Malta

The Order of Malta represented the Ancient Regime in the eyes of Napoleon, as well it might, for Frà Cesare Magalotti described the Order as “a sacred, ecclesiastical Republic, the flower of the most select and the most eminent nobility of all Christendom”. Napoleon would order the expulsion of the Knights Hospitaller from the island. Since 1834, the Order of Malta has carried on its humanitarian work from Rome. It currently has 13,500 members, 95,000 permanent volunteers, and a qualified staff of 52,000 professionals, most of whom are medical personnel and paramedics.