It was a pleasure to read the very erudite article ‘Making sense of life’ by Clare Vassallo of the University of Malta (March 2). She wrote this on her return from Milan, from the funeral of Umberto Eco, one of the greatest figures of the literary coterie of our times.

It makes us proud to have in our midst one of his former students, especially as she appears to have been very close to him, close enough for a selfie. I have long had a very special attraction to Eco. He was my contemporary – two years my junior – and the epicentre of his life was Bologna, la Dotta, one of my favourite cities.

He ended up in Milan where I also spent a year for post-graduate studies. I would have liked to pay my last respects but I am too old to travel for a funeral. His output was prodigious. I have a list of over 40 titles of which I only have four on my bookshelves. I had started with his Secondo Diario Minimo which I found extremely entertaining.

Then I tackled his Il Nome della Rosa which I found gripping, and I had all my lights on in the evenings. I have Il Pendolo di Foucalt - I had seen one at the Mole Antonelliana in Turin - and Numero Zero lined up for my next bout of flu, hopefully not too soon. I am, however, impressed and proud to have one of Eco’s graduate students in our Alma Mater, where I spent half a century. It is a big feather in our cap. I look forward to more contributions from her. Perhaps a lecture with slides.