Giovan Francesco Buonamico and St Paul – a Maltese scholar between science, national identity and patriotism

Abstract

It already has been observed in several instances that Maltese scholars of the cinquecento and seicento – even, or rather especially when living or working abroad – showed very strong sentiments towards their home country. Giovanni Myriti for example – who was living for more than thirty years in Germany – explicitly pointed out in his Opusculum Geographicum, published in Ingolstadt (Germany) in 1590, that his ‘patria (…) dulcissima’ is Malta. The same pride hailing from Malta is documented in the publications of Leonardo Abela, Domenico and Carlo Magri and Giovanni Francesco Abela. The Valletta-born medic, botanist, philosopher and poet Giovan Francesco Buonamico is, therefore, no exception in this regard.