The summer issue of Treasures of Malta is out. A bumper issue full of fascinating articles. But here I am going to take a look at the Easter issue and share with you what is in it. Incidentally another bumper issue.

At Patrimonju they never stand still. When you consider the number of activities and publications that come shooting out of those offices you would think there is a whole army of people at St Paul's Street. There isn't but it is the quality of the people  which makes all the difference.

In his editor's letter, CEO Michael Lowell promises us that a book "on the tercentenary of the foundation of Floriana (1724-2024) is being formally celebrated this year. Homages to the spirit of the place includes a valuable volume of wide-ranging essays entitled Floriana and Il-Furjaniżi. This voluminous work collectively records the history and social dimension of this suburb." You can find Carla Floriani Compagnioni, a descendent of Pietro Paolo Floriani on Facebook. In 2004 she was on the cover of First magazine which I then edited. It is an interview by Irene Canovari and sheds some light on this intriguing personality. The family archives are there in Macerata, being taken care of by Carla and her family.

There are names which I find attractive. One of them belongs to a friend of one of my daughters, a Mauritian. Her lovely name is Melusine de Chazal. Such a melodious name. Her relative was Malcolm de  Chazal a distinguished artist and poet.

Another name which has always fascinated me is  Prosper Mérimée (1803-1870). I had no idea that he had visited Malta on two occasions. Professor Carmen Depasquale writes about these visits. She has  researched "through a series of journal notes, reports and correspondence." I found this to be a fascinating read. Sometimes witty but always erudite. Not only did Mérimée and his travelling companions have so many interests but also so much knowledge. They took their travels seriously  and enjoyed their discoveries.

Prosper gave the following tips to two of his friends: "In Malta you can stay at the Clarence Hotel"  which according to the author's notes was "situated at 249 Strada Reale, today Regency House". And  if you do not have the time to conquer the daughter of the house, ask the waiter to show you some fleas; they deserve to be seen as they are Phoenician and speak Arabic or almost.

You can go to Krendi (sic) and come back in five hours, spending one hour amid equally Phoenician temples. At the Clarence Hotel they will procure a carriage for you. If you stay longer in Malta, you can go to Gozo to see Ġigantija (sic), three days coming and going, stay included. At Cesta Vecchia (the author tells us that "in all probability Mérimée means Città Vecchia, as Mdina was known at the time." See the very curious catacombs - 4 hours. There is  nothing worth seeing in Valletta itself, except for the Beheading of St John by Caravaggio in a chapel of the cathedral  and the fleas for the evening..."

Don't you just love that?

So many learned people on this small island. The article which follows is by a family doctor with a keen interest in the history of Maltese archaeology, Dr Anton Bugeja. His article is entitled The Earliest Known Set of Photographs of Ħaġar Qim.

It fascinates me how those with strong interests in a subject go to any lengths and use any legitimate means to research the subject. In this article, what stood out, was the interest of a certain Thomas Phillips in Ħaġar Qim. To quote the author: "Overlooked until today is the fact that around seven years earlier, on 1 April, 1861, a complete set of about twenty-three photographic views of Ħaġar Qim had already left Malta by the Delta Steamer to reach its intended destination in Middle Hill Broadway in Worcestershire, England. Two persons and an as yet unknown photographer were behind these photographs. Commissioning the photographs for a total of £5 - 2 - 7, was Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872), an antiquarian from Manchester, who is known to have assembled one of the largest manuscript collections in nineteenth-century England...

Working for Phillipps in Malta was Captain George Morgan (1833-1893). .. Seven dated watercolours  related to Malta by George Morgan show that he was in the islands between 1860 and 1861 where his second child was born... living at Strada Torre, in Sliema, in 1861...

The full details of why Phillipps sought photographs of Ħaġar Qim remain unknown. Yet by the end of 1860, Phillipps believed that there were similarities between the Maltese megalithic remains and Stonehenge - an opinion shared at the time by others such as the English writer William Tallack and Charles Newton, keeper of antiquities at the British Museum.  For Phillipps, the enterprising Phoenicians were the obvious link. In contributions to The Cambrian Journal he communicated his belief that this seafaring people who according to him had reached India and beyond, left evidence of their western voyages through various remains in Malta, Carnac in France and Stonehenge in England. .."

Although I have no interest in archaeology I found this article very interesting, as you will, too, I am certain. A solid piece of research if ever there was one.

I will leave it at that and go on making notes for you next week.

 

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