2. Duringthe Middleages,differentmilitaryorders
of knights flourishedin ItalyandEurope.
We mention
the military order of SaintMaurice,whose
knights took care of the pilgrims going to the Holy
Land and
the order of SaintLazarus,whose knights took
care of the people who suffered from leprosy.
3. The two orders, mentioned before, became one,
called the chilvaric order of
SaintsMauriceandLazarus.
Their aim was to help people in need.
After the crusades, the memory of these
crusading military orders became idealised and
romanticised.
4. 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
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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
