Din l-Art Ħelwa (lit.'This Sweet Land') is a non-governmental and non-profit, voluntary organisation founded in 1965 by MalteseJudge Maurice Caruana Curran to safeguard Malta's cultural heritage and natural environment.[2] Since its foundation, Din l-Art Ħelwa has restored numerous cultural sites of historic and environmental importance and currently has the guardianship of a number of them. Many of the sites are open to visitors and for events, thanks to an army of dedicated volunteers. The organisation promotes the preservation and protection of historic buildings and monuments, the character of Malta's towns and villages, and places of natural beauty. It is very active in campaigning against proposed construction which infringes planning laws or policies, and regularly objects to planning applications, taking legal action to halt development in some cases. The NGO stimulates the enforcement of existing laws and the enactment of new ones for the protection of Malta's natural and built heritage.[1]
Name and offices
The name of the organization is derived from the first verse of L-Innu Malti, Malta's national anthem: "Lil din l-art ħelwa..." (This fair land).[1] Letter Ħ is part of Maltese alphabet.
The offices of Din l-Art Ħelwa are located at 133 Melita Street, Valletta.[3] The building is part of a large townhouse located at 130-135 Melita Street (formerly Strada Britannica).[4] In 1816, part of the house belonged to Maria Stivala.[5] The property was later owned by Antonio Giappone, and then by Giuseppe Apap.[4]
Properties managed
Din l-Art Ħelwa has the following properties under its care in Malta:[6][7]
Part of Palazzo Nobile, the head office of the organization
^ abc Uwe Jens Rudolf; Warren G. Berg (2010). Diccionario histórico de Malta (2.ª edición). Scarecrow Press. pág. 68. ISBN 9780810873902.
^ Thake, Conrad (2014). David Mallia (ed.). "Arquitectura en la Malta posterior a la independencia: pasado, presente y futuro" (PDF) . Melita Historica . 16 (3). Book Distributors Limited: 100. ISSN 1021-6952.[ enlace muerto permanente ]
^ "Notte Bianca Malta 2011, La Valeta". Malta.com . Consultado el 24 de julio de 2017 .
^ ab Tribunale, Malta (25 de marzo de 2019). "Collezione di decisioni dei tribunali di Malta dal 1mo gennaro al 31 giugno 1841". Consejo. Tonna . Consultado el 25 de marzo de 2019 a través de Google Books.
^ Zammit, André (2010). "Valletta y Michele Cachia (1760 –1839) - Una valoración fáctica a través de sus cuadernos". En Joseph F. Grima (ed.). 60º aniversario de la Sociedad Histórica de Malta: una conmemoración . Zabbar: Veritas Press. págs. 407–432. ISBN978-99932-0-942-3. OCLC 779340904. Archivado desde el original el 6 de marzo de 2017.
^ "INFORME SOBRE EL ESTADO DEL PATRIMONIO" (PDF) . Culture.gov.mt . 2014. p. 46 . Consultado el 25 de marzo de 2019 .
^ "Din l-Art Helwa: 50 años de protección del patrimonio julio de 1965 – julio de 2015 - The Malta Independent". Independent.com.mt . Consultado el 25 de marzo de 2019 .