Malta’s very own Mario Abela has just won the 17th Prisma Art Prize in Rome with his powerful painting ‘The Annunciation of Collapse,’ a haunting, modern take on the Renaissance classic by Fra Angelico.

Instead of divine clarity, Abela’s work captures a moment of spiritual uncertainty and decline, showing a garden tearing apart and a message that no one is left to hear. It’s a striking mix of history and today’s anxieties, and it wowed the international jury.