30/08/2026
Three guitars. Almost a century of Maltese history. 🇲🇹
I had the privilege of restoring these three remarkable instruments, each around 100 years old and each carrying a piece of Malta’s musical heritage.
These guitars spent their prime being played for traditional Maltese għana at the legendary Bonzo Bar in Strada San Duminku, Valletta, belonging to Pawlu tal-Pitrolju, seen behind the bar in the old photograph.
The three instruments are a Maltese terzin, a converted Spanish guitar, and a converted Spanish octavilla.
When they came to me, their condition was almost beyond belief. Years of use, neglect and repairs had taken their toll. In places, the instruments were literally being held together with tape.
But underneath all that damage were three beautiful instruments with stories to tell.
The restoration was about much more than making them look good again. It was about preserving a little piece of Maltese musical history and giving these old voices another chance to be heard.
From the għana bars of Valletta to a new life nearly a century later — these guitars have survived. 🇲🇹❤️🎸
