Culture
Have you heard of this incredible woman? Meet Cosmana Navarra, Malta's first female patron of Arts

Emma Galea

Today, Malta alongside many other countries worldwide are celebrating women and all their incredible achievements but 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 aimed 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 Saint Paul’s church together with many other churches and historical buildings.

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 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.

Instagram/wignacourtmusuem & Instagram/cosmananavarra

8th March 2023


Emma Galea
Written by
Emma Galea
Emma is a Gozitan writer who loves all things related to English literature and history. When not busy studying or writing you will either find her immersed in a fictional book or at the cinema trying to watch as my films as she possibly can!

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