CULTURE: ART
According to campingship, Malta is a country located in Europe. The sanctuary of Tas-Silg, to be identified with the fanum Iunonis mentioned by Cicero, still dates back to the prehistoric phase of Tarxien; remained in use until the end of Maltese prehistory, it was considerably enlarged and modified in the Punic and then Roman period. Late Punic is the cultural complex of Ras il-Wardija (Gozo) partly excavated in the rock. There are few documents of Romanesque and late Gothic art, deeply influenced by Sicilian-Norman components (Old Town or La Notabile, La Vittoriosa, Gozo). In the sec. XVI-XVII intense was the activity carried out in Malta by Italian painters and architects, from Antonello da Saliba (paintings in the church of the Minors in Rabato) to B. Genga da Urbino, Maculano da Firenzuola, Maurizio Valperga, active in the architectural and fortification works of La Vittoriosa and other locations. In addition to Caravaggio (Beheading of St. John the Baptist and St. Jerome in the cathedral of Valletta), M. Preti (official painter of the order of the Knights of Malta, working in Malta) took part in the introduction and development of seventeenth-century art. from 1661 to 1696), L. Spada, G. Arena etc., alongside which there were notable Maltese artists, including Melchiorre and Lorenzo Gafà, the first sculptor, the second architect. Among the most important monuments in the Old Town (La Notabile) are the cathedral, the work of L. Gafà (with Sicilian style paintings of the XV century by M. Preti and other artists of the XVII century, as well as sculptures and paintings of the XV century. XIX), the Falzon palace and the eighteenth-century palace of the Grand Master; in the locality of Rabato, in addition to the aforementioned church of the Minors, the church of S. Agata (with an underground chapel that preserves the remains of Romanesque-Byzantine paintings) and that of S. Paolo (with paintings by M. Preti and the Maltese artists Erardi and Zahra) under which there is a cave where the apostle Paul would have been a prisoner. In the small town La Vittoriosa, which preserves the fortification works carried out according to a defensive system also including the nearby cities of Cospicua and Senglea, the great church of S. Lorenzo (by L. Gafà) and the Palazzo del Sant’Uffizio are important.. Greater urban unity and wealth of monuments presents Valletta, founded in 1566, to whose realization F. Lapparelli, G. Cassar, PP Floriani and others contributed. Among the churches, the cathedral of S. Giovanni is noteworthy, built by G. Cassar according to the characters of the Italian seventeenth century, perfectly blended with elements of the local tradition (inside paintings by Caravaggio, M. Preti, L. Spada and I. Palma the Younger; sculptures by A. Gagini, V. Pacetti etc.; tapestries by Rubens) and the churches of Gesù (by F. Bonamici, with paintings by M. Preti and others), of S. Paolo (with paintings by Italian and Maltese artists), of S. Giacomo (by the Maltese G. Barbara), of S. Maria del Gesù (by G. Cassar), of the Augustinians (by D. Cachia). Cassar is also responsible for various other religious buildings and the characteristic hotels of the various languages of the Order, many of which were rebuilt in a later period. Interesting for its already neoclassical setting is the building of the Library, built by S. Ittar from Catania. Notable example of civil architecture is the palace of the Grand Master, which in its present appearance dates back to around 1740. There are preserved paintings, tapestries, majolica, furniture from the rich original collections; in the courtyard there is a statue of Neptune, attributed to L.. In the surroundings of Valletta, the parish churches of Attard, Naxxar, Zurrico (with many paintings by M. Preti) and Mosta are noteworthy. On the island of Gozo, of strong medieval character, noteworthy are the Great Castle, the imposing cathedral (by L. Gafà), the Palazzo dei Tribunali and the Museum.
CULTURE: CINEMA
The islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino have been the places chosen by important international producers as locations for many films for more than 40 years. The success began when Jim Hole, from England, and Paul Avellino from Maltese, built a film studio which in 1978 took the name of Mediterranean Film Studios Facilities. Films, television series, commercials and music videos have since been set in Malta. Among the great productions that have made use of the Maltese scenarios or his studios Pinocchio (2002), by and with Roberto Benigni, and Troy (2004) by Wolfgang Petersen with Brad Pitt.