Giuseppe Calì, Glory of St. Francis Giuseppe Calì has for long been considered Malta's leading artistic spirit in the years straddling the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Indeed, he came to dominate the local art scene for around forty years and inspired so many artists, contemporaries and followers alike. His innate talent can be traced to his Neapolitan roots which boasted a long artistic family tradition, but his creative genius was abetted by an extraordinary gift for compelling narratives and captivating storytelling which marked his works from the early years. Perhaps this was the real secret for the artist's considerable success, because he managed to attract an audience with an appetite for theatre and drama. This lecture aims at reading the artist through the power of his images which, beyond the bravura of his brush, successfully combined ingenious story-telling and compelling narrative, strongly anchored in European, nineteenth-century examples. In collaboration with University of Malta The Church of St Francis of Assisi in Valletta has undergone several phases of architectural transformation since its foundation. The first church was built between 1598 and 1607, while a major rebuilding - undertaken in 1681, under the patronage of Grand Master Gregorio Carafa - contributed substantially to the Baroque character of the building that survives today.
Scientific investigation of the historic timber roof has provided further evidence of the church’s architectural development. Dendrochronological analysis has identified significant interventions dating to 1681 and 1876, demonstrating a continuing history of alteration, repair and adaptation.
The building was transformed again in the early twentieth century, when it was enlarged to designs by the Maltese architect Emanuel Borg, including the addition of a domed section. This intervention also affected the church’s decorative scheme and resulted in the loss of elements painted by Giuseppe Calì.
Calì’s surviving St Francis in Glory (1907) should therefore be understood not simply as an individual work of art, but as part of an architectural and decorative ensemble that has changed considerably over time. The loss of his work in the apse gives the surviving ceiling additional significance as evidence of an earlier relationship between painting, architecture, and Franciscan identity.
Reference: Bernabei, M., Brunetti, M., Macchioni, N., Nocetti, M. & Micheloni, M. (2021), ‘Surveying and Dating the Wooden Roof Structure of St Francis of Assisi Church in Valletta, Malta’, International Journal of Architectural Heritage, 15(12), pp. 1886–1894.
A PLEA.
The magnificent ceiling painting depicting St Francis in Glory was created by the celebrated Maltese artist Giuseppe Calì in 1907. In 2027, this remarkable work will mark the 120th anniversary of its completion – an important moment in the life of a painting that forms part of Malta’s artistic and religious heritage. Earlier this year, the Conventual Franciscan Friars commissioned a professional assessment of the painting to establish its present state of conservation. This study, undertaken by PrevArti, has provided the expert knowledge needed to begin planning the next and most important stage: its conservation and restoration. With the study now in hand, the Convent intends to begin the process of obtaining the necessary permissions and approvals, while working to secure the funding required to make this ambitious restoration possible. The significance of the project extends well beyond the preservation of a single work of art. St Francis in Glory is the largest painting by Giuseppe Calì in any of Malta’s churches, making it an exceptional part of both the Franciscan patrimony and Malta’s wider artistic inheritance. Its scale, setting and relationship with the architecture make its conservation particularly important. Calì’s contribution to the church was once greater still. In addition to the ceiling, he also painted the church’s apse. That work, however, was lost when the church was enlarged during the 1930s. The survival of St Francis in Glory therefore carries an added significance: it preserves an important part of Calì’s original artistic vision for the church that can no longer be experienced in its entirety. As the painting approaches its 120th anniversary, we have an opportunity not simply to restore a work of art, but to safeguard a significant piece of Malta’s cultural heritage and pass it on to future generations. We (as The Three Palaces Festival) are urging people to support this worthy project. I should admit that apart from affinity for art and architectural history, both as a scholar, and as one enamoured by material culture, I have a particular attachment, of which I am particularly proud – the fact that I am half Calì, and that Giuseppe Calì is my ancestor. The restoration of this work would honour Calì’s artistic legacy, the history of the church, and the generations of people who have encountered this extraordinary image of St Francis in Glory above them.
Dr Michelle Castelletti and the Conventual Franciscan Friars
Mark Sagona
MARK SAGONA, Ph.D., is a practising visual artist, academic, art historian, and curator. Since 2022, he is Head of the Department of Art and Art History, Faculty of Arts, University of Malta, where he lectures in Art History and Fine Arts. His research primarily focuses on the Decorative Arts, design developments in Malta within an international framework, and artistic ideas and currents from the late 18th to early 20th centuries. Sagona has published in Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide (NCAW), The Journal of the Decorative Arts Society (London), and Osservatorio per le Arti Decorative in Italia (OADI).
He has delivered lectures at Seton Hall University (USA), the University of Xiamen (China), Università Roma Tre (Rome, Italy), and the Università degli Studi di Palermo, among others. Recent conference contributions include Revivals (2021), Ornament (Lisbon, 2023), Arti Decorative, costume e società nel Mediterraneo tra XVIII e XIX secolo (Polo Universitario, Trapani, 2023), and Precious Metals and Masterful Hands (University of Zadar, Croatia, 2025). In Malta, he has published and lectured extensively and collaborated with many cultural organisations, institutions and foundations.
His publications include International Perspectives on the Decorative Arts: Nineteenth-Century Malta (Midsea Books, Malta 2021) and Eclecticism and the Baroque Revival in the Decorative Arts in Malta: The Context for Abramo Gatt (1863–1944) (Midsea Books, Malta 2024). As an artist, he has held several solo exhibitions locally and internationally, with works in collections worldwide.