Il-Hagar Museum in Gozo has announced that as part of the events marking the first centenary of Mgr Giuseppe Farrugia’s (1852-1925) demise, Professor Maria Frendo will deliver a public talk at the museum on Saturday, the 22nd of March at 11.00am.

“He went through life unchecked save with himself.”

Orator, musician, designer, a polymath like no other Gozo has seen. Mgr Farrugia’s peculiar power is to astonish even a hundred years after his passing, the museum said. Synthesising the quality of his talents, this paper looks at Farrugia as a man of high culture steeped in the European civilisation into which he was born, bred, and nurtured.

The concepts of civitas and urbanitas as articulated by Cicero will be explored in the context of Farrugia’s efforts to cultivate refinement of manners in the Classical tradition. These efforts reflect the high standards he set for himself in an insular society that frequently failed to fully comprehend him

Maria Frendo is Associate Professor of English Literature at the University of Malta and a member of the editorial board of CounterText, a Literary Studies Journal published by Edinburgh University Press.

Her major interest lies in poetry and the poetic, and she teaches courses ranging from Chaucer to contemporary times. She is also a Fellow of the London College of Music and of Trinity College of Music, London, performing respectively in classical singing and pianoforte.

Frendo’s keen interest in Literature and Music has led to publications that look at the interface between these two disciplines, contributing depth and range to critical debate and contemporary scholarship.

She is the co-curator of the Joseph Vella Music Archive at Il-Hagar Museum, Victoria, assistant Artistic Director of the Victoria International Arts Festival, and director of the Laudate Pueri Choir of St George’s Basilica.

Prof Frendo was appointed to the National Order of Merit in 2012.

The talk will be followed by the launch of the publication of the late Stephen Attard’s (1966-2024) dissertation, Monsignor Giuseppe Farrugia: His Life and Achievements, published by Midsea Books Ltd.

The museum advised that admission is free but seat reservations are recommended by sending an email to events@heartofgozo.org.mt

Il-Hagar Museum is located in St George’s Square, Victoria.

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