Jean Parisot de Valette
Jean de Valette came from noble family from the Gascoigne. His the date of birth is unclear but it must have been 1495 onwards. His date of death is recorded as 21st of August 1568, at Valletta, Malta. He entered the order at a young age in 1514 and never returned to France again.
He spent his working career at the order of St John on Rhodes, Malta, Tripoli and at sea. After the loss of Rhodes in 1523, Jean de Valette travelled with the Order to Malta and arrive there in 1530. His career move forwards 37 he became the governor of the fortification of Tripoli.
When in 1541 he was part of a naval battle against the enemies of the Order, he was wounded and served as a galley slave on board of a Barbary Coast galley commanders by Turgut Reis, a man would play a very important role in the attack of Malta during the Great Siege of 1565. De Valette was ransomed after one year at the rudders and returned to a commanding position within the Order.
In 1554 he became the captain general of the fleet of galleys of the Order and during the Great Sieges he became the shining example of a war hero. Because of his heroism the new city of Valletta was named after him. He is buried in the Grand Masters Crypt at St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta.
Jean de Valette came from noble family from the Gascoigne. His the date of birth is unclear but it must have been 1495 onwards. His date of death is recorded as 21st of August 1568, at Valletta, Malta. He entered the order at a young age in 1514 and never returned to France again. He spent his working career at the order of St John on Rhodes, Malta, Tripoli and at sea. After the loss of Rhodes in 1523, Jean de Valette travelled with the Order to Malta and arrive there in 1530.
His career move forwards 37 he became the governor of the fortification of Tripoli. When in 1541 he was part of a naval battle against the enemies of the Order, he was wounded and served as a galley slave on board of a Barbary Coast galley commanders by Turgut Reis, a man would play a very important role in the attack of Malta during the Great Siege of 1565.
De Valette was ransomed after one year at the rudders and returned to a commanding position within the Order. In 1554 he became the captain general of the fleet of galleys of the Order and during the Great Sieges he became the shining example of a war hero. Because of his heroism the new city of Valletta was named after him. He is buried in the Grand Masters Crypt at St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta.
Unfortunately, La Valette has never seen his city completed, because he died in 1568.
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Additional information
Statue of the Grandmaster Jean de La Valette on Jean de Valette Square. The statue is 2.5m high and was cast in bronze by the local sculptor Joseph Chetcuti. The statue La Valette is shown armour and holding a sword in one hand and Valletta's plan in the other. The grandmaster looks at the office of the Order of St. John.
Portrait painting.
Painting in memory of the Great Siege.
The first resting place of the Grandmaster Jean Parisot de Valette was first in Church of Our Lady of Victories, now the Grandmaster has a crypt in St. John's Co-Cathedral together with eleven Grandmaster.
