Malta
Great Siege of 1565 Commemoratives
Malta's "Great Seige of 1565" Commemoratives depict the Madonna Damascena, Sciortino's "Great
Siege" monument, Grand Master La Valette and an old map documenting the attack on Fort Elmo.
On September 7, 1962 Malta issued a set of four stamps commemorating the great siege of 1565 in which the Turks were defeated by the knights of the order of St. John and Maltese Christians.
An icon called the "Madonna Dasmascena" ("Our Lady of Damascus") is featured on the low value of the set (2 pence). The icon was brought by the Order at the request of Greeks who accompanied the Knights from Rhodes to Malta when the Turks drove them from Rhodes in 1523. Some the knights believed they had seen the icon in Damascus and that is how it got its name. The icon became known as Our Lady of Damascus because some of the knights when they first saw it, claimed to have seen it previously in Damascus, and this explains the name it bears.
The icon was carried with the knights until they placed it with other treasures in Malta in 1530. It was placed in the church of St. Catherine in Borgo del Castello (Vittoriosa). The Grand Master of the Knights of St. John, Jean de la Valette, left his cap and sword on the steps of the altar of this church in thanksgiving when, on September 7th 1565, an exhausted Turkish army fled from Malta. In 1587 the icon was moved to the newly built Greek Orthodox Church of Our Lady of Damascus in the new city of Valletta.
The second stamp in the set (3 pence) shows the Great Siege Monument by Maltese sculptor Antonio Sciortino. Installed in 1927, the sculpture consists of a granite base supporting three bronze figures. A female figure carrying a papal tiara in her outstretched hand on the left represents Faith and one on the right, carrying a mask of Minerva, represents Civilisation. In the centre there is an armoured male figure, holding a sword and a shield, representing Valour.
Malta honours sculptor Antonio Sciortino (1879-1947) on the 10 cent value of its 1974 "Prominent
Maltese" set and in this set issued on July 10, 1997 marking the 50th anniversary of his death.
Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette is portrayed on the third stamp in the set (6 pence). He was selected as Grand Master of The Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta in 1557. He led 700 knights and 8500 mercenaries reinforced by citizens and peasants in resisting a Turkish fleet of 159 warships manned by 30,000 janizaries or spahis that attacked on May 18, 1565. Savage fighting and a long siege ensued but on September 7 reinforcements arrived in a fleet led by Don Garcia de Toledo and Turks retreated. He was responsible for the construction of a new city (Valetta) on the site of Fort Elmo which was destroyed during the Turkish siege.
The high value in the set (1 shilling) shows an old map tracing the assault on Fort Elmo.
Bibliography
"The Great Siege Monument in Valletta." Our Lady of Damascus. National Trust of Malta. 6 Oct. 2011. Web.
3 Feb. 2018. http://dinlarthelwa.org/properties/historic-landmarks/the-great-siege-monument-in-valletta/.
"The Icon." Our Lady of Damascus. Greek Catholic Church Malta. n.d. Web.
3 Feb. 2018. http://greekcatholicmalta.com/our-lady-of-damascus/.
"Jean Parisot de la Vallette." The Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes
and of Malta. Brotherhood of the Blessed Gerard. 18 Sept. 2015. Web. 3 Feb. 2018.
http://www.smom-za.org/grandmasters/49.htm.
"Malta." Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue. 2015.
Rossiter, Stuart and John Flower. The Stamp Atlas. London: Macdonald and Co., 1986.
Direct comments, questions and corrections to:
stampquestions@hotmail.com
© Grose Educational Media, 2018
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