The Maltese embassy in Washington DC, in collaboration with the EU Delegation to the US, organised a lecture by the Manoel Theatre’s deputy chairman Kenneth Zammit Tabona on Malta’s baroque identity, tying in with the Valletta International Baroque Festival, of which he is artistic director.

The event materialised after cultural meetings between Ambassador Marisa Micallef and EU delegation head Constance Whiteside.

The mood was immediately set by early music expert Tina Chancey and her colleagues, who performed a sonata by Maltese composer Michelangelo Vella (1710-1792).

Mr Zammit Tabona spoke on Malta’s history and culture, focusing especially on the period of the Knights of Malta and how they had come to Malta, survived and thrived and made the island a key player in the cultural scene of 17th- and 18th-century Europe.

Promotional brochures about Malta were available for participants.

The lecture was organised through the EU Delegation’s Conversations in Culture programme, a monthly cultural series designed to highlight the diverse cultures of the 28 EU member states, and formed part of the European Month of Culture.