Articles
Vol. XIV No.2 Easter 2008

Editorial

The works of Giuseppe Briffa in the churches of Gozo
Nicoline Sagona provides the first comprehensive study of the ecclesiastical art production carried out by Giuseppe Briffa in Gozo between 1931 and 1970. 

From the Albert Ganado Collection

Malta through the eyes of F.M. Hessemer
Friedrich Maximilian Hessemer (1800-60) is a name hitherto unknown to the historian of 19th century visitors to Malta.  Albert Friggieri gives an informative account of Hessemer’s visit to Malta in 1829

Maltese ‘Siege’ Batteries of the Blockade – 1798-1800
In the second in the series of pull-out designs with Commentaries, Dr. Stephen C. Spiteri describes aspects of military engineering during the siege of the French garrison by the Maltese insurgents and their allies in 1798-1800.

Johann Michael von Borch, Part I
In this first part of his study of the Count de Borch, author of an important work, Letter sur la Sicile et sur l’Ile de Malthe (1782) Thomas Freller gives an account of Borch’s comments on military, natural, historical and artistic aspects of Malta and Gozo.

From Private Collections

Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum

Count Giovanni Antonio Ciantar’s book collection and France
Noel Caruana Dingli discusses an important book collection belonging to an outstanding Maltese scholar and author of the 18th century.

 The Underground Slave Prisons at Vittoriosa
Lorenzo A. Zahra, in Treasures of Malta, No. 30, Summer 2004, Letters to the Editor, wrote about the Galley Slave Prisons of Vittoriosa, underlying the Post of England, both of which were ignominiously demolished in 1903.  He sheds more light on this historic monument, while providing us with some more photographs, some of them hitherto unpublished.

The Maria Rosa Pisani bequest to the National Museum of Fine Arts
Dennis Vella

Metamorphosis of the Gran Castello
Godwin Vella traces the history of the Gran Castello from Gozo’s main fortification under the Order of St. John to becoming the island’s main cultural monument with its accumulation of fine buildings and museums

Winston Churchill and the Ximenes Cannon in England
Giovanni Bonello tells the history of the famous Ximenes Cannon and of a failed attempt by a British general to persuade his Government to return the cannon to Malta.

Caring for Antique Furniture at home

Cultural Calendar

Heritage Malta Exhibitions

Bookshelf