A replica bronze bust of Grand Master Manoel de Vilhena was returned to its rightful place on the main gate of Fort Manoel earlier this week during a ceremonial event held on site. This was a fitting way for Malta and MIDI plc to honour a grandmaster who left a significant heritage to Malta and its people.
The event was attended by Mr Luke Coppini – CEO, MIDI plc together with Architect Edward Said – curator of the Fort. Mr Coppini said “MIDI is proud of what it has achieved with the restoration of Fort Manoel and returning the bust to its rightful place comes at an opportune time as the Company is embarking on further Restoration works”.
Grandmaster de Vilhena left a lasting and impressive legacy after the 1720s when he unleashed an ambitious building plan across Malta including the renovation of Mdina and its fortifications and plans to build beautiful baroque buildings in Valletta including the Manoel Theatre. Charles Francois de Mondion (1681–1733), the French architect who, at the time, was retained by the Order of St John as its military engineer, supervised the construction of the Fort. Pietro Paolo Troisi (1686 – 1750), the noted Maltese artist who, during his lifetime, distinguished himself as an architect, designer, silversmith and bronze sculptor among other skills, sculpted the original bronze bust of Grandmaster Vilhena.
The original bust remained on the main gate of Fort Manoel until the early 1960s when it was moved to Manoel Theatre. Currently, plans are in the pipeline to display the original at MUZA, the new National Museum of Art and Heritage, Malta’s flagship project for Valletta’s capital city of culture next year. Professor Keith Sciberras, Head of History of Art at University of Malta and a published author and expert on Maltese art has also lent his expertise on the subject. The bronze bust was cast by Christopher Chetcuti, together with his father Joseph of Chetcuti Foundry in Luqa, who also attended the ceremony.
With an investment of over €20 million, this is still considered the largest restoration initiative ever carried out by a private company in Malta. The general public will soon have the opportunity to visit the Fort and see the extensive restoration undertaken during an open weekend organised for early April. Further details will be announced shortly.
(A Maltese version of the Press Release can be viewed here)