I have known Joe Eynaud all my life. There is still a black-and-white photo of him and his beloved wife Carmen playing with me as a toddler at the beach. However, I came to know him much better during my years as a student of Italian in the late 1980s and later as a friend and colleague at university.

During his lectures, his love for 19th-century literary giants such as Leopardi and Manzoni was there for all to see. Even in later years, with colleagues and friends, he would often quote verses by Leopardi as a comment on whatever was being discussed.

After more than three decades teaching Italian language, literature and pedagogy, for which he was awarded the title of Cavaliere della Repubblica Italiana by the then President of the Republic of Italy, Azeglio Ciampi, in 2003 he founded the Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies.

He was always ready for new challenges, and when Malta was about to join the European Union, he foresaw the need to train translators and interpreters to cater for Maltese as an official language of the EU. Joe led the department since its inception until 2018, when he passed on the headship baton to me. In his 15 years at the helm, he led the department with passion and hard work.

When I joined as a resident academic in 2010, I found in him a great mentor, but I was especially impressed by his openness to new ideas and his willingness to take them on when he saw their merits. Thanks to his vision and leadership, today the Department of Translation, Terminology and Interpreting Studies is part of the prestigious European Masters in Translation (EMT) network.

However, Joe’s true love was interpreting. The underground interpreters’ lab at the university, endowed with the latest equipment he invested in for the benefit of the students, was the place at university he loved most. He spent time training his students over and above his scheduled lectures, and worried over their progress and their chances to pass the European Commission’s interpreters’ accreditation exam.

I will miss our long chats over a coffee or over the phone. I will miss a very dear friend.

Addio, Joe. Buon riposo e che la terra ti sia lieve.

Prof. Sergio Portelli, Head, Department of Translation, Terminology and Interpreting Studies, University of Malta