On the picture Ambassador Ray Azzopardi during the opening of the Art Exhibition by Maltese painters at the European Parliament.
The Presidency of the Council of the European Union provided Malta with an excellent opportunity to showcase its cultural heritage, here, in Brussels. Despite being the smallest Member State of the EU, Malta is rich in its history and culture.
This is partly as a result of its strategic location in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, which many consider it a cradle of civilisations. Malta has been blessed with architectural majesty and artistic grandeur. Visitors and dignitaries are always marvelled with the richness of Malta’s artistic heritage despite the size of the country.
The embassy of Malta to the Kingdom of Belgium is constantly working to give Malta its deserved visibility, here, in Belgium. Malta is a blend of various cultural and artistic treasures coupled with a Mediterranean Joie de vivre.
The opening concert by the world acclaimed tenor Joseph Calleja, at the BOZAR last January, witnessed Malta’s cultural richness.
One of the upcoming activities worth marking in your calendar is the Malta Land and Sea exhibition taking place at the BOZAR Centre of Fine Arts between the 17 February 2017 and the 28 May 2017.
This exhibition includes various artworks predominantly by Caravaggio, which are usually displayed at Palazzo Pitti in Florence Italy. It will be the first time to exhibit these fine artworks outside Italy, as part of Malta’s cultural events to mark the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was an Italian artist who spent part of his life on the Maltese islands, during which he commissioned one of his rich treasures that is also preserved to its authenticity by Heritage Malta.
The embassy of Malta in Brussels is working to bring diplomats who are based in Brussels closer to each other, by hosting working lunches and other events, in which numerous themes are discussed. Also, work is proceeding well on the preparations for the DEAC days, which is scheduled to take place in Malta in April this year. The participants will have the opportunity to meet with the Maltese authorities, covering different sectors.
The informal Malta Summit held on the 3 February 2017, showed what Malta, as a small country, can achieve despite its scarce resources. EU leaders seemed to have enjoyed what Malta has to offer. Fortunately, our climate did not disappoint our EU heads of state during the summit, whereby most of the EU leaders had the opportunity to visit St. John’s Co-Cathedral; one of Malta’s magnificent artistic treasure. Besides its baroque celebration, St. John’s Co-Cathedral houses another artistic gem by Caravaggio, depicting the ‘Beheading of St. John the Baptist’.
During the informal summit Malta’s environment embraced the true objective of the Maltese Presidency – rEUnion with the aim to bringing Europe closer to its people. Malta proved to be an outstanding backdrop to put high on the European agenda the evolving priorities of the EU, while bringing Member States closer together. It provided the right atmosphere for EU leaders to enjoy their work in a country that fosters peace and stability in the Mediterranean neighbourhood.
If you want to keep yourself updated with Malta’s cultural activities, you can visit our website www.reunion.org.mt
The six months of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the EU are a great opportunity to discover the welfare and prosperity nurtured within the Maltese islands and its citizens.
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