Cultural Tourism and Memory Making. The Case of Campanarian Culture in Malta

Rocío Belén Cali Falasca

BA in Sociology (University of Buenos Aires)

M.Sc. in Tourism Development and Culture (University of Glasgow)

As part of my M.Sc. in Tourism Development and Culture I had the opportunity to take a placement at the National Archives of Malta (NAM), where I got to know some of the procedures in this outstanding cultural institution, and contributed with some tasks. What impressed me the most about NAM’s work was MEMORJA, that aims to preserve and make visible the Maltese Islands’ history through a democratic process (Baldacchino & Mizzi 2020), which opens the opportunity for the formerly disenfranchised to contribute to the process of remembering.

After my experience at the NAM, I wrote a report analyzing the contributions of cultural tourism to memory institutions in their duty of enhancing remembering processes and keeping collective memory alive. Additionally, I designed an experiential tourism product based on Maltese bell-ringing culture, one of the main themes covered by MEMORJA, and I analyzed its potential benefits to preserve this heritage.

Cultural tourism is a growing field (Richards, 2014; WTO, 2018) and within it, intangible aspects of culture are appreciated more by tourists and institutions (Lenzerini 2011; UNESCO, 2018; Vecco 2010). As a result, processes of heritagization and cultural revival occur (Cole 2006; Engelhardt 2005; Timothy 2011), and new tourism niches emerge and grow, for example, those focused on vernacular life and ‘low culture’ (Richards 2014; Timothy 2014; WTO 2018) and memory tourism (Timothy 2014; Smith 2006; Winter 2009). The growing interest in cultural tourism and the emerging new niches prompts heritagization processes that create new opportunities for preserving memory. Memory institutions are increasingly being assisted through the tourism industry and many studies highlight its contributions to preserve collective memory (Hyung Yu Park 2020; Marschall 2015; Winter 2009).

Once a memory has been selected and rearticulated, to not be forgotten and erased, it needs to be regularly rehearsed or narrated, through ritualized practices (Bessière 1998; Halbwachs & Coser 1992), that can be provided by cultural tourism experiences.

Maltese bell-ringing is a centennial tradition dated back to 1370 (Cassar 2004), that has diverse purposes, ranging from announcing times of the day, praying moments and masses; commemorating important days for Christian; celebrating local festas; indicating the death of a parishioner; and celebrating official secular dates (Cassar 2004). While Maltese campanarian culture has been resisting attempts to be restricted over the time (Carabott 2021), some scholars highlight its potential as resource for Maltese tourism, arguing that the diversity of meanings, techniques and communication codes encapsuled in this tradition, should be recognized as a Cultural Intangible Heritage by UNESCO (Grima 2014; Pace 2020)

In line with some of the current MEMORJA researched themes, I propose the development of an experiential tour based on Maltese campanarian culture, based on MEMORJA’s Rayden Mizzi Collection, which includes more than one thousand recordings of Maltese bells and interviews. A strategy based on unique experiences is central for product differentiation and its success (Pine and Gilmore 1999). Before the beginning of the tour, participants will receive an audio guide with recordings from bell-ringing which will be heard in the place they were recorded. It will also include relevant emotionally-charged fragments of the Rayden Mizzi collection. During the tour, participants will have the opportunity to meet and talk to a bell ringer, who will explain more about this tradition, through informative but also emotive storytelling. Then they will go up through one of the belfries and see the bell-ringing on live. For this, it is vital to assure a good timing, respecting the hours and ceremonies in which ringing usually takes place, to maintain its authenticity (MacCannell 1999). At the end of the tour, they would be encouraged to visit the digital archives to learn more about campanarian culture and other collections developed by MEMORJA

Socially articulated, collective memory reflects characteristics of a society in a given time. Cultural tourism contributes to remembering when providing engaging and educating experiences. The development of the tours I propose with an storytelling approach, will generate a deep engagement to a broader audience than the one that accesses MEMORJA website. An in-person experience will complement the digital repositories, offering a hands-on experience and increasing campararian culture understanding and appreciation among visitors, enhancing their knowledge about Maltese heritage and MEMORJA Moreover, it would serve as an additional funding source for the MNA. Finally, it would enhance the city-tourism dimension, in line with the guidelines proposed by the Malta Tourism Strategy 2021-2030 (Visit Malta 2021). Based on cultural heritage that can be visited all-year round, it would be a means of de-seasonalizing tourism flows and would help differentiate Malta from competitors.

Local communities’ participation in tourism enhances their sense of belonging, local pride and ownership (Cole 2006; Engelhardt 2005; Reid 2003; Zarb 2020), shaping individual and social identities (Nuryanti 1996; Timothy & Nyaupane 2009). This engagement is crucial to increasing local awareness of their heritage and, consequently enhancing its preservation and passing to future generations.

References

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Assmann, J., 2008. Communicative and cultural memory. In: A. Erll & A. Nünning , eds. Cultural Memory Studies: An Interdisciplinary Reader. Berlin: de Gruyter, pp. 10-18.

Baldacchino, J. & Mizzi, R., 2020. MEMORJA: An Oral, Sound and Visual Archive in the Making. Journal of Maltese History, 6(1), pp. 79-89.

Barthel-Bouchier, D., 2015. Cultural heritage. Tangible and intangible markers of collective memory. In: A. L. Tota & T. Hagen, eds. Routledge International Handbook of Memory Studies. London: Routledge, pp. 221-232.

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Bessière, J., 2013. ‘Heritagisation’, a challenge for tourism promotion and regional development: an example of food heritage. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 8(4), pp. 275-291.

Burgess, J., Klaebe, H. & McWilliam, K., 2010. Mediatisation and Institutions of Public Memory: Digital Storytelling and the Apology. Australian Historical Studies, 41(2), pp. 149-165.

Carabott, S., 2021, ‘Bell-ringing to war: archives to have new look and sound Memorja will be an oral, sound and visual archive’, Times of Malta, June 15, viewed 14 May 2022. <https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/bell-ringing-to-war-archives-tohave-new-look-and-sound.878864>

Cassar, R., 2004, ‘The Bells of Malta (1370-1900) : an art historical consideration’, Masther’s thesis, University of Malta, Available at: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/74452

Cole, S., 2006. Information and Empowerment: The Keys to Achieving Sustainable Tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 14(6), pp. 629-644.

Engelhardt, R. A., 2005. Culturally and ecologically sustainable tourism development through local community management. In: A. Hopper, ed. Culture and Sustainable Development in the Pacific. Canberra: ANU Press, pp. 174-186.

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Lenzerini, F., 2011. Intangible Cultural Heritage: The Living Culture of Peoples. European Journal of International Law, February, 22(1), pp. 101-120.

MacCannell, D., 1999. The Tourist: A New Theory of the Leisure Class. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Marschall, S., 2015. The role of tourism in the production of cultural memory: The case of ‘Homesick Tourism’ in Poland. Memory Studies, 9(2), pp. 187-202.

Marschall, S., 2015. Touring memories of the erased city: memory, tourism and the notion of home. Tourism Geographies, 17(3), pp. 332-349.

Nuryanti, W., 1996. Heritage and postmodern tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 23(2), pp. 249-260.

Pace, D., 2020. Maltese church bell ringing: a religious tourism attraction?. s.l.:University of Malta-Bachelor’s dissertation.

Park, H. y., 2010. Heritage Tourism: Emotional Journeys into Nationhood. Annals of Tourism Research, 37(1), pp. 116-135.

Pine, J. & Gilmore, J., 1999. The experience economy: Work is theatre and every business a stage. Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press.

Reid, D. G., 2003. Tourism, Globalization and Development: Responsible Tourism Planning. s.l.:Pluto Press.

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Smith, L., 2006. Uses of Heritage. 1 ed. New York: Routledge.

Times of Malta, 2017b, ‘Watch: Ring those church bells... while you can still hear them’, Times of Malta, June 24, viewed 14 May, 2022 <https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/watch-ring-those-church-bells-while-you-can-still-hear them.651474%20%20 %20%20Watch:%20Ring%20those%20church%20bells...%20while%20you%20can%20still%20hear%20them%20%20 %2024%20june%202017>

Timothy, D. J., 2011. Cultural Heritage and Tourism: An Introduction. s.l.:Channel View Publications.

UNESCO, 2010. Basic Texts of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Paris, UNESCO. Visit Malta, 2021. Malta Tourism Strategy for the years 2021 2030. [Online] Available at: https://www.mta.com.mt/en/newsdetails/348 [Accessed 27 April 2022].

Winter, C., 2009. Tourism, Social Mmeory and The Great War. Annals of Tourism Research, 36(4), pp. 607-626. World Tourism Organization, 2018. Tourism and Culture Synergies, Madrid: UNWTO.

YouTube, 2022. Maltese Bell Ringers. [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/c/RaydenMizzi/channels?view=49&shelf_ id=3 [Accessed 2 May 2022].

Zarb, J. C., n.d. How Religious Tourism and Pilgrimages Can BE Beneficial to Communities. International Journal of Religious Studies, 8(2), pp. 12-19.

The National Archives Council is set up in line with Article 14 of the National Archives Act (2005) which stipulates that :

(1) There shall be a National Archives Council, appointed by the Minister, which shall be composed as follows:

(a) a Chairperson

(b) the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage ex officio or his representative;

(c) the Chairperson of Heritage Malta ex officio or his representative;

(d) the National Librarian ex officio or his representative;

(e) the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister ex officio or his representative;

(f) a person to represent the non-governmental archives or records centers;

(g) three other persons chosen from amongst persons known to be users of and familiar with archives, records management and information professions, or working in nongovernmental organizations dedicated to information and archives, one of whom shall be appointed by the Minister responsible for Gozo.

In line with the National Archives Act, during the year under review, the Council continued to fulfill the functions assigned to it by the Archives Act, mainly:

(a) to promote the National Archives and other record keeping entities:

(b) to ensure and facilitate the collaboration between the different stakeholders with direct or indirect responsibility for the protection and management of the archives sector;

(c) to advise the Minister on the management of archives in Malta;

(d) to draw the attention of the Minister or of any organization or person responsible for archives to any urgent action that may be considered necessary for the better management of archives and records;

(e) to advise the Minister on any matter arising from the provisions of this Act and on any other matter referred to it by the Minister.

During the year under review the Council was made up of the following members:

President

Professor Raymond Mangion

Members

Dr Joan Abela

Dr Steve Borg

Ms Maroma Camilleri

Mgr Dr Nicholas Doublet

Mr Max Farrugia

Ms Judith Frendo Cumbo

Dr Lilian Sciberras

Secretary

Ms Sarah Brincat

As in previous years Dr Charles J. Farrugia, National Archivist and Mr John Cremona, Assistant National Archivist attended all Council meetings and supported the work of the Council by regularly updating it on the workings of the National Archives.

The priorities of the council during the year under review remained the implementation of the electoral manifesto proposal with regards to the building of a new National Archives. Meetings were held with stakeholders to push for the implementation of this commitment.

The Council also discussed the shortage of space at the Gozo Section of the National Archives and the possibility of taking over part of the Victoria Primary School in Vajrinġa Street once the primary school moves to the new premises.

The Council met on 22 February 2022.

Following the General Elections held in March, the National Archives Council was reconstituted and held meetings on the following dates. 14 October, 26 October, 15 November, 29 November, 6 December and 16 December 2022.

The Executive Committee of the Friends of the National Archives (FNAM) was composed of Max Farrugia as President, Dr Charles Farrugia as Vice-President, Dr Evelyn Pullicino as Secretary, M’Anne Farrugia as Assistant Secretary, Dr Gerald Bugeja as Treasurer, Ivan Ellul as Membership Secretary and Web content Officer , Prof. George Cassar as Education Officer, Doris Zammit as Public Relations Officer and Marica Camilleri as International Officer and Martin Hampton as Volunteer Liaison Officer. This committee has been elected during the Annual General Meeting held in May 2021.

The participation of the National Archives in the “European Digital Treasures: Management of centennial archives in the 21st century,” a project co-funded by the European Union through the Creative Europe programme, entailed the setting up of three exhibitions during 2023. The first was launched in January, the second in May and the third in August Merchandizing articles were purposely created for the first exhibition. The members of the FNAM executive committee supported the National Archives in this venture by their support and help in advertising the exhibitions in local programmes in which they participated.

In 2021, the FNAM had facilitated the granting of a bursary by the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library to a local student. The chosen candidate, Claire Bugeja, is now as an intern by HMML while pursuing her Master in Archives degree. She gave an online presentation to the committee about her work at the Legal Documentation Centre in Mdina. During her interesting presentation Ms Bugeja explained the work she performed in connection with the Consolato del Mare documents which the HMML hope to digitize in the future. She is preparing the metadata of the boxed documents, making this fond more accessible for researchers.

Richard Stedall worked for three years at the National Archives on the Malta Bus Archive and on the archives of Transport Malta, contributing towards the MEMORJA project by interviewing bus drivers and bus constructors. The Omnibus Society in England supported the funding of the project for six months, while FNAM assisted in dealing with the bureaucratic and administrative issues related to this sponsorship. Members of the committee also shared interesting information they had about Maltese buses and local bus constructors which according to Mr Stedall proved useful in tracing and contacting the family of a bus constructor who had migrated to New Zealand. Mr Stedall gave a PowerPoint presentation about the Malta Bus Archive and future projects to the committee members.

With an approaching election in mid-2022, letters were sent to the political parties about the urgent need to move ahead with the New Archives building project which had been stalled over problems regarding the site identified and transferred to the National Archives by Government for its building. Since the National Archives officials continued to have meetings about the project, another letter about this matter was sent directly to the Prime Minister.

The FNAM’s priority was to get the two main political parties, the PL and the PN to commit themselves for the building of a new National Archives building in their electoral manifestoes. The PL manifesto promised a new national archives building in Article 780 while articles 488 and 489 of the PN manifesto promised new national archives and the audio-visual institute. The ADPD was also contacted to include the archives and the need for the construction of a purposely built structure as a new archive, in the manifesto.

Following the elections, the FNAM’s executive committee met the new Minister Dr Owen Bonnici and insisted on the necessity of new building for the National Archives, stressing the current imminent dangers of deterioration of records and lack of space.

The FNAM also asked for a meeting with the shadow minister, Ms Julie Zahra where they shared their concerns about the need for a new National Archives building.

FNAM Journal: L Arkivju

L-Arkivju, the FNAM annual journal edited by Prof. George Cassar was, this year, as usual, ready for distribution to members during the Book Festival held in November.

The FNAM participated in the Book fair which was held at the MCC at Ta’ Qali from 23rd to 27th November. The FNAM committee members were asked to help man the stand when National Archive staff were not available.

During 2022, a number of generous volunteers gave their services at the National Archives of Malta. Apart those who have become “resident” volunteers after a number of years, the year 2022 saw a surge in volunteers who started and completed a number of pending projects.

These volunteers including Anthony Mifsud, Marlene Cefai, Danica Abela and Daniel Pavia Livori contributed towards the cataloguing of the Chief Secretary to Government collection (series 01). Till the end of the year more than nine thousand records have been catalogued. Danica Abela worked also on the cataloguing of the Department of Labour and Emigration files.

With the sterling help of a number of other volunteers, the digitization projects at the National Archives has made great strides: Andrea Cachia, Norbert Gingell and Martin Hampton digitized a significant number of passport applications and the Charitable Institutions registers.

The cataloguing of the Eddie Fenech Adami and Lawrence Gonzi papers, and the Nani family collection is an ongoing project managed by Fred Bezzina and Mary Buttigieg respectively.

Other volunteers worked on other various projects including the foliating of the Registrum Patentarum series from the Magna Curia Castellania fonds at the Courts and Tribunals Archive in Mdina led by Claire Bugeja.

The Conservation Laboratory at the National Archives supervised the voluntary tasks of Skye Vassallo, who worked on the cleaning of negatives, the rehousing for the Times of Malta collection and created tailormade melinex pockets for photos in passport applications. She also ordered part of the Joe Borg Collection, while digitizing the same collection.

Another volunteer, Daphne Vella volunteered at the Conservation Laboratory by cleaning documents as well as negatives.

Ivan Mifsud Bons,Vince Pulis, Dione Azzopardi, Ivan Said, Edwin Debono, Marlene Debono, Mark Farrugia, Claire Scerri and Mariella Cachia contributed in the MEMORJA project by transcribing recorded interviews that were carried out by our staff. The same volunteers worked also on other transcripts, namely the interviews that were originally deposited at the Public Memory Archive of the Department of History at the University of Malta and now are at the National Archives.

The pharmacy housed at the National Archives was being taken care by another volunteer, Laurence Zerafa, who worked on a general inventory of all the ephemera deposited over the years and also a review of the current inventory of the artefacts. He also started planning to identify volunteers with the final aim of opening the place for tours.

Mark Caruana, the long-standing volunteer residing in Australia, has also for the past year contributed to the National Archives of Malta on various projects.

Overleaf. National Archivist Dr Charles J. Farrugia accompanied by University of Malta Lecturer Dr Valeria Vanesio at the archives and library of the Camera dei Deputati in Rome where they held discussions with Chief Archivist Dr Paolo Massa on potential future collaboration.

Professor Michael Cook (centre) was bestowed with the Distinguished Service Award during the last Archives and Records Association of UK and Ireland Conference. Cook is an authority in archival theory and was also one of the experts who visited Malta and worked on a report about the setting up of the National Archives. The ceremony was held on 21 September 2022 in Chester. (From left

This year was marked by the easing of restrictions imposed by the COVID 19 pandemic. Physical travel was less restricted; however several events were held on online platforms. This is an account of the National Archives’ participation in various international for a during 2022.

27 January The National Archives hosted the members of the European Digital Treasures (EDT) Steering Committee for a meeting organised at the St Paul’s Catacombs conference centre in Rabat. This was followed by a cultural programme.

28 January Opening of the EDT exhibition at the Head Office of the National Archives with the participation of members of the EDT Steering Committee members.

31 January Dr Farrugia as President of EURBICA addressed the opening of the International Archival Symposium organised by the Alma Mater Europaea and the International Institute of Archival Science (IIAS)

9 March The European Digital Treasures team presented the various presentations held within the workshop ‘New Digital Exponential Technologies towards the Generation of Business Models.’

15-18 March Dr Ilaria Scaglia arrived in Malta for three days of events and lectures. This was a collaboration between the Malta Study Centre, the History Department and the Department of Library, Information and Archive Sciences at the University of Malta, the National Archives of Malta and the Istituto di Cultura.

16 March Public Lecture at the National Archives of Malta by Dr Ilaria Scaglia entitled ‘Archives and Emotions in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction 1850s to 1950s.

18 March

The Alma Mater Europaea organised the 7th Archival Symposium entitled ‘Archives in the Service of People – People in the Service of Archives.’ This year’s topic was ‘Ethics in Archival Science and Archival theory and practice.’ National Archivist Dr Charles J. Farrugia addressed this Conference with a presentation entitled ‘Towards an Ethical Profiling of EU National Archives.’

6-9 April National Archivists, including Dr Charles J. Farrugia, from all over the world met in virtual mode for the Forum of National Archivists (FAN) organised Conference entitled ‘Virtual Conversations’ spanning over 3 days.

9 April Dr Farrugia addressed the Forum of National Archivists and presented the project of the EDT. The lecture was part of the session entitled ‘Federating Resources for Enhanced Access’ chaired by Canadian national archivist Leslie Weir. Trapani, Italy

14 April Dr Farrugia visited the Archivio di Stato of Trapani. He had the opportunity to discuss the challenges of notarial records, especially in view of the new responsibilities for the running of the Notarial Registers Archive in Valletta. He was welcomed by archivists Dott.ssa Arianna Di Meceli and Dott.ssa Valentina Rallo.

2 May The National Archives hosted a group of young Belgian students participating in an EU project promoting youth exchange.

Istanbul, Turkey

10-13 May

Official visit by Dr Charles J Farrugia and Mr Joseph Scerri to the Ottoman Archives in Istanbul. This was the result of the MoU Signed by the two sides earlier in Malta. Ways of future collaboration were explored.

17 May Opening of the second EDT exhibition at the National Archives.

Paris, France

18-22 May

Paris, France

20 May

Dr Charles J. Farrugia participated at the EBNA and EAG Meetings.

Leonard Callus participated at the Archives Portal Europe Country Managers’ Meeting, the Steering Committee of the EDT Project and the Presentation of the EDT Project to the ICARUS Convention. This was followed by a visit together with national archivist Dr Charles J. Farrugia to the French national archives building at Pierrefitte-Sur-Seine.

Paris, France

22-26 May

Budapest, Hungary

3-9 July

Naples, Italy

17 August – 12 September

14 July

Mr Ivan Ellul participated at the ICARUS Convention and the Presentation of the EDT Project to the same Convention.

The EDT Youth Summer Camp was held in Budapest and the local youths were coordinated by the National Archives and led by Ivan Ellul.

Conservator Simon P. Dimech participated in showcasing documents from the National Archives of Malta during the Clement Cogitore Exhibition at the MADRE Museum in Naples.

Online launching event of the first issue of the National Archives of Malta Monography Series “Images of Empire”. The event was addressed by Dr Forget Chaterera Zambuko, Dr James Lowry, Dr Ilaria Scaglia, Professor William Zammit and Dr Charles J. Farrugia.

11-12 July

Dr Charles J. Farrugia was one of the speakers at the Discovering Collections, Discovering Communities 2022 (DCDC22) Conference held online. His presentation was about the European Digital Treasures under the heading ‘Community Building through Public Engagement’.

13 July

22 July

Hosting in Malta of Nikolai Doitzky and Martina Niedermayer from Ancestry to start discussions about potential future collaboration.

Visit to the Limassol State Archives and tour organised by Archivist Mimis Sophocleus followed by bilateral discussions with the Mayor of Limassol Nicos Nicolaides.

27 July

The National Archives of Malta participated in a European archival co-operation initiative organised by the Ypres town archives (Belgium) and Historical Archives Celja (Slovenia). The NAM submitted an image of an archival item about railways which was also included in the publication.

26 July

Participation in virtual mode at the International Conference on the History of Records and Archives (ICHORA) organised by the TNA(UK) and the Forum of Archives and Records Management Education and Research (FARMER) through the presentation of a postcard about Gaetano Bruno.

28 July

Paper presented in virtual mode by Dr Charles J. Farrugia and Dr Valeria Vanesio about the Pioneers in Library and Information Professions in Malta Project at the ICHORA conference.

27 August

The National Archives of Malta became a member of the IIC (International Institute for Conservation), which is a global network of dfistinguished fellows, members and instititutions representing more than 70 countries. Through this membership conservators will have better access to conferences and events, publications, research papers, journals and more opportunities to collaborate and network.

Chester UK

31 August -

2 September

Amman, Jordan

5-7 September

CEO addressed the Archives and Records Association (UK) Conference. This year’s theme was ‘Facing Forward: Post-pandemic record-keeping – change, challenge, choice.’ The theme of the CEO’s presentation was ‘National Archives in post-Covid times: the challenges of memory projects.’

Vanessa Buhagiar, palaeographer at the National Archives of Malta, participated in the UNESCO Memory of the World International Training Workshop organised by the Korean National Commission for UNESCO as part of our efforts to get Petrus de Caxaro’s Cantilena included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

Rome, Italy

19-24 September

Rome, Italy

21–23 September

Rome, Italy

21 September

Rome, Italy

23 September

26 September,

3 October and

10 October

The International Conference of Archivists was held, together with the ICA Executive Meeting of the International Council on Archives on which our national archivist is a member.

Leonard Callus participated in the ICA Rome 2022 on behalf of the EDT.

Dr Charles J. Farrugia visited the archives of the Italian Parliament to hold discussions about future collaboration with the chief archivist Dott. Paolo Massa.

General Assembly of EURBICA was held and it was chaired by its President Dr Charles J. Farrugia. For the first time this was held in a hybrid mode.

EDT and Icarus Online lectures about the exhibitions created within the EDT project were held.

27 September An Online meeting of the European Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives was chaired by its President, Dr Charles J. Farrugia and attended by a number of members on site in Rome and others who joined virtually.

11 October Malta participated in the 32nd Conference organised by the International Institute for the archival science Trieste/Italy – Maribor/Slovenia, the Alma Mater Europaea – ECM/Archival Studies and the State Archives of Trieste. The themes of this year’s conference were ‘Archives in Shaping Collective Memory’ and ‘Archival Science and Collaboration on an International Level in Science, Education and Use.’

St. Pölten, Austria

14-15 November

St. Pölten, Austria

14-15 November

Valladolid, Spain

10-13 December

The National Archivist with Dr Arianna Di Meceli from the Archivio di Stato of Trapani.

Malta participated in the 29th Icarus Convention.

Leonard Callus participated in the EDT Steering Committee to be held In Vienna: 14-15 November 2022

Dr Charles J Farrugia and Leonard Callus took part in the EDT concluding event. The theme was ‘Challenges and New Alliances in the European Archives – EU Digital Treasures.’

11 December Visits by the Maltese delegation to the Archivio Real Chancelleria at Valladolid, and the Archivio Generale de La Simancas, Spain. An exhibition showcasing three Maltese documents was held at the latter venue.

Valladolid, Spain

Overleaf. On 27 January 2022, we hosted a meeting of the Steering Committee of the European Digital Treasures project with representatives from the national archives of Spain, Portugal, Norway and Hungary as well officers from the International Centre for Archival Research (ICARUS) based in Vienna.

6 November 2022/ Open day at Santu Spirtu. We hosted hundreds of guests who visited the exhibition European Discoveries: From the New World to New Technologies, the Conservation Laboratory and the pharmacy museum.

Richard Cumbo, a Maltese emigrant living in Canada, donated records related to the experiences of Maltese emigrants in Canada. 2022 is the 100th anniversary since the foundation of the Maltese Canadian Society of Toronto. 11

Anna Farrugia donated a copy of her book The Story of a Maltese Musician – Antonio Micallef 1867–1940 to the National Archives of Malta.

We hosted a meeting of the Steering Committee of the European Digital Treasures project. This meeting included representatives from the national archives of Spain, Portugal, Norway and Hungary as well officers from ICARUS, the International Centre for Archival Research based in Vienna.

The Construction of Europe – History, Memory and Myth of Europeanness over 1000 Years, the first of a series of three exhibitions developed within the framework of the project European Digital Treasures, was inaugurated at the Head Office of the National Archives of Malta.

This exhibition allowed visitors to get to know our written past through multiple channels, combining different technological tools, focussing on archival documents that include narratives that tell micro-stories contributing to the construction of Europe. Technology allowed visitors to experiment and play, to learn and share, as well as to feel moved by a common past.

Charles Bezzina donated a number of manuscripts and photographic material to the Gozo Archive. These documents, that relate mainly to war-time Gozo, originated from the research of his late father Frank Bezzina. Present for the event where the Minister for National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government Josè Herrara and the Minister for Gozo Hon. Clint Camilleri. 17

We evaluated our performance during 2021 and set our targets for this year.

Dr. Ilaria Scaglia from Aston University delivered a public talk on “Archives and Emotions in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, 1850s-1950s.” The event was sponsored by the Malta Study Center and the Department for Library and Archive Sciences at the University of Malta.

17

Students reading for the degrees of Master in Library and Information Studies and the Master in Archives and Records Management visited the transmedia exhibition The Construction of Europe: History, Memory and Myth of Europeanness over 1000 Years.

23

MCAST students following cultural heritage-related courses visit the transmedia exhibition The Construction of Europe: History, Memory and Myth of Europeanness over 1000 Years. 25

Sixth Form students from St Aloysius College visited the National Archives and we explained the various tasks we carry out at the Archives. They also had the opportunity to experience the ongoing exhibition that forms part of the European Digital Treasures project.

14

Dr Daniel Gullo, Director of the Malta Study Centre within Hill Museum and Manuscript Library delivered two training sessions to our staff. One session dealt with the operations of the Malta Study Centre and the other was about cataloguing standards.

7

Conservator Alice Ferri left the National Archives and is continuing her profession in Italy. 24

A drop-in session about the project MEMORJA was held in Siġġiewi. Days before, posters were put up in various businesses throughout Siggiewi, including bars, grocery shops, the local clubs, the parish church and the local council, advertising the event.

The activities included a looping presentation of Siggiewi-related images, an ‘Is this your relative?’ series of images that might have related to some of the potential attendees, a list of the 1932 Siggiewi electoral list of as well as a map of Siggiewi from 1907, discussions made with the MEMORJA team on site as well as the vintage bus parked outside the Local Council premises. The looping presentation comprised of a mix between the MEMORJA donations as well as from private collections. The ‘Is this your relative’ initiative was conducted by Richard Stedall.

Throughout, the attendees thoroughly enjoyed the event, yet unfortunately did not bring with them any photographic materials. At the beginning, the number of attendees was quite poor however, the amount increased in the early morning. A good amount of people talked to staff members on the subject of transportation and buses, also digitising some materials.

A number of councillors from other localities showed up and were interested in hosting similar events in their localities in the future. An attendee was interested to such an extent that he left and returned to the Local Council building with his personal albums, including an 1800s camera and slides from the same period.

29

We hosted a group of young Belgian students participating in an EU project promoting youth exchange. Their visit included an explanation of our responsibilities and experiencing the transmedia exhibition The Construction of Europe.

2

The Gozo Archives, in collaboration with the National and Regional Festivities Committee of the Ministry for Gozo, organised a commemorative exhibition about Ninu Cremona on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death. Dr Ninu Cremona established scientific rules for the Maltese grammar. He was also a poet, play writer and folklorist. The exhibition, held at the Banca Giuratale in Ir-Rabat, Gozo was open till 29 May.

9

University students reading for a BSc degree in Home Economics carried out a research project about the Victory Kitchens in various sources at the National Archives of Malta.

10

We visited the State Archives of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey to develop our relationship within the Protocol Cooperation signed between our institutions in 2021.

Salvaging of the GO p.l.c dormant archive. Following the news that the site of the Go Exchange building in Birkirkara was sold and earmarked for demolition, the National Archives came to an agreement with GO p.l.c. to take over the historical archive that was held into the exchange building. By preserving this extensive collection, we saved an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to the development of telecommunications in the Maltese Islands going back a century and prior to the privatisation of the sector. 17

Minister for National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government Owen Bonnici inaugurated the second of a series of three exhibitions developed within the framework of the project European Digital Treasures, co-financed by the European Union. The exhibition Exiles, Migratory Flows and Solidarity 47 documents from 22 archives from 9 countries telling micro-stories that shaped Europe.

19

During a meeting of the European Archives Group meeting in Paris, chaired by the French Presidency of the European Union, we delivered a presentation about the five merchandise items developed within the European Digital Treasures project. The other national archives participating in the project (Spain, Portugal, Norway and Hungary) presented the items they developed.

23-25

We participated in the 28th ICARUS convention, Private and public archives in the 21st century at Campus Condorcet in Aubervilliers (France). During the session Digital Treasures, Business Models, Companies, Market we delivered a presentation about Potential Avenues for New Revenue-Generating Business Models. This presentation discussed the findings of a study undertaken within the European Digital Treasures project. 26

Rachelle Mizzi discussed the COVID-19 Pandemic theme within the MEMORJA on Television Malta. 30

Joseph Calleja deposited a collection of records related to his long experience at the Electoral Commission. These records will complement the official ones, already at the National Archives, about the organisation and management of elections in Malta during the last 40 years.

June 3

Sarah Portelli from our conservation team participated in a training workshop about the use of nano-systems in conservation of organic material, held at Nova University in Portugal. This training formed part of our continuing professional development efforts. The organisers were the EU-funded project APACHE, NEON Art Conservation and the Department of Conservation and Restoration at NOVA School of Science and Technology.

We celebrated the International Archives Week; 9 June is International Archives Day, commemorating the day the International Council on Archives (ICA) was set up in 1948 during a meeting of archivists in Paris under the auspices of UNESCO. This year’s theme was #ArchivesAreYou.

We also participated in a European archival co-operation initiative organised by the Ypres town archives (Belgium) and the Celje Historical Archives (Slovenia) to celebrate the International Archives Week (see 27 July post).

Nora and Rita Vella Brincat donated a set of historical photographs and documentation related to sewing classes and training in Malta that were developed by their mother Prassede.

The exhibition Clément Cogitore - Ferdinandea and Beauty and Terror: Sites of Colonialism and Fascism was inaugurated at the Madre Museum in Naples. Records from the National Archives formed part of this exhibition organised by the Fondazione Donnaregina and curated by Kathryn Weir.

In June 1831, a volcanic island emerged in the sea between Sicily and Tunisia. It quickly attracted the attention of European powers, keen to lay claim to its strategic position. In fact, the British, the French and the Bourbons, who ruled Naples, claimed the island. They even named it, calling it Graham, Île Julia and Ferdiandea respectively. But before more problems arose, it sunk back in December.

Documents from the National Archives of Malta about this island and the conflicts surrounding it were exhibited.

Louis Casha donated his 2006 painting ‘Cells’ to the National Archives of Malta, inspired by his memory of his late mother’s stay decades ago at Santo Spirito Hospital.

July 3–11

Danica Abela, Aimee Borg, Yevgeny Spiteri participated in a Youth Camp in Budapest within the European Digital Treasures Project.

14

We met officers from Ancestry, the world’s leading resource for online family history and genealogy and explored possible avenues for collaboration and projects. 14

We held a webinar to the first issue of NAMms, a series of monographs published by the National Archives. The participants included Dr Charles J. Farrugia (National Archivist and CEO of the National Archives of Malta and editor of NAMms and Head, Department of Library, Information and Archive Sciences, University of Malta), Dr James Lowry (Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, Queens College, City University of New York), Prof. William Zammit (Department of Library, Information & Archive Sciences, University of Malta), Dr Forget Chaterera-Zambuko (Assistant Professor – Records Management & Archival Science, Sorebonne University, Abu Dhabi) and Dr Ilaria Scaglia, (Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Modern History, Aston University, Birmingham).

NAMms is a series of monographs published by the National Archives of Malta seeking to foster the academic debate around archival issues. It bridges ideas from different academic disciplines and brings to the fore archival theory, its application and its challenges. In so doing the National Archives of Malta disseminates the insights generated in the study of our holdings and promotes the value of archives to society.

This issue, entitled ‘Images of Empire’, included a number of papers discussing imperial and colonial mindsets within shared archival heritage. 20

Edward Said donated a number of copies of Sliema-related plans to the National Archives.

August

12

Clive Sammut donated a print related to Santa Marija Convoy signed by a number of sailors and military personnel involved in the operation and the attacks on Malta during World War 2.

18

The exhibition European Discoveries: From the New World to New Technologies was inaugurated at our main office in Rabat. This exhibition was the last of a series of three exhibitions developed within the framework of the project European Digital Treasures, co-financed by the European Union. We included 45 documents from 25 archives from eight countries to tell micro-stories that shaped Europe.

We hosted the family of the Perit André Zammit (1930–2020) to thank them for the donation of his archive. This archive is made up of over 800 notebooks (manuscript), dating from 1786 to the end of the 19th century, covering the works of the sixteen architects.

These records practically cover the whole careers of architects Michele Cachia (1760-1839), Francesco (1755-1820) and Giovanni Sammut (1784-1841), and Giuseppe (1812-1859) and Francesco Zammit (1844-1917) as well as works by Saverio (1740-1799), Pietro (1774-1803), Salvatore (1777-1830), Giuseppe (1741-1841) and Gaetano Xerri (1783-1853), Pasquale (1738-1817) and Vincenzo Sammut (1782-1850), Paolo (1792-?) and Alfred Zammit (18921970).

They include sketches and notes of houses or fields for calculation and valuation or partition requested by owners, heirs or the Courts, Agrimensore course notes and school copybooks.

This Collection reflects also the wider political context, e.g. the twilight of the Order of St John’s stay in Malta, the insurrection against the French in 1798 where Michele Cachia played a key role, and the establishment of the British administration.

The National Archives bid farewell to our audiovisual archivist Giovanni Copertino. Giovanni is moving to Italy to continue his archival profession.

Volunteer Nicole Vassallo will start a course leading to a Master’s degree in the conservation and restoration of photographs at the University of Amsterdam. We thanked Nicole for her contribution as a volunteer at our laboratory for the past two years.

We became institutional members in the International Institute of Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, a global network of distinguished fellows, members and institutions representing more than 70 countries. Now, our team of conservators have access to conferences and events, publications, research papers, journals and more opportunity to collaborate and network.

5-9Sarah Portelli from our conservation team co-chaired the 29th Biennale Congress organised by the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. Together with James Licari, Sarah represented the European Regional Hub.

Vanessa Buhagiar, a palaeographer at the National Archives, participated in the UNESCO Memory of the World International Training Workshop in Jordan.

We participated in this workshop, organised by the Korean National Commission for UNESCO as part of our efforts to get Petrus de Caxaro’s Kantilena included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. The Kantilena, the oldest known written literary text in Maltese, is held at the Notarial Registers Archive within the National Archives.

7

6

Mick Halliday donated a collection of photos shot by Ernest Price to the National Archives. Mr Price formed part of the RAF Photographic Unit of the photos are from the late 1920’s and early to mid-1930’s. The pictures form part of a larger collection covering many places around the world, including India, England, Scotland, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Germany and Malta.

Ted Attard donated a digital copy of a large collection of photos, primarily related to Gozo, that he shot over a number of years.

9

The National Archives collaborated with the Richard Ellis Archive in the development an exhibition to commemorate the 150 years since the setting up of the first photographic studio in Malta by Richard Ellis. This exhibition at the Centre for Creativity (St James’ Cavalier Valletta) was open until the 23 October.

Ms Josephine Fenech has donated a copy of her book Memorji ta’ Tfuliti (Memories from My Childhood) to the National Archives where she gives an account of her childhood, in particular between 1942 and 1962.

One hundred years since 407 refugees fleeing from Smyrna (now Izmir in Turkey) arrived at the Grand Harbour; 81 of these refugees were of Maltese origin. Within three months, close to 1,600 refugees landed in Malta. Half of them were of Maltese ancestry, six were born in Malta. The others were Cypriots, Dutch, Egyptians, Swiss, French, Americans, Armenians, Italians, Swedes and Turks.

The more affluent refugees who could afford to leave Malta did so by the end of 1922. Others stayed longer. Some returned to Smyrna while many were relocated to other countries such as Argentina, Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Portugal, Serbia, South Africa, United Kingdom and the United States. The ‘Maltese’ refugees who returned to Smyrna were distrusted by the Turkish authorities and were eventually expelled in 1932.

We commemorated the 100th anniversary since the arrival of the Smyrna refugees, one of the first major challenges faced by the first Maltese self-government, barely ten months after taking office.

In collaboration with the Malta Cine Circle, we participated in the International Archive Film Festival organised in Tbilisi, Georgia. 80 documentaries, animated films and cinema-chronicles were shown in the National Archive Cinema of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia.

These included films from archives, cinemas and cinema museums from Germany, Italy, USA, Spain, Great Britain, Netherlands, Portugal, Czech Republic, Croatia, Moldova, France and Malta.

10-16

We celebrated the annual European Days of Conservation-Restoration, recalling the contribution of conservators in the preservation and accessibility of our cultural heritage, including that within archives.

25-27

Simon Dimech, from our Conservation Lab, participated in a course about the latest developments in the use of PVA-borax gel in paper conservation. The training was held the Centro per lo Studio dei Materiali per il Restauro in Reggio Emilia (Italy).

27

We commemorated the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. Archived audiovisual records open a window to another world, allowing us to observe events we cannot attend, hear voices who can no longer speak.

Our conservators concluded the training of Identity Malta staff in the safe handling of documents. 37 Identity Malta staff members within the Public Registry participated in this training made up of nine sessions and delivered by Simon Dimech and Maria Borg.

6

Open day at Santu Spirtu. Hundreds of people visited us the exhibition European Discoveries: From the New World to New Technologies, the Conservation Lab and the pharmacy museum.

7The project MEMORJA became present on the Citizens’ App of the European Parliament. The Malta Buses features in the Citizens’ Stories section of this app. It features in the 24 EU languages within the Citizens’ Stories section of this app.

A Drop in the Waterfall, a documentary based on two Maltese documents exhibited in the The Construction of Europe – History, Memory and Myth of Europeanness over 1,000 Years, produced by Media Coop and co-financed by the European Union, was shown at a film festival in Sankt Pölten (Austria).

We hosted MCAST students following a course leading to the Advanced Diploma in Cultural Heritage Skills. Under the supervision of our conservators, they worked on a condition survey, carried out surface cleaning using soft brushes and learnt how to make wrappers for fragile bindings.

Vanessa Buhagiar presented her paper ‘The legal framework for rape prosecution: A case-study from eighteenth-century Maltese court proceedings’ at the Seminario sobre la violencia contra las mujeres en la Edad Moderna, held at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. This paper is based on Vanessa’s research of records at the National Archives.

We participated in the closing conference of the European Digital Treasures project held at the Archivo de la Real Chancillería de Valladolid (Spain). Leonard Callus delivered a presentation about New Business Models for the National Archives while the National Archivist, Charles Farrugia, formed part of a round table with the directors of partner institutions and the International Council on Archives discussing Challenges and New Alliances in the European Archives.

Conservator Simon Sultana Harkins left the National Archives and is continuing his profession as conservator in Scotland.

16

Conservator Simon Dimech left the National Archives and is continuing his profession as conservator in Italy.