About Archives Alive

A year-long community heritage programme celebrating Malta's documentary and musical legacy.

The Programme

Archives Alive 2026 is the Mdina Cathedral Archives' flagship community heritage programme, bringing Malta's documentary and musical legacy to public life through education, volunteering, and participatory engagement. Running from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027, the 2026 edition commemorates the 300th anniversary of the birth of Benigno Žerafa (1726–1804), maestro di cappella of Mdina Cathedral and one of Malta's most significant Baroque composers. Anchored at the Mdina Cathedral Archives in Mdina, the project invites the public to encounter heritage not as a distant past, but as a living resource—open to discovery, shared learning, and community participation.

The programme is supported by the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector through the Voluntary Organisations Project Scheme (VOPS 2026), with a €20,000 grant within a €25,000 total budget, enabling an ambitious calendar of activities and long-term public access outcomes. Core deliverables include a year-long series of events and engagement opportunities—such as an international seminar, Open Archives Weekend activities, and educational workshops—alongside volunteering initiatives that place people at the centre of the Archives' work.

A key digital deliverable is this dedicated mini-site within the Archives' wider web presence, designed to act as the project's public hub: promoting upcoming activities, providing project information and a programme timeline, and hosting a dedicated section on Benigno Žerafa. As the physical exhibition space is completed, the site will also extend access through virtual exhibition content (including 360° tours) and online listings of artefacts with rich metadata, supported by interactive features for on-site exploration. Ticketing and booking links, downloadable resources, and an embedded livestream for the 5 November conference will ensure participation is possible both on-site and online.

The Archives

Nestled within the historic Silent City of Mdina, the Cathedral Archives are among Malta's most valued archival repositories. Their collections, dating from the fifteenth century onwards, preserve the records of the Cathedral Chapter, sections of the Episcopal Archives, and the archives of the Roman Inquisition in Malta. Together, these documents offer a remarkable insight into Malta's rich and complex social history within the wider Mediterranean world.

A Treasured Heritage

In 2004, the Archives were relocated to a distinguished late sixteenth-century palazzo generously donated by the late Agatha Formosa Gauci. Carefully restored with great respect for its historic character, the building features an elegant façade, a traditional entrance hall, and a bright central courtyard.

Between 1973 and 1988, significant preservation work was undertaken in collaboration with St. John's University. During this period, numerous manuscripts were meticulously inventoried and microfilmed. In 2015, Hill Museum & Manuscript Library continued this mission through extensive digitisation initiatives and the creation of detailed metadata.

A major discovery of hundreds of musical documents was made in 1968. Today, the collection comprises more than 6,000 manuscripts and printed works, including rare antiphoners from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, as well as the sixteenth-century Royas Graduals.