The Diplomat
The Maltese Minister for National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government, Owen Bonnici, inaugurated last week at St. Angelo’s Fort in Birgu (Malta) the official milestone of the “Maltese Way” to Santiago de Compostela.
The event took place on 25 July, the Apostle’s Day, and the Minister was accompanied by the Maltese Ambassador to Spain, Daniel Azzopardi, and the Spanish Ambassador to Malta, José María Muriel, as well as senior representatives of the Maltese organisations “Heritage Malta”, The Malta Tourism Authority” and the organisation representing the Way in Malta “Xircammini”.
Also in attendance were Gabriel Baltar, Honorary Consul of Malta in Vigo, and personalities from the world of culture and heritage of both countries, such as the artist José María Cano or the cultural promoter and president of the Gabarrón Foundation, Cris Gabarrón.
The idea of placing the milestone of the Maltese Way began in the summer of 2021, when the Ambassador of Malta obtained “La Compostela” after walking the Camino de Santiago with some friends. Inspired by such a wonderful experience, Ambassador Azzopardi started researching and found evidence that, before the 17th century, the ancient Knights of the Order of Malta had established pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela.
Two months after the end of the route, the ambassador met with the then president of the Xunta de Galicia, Alberto Núñez Feijóo and the president of the Spanish Federation of Associations of Friends of the Camino de Santiago, Jorge Martínez Cava, to recover and re-establish the route.
The iconic milestone of the Camino has been installed at the entrance of Fort St. Angelo, for having been the headquarters of the Knights of the Order of Malta while they were settled on the island.
The 3,493 kilometre route starts in the heart of the island of Malta, in Rabat towards Birgu (land route) and from there by boat to Sicily, then on to Sardinia and finishing the sea route in Barcelona, where the overland route to Santiago de Compostela begins. This year the “Camino” segment in Malta has been followed by more than three hundred people from 15 different countries.
As highlighted at the inauguration, this milestone, besides being physical, is also symbolic in the sense that it strengthens bilateral relations between Spain and Malta, reaffirming the contemporary friendship between these two Mediterranean countries through a sophisticated history that links them, since more than 500 years ago, when Charles V gave the islands to the Knights of the Order of Malta.
