THE VALETTE. - The Knights of the Order of Malta are going to return to the
island 200 years after their expulsion, thanks to an agreement signed
yesterday in the Valette between conservative prime minister of Malta, Eddie
Fenech Adami, and the great chancellor of the Order, count Don Carlo di Marullo
di Condojanni.
According to this agreement, the Knights will take possession of the Fort of
strong Saint-Angel in the Valette, the fort from where their ancestors stopped the Muslim expansion and defended the catholic faith.
Previous owners
of Malta, the Knights were expelled from the island in 1789 by Napoleon.
About 12,000 Knights live at the moment spread worldwide. Directed by the
Scottish aristocrat Andrew Bertie, of the catholic dynasty of the Stewards,
the Order that has the right to coin currency, to give passports and to accredit
ambassadors, at the moment they are recognized by 80 countries among them
the Vatican, until recently they only exerted their sovereignty on some
palaces in Rome.
