Clock at the Palace, Valletta

The ornamental clock on top the turret of the smaller courtyard of the Magistral palace in Valletta was created for Grand Master Fra' Manoel Pinto de Fonseca (1741-1773).

The clock has four dials; the main one in the centre shows the hours and minutes; above it  a smaller one registers the phases of the moon. To the left a small dial shows the month while another on the right shows the date.

On top of the turret are four bronzes representing Moorish slaves holding hammers which they swing to strike the gongs. The central two figures are larger than those at the sides, as is the gong they strike with their hammers. On either side of the large central gong are two smaller ones.

The Moorish slaves on the sides strike every fifteen minutes, once each, twice each and three times each , until the hour is complete. Then they strike four times in rotation before the two larger figures take their turn striking the central gong, once, twice, etc according to the hour up to twelve.

The turret is flanked by pilasters and volutes and surmounted by a broken pediment. The weights that wind the clock hang within the turret.

The clock first started to work on Tuesday 22 June, 1745 and has done so ever since.

The position of the clock was chosen carefully, from its high position on the turret it's chimes could be heard across the city.

Sword of La Valette

One of the most precious treasures belonging to the Order of St John was the Sword and Poniard (dagger) of Grand Master Fra' Jean de La Valette. The great victory of the 8th September, 1565 at the end of the Great Siege of Malta earned the admiration and gratitude of Christendom. The crowned heads of Europe vied with each other to honour the Order in the person of its victorious Grand Master Fra' Jean de La Valette.

The gifts of the king of Spain, Philip II, a sword, poniard and gurdle,  were to become among the most treasured emblems of the Order of St John. On the sword were engraved these words: PLUS QUAM VALOR VALETTE VALET. The gifts were presented to La Valette by an envoy from the king, Fra' Antonio Maldonado. He delivered a eulogy before a large gathering of members of the Order and many foreigners who were on the island at that time.

Fra' Antonio Maldonado  acclaimed the Grand Master as the greatest of leaders in Christendom and exhorted him to maintain the struggle against the enemy. La Valette was deeply moved by the envoy's words. He replied that without the intercession of the Virgin Mary, whom, he had implored in battle, the victory would have been impossible.  In gratitude he had already proclaimed 8th September, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, was to remain a national feast day of the island, and that from now on teh Sword and Poniard would be carried, unsheathed, in the ceremonies of thanksgiving carried out on that day as a sign of readiness to take up arms in defence of |Christianity.

La Valette decreed that the Sword and Poniard should be kept in the Treasury of the Order. When Valletta was built and the Magistral Palace completed, the treasures were kept in the Armoury and only removed in accordance with the instructions of La Valette. On these occasions the Sword and Poniard were carried by a favourite page of the Grand Master- usually the son of a high ranking nobleman. These gifts, now became regalia and added to the splendour of the Order's ceremonial.

The gurdle was made of gold while the Sword and Poniard were masterpieces of the jewelers art. The hilt and pommel were enamelled and embossed in gold with decoration of emblems of knighthood finished off with scrolls.  The precious stones which encrusted both hilt and pommel gave a flashing brilliance to the weapons when held aloft.

The last appearance of the Sword and Poniard in the Conventual Church of St John at the celebration of Victory was in 1797, a few weeks after the election of Grand Master Hompesch and nine months before the surrender of Malta to Napoleon and the French. it was then that the Sword and Poniard were taken from the Treasury of the Magistral Palace.

The whereabouts of the girdle is unknown but the Sword and Poniard presented to La Valette by Philip II were taken to France where they are now on display in the Louvre.

Shrove Tuesday, Valletta

The climax of the Carnival in Malta was the Coccagna. This involved long beams set up against the guard-house opposite the Magistral Place in Valletta. From the beams were hung rope ladders, while the whole edifice was covered by fresh branches still in leaf. To these were tied live animals, baskets of eggs, hams , sausages, wreathes of oranges, and all sorts of other delicacies and provisions. The Coccagna was crowned by a globe made of linen surmounted by a figure of fame holding a flag emblazoned with the arms of the grand-master.

The great crowd that assembled in the square waited for the signal from the grand master. When this was given an official called the Gran Visconti made a flourish with his wand and the crowd surged forward to attack the Coccagna. The provisions of the Coccagna became the property of whomsoever seized them and they were able to get them safely through the crowd. This gave rise to furious fights.  The first to reach the figure of fame received a reward when he returned the standard to the grand-master. When the linen globe was broken it released a flight of doves.

Carnival, Valletta

Carnival was introduced into Malta by Grand Master Fra' Pietro del Monte (1568-1572). It became one of the most eagerly anticipated festivals of the year. On the Saturday before Ash Wednesday people came from the countryside into Valletta where they headed for Palace Square and congregated under the grand-master's balcony to wait until he grated them il Carnivale. A Knight of the grand-cross made known their request and the moment it was granted groups of Battilo roamed through the city accompanied by bands of strolling troubadours. These were Maltese dressed in white, covered with ribbons and armed with swords and small shields who staged mock fights which culminated in lifting up a small child who waived a banner back and forth.

 For the next three days the country people crowded  into Valletta for the festivities. They wore exotic costumes and finery and the Knights took to the streets to join them in the revelries. For these three days all inhibitions were left behind, hidden behind the masks, worn for these three days only. In the throng lords were dressed as servants and servants as lords. However the sbirri moved through the crowds on the lookout for for dangerous weapons, which had to be set aside. They also kept an eye out for women dressed as men, men dressed as women and for slaves wearing masks at all.

When in 1775 the Pope died and the Bishop requested the Grand Master Ximines to cancel the Carnival, he declined. Said the then Bailiff de Rohan: "One should not deprive the public of this fleeting recreation to which it looks forward so jealously and so avidly."

During these last three days of Carnival a large stone was suspended from a beam at the corner of the Castelania, the building where the punishment of miscreants was usually carried out:  this was to signify that on these three days, the sword of justice remained sheathed, just as the Romans never punished criminals during Saturnalia. Carnival culminated in the evenings at the ball given at the theatre, where the Knights had the privilege of dancing unmasked.

'Les Tenture des Indes', Valletta

One day, in the summer of 1710, one of the many pirate ships that patrolled the Straits of Sicily at that time, attacked and captured a brigantine belonging to the navy of the Order of St. John. Among the booty taken were four bales containing the ten wonderful tapestries known as the 'Tenture des Indes' that now hang in the Council Chamber of the Magistral Palace in Valletta. The ransom asked by the pirates was apparently, equal to the cost of their manufacture.

When your eyes have become accustomed to the dim light in the Council Chamber you are surrounded by a feast of the exotic: ten tapestries depicting the legends of the 'Indes Galantes' and the 'Noble Savage' - a rich display of hunters, fishermen and Indian princes set against backgrounds of teeming tropical abundance, small animals, exotic birds, fish, reptiles, fruit and luxuriant vegetation. Products of a time when exploration and the wonders of distant unknown lands had captured the romantic imagination, and the accuracy with which the hitherto unknown species were depicted is incredible.

It is hard to believe that these ten panels are tapestries and not paintings, and that the wonderful intensity and variety of expression on the faces of the animals has been achieved with only twenty shades of wool and the one shade of yellow silk that is used for the highlights in the water, and for the background skies. They also have a provenance as exotic as their subject matter.

Count John Maurice of Nassau, a cousin of the Prince of Orange who was known as the 'Brazilian', made various expeditions to Africa, South America and the West Indes between 1636 and 1644, when he was governor of Brazil. On these voyages, aimed at scientific and anthropological research, he took with him two artists, Francois Post and Albert Eckhout, who made drawings and paintings of the people, animals and plants they encountered.

In 1679 the Count gave these paintings to Louis XIV, and they inspired the King to have them woven into tapestries on the royal looms at Gobelins. He gave the work to his Painter in Ordinary, Charles Lebrun, who was also director of the Gobelins, and was to make ten cartoons from the paintings.

When the first set of 'Tenture des Indes' was produced in 1692 the novel subjects, luxuriant vegetation and 'Indian' figures introduced a new theme into late 17th century Gobelins manufacture. They were so much in demand that by 1693 the celebrated animal painter Francois Desportes was asked to retouch the original cartoons for use on the high- warp looms. Later he was asked to paint new versions of eight of the original designs. Thus there are two versions of the tapestries, those like the ones in Malta, which are the only complete set existing, made before 1725, and those after 1725, which are better known in France.

Fra. Raymond Perellos y Roccaful was elected Grand Master of the Order of St. John on 7th February 1697; and he gave as part of his Goia (an obligatory dowry to the Order on his election), two sets of valuable tapestries. A Flemish set with a religious theme went to the Conventual Church of St. John in Valletta, the other set, the 'Tenture des Indes' he gave to adorn the Council Chamber of the Magistral Palace, a room sixty-five feet long, twenty-five feet wide and twenty-seven feet high. Three pieces hang each side of the room between the windows and at each of the four corners a piece is hung to cover the ends of the room before the door cases begin. As they all have the arms of Perellos woven into the borders at the top it is likely that they were woven specially to these measurements. For 268 years this wonderful room was where the Council of the Order of St. John met.