‘Twas a great year for Maltese literature, with the island having recently celebrated the highest volume of books published in one year. This might then perhaps elicit a discussion on the services these books have rendered to our society.
Why these books, why now? Prof. Arnold Cassola from the Department of Maltese, who has recently walked away with the prize for Best General Research in the latest National Book Ceremony, told Newspoint that all the lively research activity that took place for these books to materialise is both a sign of satisfying curiosities and of wanting to capture and relive an identity that is changing fast, before our own eyes.
His book ‘The Joannes Gennadius Maltese treasure trove in Athens’ was a ‘research love’ emotion bug that had hit him strongly in March of 2017 when he found himself inside the Gennadius Library in Athens.
The library is named after young Joannes Gennadius, a Greek boy who spent two years at the Protestant College in St Julian’s before turning into a diplomat. He spent his life collecting treasures from all the places he visited, including Malta.
These included a series of black and white photographs, prints and watercolours of 16th and 19th century Malta, that Prof. Cassola stumbled upon while browsing the library. Views of Bighi from Ricasoli, the Floriana Wignacourt tower, Fort St Angelo, the procession held on the feast of St Paul, Lazzaretto at Manoel Island, Villa Rosa and the Mosta Church Rotunda – all of these riches and more can still be appreciated thanks to this piece of award-winning work.
Thinking that such Melitensia material should not be confined to a library abroad, Prof. Cassola put his research hat on, and set on a journey to bring back the mementos of disappearing Malta to the general public.
How long was this book in the works before it was published?
I discovered the photos, prints and watercolours at the Gennadius Library in March 2017, and the book was published in December 2019, which means that all research and work on the book took around 33 months. It was a relatively short period but the discovery was too exciting to delay publication any longer.
When did you first come about this treasure trove, and how did you decide to document it?
My instinct told me this was invaluable stuff, documented photos and drawings of a disappearing Malta, our homeland 150 years ago and more. Such testimony of our Maltese identity could not be left buried in Gennadius’ scrapbooks, locked up in a library in Athens.
Who else contributed to the book?
I, of course, have the merit of discovering the documents. But since I am no expert, either on photography, paintings or prints, I contacted foremost experts in the respective fields: Judge Giovanni Bonello, who wrote the chapter on the 46 photos, Dr Theresa Vella, who took care of the chapter on the 11 water colours, and Prof. William Zammit, who handled the chapter on the prints and publications of Maltese interest. I wrote the chapter on the discovery and … together we gave life to the Book of the year 2020 in its category.
Why should we do more to capture disappearing Malta – is it for the sake of preservation only?
Apart from being part of our collective memory, I believe such images should serve to prick our conscience and to make us blush and feel shame at the way we are destroying the beauty of our country day by day in the name of greed and an insatiable lust for money.
How did you react to winning the prize?
We were all elated. But, without the foresight of Prof. Henry Frendo, former chairman of the Malta University Press, who understood the importance of the project (despite the expenses involved to reproduce the materials professionally) and the wonderful production personally undertaken by Joseph Mizzi of Midsea Books, we would not have gotten there. And, one must not forget Charles P. Azzopardi, who gave the book the photographer’s magic touch.
In a broader way, what does it mean for such research undertaken at University to be recognised at international level?
Well, it proves that a university is a living hub of creativity, curiosity and lively research activity … the way it should be. Naturally, COVID-19 permitting.
What’s next for Prof. Arnold Cassola?
My “next” was last month, with the publication of my latest book ‘Maltese Migration in Tunisian Coastal Towns – Sousse, Monastir, Mahdia, Sfax, Derba, Moknine’ by Morrone Editore, of Siracusa. My present ‘next’ is further research into Maltese migration in Siciliy and North Africa in the course of earlier centuries. Fingers crossed for COVID-19 to be defeated, thus enabling me to travel and continue trying to satisfy my curiosity for further Maltese connections abroad.
Disclaimer: Opinions and thoughts expressed within this article do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Malta.