Oscar-winning actor, director and screenwriter Roberto Benigni added more than a dose of comedy to the otherwise formal atmosphere at the Jesuits' Church in Valletta when he accepted the honorary degree of Doctor of Literature, conferred on him by the University of Malta yesterday.

The "neo doctor" - as he proudly described himself later - indulged in his fair share of trademark bear hugs during the solemn event and not even President Eddie Fenech Adami was spared his public display of affection, which Mro Benigni is renowned to embark on in the most daring and unexpected of situations.

Mro Benigni scrambled off the podium, where, in a dig at Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, he had just said he was a refugee in Malta, following the recent elections in Italy, going down on his knees at the President's feet and calling out: "Għinuni, għinuni" (help me, help me).

None of the distinguished guests could keep a straight face in the presence of the slapstick comedian and his comical expressions, which recalled his hilarious roles in Johnny Stecchino and Il Mostro, for example.

Mro Benigni (or doctor) was honoured by the doctorate Honoris Causa, sponsored by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, on whose initiative he was brought over, in recognition of his "indefatigable vibrancy and enduring versatility as film director and actor that has won him broad and deserved international acclaim.

"Benigni has revived with compassion, wit and rigour the ancient art of recitation through his Lecturae Dantis, to which he also brings impeccable scholarship and a critical insight that is as incisive as it is sensitive, and which has resulted in making Dante's La Divina Commedia once more accessible to the public.

"His contribution to Dante scholarship, to the study of literature and to the humanities generally is complemented by a unique exploration of the emotional range possible in cinema," the University said.

Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Gloria Lauri-Lucente, who was instrumental in bringing Mro Benigni to Malta, and was on the receiving end of his affection too, described him in her oration as having "brought to the arts and the humanities a tragicomic genius, which has been uniquely able to communicate the bearable, as well as the unbearable lightness of being, winning us over to the view that la vita è bella (life is beautiful)".

Without a tie and wearing a V-neck under his suit, hanging on a thin frame, Mro Benigni waved frantically, with childlike enthusiasm. During the initial part of the ceremony, he sat uncharacteristically still and calm, building up to the actual conferment of the Honoris Causa, which saw him playing the fool in his typical, humorous manner and acting confused and lost during the dignified procedure.

Behaving as though he was taken aback when he was made to wear the toga, he proceeded to play around with its dangling sleeves, shaking them in the air, and visibly panicked when the cap was placed on his head.

But words cannot describe the comedian's expressions, or his acceptance speech, which broke out in Maltese. Exaggerating his emotions and acting overwhelmed, he told the audience that "qalbi tħabbat ħafna" (my heart is beating fast), calling for a doctor and repeatedly yelling "illallu", the Maltese version of Italian "mamma mia".

The true orator that he is spoke for 20 minutes, almost without a pause for breath, about Dante and his La Divina Commedia. His words hovering between the comic and the serious, they were not short of political and religious innuendos.

His passionate speech, in which he put poets, and Dante in particular, on a pedestal, and said that divinity did not necessarily have to be reached through God, resounded through the church and had him frequently wiping the sweat off his brow.

Mro Benigni said he would be eternally grateful to the Maltese for the unforgettable experience and concluded with a recitation of two of Dante's sonnets for which his tone of voice change drastically, before he walked out of the church to the soundtrack of his Oscar-winning La vita è bella, which saw him pleasantly surprised.

Mro Benigni then progressed to the Italian Cultural Institute where he inaugurated an exhibition of illustrations by the artist Monika Beisner that embellish a unique and luxurious translation into English of La Divina Commedia.

The limited-edition publication in three volumes is by the eminent Dante scholar Robert Hollander and his wife Jean, who are also in Malta, and have worked with Mro Benigni on the dissemination of knowledge about Dante worldwide.

At the preview, Mro Benigni, who prefaced the Hollanders' publication, marvelled at the illustrations, some of which were painted by Ms Beisner in Gozo, saying he wanted to buy a house there.

"If you paint like that in Gozo, it is an island of artists," he said during his third, equally energetic and hilarious 'performance' of the day.

During this "settimana Benignota", he is also treating the University to a serata dantesca on the lines of his successful series of Tutto Dante performances on Italian TV. It is being held at the University's Sir Temi Zammit Hall at 6.30 p.m. today. A maxi-screen at the campus main quadrangle is being set up to project the performance for the public.

The event is a one-off opportunity to witness Mro Benigni interpret and comment on Dante's La Divina Commedia and carry out his recitation by heart of the last canto of the Paradiso.