A 17th-century French traveller in Malta [Review of the book : A description of Baroque Malta by Albert Jouvin de Rochefort, translated by D. De Lucca]

Abstract

Albert Jouvin de Rochefort was a 17th century French traveller who visited several cities in Europe, Asia and Africa soon after the conclusion of the so-called Thirty Years War 1618-48. His largely forgotten Voyage d’Italie et de Malthe formed part of a six-volume work published in Paris in 1672 during the reign of King Louis XIV. Jouvin, accompanied by some friends, arrived in Syracuse in December 1663, where they managed to board a war galley of the Knights of Malta which was then berthed in the port of that city to participate in the festivities of Santa Lucia. Having safely reached the island, Jouvin remained in Malta for about four weeks, returning to France in 1665 where he was eventually appointed treasurer in the office of Limoges by the King of France.