment, ranging in date from ancient to modern. The windmills of Malta were amongst the first buildings of an industrial nature that were protected by Maltese law, through their inclusion in the List of Ancient Monuments in 1932. MEPA was amongst the first to recognize the value of industrial heritage by raising awareness about the need to safeguard this heritage through the local media, protecting representative examples and issuing permits and grants for the restoration and rehabilitation of such buildings. The Scheduled Property Register compiled by MEPA since 1994 includes a number of sites and buildings which contributed to the industrialisation of Malta through the ages.