The European Maritime Day pays tribute to “Maritime Europe”. All maritime sectors and activities are put in the spotlight to help European citizens realise the variety of sea-related activities taking place in Europe. In this context a series of public events will be organised in Malta on Sunday 19th and Monday 20th May 2013. Heritage Malta will be participating by organizing an activity entitled “Life at Sea” at the Malta Maritime Museum. The European Maritime day is being held in collaboration with The European Commission and the Government of Malta. The event is also part of the European Day for Museums.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to walk through part of the Traditional Maltese Boats collection which is currently in storage. Over a short period of years the Malta Maritime Museum has saved for posterity 60 full size traditional boats. Many of these vessels will be on display for the first time to the public. Some of the boats on display date back to 1870. Further to this unique opportunity one can also visit the remaining ovens which used to bake 6000 loaves of bread a day for the Royal Navy in its heyday.

Museum exhibits on display will be brought to life with the help of re-enactors, historians and curators who will be at hand to provide fresh insight into Malta’s unique maritime past and introduce the visitors to various 16th and 18th century characters. This will be an opportunity for visitors to engage in personal discussion with curators, archaeologists and historians.

The re-enactors who will portray the Order of St. John’s 18th century navy will demonstrate hand to hand fighting tactics, artillery manoeuvres as well as explaining the nasty side of seafaring life.

For the first time at the museum 35 armour clad knights will clash against each other demonstrating the rough life at the quay side in Birgu in the 16th century.

When it’s time for a snack or lunch visitors may opt to visit the Malta Maritime Museum tavern, were 18th century recipes will be prepared for the general public to taste history. 18th century Maltese coffee, pies and heart warming chicken stew may be bought at the tavern. All the proceedings from the canteen will go towards the Museums restoration works.

The Life at Sea event at the Malta Maritime Museum is intended to further show Heritage Malta’s endeavour to preserve Malta’s unique maritime heritage and promises to be another amazing day out for all the family.

The first two of a series of gallery talks will be held on Friday 10^th May. “Actors and Audiences in Mattia Preti’s Paintings“ will be presented by curator Bernadine Scicluna at 6:30pm, while senior curator Sandro Debono and conservator David Frank Bugeja will talk about “St Catherine of Alexandria Re-discovered” at 7:30pm.

On 24^th May the subject tackled by Cynthia Degiorgio at 6:30pm will focus on Preti’s “Doubting Thomas” while at 7.30pm Giuseppe Mantella will focus on “The Capodimonte bozzetti, St Francis Xavier and the Sarria paintings for the plague”.

On 31^st May Christian Attard  will talk about “Capodimonte bozzetti, St Sebastian and Calí’s Almsgiving Preti” (6:30pm), while Jessica Borg will give a talk on “Mattia Preti’s Preparatory Drawings for the Vault of St John’s Co-Cathedral” (7:30pm).

The 14^th of June will see three gallery talks: the first by Francesca Balzan (at 6:15pm) will be entitled “The Barberini Banquet”, the second by Bernadine Scicluna (7pm) is entitled “He, Himself and Mattia Preti” while in the third (8pm) former curator Antonio Espinosa Rodriguez will talk on “Cardinal Arias y Porres patron of Mattia Preti”.

Another three talks will be held on 21^st June: Conservators Anthony Spagnol (6:15pm), Charlene Muscat (7pm) and Charlotte Bellizzi (8pm) will all speak about “Conservation and Mattia Preti’s Paintings”.

The 16^th of May marks the first of three tours by curator Sandro Debono who will be giving quite a few interesting insights into the exhibition. The other two dates reserved for these specialised tours are 13^th June and 4^th July.

An educational event which is being considered as one of the highlights of the activities linked with the exhibition is entitled “Paint it like Preti” and consists of two workshops. The first workshop will feature Preti’s manufacturing techniques for an oil painting on canvas. Heritage Malta’s Senior Conservator Ray Spiteri, who has worked on the conservation of Preti paintings, will take participants through the manufacturing techniques behind Preti’s oil paintings on canvas. Participants will work off a preliminary drawing, mix their own colours and paint their own masterpiece just like Preti did. Finally, the participants will be able to take their finished work home with them. This workshop will be held on 17^th May between 10am and 2pm with a second group on 14^th June at the same time. The second workshop which will be held on 31^st May and repeated on 28^th June will deal with the manufacturing techniques used by Preti for his works on stone.

All the events are on first come first served basis due to the limited number of places. The entrance fee for the gallery talks and the tours with the curator is the same as that of the entrance to the exhibition. A different price applies for the workshops. All talks and specialised tours will be delivered in English.

More events will be announced in the coming weeks. Keep yourself updated by visiting the official exhibition site on preti.heritagemalta.org or by following us on Facebook.

The four Citadel museums namely the Gozo Museum of Archaeology, the Gozo Nature Museum, the Old Prison and the Folklore Museum, will be open free of charge between 7pm and 12am on Friday 10^th and Saturday 11^th May.

This is a golden opportunity for those who missed visiting the museums during the recent Open Day as part of the 10^th anniversary celebrations from the establishment of Heritage Malta as the national agency for cultural heritage.

The Gozo Museum of Archaeology is housed in a seventeenth century town house known as ‘Casa Bondi’. The museum illustrates chronologically the cultural history of the Island of Gozo from prehistoric times to the early modern period.

Situated behind the Law Courts, the Gozo Nature Museum is hosted in a cluster of houses dating back to the early 17th century.  During the 17th and 18th centuries the building was used as an inn.  The museum extends on two floors and houses collections relating to the Island’s geology, minerals, marine life, insects, local habitats and ecosystems.

The Folklore Museum houses a wide range of exhibits depicting the domestic, rural and traditional ways of life in the agrarian economy of the Maltese Islands in centuries past.  The Museum is located in the apt setting of late medieval houses in Bernardo de Opuo Street. The houses were probably built around the beginning of the 16th century.

The Old Prison was in use from the mid-16th century until the beginning of the 20th century.  The complex is divided into two sections: the entrance hall, which served as a common cell in the 19th century, and a free-standing block with six individual cells.  The walls of the cells and corridors in the Old Prison are covered with graffiti.  The representations include ships, stars, hand profiles, and names, and date from different periods.

This is the latest of initiatives that Heritage Malta has accustomed the Maltese and foreign visitors to in its commitment to make our cultural heritage accessible to all.

The Megalithic Temples are slowly revealing secrets about a population who was clever, artistic, creative and talented with an eye for detail and a taste for the delicate and the exotic.

The exhibition was followed by a fashion show of replica prehistoric jewellery, which preceded the main highlight: changing the misconception related to the image of prehistoric people by means of a unique reconstruction.

The items featured in the fashion show were replicas of objects worn by individuals who lived on the Maltese islands some 5600 years ago. The artefacts exhibited were discovered at various Prehistoric Temple sites and form part of the permanent display at Heritage Malta’s National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta.

During the event held on Tuesday 7th May, Heritage Malta also launched a 3D virtual reconstruction of facial features based on one of the prehistoric skulls (over 5,000 years old) found at the Xagħra Stone Circle in Gozo. This was a unique opportunity for those present as it revealed, for the very first time, what one of our ancestors actually looked like.

The surprise on the faces of those present was evident as the face revealed was much closer to what one would expect from a woman of our day and age rather than that of a person who lived on the islands over 5,000 years ago… A real case of coming face to face with our Ancestors!

On the occasion of the exhibition “Mattia Preti: Faith and Humanity”, which will be running at the President’s Palace State Rooms in Valletta between 3^rd May  and 7^th July, Heritage Malta will be engaging the visitors with a number of workshops on the manufacturing techniques used by the artist when painting on canvas and stone.

The first workshop will feature Preti’s manufacturing techniques for an oil painting on canvas. Heritage Malta’s Senior Conservator, Ray Spiteri, who has worked on the conservation of Preti paintings, will take participants through the manufacturing techniques behind Preti’s oil paintings on canvas. Participants will work off a preliminary drawing, mix their own colours and paint their own masterpiece just like Preti did. Finally, the participants will be able to take their finished work home with them. This workshop will be held on the 17^th of May between 10am and 2pm with a second group on the 14^th of June at the same time.

The second workshop, which will be held on the 31^st of May  and repeated on the 28^th of June, will deal with the manufacturing techniques used by Preti for his works on stone. As in the first case, the workshop will also take place at the President’s Palace in Valletta between 10am and 2pm and the participants will be able to take home the work done during the session.

The price for each workshop is €25 and includes all materials (including paint brush etc) and a guided tour of the Mattia Preti exhibition. Tickets are available from all Heritage Malta sites and museums, and from Heritage Malta’s Head Office in Bighi, Kalkara. Places are limited and early booking is highly recommended.

For further information please contact Heritage Malta’s Education Programmes Department on 23954239 or by sending an email to education@heritagemalta.org

Mattia Preti official website http://preti.heritagemalta.org

The 4th May marks another very important appointment for Heritage Malta in its calendar of events. In fact, it marks the day when the “Mattia Preti: Faith and Humanity” exhibition opens to the public.

On Monday morning, Dr. Josè Herrera visited the Grandmaster’s Palace in Valletta to witness the final preparations for this exhibition which will be displaying some of the greatest masterpieces by the Knight from Calabria in an innovative and interesting manner.

“This is an exhibition which is not only of national importance but helps to continue establishing Malta as a cultural centre in the world” stated Dr. Herrera. He said that it is the government’s mission as well as that of Heritage Malta to make such cultural heritage accessible both for the locals and the tourists. “Such an exhibition places artistic gems as the ones displayed to the disposal of the public and is also a starting point for the public to realise that such treasures are not only found in the museums but also in places which we frequent in our daily lives.”

Dr. Herrera also commented on how this exhibition will be presenting the works by Mattia Preti in a manner which makes them even more interesting for the lay person who is not necessarily an art connoisseur. He also mentioned that Heritage Malta will be organizing a whole calendar of events related to the exhibition open to the general public, some of which organized in collaboration with other entities. “This type off synergy is in line with our vision and is a step forward because we believe that in a joint effort the work done by such entities and also by individuals make the result a more significant one.”

Heritage Malta Acting CEO Kenneth Gambin spoke of the importance of such exhibitions, in this case undertaken with the cooperation of Taverna, as well as the activities to commemorate the 10th anniversary from the establishment of Heritage Malta. Such events present a unique opportunity for the Maltese public to view under one roof artistic masterpieces which otherwise one would have to travel all around Europe to appreciate.

Senior Curator Sandro Debono explained the content of the exhibition as well as scientific discoveries made recently with regards to the Mattia Preti painting exhibited. He also underlined the differences and similarities between the exhibition held in Taverna and that which will be open in Malta between the 4th of May and the 7th of July.

For more information regarding the ‘Mattia Preti: Faith and Humanity’ exhibition one can visit the official website preti.heritagemalta.org or follow the event on Facebook.

In the late seventeenth century the Spanish Knight of Malta Manuel Arrias left the island to take office as Archbishop of Seville, Spain. His luggage included a collection of art works amongst which a number of works by Mattia Preti. Following his death, the paintings became property of the diocese of Seville. One particular painting from Arrias’ estate which shows the beheaded corpse of St John the Baptist remains hanging at the Archbishop’s Palace in Seville, rarely seen by scholars let alone the general public, and also never exhibited outside Spain.

Preti’s preparatory drawing for this painting was acquired for the Museums Department by the first curator of fine arts Vincenzo Bonello in the early 1930s. The drawing was executed by Preti on the back of another drawing featuring a preliminary study for one of the figures painted on the vault of St John’s co-Cathedral. Preti would have used his drawings as reference when painting his renowned works and reutilised the back of others for the studies of his later works.

Drawing and painting will be exhibited for the first time ever next to each other after more than three centuries when these were first together in Preti’s workshop. This will be a unique opportunity to study painting and drawing at close quarters and compare Preti’s drawing techniques developed for different media and artworks.

The painting is indeed gruesome. It represents a beheaded corpse of St John the Baptist lying on the floor at a very oblique angle. The severed trunk of the neck stands for the morbid subject, likewise represented by Preti in his ‘Judith and Holopherenes’ at Capodimonte Museum (Naples) and in the internal façade of St John’s co-Cathedral. Its stark realism recalls Caravaggio and his followers who also painted such subjects with such a violent flair.

This loan was possible thanks to the assistance and technical support of the Spanish Embassy in Malta. For this, Heritage Malta would like to thank his Excellency the Spanish Ambassador Felipe de la Morena Casado and the first secretary at the Spanish Embassy Mr Gabriel Cremades Ventura.

The exhibition will commence at the State Rooms, President’s Palace in Valletta between 4^th May and 7^th July.

The Open Day was held to mark the beginning of the 10^th anniversary celebrations since the setting-up of Heritage Malta as the national agency for museums, conservation practice and cultural heritage. In all, 22 sites were open to the public for free with about 35,000 people taking the opportunity to visit these national treasures.

With the sites and museums opening their gates at 9am, one could immediately see that the day was going to be a very busy one with people at certain sites queuing even before opening time. The most popular sites on the day were the Palace Armoury and the State Rooms at the Grandmaster’s Palace with 3863 and 3650 visitors respectively, closely followed by the Domvs Romana in Rabat with 3270 visitors. A number of Maltese also went to Gozo purposely to visit the sites on the sister island with the most popular site in Gozo being Ġgantija Temples.

The success of this Open Day follows that held at Ħaġar Qim, Mnajdra and the Domvs Romana in March and anticipates the next Open Day at the Malta Maritime Museum on the 19th of May. The event in May, entitled “Life at Sea”, will be held on occasion of the World Maritime Day which is being held in Malta. Such open days are only one means through which Heritage Malta renders culture accessible to all, including temporary exhibitions, lectures, heritage trails, conferences, educational programmes, and publications.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Culture and Local Government, Dr. José Herrera visited Tarxien Temples during the Open Day, where he was given a tour of the site, and also exchanged views with visitors on-site. Heritage Malta Acting CEO Kenneth Gambin and senior curator Katya Stroud briefed Dr. Herrera on the works that were concluded in this site. They also indicated the on-going archaeological work that is being carried out in preparation for the erection of a shelter which will cost around €2.3 million and that will eventually cover most of the site. This will help to protect the temple from the elements which have a negative effect on the structure.

“The Government has committed itself to give support to such activities and also to be on the forefront to instigate such initiatives. By visiting a historical site like Tarxien Temples, one can notice the effort that is being made in order to conserve our cultural heritage. I would like to emphasise the need to go to such unique places and I am making it my mission to promote such projects amongst local audiences”, Parliamentary Secretary José Herrera said during a visit to Tarxien Temples during Heritage Malta’s open day.

During the visit, Dr. Herrera was given a tour of this temple wherein the parliamentary secretary could also exchange views with visitors on-site. It was evident that by mid-morning, the site was already packed with visitors, mostly Maltese visitors. This was also the case in all the twenty two sites which opened their doors free of charge around Malta and Gozo.

Heritage Malta Acting CEO Kenneth Gambin and senior curator Katya Stroud briefed the parliamentary secretary on the works that were concluded in this site. They also indicated the on-going archaeological work that is being carried out in preparation for the erection of a shelter which will cost around €2.3 million and that will eventually cover most of the site. This will help to protect the temple from the elements which have a negative effect on the structure. Works already concluded consist of a €300,000 walkway that is directing the visitors in areas which were previously inaccessible and also protecting the original prehistoric floors. Another €90,000 were dedicated for a 3D scan of the temple as a tangible tool to understand better the site and which will eventually become a historical document in itself. This model, together with other similar 3D scans carried out in other sites will be presented later on this year in an exhibition organised as part of Heritage Malta’s 10^th anniversary celebrations. All these actions are being funded through a European Regional Development Fund project which incorporates three archaeological sites: Tarxien Temples, Ggantija Temples and St Paul’s Catacombs.

“The Government has committed itself to give support to such activities and also to be on the forefront to instigate such initiatives. By celebrating the International Day for Monuments and Sites, Heritage Malta and Malta as a nation are further endorsing the unique assets we have on the Island in order to make us feel part of the International Community. Given the fact our country has such a vast history, it is important to celebrate such an occasion and promote our rich heritage.” Parliamentary Secretary José Herrera said this during a visit to Haġar Qim to mark the occasion.

During the visit, Dr. Herrera also launched the programme of events Heritage Malta will be organizing as part of the celebrations to mark the 10^th anniversary from its establishment as the national agency for museums, conservation practice and cultural heritage.

Heritage Malta’s Acting CEO Kenneth Gambin said: “Throughout these ten years the Agency has worked hard to encourage appreciation of these national treasures to local audiences and also to place Malta on the world map. This was carried out through the upgrade of the cultural product. This is a continuous job that requires input from the Government and most particularly through funds from the EU.”

Heritage Malta is committed to bring culture closer to the people through facilitating interpretation and, physical, intellectual and social accessibility. Whether through temporary exhibitions, public lectures, heritage trails or other specialised events, the agency ensures that it lives up to the motto of ensuring a future to our past.

The first of the 10^th anniversary activities is the Open Day of all Heritage Malta sites (except for the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum) on Sunday 21^st April. The Agency has already committed itself to open up all its museums and sites for free at least once a year. The difference between this opportunity and other open days is the fact that all Heritage Malta sites will be open for free simultaneously on this particular day.

The 10^th anniversary celebrations this year will also include the “Mattia Preti: Faith and Humanity” exhibition at the Grandmaster’s Palace, “Life at Sea” at the Malta Maritime Museum (a special event on the occasion of European Maritime Day to be held in Malta), a Virtual 3D models exhibition, a Heritage Malta conference on various aspects of cultural heritage, the official inauguration of the Ġgantija Temples Visitor Centre and “The history of Malta in 100 objects“ exhibition at the National Museum of Archaeology.