Prof. Franco Lanza from the Universita` degli Studi della Tuscia at Viterbo and former Head of the Department of Italian at the University of Malta recently presented the University Library with a 17th Century manuscript ëPassionarioí attributed to the Rev. Diego Grima a Cathedral choir chaplain who lived in the period 1674 - 1723.  The 'Passionario', which originally belonged to the late Victor Captur, gives a dramatic representation of the Gospel narrative of the passion and death of Christ, and is basically a late rendering of a long-standing literary tradition going back to medieval antiquity.  From a philological point of view then Grima 'Passionario' is particularly interesting in the contrasts between the polished Tuscan Italian as spoken by the leading characters of the narrative, and the dialect rendering of lower class Apostles, the crowd and the Holy Women.  The presentation by Prof. Lanza took place at a special ceremony presided by University Rector Prof. Roger Ellul Micallef, in the presence of Mr A. Mangion Director Library Services, ex-University Librarian Dr P. Xuereb, and Prof. J. Brincat and Dr G. Pace Asciak from the University's Department of Italian.