Grandmaster Anton Manoel de Vilhena, 1722-1736

Abstract

This short monograph on Grandmaster Anton Manoel de Vilhena, a Portuguese, is intended to mark, albeit in a modest way, the 260th year of the existence of the Manoel Theatre, which was founded on the initiative of this Grandmaster. Vilhena endeared himself to the Maltese through his gentle manners, munificence and special merits. The construction of the Manoel Theatre out the Grandmaster's own purse was a befitting and lasting gesture towards his subjects. This Theatre soon became a venue and an artistic arena of culture and entertainment, a fashionable playhouse of the first rate. Vilhena's motivation in building this Theatre could not have been more noble and sublime: ad honestam populi oblectationem (for the honest recreation of the people). The motto sums up the centuries-old story of this Theatre, which is considered to rank amongst the oldest in Europe. But it too throws light on the man who built It: for Vilhena was a man of fine tastes, and a great promoter of the baroque, which embodied power, authority, nobility, and splendour. Biography and history are intimately interwoven for they have essentially common ingredients. This monograph on Vilhena attempts to bring out the character of the man and his doings. The magistracy of Vilhena represents an epoch on its own and so do the legacies he has bequeathed to his people. I am grateful to the Manoel Theatre Management Committee who readily accepted to sponsor this publication, which should serve as a humble tribute to an illustrious sovereign.