Saint John's Cavalier
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Saint John's Cavalier ( mt, Kavallier ta' San Ġwann) is a 16th-century
cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ) ...
in
Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...
,
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
, which was built by the Order of St. John. It overlooks St. John's Bastion, a large obtuse-angled bastion forming part of the Valletta Land Front. St. John was one of nine planned cavaliers in the city, although eventually only two were built, the other one being the identical
Saint James Cavalier Saint James Cavalier ( mt, Kavallier ta' San Ġakbu) is a 16th-century cavalier in Valletta, Malta, which was built by the Order of St John. It overlooks St James' Bastion, a large obtuse-angled bastion forming part of the Valletta Land Front. S ...
. It was designed by the Italian military engineer
Francesco Laparelli Francesco Laparelli da Cortona (5 April 1521 – 20 October 1570) was an Italian architect. He was an assistant of Michelangelo, and later was sent by the Pope to supervise the construction of Valletta in Malta. Early career Laparelli was bor ...
, while its construction was overseen by his Maltese assistant
Girolamo Cassar Girolamo Cassar ( mt, Ġlormu Cassar, 1520 – 1592) was a Maltese architect and military engineer. He was the resident engineer of the Order of St. John, and was admitted into the Order in 1569. He was involved in the construction of Valletta, ...
. The cavalier is located close to the City Gate Arcade and
Hastings Gardens Hastings Gardens is a public garden in Valletta, Malta. It is located on top of St. John's Bastion and St. Michael's Bastion, on the west side of the City Gate. The garden offers views of Floriana, Msida, Sliema, and Manoel Island. Inside th ...
. Today, the cavalier is the embassy of the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
, the successor of the Order who built it in the first place.


History

Following the Great Siege of Malta of 1565, in which the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
attempted to take over Malta but failed to do so, the Order of St. John decided to settle permanently on the island. The Order decided to build a new fortified city as their new capital, and it was called
Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...
after Grand Master
Jean Parisot de Valette Fra' Jean "Parisot" de la Valette (4 February 1495 – 21 August 1568) was a French nobleman and 49th Grand Master of the Order of Malta, from 21 August 1557 to his death in 1568. As a Knight Hospitaller, joining the order in the ''Langue de Pr ...
. In order to do this, De Valette asked for financial aid from various European rulers.
Pope Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...
not only helped out financially, but he also sent the Italian military engineer
Francesco Laparelli Francesco Laparelli da Cortona (5 April 1521 – 20 October 1570) was an Italian architect. He was an assistant of Michelangelo, and later was sent by the Pope to supervise the construction of Valletta in Malta. Early career Laparelli was bor ...
to Malta in order to design the new capital's fortifications. Construction of the city began in March 1566, and work continued throughout the 1570s. Following Laparelli's departure from Malta and his subsequent death, construction of the city was entrusted to his Maltese assistant, the architect and military engineer
Girolamo Cassar Girolamo Cassar ( mt, Ġlormu Cassar, 1520 – 1592) was a Maltese architect and military engineer. He was the resident engineer of the Order of St. John, and was admitted into the Order in 1569. He was involved in the construction of Valletta, ...
. St. John's Cavalier was one of the first buildings to be built in Valletta, along with the Church of Our Lady of Victories and the rest of the fortifications. The cavalier was built as a raised platform on which guns were placed to defend the city against attacks from the landward side, in the area were the town of
Floriana Floriana ( mt, Il-Furjana or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a fortified town in the South Eastern Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014. Floriana ...
was later built. As well as prohibiting entry, St. John's could also threaten those who had already breached the city's defences. It was linked to
Saint James Cavalier Saint James Cavalier ( mt, Kavallier ta' San Ġakbu) is a 16th-century cavalier in Valletta, Malta, which was built by the Order of St John. It overlooks St James' Bastion, a large obtuse-angled bastion forming part of the Valletta Land Front. S ...
by a now-blocked underground passageway. In 1646, Grand Master
Giovanni Paolo Lascaris Giovanni Paolo Lascaris di Ventimiglia e Castellar ( Maltese: ''Laskri'') (28 June 156014 August 1657) was an Italian nobleman and Grand Master of the Knights of Malta. Early life Lascaris was born on 28 June 1560, the second son of Giannetto ...
grafted a number of warehouses for the storage of gunpowder and muskets on the flank and gorge of the cavalier. The warehouses were demolished in the late 1950s, and the commemorative inscription which was located on their façade is now affixed on the wall of the cavalier. The cavalier was used by British forces during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.


Embassy

In 1967, the
Government of Malta A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
leased the cavalier to the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
, the successor of the Order of St. John, for 99 years. The SMOM established its embassy in Malta there, and it was restored under the direction of ambassador Dino Marrajeni, and the Maltese engineer Roger de Giorgio, an expert on restoration of historical buildings. Within two years restoration was complete, and while modern alterations were made, care was taken to preserve all the original features of the building. An unobtrusive penthouse was built on the cavalier's roof as the residence of the Head of the Mission, and from it one can see an excellent view of the city below as well as the surrounding towns and villages. The incumbent ambassador is HE Ing. Umberto Di Capua. The cavalier is scheduled as a Grade 1 national monument, and it is also listed on the
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands The National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands (NICPMI) is a heritage register listing the cultural property of Malta. The inventory includes properties such as archaeological sites, fortifications, religious buildings, mo ...
.


Architecture

St. John's Cavalier is a large casemated artillery platform having a pentagonal plan. The structure was not designed with aesthetics in mind, highlighting its purely utilitarian military function. Despite the impression of size given by the external aspect of the building, half of the structure was filled with compressed earth and the rest consisted of series of sparse chambers and a ramp by which cannons could reach the roof. The cavalier occupies the rear face of St. John's Bastion, and it was meant to be able to fire over the bastion's main parapet, without interfering with its fire. Its terrace contains a
gunpowder magazine A gunpowder magazine is a magazine (building) designed to store the explosive gunpowder in wooden barrels for safety. Gunpowder, until superseded, was a universal explosive used in the military and for civil engineering: both applications ...
. A number of warehouses were grafted on the cavalier in the 17th century, but these were demolished in the 1950s.


Further reading

*


References


External links


National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
{{Valletta Buildings and structures in Valletta Hospitaller fortifications in Malta Limestone buildings in Malta 16th-century fortifications Diplomatic missions of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta Diplomatic missions in Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands