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This blog is dedicated to Malta - my island home. My aim is not to bore you with history but to share my thoughts and a few facts together with a photo or two. For a more in -depth background of the island please go here. The purpose of this blog is not to point out the short-comings of the island. There are plenty that do that already. My wish is to show you the beauty of an island at the cross roads of the Mediterranean, a melting pot of history; a place where fact and fiction are sometimes fused to create unique myths and legends; a country that has been conquered so many times that our culture is a mish mesh of the lands that surround us and of lands far away. I confess that my greatest desire is to make you fall in love with this tiny enchanting island.

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Tuesday 23 November 2010

Castello Zammitello

Built around 300 years ago, this small castle surrounded by fields is within walking distance of the village of Mgarr. It was built in the Norman style and its main aim was to serve as a look-out post for any corsairs who may have anchored their ships in the near-by bay of Gnejna.

Castello Zammi tello (4)

This small castle, of course, has its own legend. One version of the legend is that Lucia, the daughter of Baron Bernardo Zammit, disappeared on the day she was to marry an elderly Sicilian count. Her distraught father, believing she had been carried away by corsairs, ordered an armed search of the nearby bay – to no avail. A year later, the bells of the local church started tolling unexpectedly and a vision of Lucia, clad  in a nun’s habit, appeared on the altar. Lucia confessed that she had run away from home to avoid marrying the elderly count and had taken refuge in a convent. After taking her vows she had spent the past year tending the wounded in a foreign land only to be killed by a stray arrow. I wonder is the ghost of Lucia sometimes wanders through the rooms of her old home …

  Castello Zammitello 

In recent years the castle has been refurbished and is being used as a venue for weddings and other private functions.

Castello Zammitello

Gnejna Road

Mgarr

Please go here if you are interested in organising a private event at this historic castle.

9 comments:

  1. Wow..gorgeous Loree..and intriguing, heart-touching story..amazing! Loved this! My cousin's name is Lucia..such a beautiful name isn't it! Beautiful post!

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  2. I think is a lot more interesting a castle haunted by a nun than by a evil ghost. :D
    And among the kinds of lives that a nun can lead, I think a nun-nurse-of-battle-field is much more interesting than a nun of enclosure.
    And being able to arrange my marriage there, definetly would not be a bad idea! :D

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  3. Impressive fortress conjuring up all sorts of medieval images.

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  4. What a fascinating castle and legend. The castle especially looks haunted in the second image.

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  5. Beautiful castle, amazing story!!!
    Congrats, see you... :)

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  6. What a beautiful castle and an interesting story.

    Must. Visit. Malta :)

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  7. That is a beautiful story and photo to match! Your island is full of history and interesting places like this. One day I will get there and you will have to show me around!

    Bises,
    Genie

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  8. I just love this fairytale looking castle and I also love the legend tied to it. I wonder if Lucia's ghost still wanders in that castle...

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  9. Love the architecture and we can always count on you for an amazing story or history! Love it!

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