Maltese artist Victor Agius will be honoured tomorrow with the award Il Giglio di Firenze at a ceremony that will take place in Florence itself.

Representatives of the Florentine authorities will present the award at an event that will highlight the best of Maltese culture, art, tourism and gastronomy.

The event will take place in the Riflessi restaurant of the Hotel Athenaeum in Via Cavour.

As well as Victor Borg, there will be the resident chef of the Phoenix Restaurant at the Hotel Phoenicia in Malta, who will prepare appetisers for the authorities and the media, as well as a lunch and a dinner consisting of typical Maltese cuisine for the authorities and the invited guests.

The event will also see a solidarity initiative created by Florentine entrepreneur Niccolo Ricci – collecting funds to help the San Giovanni Battista Hospital in Rome, recently visited by Pope Benedict, buy medical equipment. The hospital is run by the Order of Malta.