Admittedly, we fell in love with the digital renders of Valletta’s old Royal Opera House the minute they were first shared online, but an early 2020 animation to hit the internet from an impressive project has completely blown us away.

The brainchild of marine biology PhD student Matthew Pace, the beautiful, three-minute-long animation is guaranteed to inject you with a dose of nostalgia. Even though very few people nowadays remember the Royal Opera House in all its former glory, it will allow you to revel in the grandeur that once was. 

Unfortunately, the Royal Opera House was one of the casualties of the Second World War and although the site was cleared soon after the 1942 bombing, it was left in ruins for decades, with multiple plans to rebuild the theatre scrapped before the current open-air theatre was built in its place in 2013.

Writing about his efforts to bring the Royal Opera House to life, Matthew said that: "I've really pushed the software to the limits to recreate the opera house and its environs in as much detail as possible. Despite the limitations of the tools, I'm really happy with the results. I hope you enjoy the video!," he wrote in a Facebook post.

Check out the full video below:

Isn't it marvellous?