Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum is organising a public lecture entitled ‘Majesty – Magnificence – Good Taste; Ritual in the Grand Harbour of the Hospitallers,’ by Dr Emanuel Buttigieg, Dept of History, Faculty of Arts, University of Malta.

‘As the Grand Master boarded the vessel the cry of ‘Long Live the King! resounded in the air’. Around the harbour, hundreds crammed into windows, terraces, ramparts and quays, eager to participate in the spectacle that was about to unfold on the water before their eyes.

The French fleet was celebrating the news that King Louis XV had recovered from an illness. For Grand Master Pinto (1741- 1773), this was one of his first major public appearances as Grand Master. For the Order, this was one in a long chain of their splendid festivities.

The Grand Harbour, the gateway into the island order-state of the Hospitallers, became an impressive ‘floating stage’ for shows of power and glory.

Author and lecturer Emanuel Buttigieg will offer a glimpse into the majesty, magnificence and good taste of the rituals that took place in the Grand Harbour of the Hospitallers.

Dr. Emanuel Buttigieg is a Lecturer in early modern history at the University of Malta. He read for a Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge (Peterhouse), under the supervision of Dr Mary Laven (Jesus College).

His first book, Nobility, Faith and Masculinity: The Hospitaller Knights of Malta, c.1580-c.1700, was published by Continuum of London and New York in 2011.

The lecture will be taking plact at Palazzo Santa Sofia, a few doors down from Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum, Mdina, on Thursday, the 20th of March, starting at 6.30pm.

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