Malta - Day 02 - Valletta - 06 March 2024 - La Sacre Infermaria

 

The Holy Infirmary is a huge building where the knights cared for the ill men regardless of colour, creed or religion. Only men, as due to their vow of celibacy, the knights who were the nurses, were not allowed to be in contact with any women. Even when relatives were ill and dying, women were not allowed to visit, 

When sick, women were treated at home. 

We were given a tour of the Infermaria after the visual and audio show, The Malta Experience that brings together more than 6300 years of the history of the Maltese islands.

The Sacra Infermeria was the Order’s hospital for male patients of any class, nation or religion. It also provided lodging for pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land. Further to the curing of the sick, the Sacra Infermeria was also a place in which the Order looked after the poor, widows, and orphans. The Sacra Infermeria serves as an important historical remembrance of the Hospitaller Order of St John’s contribution to the well-being and care for the sick, wounded, and the poor. This emphasis on hospitalitas was the distinguishing mark of the Knights of Saint John.The area chosen for the new hospital was at the tip of the peninsula close to Fort St Elmo. The Order’s choice on this location of Valletta for its close distance to Fort St Elmo and the Grand Harbour in which the Order’s galleys, privateering ships, and captured enemy vessels anchored, guaranteeing that the hospital falls within easy reach for the fastest transfer of the sick and wounded. From the Grand Harbour, the Sacra Infermeria was reached through a passage that linked the Barriera Wharf and the Sacra Infermeria. Other hospitals including the Casetta (the women’s hospital, since the Sacra Infermeria was for men) were also found in this area, which the Order dedicated for establishments earmarked for the welfare of the population. By 1725, the Sacra Infermeria was already known as the largest hospital in Europe and the most avant-garde in the medicinal field, renowned for its spirit of service to the sick and poor.