St Paul's shipwreck in Malta 1,950 years ago played an important part in shaping national identity, and an exhibition running at Auberge de Castille, in Valletta, details the story.

Commissioned by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and curated by Anthony Pace and Fr Ġwann Azzopardi, the exhibition highlights the various "layers" of St Paul's relationship with Malta's identity.

"Some exhibits are quite obvious, others might be a bit more subtle but they're there. That is what's important," Mr Pace explains.

The exhibition starts off in biblical fashion: a late mediaeval copy of the New Testament in Byzantine Greek is open on the pages where St Paul is shipwrecked on Malta. Just beneath it sit two doubly historical pages - an account of St Paul's shipwreck in the first Maltese Bible translation by Mgr Pietru Pawl Saydon - with corrections and all.

"We started off the exhibition in this way because everything stems from the word," Mr Pace says, echoing the initial passage from the Gospel of John.

Behind these pages stands a marble statue of the apostle. It was not chosen particularly for its beauty, the curator explains, but because acanthus ornamentation on the back of it proves it was once part of a pagan building. Conversion set in stone, if you will.

A 16th century map of St Paul's pilgrimages shows Malta and a sketch of a ship sinking next to the island, affirming the saint's connection to the island, rather than Mljet, in the Adriatic Sea.

Also on display is an AD 400 ivory engraving of St Paul's shipwreck on Malta, being exhibited for the fifth time outside of its home in the Bargello Museum in Florence.

Other items include Mattia Preti and Antoine de Favray paintings, Byzantine icons, stone engravings by Michelangelo's nephew and giant shark teeth, known as Ilsien San Pawl.

The exhibition is open daily between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. until April 19 at the Ambassadors' Hall, Auberge de Castille, Castille Place, Valletta. Entrance is free.