‘The Cross and the Crescent: the Clash of Civilizations in the 16th Century’ is the title of an ­illustrated lecture which Paul Pisani will be giving at the medieval church of St Cecilia in Mġarr Road, Għajnsielem (near the heliport), on Friday at 6.30 p.m.

This lecture, which will be in English, is being organised byWirt Għawdex, the NGO responsible for restoring the chapel. Everybody is invited to attend.

The lecture will focus on the ‘clash of civilizations’ between Christianity and Islam, which reached a peak in the 16th century. It proposes a reading of that century through the vicissitudes of the events leading to the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571, during which the Turkish fleet was defeated by a Christian coalition (which included the Knights of Malta) in an epic battle fought in Greek waters.

The role of the Order of Malta, still recovering from the 1565 siege, will be discussed in detail through an analysis of a yet unpublished manuscript account of the event, conserved in the National Library of Malta.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.