Professor Lino Cutajar will be sharing his insights into the medical history of the Maltese islands at a lecture organised by Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar to be held this evening at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, built as the Sacra Infermeria, the hospital of the Order of the Knights of St John.
Going back to earliest times, Prof. Cutajar considers that Neolithic healing was handled through dreams and oracles. Malta was later influenced by Greece and Rome but it was only in the golden age of Muslim civilisation that the first hospitals were set up, specifically to treat the patient using the best medicines available, rather than by ‘miraculous’ cures, as in the ancient Greek temples.
The Santo Spirito Hospital, opened in Rabat in 1433, was the main hospital on the island before the arrival of the Knights in 1530 whose hospital raised standards in medical care to the highest in Europe. Still the folklore remedies such as amulets, fumigation and witchcraft remained in use.
During the British European medical developments were successfully adopted in Malta, while epidemics was controlled by the imposition of stringent quarantine at the Lazaretto. Maltese doctors contributing to such developments included Sir Temi Zammit, whose work controlled the infectious disease of undulant fever.
The Great War turned Malta into ‘the nurse of the Mediterranean’ – by June 1915 there were 14 hospitals in Malta and the number of patients rose to over 13,000.
This interesting talk will take place at the MCC, Valletta, today at 6.30pm. The public is requested to be seated by 6.15pm.
A €5 donation towards FAA’s restoration of the Rabat medieval polyptych is requested.