The Three Palaces Festival 2026 - Giuseppe Calì: creative genius and compelling narratives
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This lecture is free of charge.
Interested audiences are kindly requested to send an email to [email protected]
Giuseppe Calì has for long been considered Malta's leading artistic spirit in the years straddling the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Indeed, he came to dominate the local art scene for around forty years and inspired so many artists, contemporaries and followers alike. His innate talent can be traced to his Neapolitan roots which boasted a long artistic family tradition, but his creative genius was abetted by an extraordinary gift for compelling narratives and captivating storytelling which marked his works from the early years. Perhaps this was the real secret for the artist's considerable success, because he managed to attract an audience with an appetite for theatre and drama. This lecture aims at reading the artist through the power of his images which, beyond the bravura of his brush, successfully combined ingenious story-telling and compelling narrative, strongly anchored in European, nineteenth-century examples.
In collaboration with University of Malta
The Church of St Francis of Assisi in Valletta has undergone several phases of architectural transformation since its foundation. The first church was built between 1598 and 1607, while a major rebuilding - undertaken in 1681, under the patronage of Grand Master Gregorio Carafa - contributed substantially to the Baroque character of the building that survives today.
Scientific investigation of the historic timber roof has provided further evidence of the church’s architectural development. Dendrochronological analysis has identified significant interventions dating to 1681 and 1876, demonstrating a continuing history of alteration, repair and adaptation.
The building was transformed again in the early twentieth century, when it was enlarged to designs by the Maltese architect Emanuel Borg, including the addition of a domed section. This intervention also affected the church’s decorative scheme and resulted in the loss of elements painted by Giuseppe Calì.
Calì’s surviving St Francis in Glory (1907) should therefore be understood not simply as an individual work of art, but as part of an architectural and decorative ensemble that has changed considerably over time. The loss of his work in the apse gives the surviving ceiling additional significance as evidence of an earlier relationship between painting, architecture, and Franciscan identity.
Reference: Bernabei, M., Brunetti, M., Macchioni, N., Nocetti, M. & Micheloni, M. (2021), ‘Surveying and Dating the Wooden Roof Structure of St Francis of Assisi Church in Valletta, Malta’, International Journal of Architectural Heritage, 15(12), pp. 1886–1894.
Mark Sagona
MARK SAGONA, Ph.D., is a practising visual artist, academic, art historian, and curator. Since 2022, he is Head of the Department of Art and Art History, Faculty of Arts, University of Malta, where he lectures in Art History and Fine Arts. His research primarily focuses on the Decorative Arts, design developments in Malta within an international framework, and artistic ideas and currents from the late 18th to early 20th centuries. Sagona has published in Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide (NCAW), The Journal of the Decorative Arts Society (London), and Osservatorio per le Arti Decorative in Italia (OADI).
He has delivered lectures at Seton Hall University (USA), the University of Xiamen (China), Università Roma Tre (Rome, Italy), and the Università degli Studi di Palermo, among others. Recent conference contributions include Revivals (2021), Ornament (Lisbon, 2023), Arti Decorative, costume e società nel Mediterraneo tra XVIII e XIX secolo (Polo Universitario, Trapani, 2023), and Precious Metals and Masterful Hands (University of Zadar, Croatia, 2025). In Malta, he has published and lectured extensively and collaborated with many cultural organisations, institutions and foundations.
His publications include International Perspectives on the Decorative Arts: Nineteenth-Century Malta (Midsea Books, Malta 2021) and Eclecticism and the Baroque Revival in the Decorative Arts in Malta: The Context for Abramo Gatt (1863–1944) (Midsea Books, Malta 2024). As an artist, he has held several solo exhibitions locally and internationally, with works in collections worldwide.
The Three Palaces Festival returns between the 27th October and 1st November. 🎭
For more tickets and information visit www.festivals.mt/ttp
The Three Palaces Festival is organised by Festivals Malta, with the support of the Ministry for the Arts, Culture and National Heritage. Sponsored by Schweppes.
Interested audiences are kindly requested to send an email to [email protected]
Giuseppe Calì has for long been considered Malta's leading artistic spirit in the years straddling the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Indeed, he came to dominate the local art scene for around forty years and inspired so many artists, contemporaries and followers alike. His innate talent can be traced to his Neapolitan roots which boasted a long artistic family tradition, but his creative genius was abetted by an extraordinary gift for compelling narratives and captivating storytelling which marked his works from the early years. Perhaps this was the real secret for the artist's considerable success, because he managed to attract an audience with an appetite for theatre and drama. This lecture aims at reading the artist through the power of his images which, beyond the bravura of his brush, successfully combined ingenious story-telling and compelling narrative, strongly anchored in European, nineteenth-century examples.
In collaboration with University of Malta
The Church of St Francis of Assisi in Valletta has undergone several phases of architectural transformation since its foundation. The first church was built between 1598 and 1607, while a major rebuilding - undertaken in 1681, under the patronage of Grand Master Gregorio Carafa - contributed substantially to the Baroque character of the building that survives today.
Scientific investigation of the historic timber roof has provided further evidence of the church’s architectural development. Dendrochronological analysis has identified significant interventions dating to 1681 and 1876, demonstrating a continuing history of alteration, repair and adaptation.
The building was transformed again in the early twentieth century, when it was enlarged to designs by the Maltese architect Emanuel Borg, including the addition of a domed section. This intervention also affected the church’s decorative scheme and resulted in the loss of elements painted by Giuseppe Calì.
Calì’s surviving St Francis in Glory (1907) should therefore be understood not simply as an individual work of art, but as part of an architectural and decorative ensemble that has changed considerably over time. The loss of his work in the apse gives the surviving ceiling additional significance as evidence of an earlier relationship between painting, architecture, and Franciscan identity.
Reference: Bernabei, M., Brunetti, M., Macchioni, N., Nocetti, M. & Micheloni, M. (2021), ‘Surveying and Dating the Wooden Roof Structure of St Francis of Assisi Church in Valletta, Malta’, International Journal of Architectural Heritage, 15(12), pp. 1886–1894.
Mark Sagona
MARK SAGONA, Ph.D., is a practising visual artist, academic, art historian, and curator. Since 2022, he is Head of the Department of Art and Art History, Faculty of Arts, University of Malta, where he lectures in Art History and Fine Arts. His research primarily focuses on the Decorative Arts, design developments in Malta within an international framework, and artistic ideas and currents from the late 18th to early 20th centuries. Sagona has published in Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide (NCAW), The Journal of the Decorative Arts Society (London), and Osservatorio per le Arti Decorative in Italia (OADI).
He has delivered lectures at Seton Hall University (USA), the University of Xiamen (China), Università Roma Tre (Rome, Italy), and the Università degli Studi di Palermo, among others. Recent conference contributions include Revivals (2021), Ornament (Lisbon, 2023), Arti Decorative, costume e società nel Mediterraneo tra XVIII e XIX secolo (Polo Universitario, Trapani, 2023), and Precious Metals and Masterful Hands (University of Zadar, Croatia, 2025). In Malta, he has published and lectured extensively and collaborated with many cultural organisations, institutions and foundations.
His publications include International Perspectives on the Decorative Arts: Nineteenth-Century Malta (Midsea Books, Malta 2021) and Eclecticism and the Baroque Revival in the Decorative Arts in Malta: The Context for Abramo Gatt (1863–1944) (Midsea Books, Malta 2024). As an artist, he has held several solo exhibitions locally and internationally, with works in collections worldwide.
The Three Palaces Festival returns between the 27th October and 1st November. 🎭
For more tickets and information visit www.festivals.mt/ttp
The Three Palaces Festival is organised by Festivals Malta, with the support of the Ministry for the Arts, Culture and National Heritage. Sponsored by Schweppes.
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Where is it happening?
Knisja San Franġisk Valletta/St. Francis' Church Valletta Malta, 289 Triq ir-Repubblika, Valletta, VLT, Malta
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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