April 22, 2009
The Medieval Mdina Festival held on the 18th and 19th April, turned out to be a very busy time for Palazzo Falson.
The highlights of the weekend were the Kantilena seminars which were held in conjunction with the Akkademja tal-Malti, in our medieval refectory area. On Saturday the 18th, Prof. Stanley Fiorini delivered a paper on the Medieval Maltese context in which the Kantilena was written and Prof. Manwel Mifsud read out the Kantilena, the earliest written piece of literature in Maltese. The next day, Prof. Godfrey Wettinger, who had discovered the Kantilena together with Patri Mikiel Fsadni in the Notarial deeds of Brandano Caxaro in 1966, revealed new facts about the author of the Kantilena, Pietro Caxaro. Dr Martin Zammit then gave two different interpretations of the reading of the Kantilena. The seminars were introduced by Palazzo Falson curator Francesca Balzan, and Mr Toni Cortis read excerpts from Patri Fsadni's writings about the circumstances of the exciting discovery of the Kantilena. The persons attending the seminar were invited to drinks on the roof, hosted by the Akkademja tal-Malti, and were able to meet the speakers over a refreshing glass of Buck's fizz.
Campus FM recorded both seminars and we will supply a link to the podcast of the seminars as soon as these are made available.
Mdina was flooded with visitors throughout the two days. A 50% discount on entrance fee to the Museum was offered to all visitors during that weekend, and free guided tours of the Museum were provided until we closed our doors at 10pm. Visitors following the tours late in the evening were delighted to see the Museum by night, with flickering candlelight gently lighting the courtyard.
The special menu of delicious home made food, based on Medieval recipes, which was served at our Museum cafe proved to be a great success with our visitors.
