Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Antonio Sciortino’s monument at Floriana is a magnificent work of art. For this reason and because Valletta will be in the limelight of all Europe in a month’s time, I would like the authorities concerned to make it known better.

The sides of the pedestal have Latin inscriptions related to the 1913 Eucharistic Congress held in our island. Some letters (about five) are missing in these inscriptions. These should be fitted forthwith so the inscriptions can be read by those familiar with Latin.

These inscriptions should be translated in both English and Maltese for the benefit of the Maltese people and tourists, with such translations being displayed close to the monument on an appropriate stand. I also notice that the name of Antonio Sciortino appears nowhere in the monument. There is only the name of the Roman foundry inscribed at the bottom right-hand side of the female figure representing Malta.

Thus, next to the translation I proposed earlier, there should also be a brief biography of Sciortino, including that it was set up in 1917, three years after the congress mentioned earlier.

Mention should also be made of the Maltese sculptor’s model of Ukraine’s national poet, Taras Schevcenko, with which he had won first prize in an international competition in 1914, the year that was perhaps the apogee of Sciortino’s career.