The Mdina Cathedral Museum is a religious art museum located inside the mediaeval walled city of Mdina, Malta . The museum is housed within a Baroque building that was built as a Jesuit seminary. It can be found on the right-hand side of the St. Paul's Cathedral , in Archbishop's Square. The museum's collection includes an eclectic secular and ecclesiastical repertoire. The museum also holds various artwork and archaeology remains, including important artwork by Mattia Preti . The museum also owns the most important collection of Italian Baroque music that has been preserved south of Naples .
30-599: On 28 March 1592, the Grand Master Cardinal Hugh De Verdalle and Bishop Mgr Tomaso Gargallo received an apostolic brief that a Jesuit seminary was to be erected in Malta. On 8 August 1616, Bishop Balthassar Cagliares opened a seminary in Mdina in which he admitted 12 pupils. They were to study, philosophy , theology , grammar and logic at the expense of the bishop himself. On 24 May 1681,
60-543: A deeply religious viewpoint that discusses existentialism. The spiritual crisis in Il-Jien u lil hinn Minnu is analysed in universal human terms that illuminate human existence and insist on the ineffable relation that exists between God and the human person, while pointing to the need of the latter's absolute acceptance of the former's hidden power. Before 1912 Dun Karm wrote only in Italian . His first known published poem
90-477: A high degree of spiritual balance. Some of his poems illustrate an inner journey of sentimental and moral experience. Nonetheless, besides expressing such subjectivity, Dun Karm's works also give voice to his country's collective aspirations. His poetry reflects a background of village life with an atmosphere of family feelings and it also portrays the Maltese countryside with a perspective imagination. It synthesises
120-618: A letter from the prefect of the Congregation of the Council ordered Bishop Mgr Girolamo Molina to re-establish the seminary in Mdina, by the end of the 17th century the Mdina Seminary was not functioning anymore. On 25 March 1703, Mgr Cocco Pamlieri in his palace at Valletta stipulated the foundation act and the decree for the erection of a seminary in Mdina. In the year 1733, an extensive building quarter with old medieval houses
150-618: Is La Dignità Episcopale (1889) after which he published Foglie d'Alloro (1896) and Versi (1903) another collection of Italian poems. In 1912, Dun Karm wrote Kuddiem Xbieha tal Madonna, his first poem in Maltese, which appeared in the first issue of the Maltese periodical Il-Ħabib , published by Pawl Galea and Ġużè Muscat Azzopardi . His best-known poems include Il-Musbieħ tal-Mużew (1920). A.J. Arberry translated about 37 of Dun Karm's poems into English, Ġużè Delia translated Il-Vjatku into Spanish and Laurent Ropa translated Il-Jien u lil hinn Minnu into French. Carmel Mallia translated
180-422: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a Spanish Catholic bishop or archbishop is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Dun Karm Psaila Carmelo Psaila , better known as Dun Karm/Dun Karm Psaila ( Żebbuġ , 18 October 1871 – 13 October 1961) was a Maltese priest, writer and poet, sometimes called 'the bard of Malta'. He is widely recognised as
210-456: The Maltese government issued him an ex-gratia pension in recognition of his services to Maltese literature. Dun Karm is best known as the author the verses of a good number of popular religious hymns in Maltese , including the Maltese national anthem. In 1921, Albert Laferla , the director of education, asked Dun Karm to compose some verses to a music score by Robert Samut . The Innu Malti
240-458: The Maltese islands, could not be too easily collapsed into an extended form of the "Britishness", "Italianità del Risorgimento" or "Italianità cattolica", which were the subject of endless political debates among the intellectuals of the time. Yet, Dun Karm is rarely labelled a "nationalist" or a "patriot" in the way such terms are usually used in the English language: he sought to put his finger on
270-609: The Maltese national poet and for the Maltese National Anthem called (L-Innu malti). He was educated at the seminary between the years 1885 and 1894 and then proceeded to study philosophy in 1888 and theology in 1890 the University of Malta . He was ordained priest in 1894. From 1895 to 1921 he taught various subjects at the seminary: Italian , Latin , English , arithmetic, geography, cosmography , ecclesiastical history and Christian archaeology. In 1921 he
300-539: The building for urgent use during World War I. Then in 1914, an additional upper storey was built upon the actual pinacoteca by the British Admiralty. In the year 1912, the building served as unorganized storage. An issue had been raised by the cathedral chapter to restore the two paintings by the Mattia Preti de pertininza which were found neglected in one of the rooms of the seminary. Circa 1919,
330-659: The building was reused as a seminary. National poet Dun Karm Psaila lectured at Mdina. By the early 1920s, the training for aspiring priests returned to Manresa House in Floriana, the idea to use the former seminary building as a place for permanent exhibitions was discussed in Chapters Meetings of May 1926 and continued on the advent of the World War II , exactly in August 1938. In the years between 1939 and 1942,
SECTION 10
#1732791409307360-566: The candidates to the priesthood by the Holy See and by the Maltese ecclesiastical authorities. In the year 1749, the artist Antoine Favrè was paid the sum of 250 scudi for his set of paintings installed within the octagonal seminary chapel dedicated to the Annunciation. The seminary remained in Mdina till 1858, when Bishop Pace Forno, as part of a radical reform in the seminary, moved to a better central location, that of Floriana . After
390-406: The collections of Count Saverio Marchese , which made the Maltese man of letters one of the earliest Maltese art collectors to bequeath a significant portion of his collection to the public. His register of purchases, titled Primo Costo , is an invaluable document, detailing over 85 paintings, including religious works, landscapes, and still lifes. It was Mons. Edward Coleiro who initially proposed
420-403: The early 1950s the former seminary was also used as a house of retreat. During the difficult years of World War II, the issue of the museum was shelved on the chapter's agenda. Finally, a decisive moment came after a successful exhibition with Marian exhibition of 1949 started paving the way for the making of the first professional museum. The Mdina Cathedral Museum benefitted from the donation of
450-523: The edifice saw another change when the political vicissitudes of Malta at the time of World War II brought to Mdina Seminary the St. Edward's College students from an unsafe Cottonera area. In the late 1940s, the building served to accommodate the nuns of the Good Shepherd while certain areas were reserved for the classes of a small private school administered by the chapter. During the years 1940's- to
480-634: The identity of the common people of the islands, while not trying to mimic the national identities of the major European polities by Romantic movements as a reaction to the cosmopolitanism of the French Revolution and the Napolenonic Wars. His first works in Italian reveal an early life of peace and calm; after the death of his mother, solitude became his companion. Such solitude is present throughout his works, eventually accompanied by
510-416: The popular culture of the Maltese people , which is evident from the rural characteristics that furnish its local identity with the literary culture based largely on Italian romanticism . When he decided to make Maltese the medium of his creativity, Dun Karm poetically explored the history of Malta to confirm its cultural and national identity. Both the personal and the national sentiments are treated from
540-654: The seminary was moved out from Mdina, the building was used for various purposes. During the Crimean War , the British military used the building as their headquarters. During this occupation, the British added most of the upper floor (now in use by the museum administration) by building two separate wings. The British also added fireplaces to the building, a quintessential addition during the British Victorian period. Then in 1913 British Royal Admiralty occupied
570-538: The shift of objects from the cathedral to the Cathedral Museum. Various activities held in the former seminary building were brought to an end on 4 January 1969 with a very remarkable opening of the first official Cathedral Museum which was inaugurated by the governor of Malta Sir Maurice Dorman and Mgr Archbishop Sir Michael Gonzi . In 1992, the Dr John A. Cauchi hall displaying his collection of paintings
600-647: Was a Spanish Roman Catholic prelate who became the Bishop of Malta in 1578. Gargallo was born in Catalonia , Spain , in 1536. Gargallo was appointed as Bishop of Malta by Pope Gregory XIII on 11 August 1578. He was consecrated bishop in Palermo . Whilst in Malta, Gargallo ruled with fear, to the point where no one dared to stand up to him. Consequently, there were clashes with the Inquisition in Malta and he
630-427: Was already dead when construction began, leaving Belli as the more likely candidate. The Mdina Seminary was inaugurated on the 20 May 1742. At that time there were 1,679 priests in the diocese of Malta. The number of Maltese priests declined in the second half of the eighteenth century, a decline caused by the pressure that was brought about by the higher standards of education and intellectual formation that were asked of
SECTION 20
#1732791409307660-427: Was appointed as Bishop of Malta on 8 March 1728. He is remembered mostly for building the Mdina seminary, now the Cathedral Museum, in 1733 as well as for financing the printing of a Maltese translation of Cardinal Bellarmino's Catholic Catechism which was distributed to every parish in Malta. The building where the museum is now was built by Bishop Alpheran de Bussan, with the first stone being laid in 1733. This building
690-565: Was appointed assistant librarian at the National Library of Malta and in 1923 director of circulating libraries, a post he held till his retirement in 1936. Dun Karm was one of the founding members of the Għaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Malti (founded in 1921) and on the death of Ġużè Muscat Azzopardi in 1927, he was elected president of the Għaqda and later editor of the official organ, Il-Malti . He carried out these functions till 1942 when he
720-574: Was bought to build a new bigger seminary presently the premises of the Cathedral Museum. The French nobleman Paul Alphéran de Bussan (1728–1757) first came to Malta at the age of 19 when the ship he was travelling on was caught in heavy storms and had to seek shelter in St. Paul's Bay. Both his uncle Melchior Alpheran de Bussan and brother Jean-Melchior Alphéran were members of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta . Paul Alphéran de Bussan
750-726: Was nominated honorary president of the Għaqda for life. In recognition of his contribution to Maltese literature , he was granted a D. Litt (honoris causa) by the Royal University of Malta in 1945 - the first time the University granted such an honour. A year later he was awarded the Ġużè Muscat Azzopardi gold medal. Queen Elizabeth II decorated him with the Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1956. In 1957
780-401: Was only in 1703 that Bishop Cocco Palmieri welcomed the first seminarians to a building in Mdina. In 1723, Bishop Mancini (1722–1727) transferred the seminary to Valletta . Bishop Fra Paolo Alpheran de Bussan and Grandmaster Manoel De Vilhena funded the building of the current edifice. The building's design is attributed to the architects Giovanni Barbara or Andrea Belli , although Barbara
810-718: Was opened. On 18 November 2008, an extensive collection of antique silverware, amassed by former Speaker Jimmy Farrugia, was donated to the Cathedral Museum, Mdina. in 2010 the opening of other silver rooms (formerly used to conserve the archives) was used to accommodate Antonio Arrighi's famous Apsotolato, treasures of the Cathedral Church and treasures coming for the Church of the Holy Souls in Valletta. Tom%C3%A1s Gargallo Tomás Gargallo (1536 – 10 June 1614)
840-524: Was sung for the first time in 1923. In 1941 it was officially designated the national anthem , a status confirmed by the Constitution at independence in 1964. Yet, Dun Karm is not deemed the Maltese "national poet" merely because he wrote the text of the national anthem but rather for having written prolifically in Maltese, and producing works conscious of a "Maltese identity. Dun Karm was conscious that his identity, that that of most people who inhabited
870-726: Was suspended by Inquisitor Cefalotto in 1582, as a result of his harsh rule. Gargallo also experienced financial difficulties whilst Bishop of Malta. Gargallo welcomed the newly formed order of the Jesuits to Malta. He also established a number of parishes, notably, St Paul's parish , St Dominic's parish and Our Lady of Damascus Greek Catholic parish, all in Valletta . He also established the parishes of Senglea , Cospicua , Kirkop , Safi , Mqabba , Lija , Mosta , Gharghur , and Tarxien . Gargallo died on 10 June 1614 after an episcopate of 36 years. This Maltese biographical article
900-520: Was to serve as the seminary for the Diocese of Malta . In the 16th century, the Council of Trent instituted seminaries to provide for the training of candidates for the priesthood. Twelve years after the last session of the council, Mgr. Dusina, Apostolic Visitor to Malta, decreed the erection of a seminary. Various attempts were made by the bishops of Malta to have such a purpose-built building, but it
#306693