Description Medal DVD ‘The Maltese Islands’ Jean de La Valette was born in 1494 and joined the Order of St John of Jerusalem when he was 20. He came from a noble and ancient Provencal family and could count among his ancestors Knights who had fought in the Crusades with St Louis. He joined the Order as a Knight of the ‘Langue’ of Provence and was proclaimed Grand Master on 21st August 1557. On 18th May 1565 some 138 galleys under the command of Piali Pasha and carrying a landing force of 40,000 men commended by Mustapha Pasha appeared off Malta’s coasts and started the Great Siege of 1565. Almost four months later, on 8th September, the defeated Turkish armada left these shores. The heroic Grand Master died on 21st August 1568. He was buried in the church of Our Lady of Victories where the foundation stone of Valletta, Malta’s capital city, was laid in 1566 by La Valette himself. This bronze collector’s coin was struck by the Royal Belgium Mint. Keyword: Jean de La Vallette
