FALLING PLANTS
When strolling down the narrow, winding lanes of the three cities, you may notice how green and lush they are. Flowers and herb pots seem to be fighting for space on window sills, and leafy plants are clustered outside doors whilst others trail down from wrought-iron balconies above.
Many tourists and visiting Maltese stop to take photos of these historic streets and cul-de-sacs with their centuries-old, yellow limestone architectural details, made pretty by all the foliage and greenery. The citizens of each of these towns take pride in their plant pots and compete with each other for the best-looking lane. However, it wasn’t always like that.
Back in the late 1780s, you could earn a large fine if you had any pots on your windowsill. Grand Master de Rohan, one of the last Grand Masters of the Order of St John, was not a big fan of plants, but he had his reasons! You see, placing a plant on your windowsill on the upper floors of a dwelling was considered a ‘health hazard’. But more about that later.
On May 28, 1782, Antonio di Battista Visconte visited the city squares of Valletta, Floriana, Vittoriosa, Senglea and Bormla, blowing his trumpet three times in succession. Naturally, there were no TVs, radios, telegraphs or mobile telephones at the time, so this was the way that town criers would alert the inhabitants of a town that there was news to be heard.
As they gathered around the trumpet player, Antonio read out the contents of an important handwritten bando (a legal notice) that had been passed by the French Grand Master and signed by Samuel Caruana, lawyer of the Grand Court of the Castellania (the knights’ civil court).
The bando banned the display of flower pots on windowsills and balconies because of the danger to passers-by. The Grand Master was sick and tired of hearing reports of people being injured by falling power pots overlooking public streets, and he sought to put an end to it.
The deterrent, a fine imposed if found guilty of placing even the thiniest plant pot on a window sill, was quite hefty. Those caught had to dish out four ounces of silver; a lot of money in that time. Moreover, if the plant fell on someone and injured a pedestrian, then it was up to the judge to decide what the punishment was. Grand Master de Rohan may have been a big patron of the arts in Malta. He just did not have ‘green fingers. However, he was popular with the Maltese for doing much to improve their well-being, so they must have forgiven him this bando. After all, he was protecting their heads from a bashing!
On the other hand, young unmarried maidens and their parents might not have been too pleased with de Rohan’s new ruling. In 1575, Apostolic Visitor, Mgr. Pietro Dusina was sent by the Vatican to Malta to report on the state of the Maltese Islands. In his report, he mentions a quaint local custom. Young men seeking a wife would look out for pots of basil on stone brackets outside houses.
This was a sign that inside, there was a woman of marriageable age ready for the taking. All he had to do was then employ the services of a woman who acted as a marriage broker (ħuttaba). Nowadays, owners often cement their flower pots to their sills if there is a danger of them falling, and the lanes are green once more. But just in case, keep a wide birth from the window sills. There might be a mischievous cat!
Written with reference to:
- ‘Malta, a Collection of Tales and Narratives’ By Robert Attard (Illustrations by Kenneth Zammit Tabona).
- The Edward De Bono Foundation, Malta, 2001 ‘Malta in 1575, Social Aspects of an Apostolic Visit’ by Joseph Cassar Pullicino. Melita Historica Vol.2 no.1 1956-4