Daniel Cilia Book order

The urban, cultural and political profile of the Maltese islands is deeply marked by the presence for 268 years of the Knights of St John. The Order has left its mark decisively in the collective memory of the Maltese. Malta: The Order of St John gives a global picture of this multinational institutions in those crucial years when Grand Master L'Isle Adam moved the convent from Rhodes to Malta, when legendary Grand Master Valette withstood the Turkish assault in 1565, when Grand Masters Wignacourt, Cotoner and Carafa turned Malta into a centre of Mediterraean corsairing and Grand Masters Vilhena and Pinto tried to imitate the Central European absolutist princes. It all came to a sudden - but not unexpected - end in 1798 when Grand Master Hompesch handed over Malta to the rising star on the European horizon, Napoleon. The various diplomatic attempts of the knights to regain their island all failed. The book also provides the reader with an overview of the most important monuments connected with the knights on Malta and Gozo.

Hagar Qim and Mnajdra Temples are amongst the most popular and most visited archaeological sites on the Maltese islands. But what is it about these sites that makes them so unique? What do they tell us about the people who built them? And who discovered them? This fully-illustrated guidebook attempts to answer these questions. It highlights some of the reasons why every visitor to the sites should feel privileged and why we should all protect these sites to extend this privilege to our children.

A journey into Malta's checkered history through the seven basic elements that most influenced its roots and made Malta what it is: sea, rock, water, food, faith, war, and celebration. The author and photographer narrate, through words and pictures, each of these elements, transforming every chapter into an explosion of verve and color depicting the Maltese way of life, its culture, traditions, and gastronomy. This book is a fresh approach ot the island's history from the dawn of civilization through to the threshold of the new millennium and its membership in the European Union.

The story of Malta's Middle Ages, from the end of Roman rule to the arrival of the Knights Hospitallers, extends across centuries of exciting changes and dramatic events retold for the very first time in an attractive volume by Charles Dalli.

Supported by numerous colour photographs by Daniel Cilia, this well-presented book surveys the archaeological heritage of Malta, focusing on the classical period rather than the island's more celebrated prehistoric past. Photographs, plans and reconstruction drawings present archaeological sites, tombs, coins, ceramics, artworks, extraordinary objects and other items from everyday life, dating to the Phoenician, Punic and Roman periods in turn, representing 1,500 years of history. Bonanno's narrative discusses this material evidence and considers what it reveals about the identity, culture, interaction, funerary beliefs, economy and government of Malta's rulers. The physical organisation of the island is explored through maps while inscriptions are examined as sources for religion and administration. Significant archaeological remains survive from these periods, including towns, villas and harbours, demonstrating the significance of Malta within the Mediterranean as a major trading stop. This book provides an invaluable guide to that heritage.

A unique study on the figurative art of the people who lived in Malta some 5000 years ago. The prehistoric statues and figurines discovered in Malta's many megalithic temples and underground cemeteries are part of a rich material culture that has intrigued archaeologists and the public alike. Of these figures, those that depict the human form are perhaps most interesting, and have been studied in detail by Simon Stoddart, Caroline Malone and Anthony Bonanno. This book concentrates on these particular figurines. Contains new photographs.

The large stone temple structures on Malta are amongst the earliest such constructions in the world, long before the pyramids were built in Egypt. This super book forms a pictorial record of all the temples on Malta, whilst also providing background information on the social and cultural history of the period. Built between c.3500 and 2500 BC, the temples reflect, and were part of, a period of great development on Malta and Gozo, especially in artistic and architectural terms. This is a clear, well illustrated account of the temple-building period, as well as of what went before and what came after.

This book is a commemoration of the great artistic achievement preserved today as the Co-Cathedral in Valletta. The Conventual Church of St John is the finest testimony of the Order’s aspirations and splendour at any time in its 900 year history. The narrative reveals the wonders of the place for all to relish and enjoy. From old master paintings to priceless hangings, from precious objects and haughty tombs, the author has extracted some of the most interesting happenings of former times for our perusal and fascination. In addition, the photography does unmitigated justice to Malta’s most important treasure. The general magnificence and wondrous detail of the wealth and memorable quality of St John’s is resplendent in this brilliantly illustrated book.