Reference is made to the letter ‘Fort St Elmo carving’ by Paul Xuereb (May 16).
Historical sources record the said relief’s vicissitudes, having been on the Order of St John’s ‘new’ carrack, the Sant’Anna, launched in Nice on December 21, 1522. It never made it to Rhodes since the Order lost the island the day after the carrack’s launching.
The Order’s Rhodes carrack was the ‘old’ 15th century Santa Maria, on which Grand Master L’Isle Adam and most of the Order’s treasure were loaded upon leaving Rhodes on January 1, 1523. Thus, the relief was never at Rhodes.
It is known that the relief was salvaged from the Sant’Anna after it was decommissioned in 1540. It roamed around a number of the Order’s churches in fortifications for two centuries. In the early 18th century, a new church was built in Fort St Elmo’s Piazza d’Armi. On this occasion, the original background and part of the actual holy images’ relief were reshaped into an oval and Grand Master L’Isle Adam’s coat of arms was totally removed. This was done so that the relief could fit as a Sotto Quadro in one of the new church’s altars.
During the British period, the church was used for other purposes but the relief was transferred to the older and smaller 16th century church in the same fort.
A proper inspection of the relief was only possible when Heritage Malta took over the management of Fort St Elmo. It was unfortunately found to be in a bad state of conservation due to the aggressive micro environment within the church of St Anne, which has a very high level of relative humidity.
The icon was taken to Heritage Malta’s conservation labs in 2014 and, since then, has been studied, monitored and is undergoing conservation treatment. Due to the relief’s condition and those unfortunately prevailing within the church at Fort St Elmo, faithful copies of the relief, niche and frame are placed within the 16th century church at Fort St Elmo, once the icon has been stabilised.
The original relief will be displayed at the Malta Maritime Museum in the Order of St John period hall, specifically within the section of the Order’s carracks, in good environmental conditions after lengthy but necessary interventions.