A wide selection of military history, general history, maritime, aviation, children’s, WWI and WWII books will be on sale at discounted prices at the Notre Dame Gate book fair being organised by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna, the Malta heritage trust, from Thursday to October 7 at Notre Dame Gate, Vittoriosa. During the fair, there will also be talks on various historical and art-related subjects.
Stephen C. Spiteri, an expert of military architecture for many decades, is displaying a small exhibition during the fair. It comprises 12 original monochrome freehand fine pen-and-ink drawings produced between 2015 and 2017. All but one depict examples of fortified structures that once defended the Maltese islands, ranging from towers and coastal batteries to elements of the Victoria Lines and concrete pillboxes.
Through his drawings, Spiteri seeks to showcase the aesthetic, sculptural and poetic qualities of fortifications in their immediate landscape settings, in a romantic and nostalgic style of artistic representation that echoes 18th- and 19th-century etchings.
The Notre Dame Gate book fair will be held from Thursday to October 7 at Notre Dame Gate,Vittoriosa. The opening hours tomorrow and on Friday are from 2 to 8pm; and on Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 8pm. Admission is free.