Freedom Monument, Malta

The Golgotha Metaphor and the Intriguing Concept Design Sketch

Abstract

Freedom Monument marks Jum il-Ħelsien, the last day when Malta served as a military base for a foreign nation. It was, for Malta's then-Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, a profoundly significant and moving event. As stated by the sculptor Anton Agius, the realised design was Mintoff's creation rather than his. Its location is L-Għolja tal-Ħelsien, which freely translated means Freedom Hill, a man-made hillock located along the Birgu waterfront, just in front of the Parish Church. This church has strong associations with the main previous occupying power, the Military Hospitaller Order of St John. This article 1. addresses the author's proposal that Golgotha is a suitable metaphor through which to read Freedom Hill, and 2. asks whether an atypical concept sketch among the many submitted by Agius could possibly be Mintoff's own design. With respect to the former, it is argued that Freedom Monument is Mintoff's iconic statement about the history of Malta in visual form and, given that his perception that Malta's road to total freedom from foreign rule was strenuous, Golgotha is a fitting metaphor. With respect to the latter question, although there is a change in medium and style, this concept design sketch does recall an earlier one. It is a fine monumental interpretation of the event quite remote from Mintoff's idea of four figures on an artificial mound. Stylistically, the sketch is a mature artistic expression; it is unlikely to have been drawn by Mintoff and more likely to have been created by Agius.