Malta

Antoine's view

The island of Malta, at an equal distance between Sicily and the North African coast, has always played the part of a springboard for ambitious rulers in Mediterranean history. The great conquerors, from the Crusades to impatient kings, established themselves here to contemplate and covert the Orient.
It took Bonaparte less than six days to inaugurate his first consulate here before sailing to Egypt. During his short stay he set up a constitution, created a newspaper, schools, a law court, an administration, a local army, and freed the slaves. He rallied to his cause aristocrats whose names are renowned in other areas: the La Panouse brothers and the Knight of Saint-Exupéry, ancestor of the writer.

Today, directors of historical films find Malta the ideal location to recreate the atmosphere of great past adventures. The curse of -The Maltese Falcon- lives on in the streets of Mdina, the ancient capital of Malta perched high on a ridge, now silent and still as an empty theatre. The -City of Honey- as the Romans called it abounds with extraordinary baroque buildings: the Saint John's Co-Cathedral, where Caravaggio painted during his flight, the Falzon Palace and the Magistrate's Palace.

The island of Malta was Phoenician, Carthaginian, Roman, Arab, Norman and Spanish before it was finally handed over to the Knights Hospitallers of Saint John (the Knights of Malta) by Charles V. As a token of the Knights' allegiance, the emperor asked for a hunting falcon trained by the Beduins.
As the centuries passed, the austere crusaders laid aside their arms and cowls for doublets from the best tailors and sumptuous Venetian silks. Powdered and bewigged, these libertines opened gambling rooms and received beautiful Venetians in low cut gowns in their theatres.Saint Paul's Cathedral is an example of baroque splendour where nothing was too beautiful to save the face of a crumbling faith: gold leaf gilded cherubs, pink marble pillars.

This abundance of extraordinary churches, places of worship that aren't necessarily ancient, is at first sight disturbing to a visitor, and then enchanting. It's a proof of the islanders' vitality and their willingness to adopt a way of life. The modest village churches often conceal baroque masterpieces. The neighbouring island Gozo is a unique spot in all its simplicity, transfused with mythology. No one can resist the insidious spell of antique Ogygia, the island where Calypso kept Ulysses with her, according to Homer. Calypso suggested that a stay in these creeks would guarantee -immortality and eternal youth-. The beautiful Calypso is a nice girl who lets her fickle lovers leave. She will be greatly missed.
Like the gentleness of the Maltese archipelago.