The Ambassador of the Sovereign Order, Umberto Di Capua, and his wife Marinella hosted the annual reception to celebrate the feast of St John the Baptist last Sunday on the terrace of St John’s Cavalier – the bastion which houses the embassy.

The lovely weather conditions made for a marvellous evening where guests could enjoy the beautiful panorama of Malta by night and the evening fireworks of nearby feasts to the accompaniment of a musical band.

Among the distinguished guests , led by President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca and her husband Edgar, were the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ambassadors of Italy, the US and Germany , as well as representatives from the Embassies of Spain, Russia and China, members of the Bench of Judges and Magistrates and prominent personalities from the business and other sectors of society.

A large number of members of the Maltese association attended together with their president, Marchesino Daniel de Petri Testaferrata.

In the course of the evening, both the Ambassador and President Coleiro Preca delivered speeches. For Ambassador Di Capua, it was a particularly poignant moment as he will soon be wrapping up his term in Malta and proceed to Monaco, where he will lead the Order’s diplomatic mission to the principality.