The ceiling decoration and its protagonists

Abstract

The artistic importance of Nadur parish church also results from the coherency of the painterly and ornamental decoration which graces its ornate ceiling (fig. 4.1). The paintings come from the hand and mind of the already-mentioned Lazzaro Pisani, when he was at the peak of his artistic maturity. The decorative and ornamental scheme in which Pisani’s scheme resides brings together the talent of three important designers and decorators: Francesco Saverio Sciortino, the architect of the church’s remodelling, Paolo Falzon (1885-1971), a little-known but brilliant decorator who extraordinarily transformed Sciortino’s designs into tangible reality, and the Roman sculptor, decorator and cesellatore Pio Cellini (1863-1930), at the time active in Malta. The decoration of the Nadur ceiling is divided into three: the decoration which is applied to the architectural design; the painted decoration; and the stained glass windows. Its success derives from the balance and harmony attained from an intelligent and talented amalgamation of these three elements. [Excerpt]