The Department of History of Art within the University of Malta and the History of Art and Fine Arts Student Association are organising a public lecture by PhD candidate Frederica Agius on the context and sources of Leonello Spada’s Historia.

The focus will be on Spada’s fresco cycle which depicts the early history of the Order of St John at the Grand Master’s Palace. The lecture will argue that the patron of the cycle, Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt, gave a markedly political slant to the troubled history of the Order and that specific episodes were chosen from Giacomo Bosio’s then recently published History of the Order to give it a glorious narrative. The iconography, style and historical content will be discussed on site with direct reference to the frescoes.

■ The lecture is being held at the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta on Thursday at 6.30pm and is open to the public.