On 29 May 1592 Bishop Gargallo proclaimed that the limits of the then Bir Miftuh parish should be divided into a number of new parishes. One of these was the parish of Tarxien under the patronage of the Annunciation of Our Lady. This year is therefore the 420th birthday of the Tarxien Parish. To mark this special year the parish community will be donating a work of art to enrich their temple further. A set of four silver vases crowned with flower arrangements in the traditional ganutell medium will be adorning the main altar for the first time during the festa days.

The design of the vases was meticulously developed by sculptor Renzo Gauci, a household name among parishioners. He went through great trouble to create a design which complements the baroque-style candlesticks, which adorn the main altar during the festa days. Besides, he also sculpted the wooden prototype on which the silversmith cast the final product using the traditional methods. To make sure that no detail of the original was ignored, Renzo supervised the whole process. Laga silversmiths co-operated fully with the originator to ensure a finely finished product, which highlights the talents of our craftsmen.

The art of ganutell flowers has lately been revived. Young Joshua Mercieca, another villager, has studied the medium for some years and volunteered to manufacture the arrangements. With constant support, both moral and physical, from his mother and father and through consultation with Renzo, Joshua managed to set up a set of arrangements perfect in size and shape and in a harmony of colours that in no way disturbs the general outlook of the main altar. He toiled for long hours to ensure that every petal manifests detailed workmanship and each flower is fully proportioned.

Both Renzo and Joshua offered their services gratis et amoris. This reduced costs considerably but both the ganutell raw materials and the silver work totalled a substantial sum. The parishioners who, in their usual manner, welcomed the whole project and supported it fully balanced the account. Thanks to their generosity a dream could be changed into a reality.

The finished work of art was inaugurated last Thursday, 10 May, the day on which the nine days of preparation for the village feast start. During the days that follow, the vases and arrangements will be on show and on the days of the festa they will be adorning the main altar, the place for which they were created.