St George’s Basilica now has its own ‘coffee table book.’ An old dream has at last come true for the St George’s Parish. ‘St George, Gozo’s Golden Basilica,’ edited by Fr Charles Cini sdb, will be officially launched on Friday, the 8th of July 2011, at 8.00pm, at St George’s Basilica, Victoria.
The 192-pages hardbound book, published by the Salesians of Don Bosco (Malta) in collaboration with the Basilica, has just been printed and bound at Nova Arti Grafiche srl of Florence, Italy, and is already on its way to Malta. The pictures and design for this prestigious full-colour publication are both by renowned photographer Daniel Cilia.
Today Fr Charles Cini and Daniel Cilia are two names associated with top publications in Malta and abroad. In 1990, Fr Cini, who originally hails from St George’s Parish parish, had edited ‘Gozo The roots of an island,’ in which St George’s parish featured prominently. This new book about St George has been in Fr Cini’s plans for a long time, and after the joint venture between Cini and Cilia on a publication about the Ta’ Pinu Basilica in June 2010, the project of a similar book about St George’s Basilica started to materialize concretely. Work started immediately, and in the last months we have seen Daniel Cilia taking photos of several occasions and celebrations on the parish calendar.
The book, 31 by 22cm, is divided into four main chapters written by experts, which together provide a general idea of St George’s Basilica. Dr Paul George Pisani gives a brief account of its history, Mark Sagona takes us on a journey around its artistic treasures, Godwin Vella focuses on Holy Week, while Marion Zammit gives us a picture of the reality of St George’s feast. The beautiful illustrations and some 320 photos tell the rest. The book provides the essential to the beginner and yet, for all those who are in love with St George’s, is really a joy to leaf through. This project was realised thanks to the collaboration of a wider circle of volunteers, including members of the Parish Office who provided much of the material being presented. However, avid readers of history and art are to expect some ‘discoveries,’ some documents and old photos are being published for the first time, and this makes the reading of this book even more interesting.
The launching ceremony will take place at St George’s Basilica, on Friday 8 July 2011, starting at 8.00pm. The book then will be available from the Basilica during St George’s festa week in July, at the special prepublication price of €35. After St George’s feast (17 July 2011), the book will sell for €50.
For more information on purchasing the book, please contact St George’s Parish on 21 556 377 or send an email to stgeorgebookgozo@gmail.com [1].
Photos: Daniel Cilia