On June 29, the Times of Malta published a letter of mine in which I wrote that “the Mdina Road trees are part of Malta’s natural patrimony... When tourists visit Rabat and Mdina along the tree-lined Mdina Road, they sense that they are getting close to one of Malta’s heritage sites. The majestic trees present a dignified approach to Malta’s ancient citadel”.
After I wrote that letter, I came across an entry in an 18th century diary which expresses similar sentiments regarding the approach to Mdina. The diary belonged to the Norwegian pastor, Peder Pavels, who visited Malta in 1796-97 together with the Danish sculptor, Bertel Thorvaldsen.
On Monday, December 26, 1796, Pavels visited Mdina together with Thorvaldsen. Their guide and their host was my distant forebear, Jean-Francois Guillaumier, a pilot attached to the flagship of the Order of St John’s galley squadron whom they had met on their ship Thetis.
Pavels wrote in his diary: “To Città vecchia we came up a hill, quite a high one. Here, first of all, my attention was caught by some orange trees, standing to the left of the road, down in the valley, so beautiful, so pleasing to the eye, with their fruit so inviting to be tasted; never before had I seen a tree so beautified. As we slowly went upward, as long as the trees were visible, I could not keep my eyes off their yellow and green blessed aspect” (Malta 1796-1797: Thorvaldsen’s Visit).