Ford executives view restored Verdala paintings

Senior executives from Ford of Europe, along with importers in the European direct markets region, were shown the recent restoration on the vault paintings at Verdala Castle on October 7.

President Eddie Fenech Adami and Mrs Fenech Adami invited the executives, who were in Malta for a regional conference, along with the directors and senior management of the Gasan Group, which partly sponsored this restoration.

Joseph Gasan, chairman of the Gasan Group, thanked Dr Fenech Adami for the invitation, which coincided with the 80th anniversary of Gasan's representation of Ford in Malta.

The President said it was a pleasure to host Gasan's guests on this auspicious anniversary. "During my youth, Ford was the household name if one wanted to buy a car," he said. "It had to be a Ford or an Anglia, but Ford was the dominant car brand in Malta and Joe Gasan (senior) was very well known in Malta."

Dr Fenech Adami went on to give a brief history of Verdala Castle, its use and the previous 'residents', pointing to Lady Bonham Carter, the Governor of Malta's wife, for deciding to whitewash the ceiling in the mid-1930s. It had remained so until two years ago and it was thanks to the sponsorship of the Gasan Group, along with the MFSA, the Tumas Group and the Polidano Group, that the restoration was carried out.

Mr Gasan then presented a copy of a book, The Politics of Art, by Mark Anthony Micallef, to Dr Fenech Adami in the presence of the author. The book is partly sponsored by the Gasan Group to commemorate 80 years of business enterprise in Malta. Dr Micallef said: "Art was used by the political class and the ruler to convey a political message.

"I call both Valletta and Malta the embryo of the EU. Apart from forming part of the vast Hapsburg inheritance, which was the greatest empire since the Roman empire, it safeguarded the two essential characteristics of Europe: it was Roman and Christian."

On behalf of the Ford executives, Peter Fleet, regional director, European Sales Operations for Ford of Europe, thanked the President for the invitation.