The exhibition, An Island at the Crossroads opens on Friday 9th February, 2024. It is centres around the concept of Malta’s ideal position in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. A position that distinguishes it from all other islands and that bestows on it a unique identity, making Malta and its people who and what they are, for they were wise enough to use the sea as a bridge and not a barrier.
The artefacts that make up the exhibition are tied to twenty themes, each telling a story related to the sea.
To name but a few, among the exhibits one finds the 18th century bed shared by Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson and Lady Emma Hamilton at the height of their love affair in Naples, providing an excellent highlight of the turbulent two-year period (1798 -1800) during which Malta changed hands three times, from the Order of St John, to the French, to the British; an ex-voto painting depicting the Battle of Lepanto which dates back to the 16th century and is probably the oldest one known on the island; the fascinating diary of Vincenzo Borg (Brared), one of the main insurgent leaders during the French blockade in Malta; the imposing figurehead of Gregorio Mirabitur; the typical toolbox of a mid-20th century Maltese Dockyard worker; and the beautiful leather-bound manuscript penned by the Bunbury sisters in 1872 to document their stop in Malta as part of the Grand Tour.
‘An Island at the Crossroads’ Exhibition at the Malta Maritime Museum will be opening every day (except Tuesday) as from the 9th of February 2024, from 9 am to 5 pm in February and 10 am to 6pm from March to December.