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Heritage Malta has just acquired a unique collection of antique maps of Malta which was built over a period of fifty years by lawyer and historian Dr Albert Ganado.
The acquisition was made following an agreement which was signed today between Dr Ganado and the Maltese Government. By means of this agreement the map collection was passed to the Government in return for the house, which was public property, where Dr Ganado lives. The acquisition of the priceless collection was approved by Parliament during a sitting held on July 14th.
The maps will be housed in the National Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta. They will not be put on permanent display but will be exhibited during specific exhibitions.
The map collection which is to be known as “The Albert Ganado Map Collection” is the largest and most complete collection of antique maps of Malta in the world.
The manuscript maps are unique and many of the maps are very rare and are not found on the market. The Ganado collection is probably the only one that shows the development of certain representations of the Maltese islands such as the Great Siege of 1565 and the plans of Valletta.
These Great Siege maps are of great importance as some of them were printed whilst the siege was in progress to disseminate the news in Europe particularly in Italy, Germany, France and the Netherlands.
The collection consists of 19 manuscript maps, and 431 printed maps made between 1507 and 1899. Many of the maps were made before 1570 when Abraham Ortelius published the first standard Atlas. Most of these maps were printed as single sheets and only a few of them are left. Some are found only in the Ganado collection.
Dr Albert Ganado is a specialist in the cartography of Malta. His collection was built over a period of fifty years during which he has come to be considered as a world authority on maps and prints of Malta.
He has written widely about the subject and is the author, with Dr Maurice Agius Vadalà, of “A Study in Depth of 143 Maps Representing the Great Siege of Malta of 1565” (1994-95). In 2003 he wrote “Valletta Città Nuova: A Map History” (1566-1600).
His collection is of importance because it will give those carrying out research on various aspects of Malta’s historical development including topography, demography and urban development an opportunity to study the maps and related documents.
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