Public lecture on Mgr Giuseppe Farrugia and book launch
He was a polymath like no other Gozo has seen
As part of events marking the first centenary of Mgr Giuseppe Farrugia’s demise, Maria Frendo will deliver a public talk at Il-Ħaġar Museum in Victoria on Saturday at 11am.
Mgr Farrugia is considered an “orator, musician, designer, a polymath like no other Gozo has seen”. Synthesising the quality of his talents, Frendo will look at Farrugia as a man of high culture steeped in the European civilisation into which he was born, bred and nurtured. The concepts of civitas and urbanitas as articulated by Cicero will be explored in the context of Farrugia’s efforts to cultivate refinement of manners in the classical tradition.
Frendo is associate professor of English literature at the University of Malta and a member of the editorial board of CounterText, a literary studies journal published by Edinburgh University Press. Her major interest lies in poetry and the poetic, and she teaches courses ranging from Chaucer to contemporary times. She is also a fellow of the London College of Music and of Trinity College of Music, London, performing respectively in classical singing and pianoforte.
Frendo is the co-curator of the Joseph Vella Music Archive at Il-Ħaġar Museum, assistant artistic director of the Victoria International Arts Festival and director of the Laudate Pueri Choir of St George’s basilica. She was appointed to the National Order of Merit in 2012.
The talk, titled A Star Undimmed, will be followed by the launch of the publication of the late Stephen Attard’s (1966-2024) dissertation, Monsignor Giuseppe Farrugia: His Life and Achievements, published by Midsea Books Ltd.
Admission is free but seat reservations are recommended by sending an e-mail to events @heartofgozo.org.mt.