Malta according to Edward Debono (2)

Edward Debono takes a historical look on Malta and explains why the island is such a unique place for him:

..Another unique aspect of Maltese culture I hold close to my heart are the festas every summer. Each village has its patron saint and marching band, and on the feast day for the saint there are these huge celebrations with fireworks and processions. In some villages, there are two band clubs and they operate in competition with each other to see who can have the most outlandish firework display or feast.

Every weekend, from the end of May until about the beginning of October there are explosions from the fireworks all night. One theory is that the reason the Maltese coped so well with the bombing in the Second World War was that we were already used to all the noise. We also had considerable experience of sieges.

The Great Siege of 1565, when the Ottoman empire attacked the Knights of Malta failed and they were repulsed by a much smaller force. That also led to the building of Valletta by the Knights. I think Walter Scott referred to Valletta as "a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen". The Knights constructed a citadel with huge bastions and ramparts, calling in Italian engineers, I believe.

The Knights were also split into language groups or langues; there were French, Bavarians, Castilians and English-speaking Knights. Each langue also had its own club house where each nationality of Knight could meet. These were grandiose buildings that still exist: some have been transformed into state palaces and museums.

But the crowning glory of Valletta is St John's Cathedral. This is an enormous Baroque building, with inlaid marble floors, extravagant tombs for the Knights and striking ceiling paintings. The Knights became great builders and much of their efforts survive. The Knights' rule lasted for several hundred years but ended in 1798 when they surrendered to Napoleon after he passed through Malta en route to Egypt with his expeditionary force.

He stole lots of stuff from the churches – some of which is still in the Louvre – and moved on, leaving behind his administrators and a garrison. Eventually, the Maltese revolted – the only major resistance to Napoleon by an occupied country in Europe – locked up the French and asked the British for aid. In effect, we were never actually conquered or colonised by the British; we actually invited them in and they installed a good legal and education system...

Malta according to Edward Debono (1)