Engravings made by Matteo Perez d'Aleccio in Rome some years after he painted scenes from the Great Siege of 1565 at the Grand Council Chamber of the Grand Master's Palace in Valletta have been produced as a fund-raising initiative by Fr Charles Cini SDB for the Salesian Home of St Patrick's.

Photographer Daniel Cilia worked with Florentine publisher Masso delle Fate on a new patented method of photo-etching, combining modern with antique techniques, Fr Cini explained.

State-of-the-art metal matrixes measuring 44.5cm by 30.5 cm. were incised based the artist's 427-year-old originals. The plates were used to reprint the engravings on specially-made 250 gram cotton paper.

Produced in a limited numbered edition of 200 sets, the 15 prints are presented in a hand-made box, including an information booklet about their history by Albert Ganado.

I Veri Ritratti Della Guerra E Dell'Assedio Dati Al La Isola Di Malta Dall'Armata Turcha Al 'Anno 1565 cost €250 per set and one can contact Fr Cini SDB on 2133 7572/7949 2555 or at charlescini@gmail.com.

A book entitled The Siege Of Malta, 1565 - Matteo Perez d'Aleccio's Frescoes In The Grand Masters' Palace, Valletta has also been produced, in collaboration between the Salesians of Don Bosco and Heritage Malta.

Edited by Fr Cini with text by Ian C. Lochhead and photography by Daniel Cilia, the book is presented in a hand-made cofanetto box.

The 144-page, 33.5 cm by 22 cm, colour, hard-bound publication narrates the epic story of the Great Siege of Malta in the summer of 1565, using d'Aleccio's frescoes as visual imagery and detailed close-up photography by Mr Cilia accompanying the lucid and comprehensive text written by Mr Lochhead.

It is the story of the heroic defence of the island by some 500 Knights, 4,000 Maltese and 4,500 European soldiers against an army of more than 35,000 invaders.

The book costs €50 and copies are available from Fr Cini and leading bookshops.