Italy honours Maltese scholar

Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi has bestowed the decoration of Cavaliere of the Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana to Joseph Eynaud in recognition of his dedication to the Italian language in Malta for over 20 years.

The president's honorific award was conferred on Prof. Eynaud by the Italian ambassador to Malta Alvise Memmo.

Professor of modern and contemporary Italian literature, former head of the department of Italian at the University of Malta and responsible for the courses in methodology and didactics of Italian, Prof. Eynaud is also one of the major collaborators of the Italian Cultural Institute.

His many books and essays, including Il Teatro Italiano a Malta, Raccontiamo all'Italiana and the recent Ciak, si legge are renowned in Italy.

Prof. Eynaud is often invited by Italian universities to hold conferences and conduct specialised courses on the methods of teaching Italian to foreigners.

In recognition of his capabilities, he was elected president of the International Association of Professors of Italian during its last meeting in Bruncio.