The Malta Independent 14 February 2025, Friday
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Cassola publication on Siculo-Maltese collaboration presented to Italian President

Saturday, 8 August 2015, 12:35 Last update: about 11 years ago

The book just published by the Malta University Press, I Maltesi di Trapani (1418-1455), has been presented by the author, Prof. Arnold Cassola, to the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella.

Cassola noted how nearly six centuries ago, Sicily, the birth-place of President Mattarella, offered hospitality to at least over fifty Maltese people. Nearly six centuries ago, these Maltese and their families were welcomed by the local community in Trapani, which distinguished itself for its tolerance and for the acceptance of "otherness" and of this Maltese community coming from the South.

In the flourishing town of Trapani, the Maltese found refuge, comfort, prosperity and wealth and were involved in various business transactions, commercial deals and different types of investments.

President Mattarella observed that over the centuries there has always been a close collaboration between Malta and Italy in different fields, which vary from the social to the cultural, from the political fora to humanitarian  aid.  The book by Cassola is a living example of this closely knit collaboration

Italian Ambassador to Malta Giovanni Umberto De Vito said that today Malta and Italy are often working side by side, within the EU and Mediterranean framework, to ensure that the values of solidarity, peace and prosperity are shared equally amongst all peoples.

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