Out today, Sunday
Published:
March 21, 2009 at 8:01pm
Flair magazine is out today with The Malta Independent on Sunday. It includes beautiful photographic features on the restoration of Villa Francia, the conservation of the Cali paintings on the dome and ceiling of St Dominic’s in Valletta and of the altarpiece at the chapel of Bir Miftuh, and la Valette’s sword and dagger photographed by Daniel Cilia.
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I always thought that the La Valette sword was just a plain sword like any other. Thanks for the excellent work.
“The collection marks the 20th anniversary of Miranda Publishers…..The magazines will be out once a month, on a Thursday, for the next year. On that day, the price of The Times will increase from 60c to €1. Each issue will remind readers when the next issue will be out.”
I wonder why they’ve chosen Thursday!
That sword belongs here in Malta. How come you didn’t say anything about that?
[Daphne – Because I don’t believe the sword and dagger belong here in Malta. They were never the property of the Maltese state, as there was no such thing, nor of a Maltese person. The ceremonial weapons were given as a personal tribute to Grandmaster de Valette, who was French. So in a way, the Louvre is a highly appropriate place for them.]
Otherwise an excellent job. Read it on the way to Malta.
[Daphne – Thanks.]
The personal belongings of the knights became the Order’s property after death. All the property the knights had left behind them after leaving the island automatically became public property. [Daphne – Ah, but who was the public? There wasn’t – and still isn’t – any such legal person. Besides, property is not transferred ‘automatically’. There must be legal provision for this, or the direct order of a ruler in the absence of democracy. The Order of St John fled as Napoleon came in, and there was no interregnum in which The People legislated for ownership of the Order’s property. You are wrong on another count: for the best part of two centuries, the property formerly owned by the Order of St John was held and used by the subsequent ruling power, Great Britain, and not ‘Malta’, still less ‘the Maltese.’]
Saint John’s Cathedral was specifically left to the Church by La Cassier if ever the Order left Malta. [Daphne – Not quite, which is why both the Catholic Church and the Maltese state lay claim to it, and have partially resolved this dilemma by administering it jointly, as the entire country now knows.]
The sword was looted by Napoleon from the Maltese. [Daphne – Actually, it wasn’t, because ‘the Maltese’ never owned it. It is the state which owns public property and not the people who are citizens of that state. The state is the legal person. There was no such thing as a Maltese state at that precise moment, nor was there legal provision for state ownership. Napoleon was perfectly within his rights to take the sword and dagger. After all, the rightful owners had fled, choosing to leave them behind when they were small enough to take along with them and they didn’t bother.]
It was donated to the Grand Master because he succeeded in holding out against the Turkish siege. It wasn’t given to him because he was French. [Daphne – I’ve told you before that I don’t think much of the thinking skills you learned at tal-Muzew, John, and I’m going to say it again. The sword and dagger were not ‘donated’ to de Valette. They were given to him as a personal gift. They were his. When he died, they became the property of the Order of St John. The reason why he received that gift from Spain is wholly irrelevant. Why do you find it so difficult to understand that there was no Maltese state then as we understand it now? Malta was the HQ of the Order of St John. When the Order fled there was a hiatus of chaos under the French until the British arrived. Then Malta became a British base. The idea of Malta as a nation-state only began to develop in the mid-to-late 19th century, but it was just an idea. It became fact only 34 years ago.]
Some years ago the Italian government returned an obelisk which was looted from Ethiopia 60 years ago. [Daphne – Those thinking skills, John! Ethiopia owned the obelisk. Malta did not own de Valette’s sword and dagger.]
Daphne, as usual a first-class magazine. Keep it up.
[Daphne – Thank you. The next Flair is another special edition on Valletta – out on 10 May. Suggestions about interesting buildings to photograph and write about are most welcome.]
The Knights had their HQ in Malta and ruled the island. The Maltese paid taxes for the upkeep of their country.
[Daphne – Oh baby, do you need some history lessons!]
The British were invited in and they liked the place. I liked it how you put it: ‘arrived’. [Daphne – Ditto.]
The Maltese ran the country for two whole years while blockading the French who were locked inside the walls of Valletta. [Daphne – ‘The Maltese’ did not run the country. There was near-anarchy. Who were these Maltese, incidentally? Do you mean the mix of Jews from all over, nominal Muslims, Sicilians, dribs and dregs from all over the Mediterranean basin, and thousands of slaves and their descendants?]
In those times probably the only real state was France. [Daphne – History lessons, history lessons….]
The sword and dagger were looted from Malta; winner takes all was the rule. [Daphne – We’ve visited that argument already. you cannot be accused of theft unless the thing you took had an owner from whom you took it. The sword and dagger had been abandoned by their owner. There was no new owner called ‘the Maltese’. ‘The Maltese’ never was and never will be a legal entity.]
The Grand Masters’ Palace is the place where they belong not the Louvre. [Daphne – I think you’ll have trouble proving that in a court of law. I find it amusing that you don’t pick up on the fact that, using the same argument, ‘the Maltese’ can be accused by the Order of St John of having stolen its property, or misappropriated it.]
I surely don’t need you to teach me your version of Maltese History , Daphne. You really find it convinient to erase certain parts I wrote in my last comment. It is clearly obvious that you didn’t know about the sword and the hat of de Vallette at the Church of Saint Laurence in Birgu.
[Daphne – Actually, John, you do, because you don’t know the first of it. You’re still stuck somewhere around Gateway to Our Nation’s History and the rest of the myths and received wisdom. I edited the rest of your comment because it was completely out of point and meandering, and for no other reason. There was a person the other day who posted a comment around 800 words long, for instance.]
As a person of Maltese descent, this discussion has been extremely educational. Keep up the debate both Daphne and John and all the other contributors. Regards from Australia.
Thought this might interest you – just picked this up – third paragraph is hilarious – indeed a glorification of mediocrity at its best
Festa Agrarja tal-Patata
Il-Kunsill Lokali tal-Qrendi bil-kollaborazzjoni tal-Ministeru tal-Intern u l-Affarijiet Parlamentari u l-Awtorita’ Maltija għat-Turiżmu se jkun qed jorganizza l-Festival Agrarju tal-Patata. Dan il-festival se jkun organizzat nhar il-Ħadd 27 ta’ Mejju 2012 mill-10am ‘il quddiem fil-Ġnien tal-Warda li jinsab biswit il-Ġnien tal-Kmandant mibni minn Sir Alexander Ball fil-bidu tas-seklu dsatax. Dan il-Ġnien se jkun miftuħ għall-pubbliku u huwa ġnien importanti minħabba li l-Ingliżi kienu jesperimentaw bil-prodott tal-patata.
Flimkien ma’ esebizzjonijiet mill-istudenti tal-Iskola Primarja u ċ-Ċentru ta’ Riżorsa Helen Keller se jkun hemm ukoll it-tberik tal-annimali matul l-għodwa. Apparti minn hekk se jkun hemm esebizzjoni ta’ diversi karozzi antiki mill-Old Motors Club li tibqa’ sejra sa kmieni wara nofsinhar. Id-Dipartiment tal-Agrikoltura’ flimkien mad-Dipartiment tal-Ħarsien mill-Mard tal-Pjanti se jkunu qegħdin jagħtu informazzjoni dwar il-prodott tal-patata, t-tipi differenti kif ukoll x’mard jista’ jolqot lil dan il-prodott u kif dan jista’ jiġi evitat. Bdiewa Qrendin se jkunu qegħdin jesebixxu l-makkinarju li jintuża’ jew kien jintuża’ għaż-żriegħ u l-qliegħ tal-patata, kif tiġi ppakkeġjatha u kif tasal fi djarna mill-għelieqi tagħhom.
Wara nofsinhar se jkun hemm spettaklu provdut minn diversi skejjel taż-żfin, kant u żfin folkloristiku kif ukoll diversi kantanti lokali. Il-qofol jintlaħaq fis-6pm meta l-grupp popolari Airport Impressions se jdoqq unplugged, f’kunċert li se jieħu madwar siegħa. Matul dan il-festival se jkun hemm ukoll żona għat-tfal b’animaturi u logħob differenti li għandu x’jaqsam mal-patata, bħall-ġirja bil-patata fuq l-imgħarfa, kif ukoll il-ġirja gol-ixkora tal-patata.
Żgur li f’Festival bħal dan ma jistax jonqos l-ikel. Is-Soċjetajiet Mużikali flimkien ma’ għaqdiet oħra tal-Qrendi se jkunu qegħdin itellgħu stalls ta’ ikel u ħelu kif ukoll se jkun hemm stabbiliment tal-ikel rinomat lokalment li se jkun qiegħed isajjar tipi differenti ta’ patata. Apparti minn hekk se jkun hemm ukoll tazzi tal-inbid kommemorattivi ta’ dan il-Festival.
Grazzi tmur b’mod speċjali wkoll lis-Soċjeta’ Agrarja Maltija kif ukoll lis-Soċjeta’ tal-Ortikultura Maltija li kienu ta’ għajnuna siewja ħafna biex jitella’ dan il-Festival. Nistednukom biex nhar il-Ħadd 27 ta’ Mejju taslu wasla sal-Ġnien tal-Warda, Il-Qrendi għall-ewwel Festival Agrarju tal-Patata li se jsir f’pajjiżna.