The Holy Trinity with saints Cosmas and Damian, attributed to Filippo Paladini. Because of its Venetian idiom and bold palette it is considered as one of Malta’s best baroque paintings.

With the gradual re-Christianisation of the Maltese islands in the 12th and 13th centuries, it was once again a temple-based religion that gave the first impetus to Vittoriosa’s artistic and architectural heritage. This may be witnessed in the religious medieval paintings and architectural innovations of maritime city, particularly in the Castrum Maris (Fort St Angelo), which was enhanced by rich liturgical objets d’art, as securely documented in the famous 1274 inventory kept in Naples’ Archivio di Stato.

It is also recorded that Malta’s musical history saw its origins in Vittoriosa. This goes back to the early 13th century when the Provençal troubadour Peire Vidal was in the Castrum Maris in 1204-5 to sing the praises of Count Enrico Pescatore, a Genoese overlord.

This activity is brilliantly described by Prof. Joseph Brincat in Melita Historica (Vol VII, No.1, 1976) in an article entitled Le Poesie ‘Maltesi’ di Peire Vidal (1204-5), where many of Vidal’s poems on the beauty of Grand Harbour and Pescatore’s heroic acts are listed. These auspicious poems strengthen the view that even in this genre of culture, Vittoriosa was never cut off from the European cultural mainstream.

Besides the antiphonaries in Aquitain notation in Fort St Angelo’s liturgical inventory, the poems also suggest that the city had an element of musical sophistication. On Prof. Brincat’s initiative, to mark the 800th anniversary in 2005, a group of present-day French troubadours visited Malta and gave magical performances in the parish of St Lawrence and Fort St Angelo.

The Flight into Egypt, attributed to the great Bolognese artist Domenico Zampieri, known as Il Domenichino (1581-1641) at the Chapel of St Joseph.

The city of Birgu (il borgo del castello), protected by the lofty citadel of Castrum Maris from the harbour side and on the land front by a line of fortifications of Renaissance and Baroque inspiration, was bestowed the title Città Vittoriosa after the epic siege of 1565. It was a safe haven for galleys hailing from the rich maritime states of Venice, Genoa, Pisa and Catalunya, giving a cosmopolitan ethnic admixture to the city and its many churches, taverns and brothels.

Even before the Knights arrived in Birgu in 1530, the city already had three Greek chapels dedicated to St George, St Nicholas and Our Lady of Damascus, whose icon was a cult object during the Great Siege.

The last of these medieval chapels has survived the changes that occurred in the church parvis and the devastation of World War II. This ancient artistic gem still awaits expert artistic evaluation.

Another ethnic group that was well represented in Vittoriosa, in an area still known today as It-Triq tal-Lhud (Jewish Street), was a thriving Jewish community with their synagogue facing Kalkara Creek originally known as Porto degli Ebrei (Jewish Creek). It is safely recorded that in 1492 the Jewish community of Vittoriosa strongly protested at the medieval piazza to the Sicilian viceroy because the Birgu populace had molested them during Holy Week and even damaged their temple.

As the most sophisticated religious institution in Christendom settled on this narrow neck of land, Vittoriosa would quickly join the mainstream of European art and culture

The famous Elizabethan dramatist Christopher Marlowe, a contemporary of Shakespeare, in his epic drama The Jew of Malta, set in the iconic Vittoriosa piazza, finds Barabbas in his first stunning lines proclaiming: “I hold religion like a childish toy; there is no sin but ignorance.”

Such events could be re-enacted when Valletta, the offspring of Vittoriosa, is crowned European City of Culture.

The Three Plague Saints by the eclectic Mannerist artist Filippo Paladini (1544-1616) an ex-voto painting for the Chapel of St Rocco after the great plague of 1592-93.

The arrival of the Knights of St John in Vittoriosa ushered in a new era. As the most influential, highly cultured and sophisticated religious institution in Christendom, with its members coming from the highest echelons of nobility in Europe, settled on this narrow neck of land, it became abundantly clear that Vittoriosa would quickly join the mainstream of European art and culture at a time when Mount Xiberras facing the Castrum Maris, was a miserable wasteland that was a constant threat to their new convent.

It is to their eternal credit that the Order never neglected its spiritual role. It ensured that its new conventual church dedicated to St Lawrence would be enhanced and adorned with the most holy relics and reliquaries, objects of great prestige in those far-off days, as well as religious icons, sacred vestments and liturgical items decorated by the best artists and artisans in Europe.

Some of these ancient masterpieces, now exhibited in the Aula Capitulare of the parish, further enhance Vittoriosa’s credentials to be honoured with the title of European City of Culture.

The ancient icon of Our Lady of Damascus at the Greek Chapel in the Oratory of St Joseph.

When in 1562 the church was gutted by fire after the Easter Vigil, Grand Master Philippe de Villiers de L’Isle Adam immediately commissioned a famous crucifix, recently attributed to the great Polidoro da Caravaggio, as well as a set of illuminated choral books of unsurpassed beauty from a famous artisan in Paris, an undeniable assertion of the Knights’ intention to be the main sponsors of the arts in Malta.

The collegiate church of St Lawrence, the church of the epic siege of 1565 when the Knights of St John saw their finest hour, presents a Baroque and classical extravaganza, encapsulating the essentially European ethos of this artistic city.

This magnificent church, built to the design of the father of Maltese Baroque, Lorenzo Gafà, who proudly declared to Inquisitor Ruffo that he was an active citizen of Vittoriosa, epitomises all the essential elements of the Baroque in all its forms, especially in its paintings, architecture and sculpture, masterpieces from the many Vittoriosa bottegas of bygone days. These artifacts still adorn the church.

There is enough evidence of the essentially European ethos of this maritime city.Vittoriosa awaits due recognition for its massive contribution to Malta’s cultural heritage

Regarding painting masterpieces, pride of place must not go to the famous chiaroscuro masterpiece, The Maryrdom of St Lawrence, Mattia Preti’s largest canvas and also his favourite, but to the exquisite painting in the chapel of St Joseph, representing The Flight into Egypt, which because of its Bolognese and classical idiom is attributed to the great Domenico Zampieri, also known as il Domenichino (1581-1641).

The Assumption of Our Lady by an unknown 17th century master.

This painting was obtained by the Confraternity of St Joseph of this parish from the Dominican church of Our Lady of Porto Salvo in Valletta in the middle of the 19th century after the church had been rebuilt to the design of the famous Polish architect Stefano Ittar. In 1970, a high-profile exhibition of Italian paintings of the 16th century at the prestigious Museo del Prado in Madrid included this painting in its catalogue.

One notices echoes of fugitive eclectic painter Filippo Paladini (c 1544-1616) in the early 17th century painting by an unknown master as the altarpiece of The Holy Trinity with saints Cosmas and Damian. This baroque canvas, remarkable for its Venetian idiom redolent with a fluidity of colour, is the impressive work of a great artist, which like the other Baroque canvas of the Assumption of Our Lady, are among the most outstanding Baroque paintings on the island and deserve to be further assessed and appreciated.

Another famous painting in the parish is the Mannerist painting by Paladini of The Three Plague Saints – St Paul, St Rocco and St Sebastian, an ex-voto painting of the great plague of 1592-93 for the chapel of St Rocco, whose devotion as a plague saint was introduced by the Order of St John. According to art historian Prof. Mario Buhagiar “the Birgu painting contains echoes of Andrea del Sarto in the three saints”.

There is enough evidence of the essentially European ethos of this maritime city. Besides these outstanding masterpieces there are many others in its various churches and convents. Vittoriosa was surely not languishing in some cultural wasteland after the expulsion of the Arabs. This proud city awaits due recognition for its massive contribution to Malta’s cultural heritage.

(To be concluded)

Lino Bugeja is author of Vittoriosa – Ancient City of Culture.