The Caraffa Stores on the Vittoriosa waterfront, beautifully renovated at a cost of some Lm150,000 by the Cottonera Waterfront Group, are being transformed into an artistic and musical haven on three floors. As you enter, you are confronted with a magnificent digital transparency of ‘ The Beheading of St John’, perhaps the artist’s most famous painting, and one of Malta’s most precious art treasures. The exhibition foyer is been designated the Malta Room, with digital transparencies of those Caravaggio works that were executed in Malta. These are ‘St Jerome’, ‘Sleeping Cupid’, and ‘Wignacourt and Page’. Entrance to this part of the exhibition will be free of charge.

The technique used for photographing all these original Caravaggio paintings and reproducing them on transparent fabric is a revolutionary excercise in itself. The Malta Independent on Sunday spoke to Mario Nutile and Amadeo Ginaflotta of RAI, who are in Malta to oversee the setting-up of the exhibition. Surrounded by a mass of technical equipment and display screens, they explained the process in detail. The original paintings were photographed using high resolution digital technology. The images retain their intrinsic clarity even when they are enlarged to the dimensions of the painting of ‘The Beheading of St John’. The details remain incredibly vivid. The digital image is then printed onto a transparent surface and is back-lit, which provides a stunning and almost hallowed effect.

Caravaggio – La Mostra Impossible has already been shown in Italy to huge critical acclaim and extensive press coverage, in Salerno, Naples and most recently in Rome at the Castel Sant’Angelo. In Rome, it drew 145,000 visitors, and in Naples, 35,000. After Malta, the exhibition goes to Milan, Moscow and St Petersburg.

The Caravaggio Foundation is at present working hard to transform the Caraffa Stores into a veritable artistic haven. The premises – vast 17th century warehouses spread over four floors – have been loaned to the Foundation at no charge by the Cottonera Waterfront Group. Artists are being encouraged to spend as much time as they want working in this blissful environment, and easels will be provided for the purpose. A spokesman for the Caravaggio Foundation remarked that this is part of the plan to bring the place alive.

Another innovative aspect is the music-inspired room. Several of Caravaggio’s paintings depict music scores. Through research by scholars, these have been identified (they are mainly cantatas by Arcadelt), and the music will be played in a room where the music-related details of Caravaggio’s works are shown.

Before the exhibition opens officially to the public, parties of schoolchildren from all over Malta will be hosted there at no charge. This is being co-ordinated by Marie Rose Mifsud, Director

of Studies and International Relations at the Education Department. Invitations have been sent out to all schools, and art students in particular will be able to conduct workshops and also learn about the life of the artists through some assignments that will also broaden their general knowledge. The response has been positive, and many school parties are expected.

A host of musical, drama and dance performers has been invited to perform at the Caraffa Stores during the exhibition period. There will also be an audio-visual room in which documentaries and other films about Caravaggio will be shown. A bar will provide refreshments.

This remarkable exhibition, made more so by its historical context, is truly a demonstration of what can be done with a combination of imagination and will-power. It is a worthy inaugural event for the Caraffa Stores, which had lain in a state of in dilapidation for so long before their restoration.