CHARLENE VELLA he 439 years before the arrival of the Knights of the Order of St John, were a period of transition for the Maltese Islands. It saw Malta go from 870, gradually changing into a and in the meantime being ruled by several powers: the Counts, Angevins and the their impact on the islands, and on its art and architecture. 6, Strait Street, Valletta, Malta www.midseabooks.com Front cover: Siculo-Norman capital, possibly from the late medieval Mdina Cathedral, Reserve Collection, National Museum of Archaeology, Valletta Back cover: Detail of a Siculo-Byzantinesque wall icon, cave-church of St Agatha, Rabat 1091–1530 Aragonese, all of which let Published by 1091–1530 The Mediterranean artistic context of bulwark of Latin Christianity, Normans, Swabians, Genoese Main photography JOE P. BORG LATE MEDIEVAL MALTA a Muslim island, conquered in LATE MEDIEVAL MALTA CHARLENE VELLA is an assistant lecturer in the Department of History of Art, University of Malta, specialised in Medieval and Renaissance art and architecture. Her doctoral research is on the immediate circle of Antonello da Messina, particularly Pietro and Antonio de Saliba, and Salvo d’Antonio (University of Warwick). The Mediterranean artistic context of he 439 years before the arrival of the Knights of the Order of St John, were a period of transition for the Maltese Islands. It saw Malta go from a Muslim island, conquered in 870, gradually changing into a bulwark of Latin Christianity, and in the meantime being ruled by several powers: the Normans, Swabians, Genoese Counts, Angevins and the Aragonese, all of which let their impact on the islands, and on its art and architecture. his book takes a fresh look at this long period of Maltese history that is oten overlooked, and it succeeds in giving several examples of how the Maltese Islands were oten no cultural backwater, and that sophisticated artistic patronage was achieved. Indeed, contrary to popular belief, the Renaissance style reached Malta before the arrival of the Knights. his book moreover has the additional interest of taking into consideration the broader art historical context of other Central Mediterranean countries. CHARLENE VELLA