original location, it was mentioned that €2 million would be allocated to restore it, removing the alterations done in the 1980s. In January 2015, the Ministry for Transport and Infrastructure announced that restoration will begin that year and would be complete by 2017, at a cost of €500,000. However, nothing materialized initially and the Ministry only began the process to restore the fountain in October 2015. A month later, a pre-qualification questionnaire for prospective bidders interested in restoring the fountain was issued. The government made attempts to find a suitable bidder throughout 2016, until the Ministry signed a contract with Sea Fountain One on 12 January 2017 to restore the fountain to its original state by the end of the year. Restoration work, is to cost about €4 million since the damage was worse than expected. The Triton figures began to be dismantled on 4 February 2017, and they were later sent to Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry in Florence to be cleaned. The concrete that was used to fill the brass figures has been removed. A steel structure has been built inside the figures so as to support the weight of the plate, and each figure is now covered in microcrystalline wax for protection and was painted in azurite blue as was their original colour in 1959. The massive base of the fountain was restored by the De Feo Restauri of Rome, a specialized company in restoration of monuments. A new plant room has been constructed, which is connected to the new pump room through a tunnel. The restored Triton figures were sent back to Malta and reinstalled in August 2017, and renovation works of the surrounding square continued until the end of the year. Formal inauguration The restored fountain was finally (59 years late) officially inaugurated on 12 January 2018, by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. The works were completed a week ahead of Valletta taking its position as European Capital of Culture 2018. It was stated that the restoration cost amounted to €4.5 million. Legacy The fountain was depicted on a €0.32 postage stamp issued by MaltaPost on 27 March 2013. References Fountains in Malta Buildings and structures in Valletta Bronze sculptures in Malta 1959 sculptures Buildings and structures completed in 1959 1959 establishments in Malta Modernist sculpture Roundabouts and traffic circles in Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Sculptures of Triton (mythology)