Ta’ Braxia protestant cemetery 1857-1900 : a case study in funerary art & architecture

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation is that it will serve as a reference point in Malta’s cultural and artistic sector by highlighting the influences of funerary art, the development of style, cemetery planning and symbolism in Ta’ Braxia Protestant cemetery. Funerary art in nineteenth century Malta deserves study for it represents the change in sensibility that led to a new consciousness towards death, depicted not only in the new design of the urban cemetery, its architecture and landscape, but also in the ephemera related to death, dying and the funerary monuments. Ta’ Braxia brought many innovations to the island which represent a break from its past; these include social sanitation and urban reforms as well as new artistic sensibilities. It established nineteenth century laws, society, sanitations, customs and architecture for Malta’s first urban cemetery. Ta’ Braxia helped to implement the then contemporary consciousness towards death and burial that would eventually led the island to modernism. However, these changes were not willingly embraced by the local Catholic Church and what makes Ta’ Braxia cemetery more unique is that it broke new ground and that happened during the Protestant - Catholic tensions. Cemeteries are often considered to be places of a disturbing nature but their funerary art provides fascinating information which mirrors social preoccupations on how death was understood and how the deceased ought to be commemorated. Although Ta’ Braxia has been neglected over time, it remains to this day an oasis of rest and contemplation. Ta’ Braxia gives a clear understanding of funerary art and architecture in the late nineteenth century, its approach to death and the importance of the century’s visual and architectural qualities. In its own right, funerary art certainly serves to highlight this transient artistic relationship with the deceased and the beyond.