The National Archives of Malta

Eku tas-Sette Giugno f’Għawdex. Dikjarazzjoni minn Maria Attard, għalliema fl-iskola primarja tax-Xagħra (Casal Caccia) f’isem l-aħwa Bajada, ħut Ġużeppi Bajada, wieħed mill-vittmi tas-Sette Giugno. Maria kkonfermat li l-aħwa Bajada rċevew għajnuna ta’ £8 (€9.50) mill-Arċipriet Mawrizju Cauchi kif £1 (€1.20) fil-ġimgħa miċ-Circolo Giovine Malta. Ritratt: Arkivju ta’ Għawdex

Sette Giugno echoes in Gozo. Declaration by Marija Attard, Xagħra (Casal Caccia) primary school teacher on behalf of the Bajada sisters, the siblings of Giuseppe Bajada, one of the victims of Sette Giugno. Maria declared that the Bajada sisters received an assistance of £8 (€9.50) from parish priest Mawrizju Cauchi and £1 (€1.20) a week from the Circolo Giovine Malta. Photo: Gozo Archive

Bħala parti mill-ħidma intensiva tagħna fil-qasam internazzjonali, l-arkivista nazzjonali l-Professur Charles J. Farrugia ipparteċipa f’seminar ta’ jum fil-Bibljoteka Appostolika tal-Vatikan fis-26 ta’ Mejju 2026 u żjara fl-Arkivju Appostoliku l-għada. Hu indirizza s-seminar bl-isem ‘Reframing the Barberini Archives through Hospitaller Malta: Archival Methodologies and Documentary Typologies’. Minbarra l-esperti mid-dipartimenti tal-Arkivistika u l-Istorja fl-Università ta’ Malta, u l-esperti Taljani, indirizzaw ukoll is-seminar l-Eċċellenza Tiegħu Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi, Arkivist u Bibljotekarju tas-Santa Romana Chiesa u l-Prefett tal-Bibljoteka Don Mauro Mantovani. Iż-żjara fl-Arkivju Appostoliku intemmet b’laqgħa mal-Prefett tal-istess Arkivju l-Agostinjan Rocco Ronzani.

As part of our intensive international projects and initiatives, national archivist Professor Charles J. Farrugia participated at a seminar held at the Biblioteca Apostolica of the Vatican on 26 May 2026 and a visit to the Archivio Apostolico of the same institution held the day after. He delivered an opening address at the seminar ‘Reframing the Barberini Archives through Hospitaller Malta: Archival Methodologies and Documentary Typologies’. Apart from the experts from the Department of Libraries, Information and Archive Sciences and the History Departments of the University of Malta, and the Italian experts, the seminar was also addressed by Excellency Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi, Archivist and Librarian of the Santa Romana Chiesa and Don Mauro Mantovani, Prefect of the Biblioteca Apostolica. The visit to the Archivio Apostolico ended with a meeting with the Prefect of the same archives, Fr Rocco Ronzani OSA.

Nixtiequ nirringrazzjaw lill-familja Zerafa talli ddepożitaw fl-Arkivji Nazzjonali l-manuskritti u n-noti miktubin minn Joseph L. Zerafa fil-kompożizzjoni tal-poeżija tiegħu, The Great Siege of Malta 1565: An Epic Poem. Grazzi!

We wish to thank the Zerafa family for depositing at the National Archives the manuscripts and notes used by Joseph L. Zerafa in the composition of his poem, The Great Siege of Malta 1565: An Epic Poem. Thank you.

L-Arkivji Nazzjonali jawguraw lil Dr Malcolm Paul Agius Galea, li għadu kemm inħatar Ministru għall-Arti, il-Kultura u l-Wirt Nazzjonali. Inħarsu ‘l quddiem biex naħdmu id f’id miegħu għall-preservazzjoni tal-memorja kollettiva tan-nazzjon Malti permezz tad-dokumentazzjoni f’formati kemm tradizzjonali kif ukoll dawk diġitali.

Nieħdu l-okkażjoni wkoll biex nirringrazzjaw lil Ministru Dott. Owen Bonnici, li temm il-kariga tiegħu bħala Ministru għas-settur tagħna.

The National Archives of Malta congratulates Dr Malcolm Paul Agius Galea who has been appointed Minister for the Arts, Culture and National Heritage. We look forward to collaborate with him for the preservation of the collective memory of the Maltese national through the documentation in both traditional and digital formats.

We also thank Minister Dott Owen Bonnici who terminated his term as Minister for our sector.

Nilqgħukom fostna għat-taħdita ‘Selected Discoveries from the Western Region’ imtella’ mis-Sovrintendenza tal-Patrimonju Kulturali. Din it-taħdita ser tinżamm il-Ġimgħa 12 ta’ Ġunju fis-6.30pm ġewwa l-Arkivji Nazzjonali f’Santu Spirtu r-Rabat. Din hija waħda minn serje ta’ taħdidiet li s-Sovrintendenza qed torganizza biex tiċċelbra l-20 sena mit-twaqqif tagħħa.

We welcome you to the lecture ‘Selected Discoveries from the Western Region’ organised by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage. This lecture will be held on Friday 12 June at 6.30 at the National Archives (Santu Spirtu) in Rabat. It is one of a series of lectures that the Superintendence is organising to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

Illum ilqajna fostna lil Marise Caruana li toqgħod l-Awstralja. Marise hija bint Mark Caruana, voluntier għal snin twal mal-Arkivji Nazzjonali li miet is-sena l-oħra. Minkejja li Mark kien joqgħod l-Awstralja, hu proċessa b’mod virtwali għexieren ta’ eluf ta’ applikazzjonijiet għall-passaport u li bis-saħħa t’hekk dawn jistgħu ikunu aċċessibbli onlajn. Ma’ Marise qsamna parti mill-kontribut kbir ta’ missierha.

Today we welcomed Marise Caruana from Australia. Marise is the daughter of Mark Caruana, a volunteer with the National Archives for many years, who has passed away last year. Although he lived in Australia, Mark processed virtually tens of thousands of passport applications that made possible their online access. We shared with Marise some of her father’s significant contribution.

At the European Archives Group (EAG) meeting held in Cyprus this month, the sustainability self-assessment tool developed as part of the SAGA project was presented by the Spanish State Archives Portal de Archivos Españoles: PARES . This tool will help archival institutions assess their environmental practices and performance across various operational and organisational areas. Its main objective is to enable archives to assess their level of maturity in terms of sustainability and to identify realistic, step-by-step measures to reduce their environmental impact.

If you would like to learn more about the Project, co-funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe Programme, visit our website:
https://sagaproject.eu/

Tagħrif dwar dokument mill-Arkivju ta’ Għawdex pubblikat fl-aħħar ħarġa ta’ Il-Ħajja f’Għawdex.

A document from our Gozo Archive that featured in the latest edition of Il-Ħajja f’Għawdex.

ELEZZJONIJIET MALTIN FL-ARKIVJI. Bniedem wieħed, vot wieħed. L-ugwaljanza hija element essenzjali fid-demokrazija. Il-vot ta’ kulħadd, irrispettivament jekk hux sinjur jew fqir, famuż jew jew le, etċ, jiswa indaqs (wieħed). Dawn huma l-applikazzjonijiet li Ġorġ Borg Olivier (‘il quddiem Prim Ministru) u Anton Buttigieg (‘il quddiem President) issottomettew biex ikunu jistgħu jivvutaw fl-elezzjoni tal-1939, lejliet it-Tieni Gwerra Dinjija.

MALTESE ELECTIONS IN THE ARCHIVES. One man, one vote. Equality is at the heart of democracy. Everybody’s vote, irrespective of whether s/he is rich or poor, famous or unknown, etc, has the same value (one). These are the applications submitted by Gorg Borg Olivier (later Prime Minister) and Anton Buttigieg (later President) so that they may vote in the 1939 election, on the eve of WW2.