Malta And Nice Reunited: Historic Artefacts Illuminate Grand Master Lascaris’ Legacy
Heritage Malta has loaned a unique collection of artefacts to the Palais Lascaris in Nice, France for its exhibition on Nice, Malta and the Mediterranean at the time of Grand Master Jean-Paul de Lascaris between 1636 and 1657.
The exhibition forms part of the Biennale of Arts of the Museums of Nice and explores the deep historical ties between Malta, the Order of St John and Nice.
“In the Time of Grand Master Jean-Paul de Lascaris: Nice, Malta and the Mediterranean” explores Lascaris’ instrumental role in shaping the Order during its golden age in Malta.
His legacy endures to this day in Malta’s historical architecture and in his family’s noble palace in Nice, which is the exhibition’s venue.
Among the standout pieces loaned by Heritage Malta are various silver and copper coins minted under Grand Master Lascaris from the National Museum of Archaeology, a 17th-century chalice bearing his coat of arms from MUŻA – The National Community Art Museum, and a striking steel breastplate from the Grand Master’s Palace Armoury.
Maritime and military history also take centre stage, with a corsair strongbox and a dramatic oil painting of the capture of the Capitana of Tripoli in 1709, featuring a galley financed by the Lascaris Foundation, both loaned from the Malta Maritime Museum.
A particularly evocative artefact is a painted wooden relief sculpture of St Anne with the Virgin and Child, linked to the Order’s legendary warship – the carrack ‘Santa Anna’ – which was built in Nice and later served the Knights valiantly after their arrival in Malta. This artefact symbolically unites both places in shared maritime heritage.
Completing the Maltese display is a grand procession scene showing an aged Lascaris at the Feast of the Great Siege Victory, and an engraving of a 1645 sea battle between the Knights and the Turks.
Through the loan of these artefacts, Heritage Malta offered a window into a period when Malta and Nice were bound by sea, blood, faith and a shared Order.
The exhibition runs until 3rd November 2025 at the Musée du Palais Lascaris in Nice.
Will you be visiting the exhibition?
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