Macau-based author on his love affair with art history

Destiny’s child I was born in Barrio de San Felipe, one of the most picturesque quarters of Panama City, which is now a heritage area. We were seven children, and I left as a baby, just when the second world war was starting, in 1939.

My birthday is the same date as the death of St Francis Xavier – one person dies, another is born – and this has always seemed a nice symmetry with my interest in the Jesuits; it does seem like destiny, to a certain extent. Some things in life you just can’t quite explain.

Mixed fortunes My father was from Chiriqui, which is towards Costa Rica; it is cool there, with an abundance of nature. He was of mixed heritage, Panamanian and Italian, and obviously we have some Spanish descent.

When I was born, we were far from wealthy, but my father became a politician representing his province. Eventually he was given a diplomatic post, then became a career diplomat, and later served in Japan for a while as the Panamanian ambassador. By the time I was 13, my father had been posted to London.

Where the art is My mother was very Anglophile, and wanted us to study in Europe. This was unusual; Panamanians generally preferred the United States, but my mother liked the Old World, so we went to live in London. This move began my love affair with art history.

I wasn’t happy at the first school I attended, and my mother asked me to choose a boarding school and I thought Bath looked nice. Prior Park College, run by the Christian Brothers, was located in a heritage building. And, of course, things happen for a reason.