Among the glories of its publications, PIN can list this series of highly-coloured books about practically all parishes in Malta and Gozo, showing, maybe for the first time, the many treasures that are jealously guarded by the Maltese churches, and maybe shown in public only on the annual feast day.
This volume focuses on Vittoriosa (Birgu) and Senglea (l-Isla) while Cospicua (Bormla) with its immense richness of silver was covered in Volume 2 of the series (and Valletta was the subject of no less than three volumes in the series).
The Cottonera churches, together with the churches in Valletta and many old villages highlight the exuberance of mostly Maltese artisanship in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
It is a pity that these churches had to suffer so much in World War II especially the basilica of Senglea and the Dominican church in Vittoriosa. As the book itself hints, not all post-war reconstruction may have been the best that could have been done.
Vittoriosa was of course the seafront town which the Knights of St John made their capital when they came to Malta in 1530 and they even kicked everyone out of the church of St Lawrence which they made their own conventual church (and they almost burned the church down when an unguarded Easter candle set fire just a few months of the arrival of the Knights).
Vittoriosa then suffered terribly in the Great Siege but emerged, as its name implies, victorious.
Senglea was mostly built after the Great Siege, hence its straight streets, rather like Valletta. It was in the 1920s however that Senglea became, one might say, the real capital of Malta where its Carnival was the best in Malta. It was to suffer most during the War due to the proximity of the Dockyards and the terrible pounding of German bombs that reduced its main street to a pile of rubble.
Even today, depleted as they have been in their populations after the war, the three cities preserve much of the élan and air of superiority that emanate from their three collegiate churches.
Although, as said, some of the churches have been badly hit by the war, their devoted followers succeeded in spiriting away most of their treasures, including their titular statues. The return of the Cospicua Kuncizzjoni from its place of safety in Birkirkara back to its town after the war was a tremendously uplifting experience after so much suffering.
Maybe things improved in the later volumes but the quality of the photos in the book sometimes could have been better although many times the only day when a photo could be taken of some treasures would be on the feast day with all its attendant confusion and press of people.
One could also wish for a fuller description of the paintings rather than just a short note saying this was painted by X and that by Y.
In the case of the Vittoriosa collegiate I, for one, missed the many treasures brought over by the Knights from Rhodes in 1530 and the Great Siege mementos including De Valette’s hat and sword kept in the Oratory of St Joseph. Indeed, there is no mention at all of this chapel.
As regards Senglea I liked re-reading the story how a galleon-head from a Christian galleon sunk near modern day Croatia was rescued by an Austrian galleon and brought to their next port of call which happened to be Malta where the statue became the highly decorated Bambina that is taken around the streets on 8 September.
The book has an English translation of all the information so that it can make for a present for friends and relatives abroad.