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Anthony Gatt: Statwa Titulari: Arti u Storja tal-Istatwa ta’ San Filep ta’ Ħaż-Żebbuġ. Knisja Arċipretali, Ħaż-Żebbuġ, 2013. 192 pp.

The crowning pride in village churches and their festas, held prominently in the summer months, focuses primarily on the titular statue carried in procession around the streets of the town or village. Traditions have a way of regenerating themselves and receiving new blood from rivalry from neighbouring parishes, as one can easily see in the seemingly never-ending urge for new street decorations, to say nothing about the inauguration of new objets d’art in the churches themselves.

Żebbuġ can boast a titular statue of St Philip of Agira, that can be regarded as a unique work of art. It is one of the finest examples of 19th-century neo-classical academism in Malta.

Its history is anchored in village people’s sense of pride in their parish church, and their desire to distinguish themselves as patrons of a statue that was unlike any other extant on the island.

The book combines the story of the statue with insights into the town of Żebbuġ

The statue subtly combines artistic importance with a cultic significance that it still enjoys today; and it stands out in more ways than one. It is a large life-size statue of technically sound execution, entirely made out of silver, and in a style that sets it apart from the anachronistic baroque extravaganza of most of the other titular statues.

It is an academic work by Luigi Fontana (1827-1908). The choice of the artist was a daring one for a rural town. This year is the statue’s 150-year anniversary, and it is praiseworthy that it has been commemorated with this finely produced publication.

The book combines the story of the statue with insights into the town of Żebbuġ. It traces the story of the statue from its commission to its arrival and blessing in the Vatican by Pope Pius IX, and then recounts its journey to Malta, its arrival and the celebrations held on the occasion in Żebbuġ on July 29, 1863. The 19th-century socio-economic history of the town, romantically told, is another focus of the book.

The devastating plague of 1813 and its effect on the population of Żebbuġ, and the events that led to the elevation of the church to an Archpresbitery in 1829, and more, are also important features of the book.

A discussion of the academic neo-classical style and its main exponents in Malta vis-à-vis their contemporaries in Rome, places the sculpture in its proper art historical context. This leads to the reader coming to terms with why there was a late introduction of neo-classicism in sculpture as opposed to painting. The author, although not an art historian, tackles all of these subjects and more, and the book makes an interesting read.

Other commissions for the church in the first half of the 19th century are mentioned by the author to highlight the important role private artistic patronage played in Żebbuġ.

As can be expected, the questions addressed relate to why the commission went to a foreign artist rather than being executed locally, to how the money was collected, to the choice of having it in silver, how the choice fell on a sculptor active in Rome, and finally the complexity of the mechanics of the commission that took three to four years to complete.

The commission to Fontana was not straightforward. It nonetheless resulted in the story of a most successful commission that makes Maltese 19th-century art historical studies that much more intriguing, as the ongoing PhD research by Mark Sagona at the University of Malta is strongly showing.

A biography of Fontana does not go amiss, including his career as a painter before and after the 1863 commission for Malta, and an interesting mention to Tommaso Minardi’s invitation to study and work in his studio for free.

The book is accompanied by photographed documents that aid the text, as well as appendices with transcribed documents and an index.

All of the photography that accompanies the text by Joe Borg is in black and white, which adequately captures the silver sculpture of St Philip in its majesty. This is done from every angle imaginable, and with details that are outstanding.

This publication does justice to Żebbuġ and to Fontana, and of course, to the cult of St Philip of Agira himself.