Next year the parish of Vittoriosa and its collegiate church of St Lawrence will be celebrating its late medieval role as an enclave of European sophistication. International soprano Miriam Gauci (niece of the dramatic soprano Hilda Mallia Tabone, an old friend of my family) must have been very proud to sing at the concert held on March 3 at the Grand Masters' Suite of the Hilton, with the National Orchestra conducted by her husband Michael Laus.

This concert was organised by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and was sponsored by AON Insurance Brokers in association with the collegiate chapter of St Lawrence.

Unfortunately 1 was not present at the concert and I was not as lucky as others to be invited by the chapter or by whoever was responsible, probably because my contributions are not strong enough to be ranked as one of the best helpers in this church.

Recently it was pointed out that this unique enclave of European sophistication was concentrated on Fort St Angelo (Castrum Maris), including its suburb of Birgu.

A few years after the occupation of our island in 1266 by the Angevins, we have learned, an inventory of liturgical objects existed and in the late medieval period Birgu enjoyed a relationship with its fort, Castrum Maris, which might have distinguished it from Birgu itself and the rest of our island.

The cult of a very popular saint, St Lawrence, the Aragonese martyred during the Roman persecution in 258, was already very widespread.

We know that Birgu and Castrum Maris were both influenced by many Aragonese families, especially the De Nava family, whose Castellan built the Magisterial Palace and the chapel of St Anne at the enceinte of the fort in 1430.

The De Guevara family were fully responsible for the dedication of Birgu parish to the St Lawrence and after the building of the first chapel by Spanish seafarers named it San Lorenzo-a-mare following the occupation of our islands in 1283 by the Aragonese who forced out the Angevins after only 17 years.

However it was a prominent member of this family, the parish priest Don Philippe De Guevara, a great devotee of St Lawrence, who demolished the first church built by the seafarers and built a larger and more beautiful church in Siculo-Norman style in 1508.

This was the same church that Grand Master L'Isle Adam found when he arrived in Malta in October 1530 and declared the church as the first conventual church of the Knights of St John, which served them for 41 years before they transferred their convent and seat to the new city of Valletta in March 1571.

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