Histories of Malta - Deceptions and Perceptions, Vol.1

Title Histories of Malta - Deceptions and Perceptions, Vol.1
Author Giovanni Bonello
Date 2000
Pages 279
Illustrations 134 col., 73 b/w
ISBN 99932-10-01-3 (hard cover) / 99932-10-02-1 (soft cover)
Price Out of Print

Giovanni Bonello's Histories of Malta is the first volume in a series of forthcoming publications.  Collected here are 34 contributions of a historical nature, ranging from topics of Malta's Islamic past, in the article about Majmuna's tombstone, to the Fascist interest in the Island as reflected in postal history.  The subjects are diverse and unrelated but are held together through their Maltese connection.
The book is once again a product of years of research and in-depth study delivered in the form of 'micro-history', Bonello's favourite style of writing.  This publication is therefore an entirely enjoyable experience to the reader and most of all to the Melitensia lovers.
Giovanni Bonello is a Judge of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. He writes extensively on human rights, art, history and postal history topics.

CONTENTS

• New Light on Majmuna’s Tombstone (p.9)
• The Sorcerer Mattew Falzun and the Earliest Infiltrations of Lutheranism (p.13)
• The Two Lanfreducci Knights of Malta (p.23)
• The Voice of Valletta’s Streets (p.33)
• The Maltese who Fooled Urban VIII and Richelieu (p.43)
• Sebastian Zammet - Pimp and Banker to Henry IV (p.48)
• The Earliest Maltese Encyclopedia, 1644 (p.57)
• The Maltese who Pioneered Chocolate in Europe (p.79)
• Notes for a History of Sexual Diversity in Malta (p.85)
• Espionage and the Knights of Malta (p.96)
• Music for the Knights of Malta (p.107)
• Feasting and fasting at the Time of the Knights (p.118)
• Grins and Groans at the Manoel Theatre (p.145)
• How a Stranger saw the Maltese Legal Profession in 1780 (p.155)
• The Creni Saga - A Tale of Greed and Lust (p.161)
• A Mysterious Book by Mikiel Anton Vassalli? (p.170)
• How Lady Hamilton Changed the History of Malta (p.174)
• Archbishop Francesco Saverio Caruana - A Suspect Debunking (p.183)
• Some Early Malta-USA Connections (p.193)
• The ‘Tempestuous Prince’ in Malta, 1835 (p.200)
• The Judicial Murder of Paulu Xuereb, 1844 (p.209)
• A Franco-Maltese Battle in Grand Harbour (p.213)
• Early Photographers in Malta (p.218)
• The Magistrate Imprisoned for Indecent Assault (p.229)
• The PN Maduma - A Gift of Love and Shame (p.239)
• Italian Fascism and the Mail in Malta (p.242)
• The Planned Invasion of Malta - Postal History (p.248)
• Malta and Cagliostro, the Charismatic Charlatan (p.254)
• A Tribute to Our Cathedral City (p.257)
• For a History of Lawyering in Malta (p.260)
• Grand Master Del Ponte Resurrected (p.263)
• A History of Malta written in Gold, Silver and Bronze (p.265)
• Italo-Maltese Deeds and Misdeeds (p.267)
• How Malta Almost Defeated Sterling (p.269)
• Index (p.271)