The Knights of St. John settled in Malta when Charles V of Spain granted the humble islands of Malta to the Knights following their expulsion from the island of Rhodes. The Order, which settled in Malta in 1530, would find its fortune in these islands as the Maltese people would prove to be an exceptional asset in warding off their long feared enemies, the Ottomans. For two hundred years the Order was sovereign ruler of Malta and Gozo. Two centuries later, the Order was forced to leave Malta by Napoleon and eventually members settled in Rome, St. Petersberg (Russia), England, and Gemany.
Fort St Elmo (above) was built by the Knights of St John in 1552 as one of the principal defences for Malta. On May 18th 1565 the Turks invaded Malta and their first point of attack was to be Fort St Elmo. The Turkish commander, Mustapha Pasha, estimated that the Fort would fall in 10 days with minimal loss of Turkish life. Fort St Elmo was indeed taken by the Turks but not until 23rd June 1565 with the loss of 8,000 Turkish lives. This was a "victory" which cost the Turks dearly. The fort was subsequently reinforced, even up until the beginning of the second World War.
The Grand Master's Palace, Valetta, currently housing the House of Representatives of Malta and the office of the President of Malta.
St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta
St. John's Cathedral stands as a glorious tribute to the Knights' wealth and power. St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, one of Europe's finest churches. St John’s Co-Cathedral was completed in 1577 and is dedicated to St John the Baptist, the patron saint of the Order of the Knights of St John. The side chapels are designated to the eight langues (divisions based on nationality) of the Order and each one is different.
Grand Master & Dame in Malta
Valletta itself is history brought to life. Surrounding the city are ancient bastion walls of golden stone once defended by the Knights. Deep in its streets are the auberges (lodges) where they lived, the gardens where they relaxed... and the church where they were buried.
One of the major attractions is Caravaggio’s painting entitled Beheading of St John, which is a fine example of his signature chiaroscuro technique. The painting is enormous and also every beautiful – extremely vivid and real. No photos are allowed in the Oratory, where the painting is, so unfortunately I have no actualphotos to share, but it is magnificent.
There’s a lot to see inside St John’s Co-Cathedral, if you visit make sure you go early enough to allow yourself to view around and see it all, easily occupying an hour or more.
In Valletta you can see some great examples of baroque architecture, in the style of Malta.
Above is a photo I took of the old Lazaretto built in 1643, on Manoel Island in the creek between Sliema and Marsamxetto in Valletta. A lazaretto or lazaret is a quarantine station for maritime travellers which was put into sound, medical by the Knights. Lazarets can be ships permanently at anchor, isolated islands, or mainland buildings. Until 1908, lazarets were also used for disinfecting postal items, usually by fumigation.
Mdina, Malta
The late 17th-century St. Paul's Cathedral in Mdina stands on the traditional site of the house of the governor Publius, who received St. Paul when he was shipwrecked on Malta. According to tradition, Publius was converted to Christianity and went on to become the bishop of Malta and later of Athens. St. Paul's Cathedral stands on the traditional site of Publius' town house and headquarters.
The Cathedral of St. Paul was built from 1697 to 1702 to replace a Norman cathedral that had been destroyed by earthquake in 1693. The new cathedral caused a significant redesign of medieval Mdina's city center—several streets and houses were cleared to create an open square in front of the cathedral.
Acccording to the Book of Acts, Paul and his missionary party were shipwrecked on Malta for three months. During his stay, Paul was bitten by a snake and remained unharmed, prompting the natives to regard him as a god. He later healed the father of the governor of the island, Publius, and many other people (Acts 27:1-11). He resided in this cave below the Cathedral.
The lavish interior of the cathedral is similar in many ways to the Cathedral of St. John in Valetta. There are great works by the Calabrian artist and knight Mattia Preti and a marble-inlaid floor with tombstones carrying the coats of arms and inscriptions of the bishops of Mdina and other members of the cathedral chapter.
Surviving from the original Norman church is a monumental depiction of the conversion of St. Paul by Mattia Preti, between the apse and main altar. Also surviving from the old church are: the 15th-century Tuscan panel painting of the Madonna and Child; the baptismal font; the frescoes in the apse depicting St. Paul’s shipwreck; and the old portal, made of carved Irish bog wood, which now serves as a door to the vestry.
Maltese Fungus, Gozo
"On top of a tiny pillar of rock standing in the sea just off the Maltese island of Gozo grows one of the rarest of all Mediterranean plants. It is called locally the Maltese fungus. In fact it is not a fungus but a true flowering plant. Most of its life is spent underground, drawing its nourishment from the roots of tamarisk or sea lavender. At this stage it consists of no more than a stem from which sprout the many suckers that attach it to the roots of its host." (Attenborough 1995:234)
The Maltese plant's use as both foodstuff and medicine goes back thousands of years. The ancient Hebrews ate the spikes in times of famine. In the Book of Job (30:4), starving Israelites consume a plant called 'juniper root'-and modern botanists say this is C. coccineum rather than the inedible root of the juniper bush. The use of Maltese mushroom as a famine food was most recently reported in the Canary Islands in the 19th century.
The value of cynomorium was known in the 16th century Europe as the Maltese mushroom. The plant was so highly regarded that the Knights of Malta often sent samples of it to European monarchs as presents. To protect the so-called Fungus Rock, where cynomorium was abundant, the Grandmaster of the Order posted guards around the area and ordered the sides of the cliffs to be rendered smooth to eliminate any invading footholds and prevent access from the sea. The rock, rising to a sheer height of 60 meters (200 feet) from the rough sea, became virtually inaccessible.
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