Book review : Lines of defence : Fortification drawings of the Baroque Age at the National Library of Malta

Abstract

In 2015, the International Institute for Baroque Studies in collaboration with Malta Libraries published its magnum opus ‘Lines of Defence: Fortification Drawings of the Baroque Age at the National Library of Malta’. This work is edited by three academics of the Institute, namely Denis De Lucca (Director), Stephen Spiteri (a leading scholar in the field of historical research focused on fortress building) and Hermann Bonnici (an architect whose specialisation is the conservation/restoration of Malta’s fortifications). Albeit the publication’s main forward was penned by Juanito Camilleri (Rector of the University of Malta at the time of publication), one also finds an informal one by Oliver Mamo (the National Librarian and CEO of Malta Libraries at the time of publication) followed by a general introduction to the collection of drawings housed at the National Library of Malta (NLM) by Maroma Camilleri (Senior Librarian at the NLM).