An exhibition of recently restored masterpieces of Italian baroque sculptures in Malta will be inaugurated on Thursday at St John's Co-Cathedral, Valletta, on the occasion of Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi's two-day state visit to Malta.
The exhibition, which will feature 17th century Roman baroque works of art in silver and gilt silver, bronze and gilt bronze, coral, rock-cut crystal and enamel by the celebrated sculptors Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Alessandro Algardi and their students Cosimo Fancelli, François Duquesnoy, Ciro Ferri and Giuseppe Mazzuoli, will remain open until the end of June. It is being organised by the Valletta Rehabilitation Project, in collaboration with the St John's Foundation and the Superintendence of Heritage.
Fourteen masterpieces of Italian baroque sculpture have been taken from various museums and churches all over Malta and grouped together specifically for this exhibition. These works are a true reflection of the close cultural links in the 17th century between the Knights of St John and Italy.
These will include Ferri's Reliquary of St John the Baptist's arm in silver and gilt bronze and Algardi's big bronze bust of Christ the Saviour. Ferri's Beheading of St John in gilded bronze and the silver tabernacle of the Resurrection of Christ, usually kept in the cathedral's oratory, will also be on display.
Ferri's bust of Grand Master Gregorio Carafa and Algardi's Crucified Christ in bronze and gilded bronze, usually kept in the Chapel of Italy, and the Anglo-Bavarian Chapel, respectively, can also be viewed.
Bernini's beautiful Crucifixion in gilded bronze on an ebony and gilded tortoise shell pedestal will also be on show. Two monstrances, one in red coral and gilded copper, of Sicilian origin, the other in rock-cut crystal and silver, produced in the north of Italy, are the only two works of art that are not sculptures, but are examples of rare and refined 17th century gold making.
Sculptures on show will also come from the National Museum of Fine Arts - Melchiorre Gafà's small bust in gilded bronze of St Rose of Lima, Cosimo Fancelli's St Catherine of Siena, and Algardi's Portacroce (Cathedral Museum, Mdina).
Algardi's bronze bust of Pope Innocent XII (who, as Antonio Pignatelli, was Inquisitor in Malta), on the façade of the church of Our Lady of Victories in Valletta, and the Baptism of Christ at St Catherine's church in Zejtun, together with the Beheading of St Paul in gilded bronze at the Wignacourt Museum in Rabat, will form part of the exhibition.
Algardi and Duquesnoy's Flagellation of Christ in silver and gilt silver, kept at the cloistered St Ursula nuns' convent in Valletta, will also be on display for the very first time.
Works of art at St John's Co-Cathedral, among which the Chapel of Italy, the Main Altar and the Gloria in the apse, have undergone and are still undergoing restoration.
The restored Chapel of Italy will be inaugurated on November 25. Restoration works are being carried out by Sante Guido and Giuseppe Mantella and their team.