Count Alessandro Cagliostro, the magician, seer, prophet, alchemist, mason, healer and possessor of ancient wisdom, said that he was thousands of years old. It turns out that he was in Malta at one time. It isn't too clear when (sometime between 1764 and 1768), or what he was calling himself then. He may have been known by the name of Giuseppe Balsamo, born in Palermo in 1743, ex-novice monk, thief, forger and con-man and fugitive from justice. On the other hand he was probably calling himself by a variety of other names then, usually prefixed by Cavaliere, Marquis or Conte.

He was the assistant of a strange older man called Altotas or Althotas, possibly a Greek, but speaking a mixture of languages, including Arabic, genuinely very learned and an alchemist. They had met up in Messina in 1764 and journeyed around the Mediterranean and Egypt and had eventually fetched up in Malta.

It turns out that Grand Master Pinto engaged Altotas to assist him in his laboratory in the Palace, Pinto being an amateur alchemist. There they tried to turn a pewter plate into gold. One story goes that Balsamo became discouraged and gave up on the idea, taking ship for Messina with a Knight of St John and some letters of introduction from Pinto (genuine or forged), making his way to Rome and becoming at some time the Count Cagliostro, beginning his career as a fashionable magician. His friend in the Order who was to help him a great deal was the Cavaliere d'Aquino.

Another version of the story is that the old man died after inhaling some noxious fumes in an experiment in Pinto's laboratory - quite likely because the alchemists were working with some very dangerous materials - and Balsamo left shortly after. It may also be that Altotas had made a significant discovery in the treatment of flax to make it shine like silk and they had made some money out of this discovery in Rhodes before they made their way to Malta.

There is also a story that in 1773 Cagliostro returned to Malta - possibly using that name, and accompanied now by his wife - while on the run from justice again and supported himself for a short time selling potions and creams (and by one account pimping for his wife) before returning to Europe. He had quite a career after that and for a while was very successful, with genuine healing powers by many accounts. He also seems to have maintained his contacts with the Knights of St John to the end of his career.

Cagliostro has one other distant connection with Malta and the Order - he became very friendly with Cardinal Rohan in France and was implicated in the downfall of that enormously powerful man in the affair of the Queen's Necklace, which led indirectly to Cagliostro's own downfall. Grand Master Emmanuel de Rohan and the cardinal appear to have been related.

He was arrested in Rome and tried for heresy, establishing a Freemason's cell, practising magic and all sorts of other crimes. He died in the Papal fortress of St Leo in 1795, although there are still some who think he escaped, is still alive and really had all the powers he credited himself with.

I would like to know if anything has been published on his stay in Malta and whether anyone has ever come across Pinto's alchemical interests - and perhaps some records of the stay of Cagliostro and Altotas. The latter had a store of ancient manuscripts in all sorts of languages and they were the sort of things that Pinto would have tried to secure.

Anyone who can kindly provide me with this information can, apart from on these pages, contact me direct by e-mail at nix.dore@ntlworld.com or can write to me at the address below.