ISTITUTO COMPRENSIVO SANT’ANTIOCO – CALASETTA COMENIUS PROJECT «U-KNIGHT-EUROPE»

During the Middle ages, different military orders of knights flourished in Italy and Europe.

We mention the military order of Saint Maurice, whose

knights took care of the pilgrims going to the Holy Land and

the order of Saint Lazarus, whose knights took care of the people who suffered from leprosy.

The two orders, mentioned before, became one, called the chilvaric order of

Saints Maurice and Lazarus.

Their aim was to help people in need.

After the crusades, the memory of these crusading military orders became idealised and

romanticised.

Tabarka is an island located in north-western Tunisia, close to the border with

Algeria.

Tarbarka island, 17th century

Tarbarka

The following story is closely related to our historical heritage.

The Genoese castle, Tabarka

On this small island of Tabarka, some Italian families settled down ages before, living on the coral fishing.

They worked for the Genoese family of the Lomellini, who had purchased the grant of the coral fishing from the Ottoman Turks.

However something happened, the small Italian community was exposed to many death threats by the Bey of Tunis. The settlers had to move away in order to save

their lives but they didn’t know how.

The knights of the chivalric order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus helped them.

The knights carried 38 families on their boats and brought them to the island of Sant’Antioco, which was not very populated at that time. The new inhabitants settled down on the north-west part of the island, founding the village of Calasetta.

To start a new and safe life, the knights gave each family:

Some money

Some bricks to build a house

A piece of land and tools

Some seeds

Two oxen

A plough