Design proposals for the monument to Oliver Friggieri, Malta’s Eminescu

Abstract

Design proposals for a monument to the widely respected literary writer and scholar of Maltese literature and language Oliver Friggieri were submitted following an announcement made by the Government of Malta through its national agency, Heritage Malta. Friggieri was a much-respected and loved personality in contemporary Malta – so much so that the day of his funeral was declared a national day of mourning. This article reviews the design brief, the submissions and the winning entry. It specifically addresses the philosophy and the design of two proposals by the author and his design team, one for the capital city of Malta, Valletta, and the other for his native town outside the capital, Floriana. The latter entry was short-listed but did not make it to the final. A maquette of this submission was donated to the Melitensia collection of the Library of the University of Malta. It is held in the reading room of the Melitensia Section which, a year earlier, was named in honour of the late scholar. This section holds works about all aspects of Maltese language, literature, history and culture.