The National Library of Malta will be holding its monthly public lecture entitled ‘Of markets and melting-pots – Commercial spaces in early modern Valletta’. The lecture will be delivered by Christian Mifsud from the Valletta Management Unit, Heritage Malta.

Mifsud’s lecture is part of the National Library’s series ‘Cities, Harbours, and Artefacts: transformations of an early modern landscape’ coordinated by Mevrick Spiteri and Maroma Camilleri. The 2018-2019 series of eight public lectures focuses on Malta’s urban landscapes, history, archives and archaeology.

The lecture will focus on two historically important public spaces built by Grand Master Giovanni Paolo Lascaris (1636-1657) – Valletta’s market (piazza delle herbe) located behind the Grand Master’s Palace and the slaughterhouse (biċċerija) close to the Auberge de Bavière. 

It will elaborate on the historical development of these buildings and their centrality in daily life, shedding new light on the city’s operational system and changing values of space. This lecture will look at how sources provide insights into the relations of the early modern community to the spaces they inhabited and from which they also earned their livelihood.    

The lecture will be held at the National Library, Valletta on Wednesday at 6.30pm. Admission is free. Further information can be found on the National Library of Malta Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1320277464791394/. For any related queries an e-mail could also be sent on events.library@gov.mt.