Alpine strong link with Malta

I sometimes wonder if people in Malta realise that there is a village in the Maritime Alps, the last place in France before the Italian border, which has strong connections to Malta.

The village is Castellar, birthplace of Grand Master Jean-Paul Lascaris (1560-1657), which has a population of circa 1,200 inhabitants and somehow managed to produce at least 30 Knights of Malta over time. But the connections do not end there.

Joseph Brun (left) and his assistant have been making nougat all their lives.

The village is built like Valletta with parallel streets and the houses have tiles bearing the eight-pointed cross of Malta. The locals produce, like Malta, an excellent nougat for local consumption and there are many oval windows as in Malta. The village also boasts two chapel museums devoted to Malta full of Maltese memorabilia.

The knights of the village participated heroically in the Turkish invasions of Nice and Malta in 1543 and 1565. Lascaris ordered the building of nine watchtowers that reinforced Malta’s defence and gave a galley to the Knights’ fleet. He presented a painting The Birth of Christ to the Castellar church and the village, like Malta, was occupied by Napoleon in 1793 and the last of the Lascaris had to be buried at night because of the Revolutionairies’ hatred of nobles and aristocrats.

The connections are many. Lascaris had a mill which can still be seen and his palace can be visited in the heart of the village.

Certainly a village that deserves to be better known.

Rod Lyon – Naxxar

Vehicle accidents

Times of Malta reports on vehicle accidents usually indicate the village, town or country of origin of the drivers and passengers. However, when these accidents involve large commercial vehicles, such as a bowser, a crane, or – a while ago  a truck that overturned and killed a motorcycle delivery worker – no mention is made of the owners of such vehicles who might conceivably be held responsible.

The result leaves an impression of “no names, no pack drill”. Is this deliberate?

Moreover, such reports almost invariably state that the police are investigating and/or a magistrate is inquiring,  thus suggesting the possibility of further information about the case, which is rarely provided.

Michael Zammit Cutajar – St Julian’s

Letters to the editor should be sent to editor@timesofmalta.com. Please include your full name, address and ID card number. The editor may disclose personal information to any person or entity seeking legal action on the basis of a published letter.