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Narratives of an Eighteenth-Century Maltese FoodscapePlease join us for a fascinating talk exploring Malta’s eighteenth-century food culture through the refectory of the Jesuit retreat house of Casa Manresa in Floriana.
The refectory’s striking wall paintings, inspired by scenes from the Old and New Testament, offer a rare visual record of a society shaped by hunger, faith, and survival. They reveal how food was understood at a time when scarcity was common and abundance was seen as divine grace. These narratives reflect what communities feared, desired, and celebrated at the table, and feature foods that are no longer widely known today.
The refectory emerges not only as a dining space, but as a powerful storytelling chamber of Malta’s culinary past and cultural identity.
Speaker:
Dr Noel Buttigieg
Head of the Department of Tourism Management, University of Malta
Dr Buttigieg specialises in cultural heritage and food culture. He is the author of Bread and Bakers in Eighteenth-Century Malta (Midsea Books, 2024), winner of the National Book Council Award 2025, and led the successful application for the ftira to be inscribed on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
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Event Venue
Archbishop's Curia, Valletta, Malta
Tickets
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