Tony C. Cutajar

Baron Gauci had a son, who became a priest, and who was his only heir to his inheritance. So long as he lived, the Baron s sisters could never inherit his wealth. Many a time they begged their brother to allow his son to leave Mdina and spend a few days with them at Birgu. Finally, he accepted their apparently sincere invitation and sent his son to stay with them. After a week, the Baron had no news of his son and he went to find out for himself. His sisters told him that they hadn t seen him for a long time. The Baron concluded that they had killed him to ensure that they would come into his inheritance on his death. To punish them for their evil design he left his wealth to the Mdina cathedral. Rumour soon spread that the young priest had been pushed into the oven and burnt alive.

A well-to-do newcomer arrives at the poor village. Nobody could believe it that he was the brother of the long-lost sister Vincenza who was always known as _ensa the witch. She was blamed for the death of a young man and was called to appear before the Inquisitor. But instead, she sought sanctuary and eventually committed suicide. The newcomer wanted to make up for his sister s bad name by becoming the protector and provider of the first priest and the first notary in the village.

This could very well have been a love story between a Moslem Princess and a professed Knight of St. John of Jerusalem. But it is a love story between three brother knights, the Princess and a little statue of Our Lady of Liesse. A great devotion that developed miraculously in an Egyptian dungeon, moved on mysteriously to France and the Holy Land and thence to Malta.

This is a love story built on the popular Maltese legend which centres around the old castle known as Kastell Zamitellu in the quiet village of Mgarr. A law student is fascinated by the beauty of Lucija and seeks to marry her, but her father wants a very rich man as his son-in-law. He devises a plan with an old Sicilian count who is found repugnant by Lucija. On her wedding day the bride is nowhere to be found and there follows a great alarm. Months later, she appears in a vision dressed as a nun and reveals what had happened to her and how she had died.

This adventure story is built on a historical fact which happened when a serious earthquake hit Malta in 1693. Two young friends were helping in the rebuilding of Mdina cathedral when they come across a jar full of gold coins hidden in the ground. The Grand Master of the Order and the Archpriest of the cathedral both claim the treasure. One of the two friends keeps some of the coins, tries to sell them and finds himself in a lot of trouble. The friendship of the other young man with a nobleman's son changes his life altogether and leads him to an intimacy with his sister.