Campus FM lectures

On the 1st June 2011 a public lecture by Prof. John Woods on marine archaeology, entitled 'The Roman wreck at Xlendi, 1961-2011', organised by Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum, was held at Mdina.

In about 213 BC a Roman ship sank on Xlendi Reef, Gozo. The wreck was discovered and surveyed in 1961, with guidance from the Malta National Museum and Capt. O. F. Gollcher (1889-1962). The ship's cargo of amphorae is on display at the Gozo Archaeological Museum. In his illustrated lecture John Woods took us back fifty years to the 1961 diving expedition and his recollections of Capt. O.F. Gollcher, who was passionate about marine archaeology in Malta and was the owner and last resident of Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum where a number of archaeological artefacts are on display.

Professor John Woods, CBE, DSc

The 1961 survey was led by John Woods, a physics undergraduate and President of the Underwater Club at Imperial College London. He spent the next ten summers combining science and diving for the Royal Navy in Malta. In the late 1960s Archbishop Gonzi commissioned him to document the Church Festas in Malta. His career alternated between being a professor of oceanography (Southampton, Kiel & London) and a senior civil servant (UK Director of Marine & Atmospheric Sciences). He was awarded the Founder's gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society. In 2007 he shared in the Nobel Peace Prize for Climate.

This public lecture, delivered by Mr Lawrence Pavia, was organised by the Malta Historical Society and Palazzo Falson.

In the lecture Mr Pavia provided information about how the couple came to Malta and their interpretation of Malta as seen through the eyes of foreigners, what influenced them most, their contacts with local artists, and whether they actually left any lasting influence on Malta's art.

Mr Pavia has been a Chartered Insurance Broker by profession for the last 30 years. His passion for art and history has led him to read for a degree in History of Art, which led him to research the interpretation of Malta's landscape by British artists in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, for his MA. He is an avid collector of works of art, and he also paints and has recently held a solo exhibition at San Anton Palace.

The lecture was held on Tuesday 17 May 2011.

‍MEDIEVAL MALTA: Recent studies on elements of Maltese Medieval Art and Architecture

Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum, Mdina in conjunction with the Department of History of Art of the University of Malta organized a cycle of Sunday morning monthly lectures, during which established and emerging researchers and academics presented the results of their recent research on aspects of medieval art and architecture of the Maltese islands.

The lecture, held at Palazzo Falson on the 11th April 2010, was delivered by Keith Buhagiar M.A.

‍MEDIEVAL MALTA: Recent studies on elements of Maltese Medieval Art and Architecture

Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum, Mdina in conjunction with the Department of History of Art of the University of Malta organized a cycle of Sunday morning monthly lectures, during which established and emerging researchers and academics presented the results of their recent research on aspects of medieval art and architecture of the Maltese islands.

The lecture, held at Palazzo Falson on the 7th March 2010, was delivered by Charlene Vella B.A (Hons).

500 years of the watch

The second lecture in a series organised by Palazzo Falson in conjunction with Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti was held on the 11th November 2009. David Thompson, who delivered the lecture titled '500 years of the watch' to a packed audience, is curator of Horology at the British Museum. He was in Malta on the invitation of Palazzo Falson to examine its watch collection, which includes the absolutely rare Robert Robin decimal time watch. The results of his study will be published in a forthcoming book which will feature a study on each of the principal collections of Palazzo Falson.

Two seminars on the Kantilena, the oldest piece of literature in the Maltese language, were organised by the Akkademja tal-Malti in conjunction with Palazzo Falson, at Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum. These seminars were held on the 18th and 19th April, during the Medieval Mdina festival, and consisted of readings of the Kantilena by Prof. Manwel Mifsud and Dr Martin Zammit. Prof. Stanley Fiorini and Prof. Godfrey Wettinger discussed the historical context in which the Kantilena was created.

Oriental carpet expert Jennifer Wearden's talk on 'Oriental Carpets, their design and construction' was organised by Palazzo Falson and Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti and delivered on the 4th November 2008.