Contemporary art, the 18th century Grand Tour of Malta and Sicily and the Mediterranean culture of bread, oil and wine now have one thing in common – each one is the theme of a European project that Heritage Malta is carrying out with the help of European partners and with funding from the European Union.

Thanks to the international dimension of such projects, Heritage Malta has the opportunity to promote aspects of Malta’s rich culture at an international level, increasing awareness of the island’s unique heritage and its potential as a destination for tourists and academics alike.

The recently concluded Isole ed Identita in Movimento (IsIdeM) project was an Interreg IIIA Italia-Malta initiative, aimed at enhancing cultural heritage through the medium of contemporary art, with the participation of established and emerging artists from both Sicily and Malta. The project’s activities, which included contemporary art workshops, exhibitions and research, culminated in a Heritage Malta-led half-day seminar held on 28 June in Valletta. With the participation of internationally-renowned curator Salvatore Lacagnina, Director of the Galleria Civica Montevergini in Syracuse, Sicily, the seminar officially presented the results of the project to the public, preparing the groundwork for further discussions on the future of contemporary art in Malta.

Also thanks to Interreg IIIA funding, the Voyage & Voir: Travellers of the Grand Tour project enabled the rediscovery of the 18th century “Grand Tour” routes that highlight the common natural, historical and cultural heritage shared by Malta and Sicily. Through the project, Heritage Malta aims to trigger new specialised cultural tourism circuits inspired by the “Grand Tour”. On 15 June, during a full-day seminar organised by Heritage Malta in its Conservation Division premises in Bighi, Kalkara, several research papers on the historical links between Malta and Sicily were presented with contributions by Albert Ganado, Lorenzo Guzzardi and many other researchers of note from both Malta and Sicily. On the eve of the same day, an exhibition with a rich range of exhibits from this period was opened at the Malta Maritime Museum. The exhibition is open to the public until the end of September and admission is free.

Another EU-funded activity, this time at the Ta’ Kola windmill in Gozo, was opened on 27 July by Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono. This activity consisted of the setting up of a temporary display illustrating various aspects of the traditional production of bread and its role in Maltese history. This will eventually form the basis of a permanent display on this subject that will help to enhance the visitor’s experience at this historic site.

This activity is only one of the various activities of the TRIMED project, a Culture 2000-funded initiative that focuses on the culture of bread, oil and wine: the basis of the Mediterranean subsistence economy up to the mid-20th century.

With partners from Spain, Sicily, France, Greece and Cyprus, the project seeks to safeguard, interpret and promote the common cultural heritage derived from the cultivation, manufacture and consumption of the Mediterranean trilogy products. The temporary display at Ta’ Kola windmill is open to the public until 31 December.