The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, commonly known as the Order of Malta, Malta Order or Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalric and noble nature. Though it possesses no territory, the order is a sovereign entity of international law and maintains diplomatic relations with many countries.
Pistoia is a city and comune in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about 30 kilometres (19 mi) west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typical Italian medieval city, and it attracts many tourists, especially in the summer. The city is famous throughout Europe for its plant nurseries.
The Militia Templi, also called the Order of the poor Knights of Christ, is a lay order of the Roman Catholic Church.
Lombardo, the name of a family of Venetian sculptors and architects; their surname was apparently Solaro, and the name of Lombardo was given to the earliest known, Martino, who emigrated from Lombardy to Venice in the middle of the 15th century AD and became celebrated as an architect.
Poggibonsi is a town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, central Italy. It is located on the river Elsa and is the main centre of the Valdelsa Valley.
The Knights of Justice form the first of the three classes of members of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta together with the professed conventual chaplains. They make vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. "They are religious for all purposes of Canon Law.". Unlike most professed members of Catholic religious orders, they are not required to live in community..
Maruggio is a village and comune in the province of Taranto, Apulia, southeast Italy. The village is located in a natural depression 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the Gulf of Taranto, in the north-west part of Salento peninsula and it's one of the villages of South Italy where the Greek dialect Griko is spoken. The nearest villages are Torricella at 6 kilometres (4 mi), Sava at 10 kilometres (6 mi), Manduria at 12 kilometres (7 mi) and Avetrana at 16 kilometres (10 mi).
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller, the Knights of Rhodes, the Knights of Malta, or the Order of Saint John, was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headquartered in the Kingdom of Jerusalem until 1291, on the island of Rhodes from 1310 until 1522, in Malta from 1530 until 1798 and at Saint Petersburg from 1799 until 1801. Today several organizations continue the Hospitaller tradition, specifically the mutually recognised orders of St. John which are Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John, the Johanniterorden, the Johanniter Orde in Nederland, the Johanniterorden i Sverige.
Castello is the largest of the six sestieri of Venice, Italy.
The Castello della Magione is a medieval castle in Poggibonsi. It is an example of a medieval "Mansio" (residence) that belonged to the Knights Templar. The castle includes the ancient church and the “spedale” (hotel) for the pilgrims in transit to Rome on the Via Francigena. The complex is near the ancient crossing of the Via Francigena over the Staggia River, near the Bonizio bridge, now destroyed.
Villa del Priorato di Malta or Magistral Villa, located on the Aventine Hill in Rome, is one of the two institutional seats of the government of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Along with Magistral Palace, the estate is granted extraterritorial status by Italy. It also hosts the Grand Priory of Rome and the embassy of the Sovereign Order of Malta to Italy.
The Church of St. Mary of the Priory, also known as St. Mary on the Aventine, is the monastery church of the Priory of the Knights of Malta on the Aventine Hill in Rome, and is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Carlo Candida was a lieutenant of the Sovereign Order of Malta from 1834 to his death, succeeding Antonio Busca.
Fra' Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto was the 80th Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Born in Rome to a noble family with extensive ties to the Vatican, he completed his studies at the Sapienza University of Rome and taught at the Pontifical Urban University. He joined the Order in 1985 and took full vows in 1993 to become a Knight of Justice. Dalla Torre served two separate stints as interim leader of the Order, from February to March 2008 and again from 2017 until 2018. He was elected Prince and Grand Master of the Order on 2 May 2018. During his time in office, he endeavoured to repair the Order's relations with the Vatican. These had become strained when his predecessor was controversially forced out by the Pope. Dalla Torre's three-year-long incumbency came to an end when he died of throat cancer in 2020.
San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti is an ancient church in the sestiere of Castello, Venice, northern Italy, with a facade facing a Rio of the same name. It now serves as the chapel of the Civic Hospital of Venice.
San Giovanni Battista dei Cavalieri di Rodi is a church in Rome, on piazza del Grillo in the Monti district. Its full title is the Palatine Chapel of Saint John the Baptist of the Knights of Rhodes.
The Casa dei Cavalieri di Rodi is a building in Rome. Sited in the ruins of the Forum of Augustus, it was built by the Knights Hospitaller at the end of the 13th century and since 1946 has been used by their successors, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
San Geminiano was a Roman Catholic church located in Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy, dedicated to Saint Geminianus. It is believed to have been founded by the Byzantines in the 6th century AD and it was destroyed and rebuilt several times over subsequent centuries. The last reconstruction began in 1505 to designs of the architect Cristoforo da Legname, and it was completed by Jacopo Sansovino in 1557. This church was a significant example of Venetian Renaissance architecture, and it was well-known for being ornate and richly decorated. The building was demolished in 1807 in order to make way for the Napoleonic wing of the Procuratie, and many of the artworks it contained were distributed among other churches and museums.
