Marie-Anne Mancio will be giving a DFASinMalta lecture on Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, at the Salini Resort, St Paul’s Bay.

The empress, founding academies and libraries and commissioning buildings and gardens, brought Russia into a Golden Age. 

Mancio was trained as an artist before gaining a PhD in Art and Critical Theory from the University of Sussex.

Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796, Catherine the Great was a patron of the arts, literature, and education.  Under her reign, Russia was revitalised; it grew larger and stronger and was recognised as one of the great powers of Europe. 

In St Petersburg, she had a theatre built for opera and ballet performances and even wrote a few librettos herself. She also became a prominent art collector, with many of these works of art displayed at the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. 

Having commissioned buildings and statuary gardens, as well as founding academies and libraries, she won Russian hearts and succeeded in forging a new identity for herself.

The lecture on the greatest female leader of Russia will be given at the Salini Resort in St Paul’s Bay tomorrow at 6.30pm. Admission is free for members and open to the public for a fee of €15. Contact Nicky Stilon at maltadfas@gmail.com for reservations.