Sketches submitted by father and son artists Alfred and Aaron Camilleri Cauchi for the national monuments to former Presidents Guido de Marco and Censu Tabone, and former Prime Minister Dom Mintoff have been selected from among 16 which were submitted, the Office of the Prime Minister said yesterday.

The call for submissions was made by Heritage Malta. The judging panel was made up of artists, architects, people with a cultural background, Heritage Malta representatives, and officials from the OPM. The families of the three personalities were consulted.

Aaron Camilleri Cauchi will be doing Prof. de Marco’s monument. It shows the full life Prof. de Marco led, with a raised head showing his persuasive powers and determination.

Alfred Camilleri Cauchi will be doing the Dom Mintoff and Censu Tabone monuments. The Mintoff monument shows him in an imposing pose, wearing a jacket but no tie, with his left hand holding a pipe and resting on his chest, and a large belt buckle.

The monument to Dr Tabone shows him with a head inclined to the right, with a smile and his right hand raised. The raised hand symbolises his profession as an eye specialist and recalls that he was instrumental in the canonisation of  Dun Gorg Preca as Malta’s first saint. 

The government said there will now be consultation with the artist and the family about how the monument should look. 

Prof. De Marco’s monument will be located in front of the law courts, Mr Mintoff’s on Castille Square, where there are also former Prime Minister George Borg Olivier’s and Manwel Dimech’s monuments, and Dr Tabone’s at St Julians.

They will be unveiled next year, which marks the 50th anniversary of Malta’s independence, 40th anniversary of it becoming a republic, the 35th anniversary of the departure of the last British forces, and the 10th anniversary of Malta joining the EU.