This book studies the Mediterranean context of art and architecture in the Maltese Islands between 1091 and 1530. This study also shows that influences came not only from Sicily, South Italy and North Africa, but also from more distant Mediterranean regions and sometimes from quite unexpected sources.
Malta, has been visited and influenced over the centuries by many different peoples and cultures. The site of the oldest free-standing, man-made structures known to exist, Malta has been occupied by Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Arabs, Normans, the Knights of St. John, Swabians, Angevins, French, and British. Most recently, Malta has elected a new government replacing one that had been in office for many years, major improvements in infrastructure, a significant growth in population, the liberalization of laws permitting divorce and same-sex marriage. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Malta contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Malta.
Every year, the Bibliography catalogues the most important new publications, historiographical monographs, and journal articles throughout the world, extending from prehistory and ancient history to the most recent contemporary historical studies. Within the systematic classification according to epoch, region, and historical discipline, works are also listed according to author’s name and characteristic keywords in their title.
This book reassesses the evidence of a secluded Punic-Roman sanctuary on the coastal promontory of Ras il-Wardija on the central Mediterranean island of Gozo (near Malta).
This title was first published in 2002: Dr Luttrell's work has helped change our understanding of the history of the small islands of Malta and Gozo, providing a more coherent story of the ways in which, during the Middle Ages, a small isolated Muslim community was converted into a more prosperous outpost of Roman Christianity with a unique cultural mixture of Arabic speech and European institutions. This selection of studies places the process within the context of developments in the medieval Mediterranean world and combines archaeological and architectural investigations with work in Maltese, Sicilian and other archives, with a particular focus on ecclesiastical matters; a new introduction brings the subject up to date. This work is of relevance to scholars of Islam and Christianity, while providing insights into the nature of an unusual island community whose significance far exceeds its size.
For millennia, Malta has always been considered a site of strategic importance. From the arrival of the Phoenicians through rule under Carthage, Rome, Sicilian Arabs, Normans, and Genovese, to the Order of St. John ("Knights of Malta"), the advent of the Napoleonic Wars, and even World Wars I and II, the Maltese islands have served as re-provisioning stations, military bases, and refuges for pirates and privateers. Building on her systematic underwater archaeological survey of the Maltese archipelago, Ayse Atauz presents a sweeping, groundbreaking, interdisciplinary approach to maritime history in the Mediterranean. Offering a general overview of essential facts, including geographical and oceanographic factors that would have affected the navigation of historic ships, major relevant historical texts and documents, the logistical possibilities of ancient ship design, a detailed study of sea currents and wind patterns, and especially the archaeological remains (or scarcity thereof) around the Maltese maritime perimeter, she builds a convincing argument that Malta mattered far less in maritime history than has been previously asserted. Atauz's conclusions are of great importance to the history of Malta and of the Mediterranean in general, and her archaeological discoveries about ships are a major contribution to the history of shipbuilding and naval architecture.
Caves in Context provides the thriving inter-disciplinary field of cave studies with a European-scale survey of current research in cave archaeology. It is unified by a contemporary theoretical emphasis on the cultural significance and diversity of caves over space and time. Caves and rockshelters are found all over Europe, and have frequently been occupied by human groups, from prehistory right up to the present day. Some appear to have only traces of short occupations, while others contain deep cultural deposits, indicating longer and multiple occupations. Above all, there is great variability in their human use, both secular and sacred. The aim of this book is to explore the multiple significances of these natural places in a range of chronological, spatial, and cultural contexts across Europe. The volume demonstrates, through a diversity of archaeological approaches and examples, that cave studies, whist necessarily focussed, can also be of significance to wider, contemporary, archaeological research agendas, particularly when a contextual approach is adopted. The book is also of relevance to other scholars working in the related fields of speleology, earth sciences, landscape studies, and anthropology, which together comprise the inter-disciplinary field of cave studies.
A collection of 39 essays by a number of scholars edited by Dr Charlene Vella celebrating the outstanding career of Professor Mario Buhagiar, a leading scholar of art and history in Malta. The book is introduced by President Emeritus Dr Ugo Mifsud Bonnici. The book is in English, but includes also some papers in Italian and French. It is divided into four sections: Section 1 - From Medieval to Baroque: archaeology, history, painting, and architecture; Section 2 - Design and Decoration: fashion, manuscripts, precious metals, and wood; Section 3 - Neo-Classicism, Romanticism, Revivalism, and the Modern; and Section 4 - Interpreting the arts, society, and documentation. A collection of 39 essays divided into four sections: Section 1 - From Medieval to Baroque: archaeology, history, painting, and architecture; Section 2 - Design and Decoration: fashion, manuscripts, precious metals, and wood; Section 3 - Neo-Classicism, Romanticism, Revivalism, and the Modern; and Section 4 - Interpreting the arts, society, and documentation.