The Art of Mario Portelli

While humans most of them where dwelling in caves or valleys, at the same time another group set his foot on this Island. Few is known about them, how they arrived, from which part of the globe had left sail to set a new home. During their stay on this Island, interesting facts happened like, building numerous large temples with huge boulders, some say that they also cut channels in hard rock. Explanation for this is vague as no one knows exactly the true reason and purpose of these channels.

Wonderful stone carvings, decorations and sculptors had been executed by these people until mysterious events might have lead them to abandon this small island let-alone. Some say that it wasn't true that it was completely deserted as they believed that some locals remained and traded with various merchants, even Vikings and later on with the Phoenicians.

Indeed the later intensified their visits to these Islands till they've settled here and made a very important harbor for sheltering their goods and for themselves from any bad storms.Some say that this was good enough to began another era for another great Nation which was called Carthage. The Phoenicians where great traders, builders and having also their own language which to-date is still partially used in the Maltese language. While Carthage was getting stronger, another great empire was forming...Rome. Having two empires close to each other lead to an inevitable clash which surely left the Maltese Islands in a middle tug-o-war! As written the Romans defeated Carthage, thus adding Malta (Melita) into their empire and giving the locals the status of Roman citizenship.

Malta kept under Roman rule for a long time till, the great empire fell and took over by the Byzantines. Few is known of this period. What is sure is, that the Arabs where the next who conquered these Islands. They have stayed for a long time. Reflecting all this is the strong influence on the Maltese language as one can find numerous words in Arabic.

During their long duration in Malta, the Arab were eventually overtaken by the Normans, who in return kept the Arabs ruling the island with the understanding that the Arabs pay their taxes. But this was not for long because the Arabs were expelled from the island after a revolt was revealed involving the ARbs overtaking the island once again.  After 60 years or so of tranquility and prosperity, then came the Angevine Dynasty.

A t this stage in time the Angevine Empire was rival to the Aragonese. A  fierce war broke out and each tried to overcome the other in many ways and possibilities. Indeed many battles had been fought but a decisive one was fought in the Grand harbor of Malta. In fact the two major navies faced each other in port and the World's most biggest sea battles in port ever documented took place. This brought the end of the Angevines rule and the beginning of the  Aragonese under which the locals weren't content and they where relieved when the Island was annually ransomed to the Knights of the Order of Saint John for a  falcon! It so happened that the Knights were trying to find a base  to operate from after being expelled  from Rhodes by the Ottoman Empire.

In the beginning their arrival was not so welcomed but as time passed on, the locals realized the potentiality these people really had. From horseback the knights took to the sea and become masters from whom many feared. Indeed, its this cause which took the Knights and the Maltese to fight a four month bloody siege, again with the Ottoman Empire. The situation was critical as the locals were outnumbered. In fact for 700 Knights and 7000 Maltese, there where 30,000 Ottomans to fight! After numerous attempts by the latter, they had to abandon the siege and retreat, promising to come back for vengeance, something which never materialized. The siege aftermath and the treat which was still fresh in the minds of the Knights, made the locals to re-build better fortifications, water irrigation, new city, calling it Valletta, after the Great Grand Master Jean Parisot la Valette. They also made other important projects and wonderful Baroque buildings. A new fleet, consisting of fine galleys had been built and which resulted in becoming  a power in the Mediterranean. Once more they become the fear of the seas and indeed they used to raid many Ottoman vessels and coasts. But as the Ottoman Empire with its fleet began to vanish, trouble began to brew on the Maltese Islands as the Knights' income became more and more less resulting in more taxes for the locals which finally become an unbearable situation for many. Meanwhile in Europe a French General, Napoleon Buonaparte was gaining ground by storm and the French Knights were all afraid of losing all their rights and lands. This fear led them to be lenient towards the General in hope that he would  favor them. Some of the locals were fed up by the Knights and when the French were sited on the horizon, the Grand Master Ferdinand Von Hompesch, realized that he had no chance to stand up against a force of 29,000 soldiers. Another factor was that the Order had a rule that says that they should never fight against other Christians! Reluctantly the Grand Master surrendered and gave the Island's sovereignty to the Republic of France. At first the Maltese where glad under the rule of Napoleon, as the latter gave more authonomy to the lower and middle class by introducing to the island, rules and laws from the popular French Republic Constitution.

Napoleon, at first had no intention to fight a full scale war with the Knights as his first intentions where to take control Alexandria of Egypt, thus he can cut the route to the English Empire that was, from India to England via the Mediterranean Sea. But having Malta in mind to use it as a harbor to his fleet and a stepping stone to Alexandria and knowing as well that the Russian Empire had special interest towards Malta had no choice but to take control of the Islands before someone else does. He had big difficulties to do so as he was been informed that the Island was well fortified and the locals are brave warriors too. So, instead he used spies and other people informing the locals about the mighty strength of the French army, the bad politics of the Knights, rules which made life so hard to the locals. All this shed fear among the Knights and more anger from the locals towards the same Knights. Napoleon's plan did worked well and took the Islands with little bloodshed. It is written that when Napoleon was entering the Capital city of Valletta, he quoted: "If the Knights and the locals stood up against us, we had no chance to take in our hands these mighty fortifications!".

But as months rolled by, trouble began to brew as the officers in charge began to abuse on people's private life, mostly, land and other property. An incident which ignited a revolution against the French occupancy, took place when a garrison of French soldiers tried to sequestrate gold and other valuables from a church in Rabat. This lead to a bloody revolt which spread around the island in a matter of days and which put the French to take cover in the fortresses and other fortified places. The Maltese fought and tried to overwhelm fiercely for two years but against the mighty and strong same fortified walls who they built where of no hope!

To be continued...