Many small churches and chapels dot villages in Malta and the surrounding countryside and visitors to our islands will probably equate them with religious pastoral care only.
But a closer look at the buildings and their beginnings reveals that they mirror the roots of the present Maltese European culture and are a pointer to how our society has developed over the years.
Eddie and Tony Aquilina, of Miranda Publishers, continue their tireless efforts to record this Maltese history in print and have just come out with the second volume of The Historic Chapels of Malta and Gozo 360.
The text and research on the chapels has been left in the hands of Joe Grima while the photography was once again entrusted to Enrico Formica.
Eddie Aquilina spent a lot of time scouting the areas and making contact with the people responsible for the chapels so that, once the photographer arrived in Malta, no time would be lost.
Most of the images are animated with people and the photographs were taken at different times of the year to make the best not only of the seasons but also of the liturgical feasts, natural light and cloud formations.
“This is not digitial photography,”said Mr Aquilina. “It is not a case of stitching images together digitally. These are slides, some of which measure up to 30 centimetres, in one complete shot.
“This is art photography at its best.”
In the same breath, he acknowledged all the help and support he got not just from his sponsors but also from the villagers and residents without whose participation “the production of the book would have been an impossible task”.
The series’ third volume is expected to hit the shelves later this year.
Our Saviour chapel, Qrendi