 |
Mario Buhagiar (born 1945) is an author, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA) and member of the National Order of Merit (MOM). He is professor in history of art at the University of Malta and was for 25 years head of the History of Art Department, which he founded.
He introduced history of art as an academic discipline at the University of Malta in 1988 and saw it grow into a fully fledged department which he directed for several years producing in the process a cohort of art historians who now occupy the key posts of Malta's heritage and cultural institutions.
On the attainment of his first degree from the University of London, he was first attached to the Maltese National Museums Department where, with the support of the Council for Cultural Cooperation of the Council of Europe, he pioneered the drawing up of a Protective Inventory of the Maltese Cultural Heritage. He also served as president and vice-president of the Malta Historical Society. [1]
In 1968 he was founder with George Serracino-Inglott of the Youth Section of Din L-Art Helwa and was responsible for the discovery of and initial rehabilitation programme of the Late Medieval Church of the Annunciation at Hal Millieri. He is also past president of the Malta Historical Society.
Prof. Buhagiar is the author of specialised books and studies on art and archaeology, and he has read papers on art historical and related topics in various international seminars and been guest lecturer in several universities and Fine Arts Institutions in Europe. His areas of specialisation are Maltese Early Christian Art and Archaeology, Medieval Art and Antiquaries, and the Art and Architecture of the Knights of St John. His art historical and archaeological studies have established the European context for Maltese art history and medieval archaeology and has provided scholars with the essential framework for the future development of research on the subject.
He is together with Dr Charlene Vella studying Renaissance paintings in Malta and finding funds together in order to conserve and restore these paintings. They started by studying a painting of the Madonna adoring the Child in Zejtun attributed to Antonio de Saliba in 2011 [2] and proceeded with two paintings by Antonio de Saliba dated to 1510–15 in the Franciscan Observant church of Santa Maria de Gesù in Rabat, Malta, portraying the Madonna and Child with Angels and the Deposition from the Cross between 2013 and 2014. They are currently undertaking a similar study on Salvo d'Antonio's 1510 predella from the Mdina Cathedral Museum collection.
with G. Serracino Inglott, The Annunciation Siculo-Norman Church Hal Millieri, Zurrieq (typescript). Malta, 1968 [reserved]. ' 'St Catherine of Alexandria: Her Churches, Paintings and Statues in the Maltese Islands. Malta, 1979.
Marian Art During the 17th and 18th Centuries, ed. M. Buhagiar (Malta, 1983). [‘Editorial Preface’, ‘Late Medieval Marian Art in Malta’, ‘The Ex-Voto as a Reflection of Folklore and Social History –Marian Votive Paintings in Malta in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries’, Catalogue Entries].
Late Roman and Byzantine Catacombs and Related Burial Places in the Maltese Islands. Oxford,1986.
The Iconography of the Maltese Islands 1400–1900: Painting. Malta, 1988.
Birgu. A Maltese Maritime City (2 vols), Mario Buhagiar, Lino Bugeja, Stanley Fiorini (eds). Malta, 1993. [“Editorial Preface”, “The Artistic Heritage]. with S. Fiorini, Mdina the Cathedral City of Malta. A reconsideration of its history and a critical appreciation of its architecture and works of art (2 vols). Malta, 1996.
Essays on the Knights and Art and Architecture in Malta 1500–1798. Malta, 2009.
The Late Medieval Art and Architecture of the Maltese Islands. Malta, 2005.
The Christianisation of Malta. Catacombs, Cult Centres and Churches in Malta to 1530. Oxford, 2007.
Antonio Buhagiar 1906–1998. Portrait of a Neglected Artist. Malta, 2008.
Essays on the Archaeology and Ancient History of The Maltese Islands: Bronze Age to Byzantine. Malta, 2014.
The Brush of the Evangelist: and Other Essays on Art in Malta [in preparation].
The Christianisation of Malta: Revisiting the Textual and Art Historical Evidence [in preparation].
In 2009 Mario Buhagiar was elected fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London for his work in pioneering the study of Art History in Malta and for his significant contributions to early Christian, Byzantine and medieval art and archaeology. He is the second member of the academic staff of the University of Malta to receive the Fellowship of the Society, the other being Prof. Anthony Bonanno who was elected in 2002. On Republic Day 2012, he was elected as a member of the National Order of Merit by the then president, Dr George Abela.
A book of essays edited by Dr Charlene Vella by 39 academics is to be presented to Prof. Buhagiar on his 72nd birthday in 2017. At Home in Art: essays in honour of Mario Buhagiar published by Midsea Books contains contributions by Vincenzo Abbate, Joan Abela, John Azzopardi, Michele Bacci, Francesca Balzan, Alain Blondy, Anthony Bonanno, Giovanni Bonello, Anne Brogini, Keith Buhagiar, Martina Caruana, Donal Cooper, Roberta Cruciata, Maria Concetta Di Natale, Richard England, Mark-Anthony Falzon, Joe Friggieri, Anna Galea, John Gash, Carol Jaccarini, Helen Langdon, Anthony Luttrell, Roderick O’Donnell, Lawrence Pavia, Richard Reece, Mark Sagona, Dany Sandron, Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci, Keith Sciberras, Carmel Spiteri, Anne Swartz, Conrad Thake, Paulo Varela Gomes, Peter Vassallo, Charlene Vella, Roger Vella Bonavita, Maurizio Vitella, Antoine Zammit and Theresa Zammit Lupi.
Żejtun is a city in the South Eastern Region of Malta, with a population of 11,218 in the end of 2016. Żejtun is traditionally known as Città Beland, a title conferred by the grandmaster of the Order of the Knights of Malta, Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim in 1797. Before that, the village was known as Casale Santa Caterina, named after its patron saint and parish titular.
Islam in Malta has had a historically profound influence upon the country—especially its language and agriculture—as a consequence of several centuries of control and presence on the islands. Today, the main Muslim organizations represented in Malta are the Libyan World Islamic Call Society.
Peter Serracino Inglott was a Priest, Philosopher, Scholar and Rector of the University of Malta from 1987 to 1988, then consecutively from 1991 to 1996. He was awarded the title of Emeritus Professor of philosophy at the University of Malta. He was a key figure at reconstructing the Maltese education system and held academia to his personal life prominently. He was also politically affiliated with the country's Nationalist Party, serving as advisor to former Prime Minister of Malta, Eddie Fenech Adami.
Norbert Francis Attard is a Maltese multi-disciplinary artist, art collector, gallerist and entrepreneur known for his varied approaches to artistic projects, multi-media works, installations and anthropological-based projects.
San Pawl Milqi is the ruin of a Roman-period agricultural villa and a pagan temple, the most extensive to have ever been unearthed in Malta. A christian church was built on site based on the pseudo-history and religious doctrine that the site has biblical connections. On site of a present chapel was a temple dedicated to the Greek God Apollo and a Roman villa. According to religious tradition the villa is where St. Publius, the governor and first bishop of Malta, welcomed St. Paul after his shipwreck.
Philosophy in Malta refers to the philosophy of Maltese nationals or those of Maltese descent, whether living in Malta or abroad, whether writing in their native Maltese language or in a foreign language. Though Malta is not more than a tiny European island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, for the last six centuries its very small population happened to come in close contact with some of Europe's main political, academic and intellectual movements. Philosophy was among the interests fostered by its academics and intellectuals.
Although Malta is a small island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea with a small population, it is nonetheless rich in its history and its culture. When in the 1950s, in nearby Italy the San Remo Festival, and later in Switzerland, the Eurovision Song Contest came into existence, Malta soon followed suit by organizing its own National Song Festival.
There are hundreds of catacombs in Malta, principally found in Mdina, the former capital of the island. The catacombs are very small, but are in good preservation.
Greeks have a long presence in Malta, which may lead back to ancient times. The archipelago was intensely Hellenized beginning in the 3rd century BC, a process which intertwined with the Christianization of Malta after the 1st century AD. The Byzantine presence was overturned by the Arab conquest of 870, and the surviving Greek community was Islamified. Maltese Christianity of the Byzantine Rite was only preserved in some parts of the country, being especially important in Gozo. These groups formed the basis for a local branch of the Orthodox Church, revived following Norman conquest in the 1120s. Although marginalized by Catholicism, which became the dominant faith, a Greek-speaking Orthodox community survived into the 15th century.
Antonio de Saliba, or Antonello de Saliba or Resaliba, (c.1466-c.1535) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period, mainly active in Sicily and Calabria.
The Torre dello Standardo is a tower in Mdina, Malta, forming part of the city's fortifications. It was built by the Order of St. John between 1725 and 1726, on the site of an earlier tower, and its purpose was to communicate signals between Mdina and the rest of Malta. Today, the tower is in good condition, and it serves as a tourist information centre and for occasional cultural events.
Palazzo Falson, formerly known as Palazzo Cumbo-Navarra, Casa dei Castelletti, and the Norman House, is a medieval townhouse in Mdina, Malta. It was purposely built as a family residence by the Maltese nobility, and it is named after the Falson family. It is presently open to the public as a house-museum with seventeen rooms of historic domestic belongings and a number of antique collections.
Melite or Melita was an ancient city located on the site of present-day Mdina and Rabat, Malta. It started out as a Bronze Age settlement, which developed into a city called Maleth under the Phoenicians, and became the administrative centre of the island. The city fell to the Roman Republic in 218 BC, and it remained part of the Roman and later the Byzantine Empire until 870 AD, when it was captured and destroyed by the Aghlabids. The city was then rebuilt and renamed Medina, giving rise to the present name Mdina. It remained Malta's capital city until 1530.
Giuseppe Bonavia was a Maltese draughtsman and architect who was mainly active in the second half of the 19th century. Born in Valletta, he was initially a clerk of works with the Royal Engineers, before becoming the Head of the Civil Service Works Department.
St. Catherine's Old Church, also known as St. Gregory's Church, is a Roman Catholic church in Żejtun. The church and its complex sit towards the outskirts of the town, commanding views over Marsascala Bay, St. Thomas' Bay and Marsaxlokk harbour. The church is colloquially known as Saint Gregory's due to a traditional procession held on the first Wednesday following Easter Sunday. Its dedication to Catherine of Alexandria dates back to an original chapel on this site, which was one of the eight mother churches on Malta. The church stands next to the three cemeteries of Żejtun, dedicated to St. Rocco, St. Gregory and St. Catherine. The church's functions as the parish church of Żejtun were taken over by a new parish church, also dedicated to St. Catherine, and designed by Lorenzo Gafà.
The Malta Historical Society is a society devoted to the history of Malta. It was founded in 1950 after a public appeal by professor Arturo Bonnici in Lehen is-Sewwa, the Catholic Action newspaper. Bonnici was subsequently elected the first president. Other past presidents include Seraphim Zarb, Vincent Borg, Godfrey Wettinger, Albert Ganado, Stanley Fiorini, Mario Buhagiar, Giovanni Bonello, Roger Ellul Micallef and Theresa Vella.
The Mdina Cathedral Museum is a religious art museum located inside the mediaeval walled city of Mdina, Malta. The museum is housed within a Baroque building, that was built as a Jesuit seminary. It can be found on the right-hand side of the St. Paul's Cathedral, in Archbishop's Square. The museum's collection includes an eclectic secular and ecclesiastical repertoire. The museum also holds various artwork and archaeology remains, including important artwork by Mattia Preti. The museum also owns the most important collection of Italian Baroque music that has been preserved south of Naples.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
