Copenhagen exhibition portrays Malta's maritime history

A pictorial exhibition portraying Malta's 7,000-year maritime history was inaugurated recently at Copenhagen's central library.

The exhibition is organised by the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Heritage Malta with the assistance of the Maltese Embassy in Denmark.

It was inaugurated earlier this month by Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami in the Krystallen Hall of the Central Library in Copenhagen, in a ceremony coinciding with the EU summit.

Present for the event were Foreign Affairs Minister Joe Borg, the Maltese Ambassador to Denmark, Carmel Aquilina, and Heritage Malta chairman Alex Grech.

Among the guests were Malta's chief negotiator, Richard Cachia Caruana and 13 Ambassadors to Denmark from various EU countries.

'Malta - a maritime nation', an exhibition of pictorial illustrations, shows the island's development in the maritime sector and its importance in the socio-political arena of the Mediterranean throughout the ages.

The theme was inspired by writings of three well-known Baltic personalities: popular children's story writer Hans Christian Andersen, Rev. Peder Pavels and Bertel Thorvaldsen, all of whom visited and wrote about Malta in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The exhibition consists of 47 panels illustrating the four main periods of Malta's maritime history, from prehistory to the present day, and an interactive computerised presentation.

Mr Grech said the exhibition was an excellent opportunity for Heritage Malta to kick start its public programmes internationally.

"As a mobile exhibition it gives great visibility to the value of Malta as an exciting destination both for its cultural and historic assets as well as a service provider within the maritime industry," Mr Grech said.

The exhibition was designed by Pierre Bonello of Heritage Malta and the text was written by Charles Galea from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

The exhibition will run in Copenhagen until January 19 before travelling to Sweden, Finland, Greece and the Netherlands.