Have you heard of this incredible woman? Meet Cosmana Navarra, Malta's first female patron of Arts
Today, Malta - alongside many other countries worldwide - is celebrating women and all their incredible achievements. Have you ever heard about the impressive achievements of Cosmana Navarra?
Cosmana Navarra, the daughter of Gakbu Cumbo and Cornelia Navarra of the Maltese aristocratic Cumbo-Navarra family, was born in the year 1600 and became Malta’s first female patron of the Arts.
At 25 she married her husband, Lorenzo Cassar. Their marriage was childless and Cosmana dedicated her time to the arts instead.
She was a strong devotee of Saint Paul and was one of the main philanthropists and contributors for the re-construction of the Saint Paul’s church in Rabat.
The church was intended to receive many pilgrims from across Europe which was a huge historic development for tourism in Malta.
She donated and commissioned many paintings and other forms of art for many other churches and historical buildings across Malta.
Cosmana also dedicated a lot of her time to building ‘Casa Cosmana Navarra’, a historic town house in Rabat, right opposite the Wignacourt Musuem.
The town house has now been converted to a restaurant which was also named after her, ‘Ristorante Cosmana Navarra’.
She died in 1687, at the age of 87, after dedicating her long life to enriching Malta’s art scene.
Thank you Cosmana!
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