In the last edition of the MMS Journal, Rod Lyon, a Committee member and the PRO of the Malta Map Society, wrote a very interesting article on the village of Castellar in the Alpes-Maritimes, France, situated near the Italian frontier, and only 33 km away from Nice and 20 km away from Monaco.
Castellar has long had connections with Malta and the Knights of Malta since the area was a fiefdom of the powerful Lascaris-Ventimiglia family who produced no less than 30 knights of Malta, including Grand Master Jean-Paul Lascaris who was born in Castellar in 1560 and died in Malta 1657. The ancestral home of the Lascaris can still be seen and visited, and many mementoes of stalwart Lascaris knights can be found.
As a follow-up to the article, Mr Pascal Brun, Assistant to the Major of Castellar on culture and tourism, accompanied by his wife Almudena Arellano, a specialist in pre-history, and their daughter Ines, came to Malta specially to pay a courtesy visit on April 9th to Dr Albert Ganado, President and founder of the Malta Map Society, and discuss the many links between Castellar and Malta. Present during the visit were also Joseph Schirò, the Honorary Secretary, and Rod Lyon.
Mr Brun later presented Dr Ganado, on behalf of the Mayor of Castellar, the “Medaille d’Honneur” of the municipality of Castellar.
Monsieur Brun and his family will be returning in November to attend the seminar on cartography which is being held as part of the celebrations organized by the Malta Map Society to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their foundation.