It was the summer of 1974 when Aldo Moro, at the time Foreign Minister in a Rumor government, inaugurated with Maltese Prime Minister Dom Mintoff the official opening of the Italian Institute of Culture in Malta, set up in the Old Chancellery Building of the Order of Malta in the heart of Valletta, right opposite the Grand Master's Palace that had been occupied by British governors for 150 years. At the end of that '74 Malta would also say goodbye to the Queen and become a republic.
Half a century and a Brexit later, it was the President of the Republic, Myriam Spiteri Debono who crossed the iconic St George's Square today to attend, alongside Ambassador Fabrizio Romano and Malta's Minister for National Heritage Owen Bonnici, the unveiling of a commemorative plaque, the opening act of the 50th anniversary of the IIC celerbrated with a cultural conference organised by the embassy over two days with panels of historians on the cultural relations between the two countries, the 'Enrico Caruso' concert for piano and voice tonight and a dj-set of Italian music tomorrow.
The political tensions between Rome and Valletta of a few years ago seem to have vanished. Now agreements are multiplying, work is proceeding in view of the exploitation of the huge marine Zee declared by Malta.
"Italy and Malta are in exemplary harmony, in these years there have been no divisive points. On the contrary, the whole range of political-diplomatic relations sees Italy and Malta very close. It is no coincidence that for the past three years we have activated a bilateral working table that meets regularly for the further development of relations," Romano, who has led the Valletta office since 2020, notes, taking stock with ANSA of the years coinciding with the boom in Italian residents and investments in the archipelago.
"The aspect that characterises today's Malta," the diplomat noted, "is the Italian presence that cannot be compared to the past, but also that of the Maltese in Italy developed thanks to the multiplication of naval connections with Sicily but above all to the low-cost phenomenon. After Covid there has been an all-round revival of relations ranging from economics to politics, from defence to culture, to name but a few examples. There is renewed attention from the Maltese towards our country and this means that the cultural initiatives organised by the embassy and the IIC now enjoy fairly widespread attention'. An euphemism, given the success recorded by events ranging from the arrival in Malta of the Vespucci ship to the concert of Italian baroque music with all the Maltese institutional offices gathered in St. John's Cathedral, from the collaborations established with the most important festivals of cultured music to the Iic's dozens of cultural events.
"All this," Romano concludes, "coincided with a phase of enrichment of our projection in Malta with the structural strengthening of the Embassy in terms of both personnel and infrastructure. And this has meant that the Italian system presents itself in Malta enriched with many components, such as the Coast Guard at the Italian military mission, the office of the security expert at the headquarters, and the opening of an Ice desk office that is operating very convincingly. In a few weeks we will launch a first guide on economic opportunities in Malta'.
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