"Notwithstanding the vast historical heritage we have and the Department's efforts to generate and analyse data, to attract students and scholarships, the obliteration of contexts and the deterioration of spaces is unfortunately moving at too fast a pace. The absence of a strategic Master Plan to conserve Malta's Medieval past is shameful and unless something is done in this respect, research and accademia are unfortunately going to remain standing alone in the struggle to preserve Malta's Medieval Cultural Heritage."

This was stated by Professor Keith Sciberras, head of the Department of Art and Art History, University of Malta, during the international conference Dynamics of Mediterranean artistic interactions in the Late Medieval and Renaissance periods hosted by the same Department on 9 March at the Valletta University Campus.

Professor Sciberras was reacting to a series of photos showing the Abbatija tad-Dejr and a number of other cave churches scattered around the island in a state of total abandon, a state he described as "to say the least, shocking".

Dr Charlene Vella from the University's Department of Art and Art History, who was the convener of this conference, expressed her satisfaction at the positive way this conference has been welcomed by all those interested in history and the history of art.

"The conference attracted over a hundred participants, an achievement that proves the growing interest in Malta's and the Mediterranean's Medieval roots. In fact, we decided to host this event because of the number of conferences taking place in the UK, Germany, the US and other countries, that shows that there is a great interest about the development of art in the Mediterranean in the late Medieval and Renaissance periods," said Dr Vella.

The conference was addressed by a number of important local and international experts on the subject which brought more weight to the conference, giving it the status as one of the most important academic conferences of the year.

The first lecture was delivered by Dr Keith Buhagiar, a Ph.D. graduate in archaeology from the University of Malta who specialises in central Mediterranean medieval and Early Modern cultural landscape development. He delivered a very interesting talk on Malta's rock-cut churches and drew comparisons with similar landmarks in southern Sicily.

Dr Buhagiar's presentation was followed by an equally interesting presentation by Dr Kayoko Ichikawa from the University of Fribourg on the religious and political contexts for the dissemination of the Marian cult of the Virgin's heavenly coronation as depicted in medieval art. This was followed by Professor Mario Buhagiar's talk on the Madonna suckling the Child at the Mdina Cathedral, which is venerated under the title of the Virgin of St Luke.

In the second half of the conference, Professor Michele Bacci discussed the dynamics of cultural and artistic exchange in Hospitaller Rhodes between 1310 and 1522, a discussion which engaged quite a few people followed by Dr Vella whose presentation discussed the attribution of a Renaissance triptych in the Mdina Cathedral Museum Collection portraying the Madonna del Soccorso to Salvo d'Antonio or a close follower. In her thesis, Dr Vella proposed that this triptych, that is heavily over painted and which requires urgent conservation and restoration, should be attributed to Salvo d'Antonio's cousin, Antonio de Saliba.

The final intervention was delivered by Professor Peter Humfrey, considered as one of the leading scholars on the art of Renaissance Venice. Professor Humfrey discussed Cyprus' importance to the Venetian Republic. The Venetians appreciated Cyprus as a colony especially because it is the mythical birthplace of the goddess of love, Venus. This talk explored how the Venetians used Cyprus and Venus as part of their political propaganda.