The mysterious window in the city of Rabat

If you stroll through the charming streets of Rabat, you will come to the building that now houses the city's National Archives (it is located not far from the Church of St. Francis). On the elegant facade of the building, you will notice an arch and below it a strange window with a rotating device.

What is this window and what was the purpose of the gate? I will solve this mystery for you today.

What is Hospital?

Long before the building served as Rabat's archive, it belonged to the city's hospital. And the truth is, the word "hospital" (a translation of the French word "hospital") is not the word that accurately describes the structure. In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the word "hospital" was used to describe a shelter where people from the margins of society (the poor, the insane, former prostitutes, etc.) as well as sick people found shelter. A good example of this is the pair of Bicêtre and Salpêtrière hospitals, which before housing patients served as shelters for the poor, retired prostitutes and the insane.

One of the most helpless populations has always been orphaned children, especially infants. In a significant number of my acquaintances, the children lost their parents to illness or accident, but in many other cases, the child was born out of wedlock and neither of his parents wanted or could raise him.

One of the most famous examples of this is the famous philosopher Jean le Rond d'Alembert (1717-1783), who was abandoned as a child on the steps of a church by his mother, the socialite and courtesan Madame de Tencin (Claudine Guérin de Tencin).
1682-1749), because he was born as a result of an extramarital affair with the knight Destouches.

These orphanages were called, as mentioned, Hospitals and their purpose was to raise these children and provide a good education for boys or a good match for girls. The most famous orphanage, as far as I know, is the Hospitale de la pieta in Venice, which became famous thanks to its music teacher Antonio Vivaldi, who created quite a few wonderful musical works within its walls. Let's listen to a small excerpt from one of Vivaldi's most famous religious works, composed especially for the orphans he taught:

The solution to the mystery of Rabat's mysterious window

And after jumping to Venice for a moment, let's return to Rabat to understand the role of that mysterious window in the Rabat hospital building.

One of the biggest problems in the orphanages/collections I wrote about earlier is essentially logistical: How can the baby be left in such a way that the mother's identity is not revealed, so as not to create a scandal? In the case of D'Alembert, whom I wrote about earlier, his mother left him on the church steps in the morning, knocked on the door, and ran away. Luckily for D'Alembert, it was not a particularly cold or rainy day, and one of the priests quickly opened the door. But what would have happened to that baby if no one was there at that moment? After all, he could have gotten wet and gotten sick, or been snatched by a stray dog.

In Barbat, they solved the problem by using the window, called La Ruota, which we saw at the beginning of the article. When a woman wanted to give her baby up for adoption, all she had to do was place the baby inside the round device and pull the handle. The device would rotate 180 degrees so that the baby would find itself inside the building. At the same time, a bell would ring, which was activated by the device and notified the shelter workers that a new baby had arrived. This way, the mother could give her baby up for adoption safely without her identity being revealed.

This hospital, which also served as an orphanage, has existed in Rabat since the 14th century, and the aforementioned window dates back to 1615. Infants who were given to this orphanage were sent to learn needlework at the Ricasoli Fortress when they were adults, while the girls learned embroidery and household chores until the age of 20. By the way, one of the most popular surnames in Malta is Spitieri, and historians believe that it is an abbreviation of the name Hospitalieri and that it is descended from infants who were gathered at this orphanage.

Starting in the 19th century, when the English began to rule Malta, the number of unwanted pregnancies on the island decreased (perhaps this was due to the Victorians' frigid attitude towards sex? An interesting hypothesis). The use of the wheel ceased completely at the end of the 19th century, and in cases of unwanted pregnancies, the Maltese tried their best to arrange quick marriages or, in the worst case, the child would be handed over to the police.

And if you are in Malta and would like to see an “illustration” of the use of “bruta”, you are welcome to come to the torture museum in the city of Mdina, which I wrote about inMedina city tour itinerary.

Looking for what else to do in Malta?

As you have probably already discovered (and if not, you will soon), there is so much to do in Malta that it is very difficult to choose between the variety of attractions and activities. But don't worry, I have done the work for you and collected the most worthwhile attractions and activities. You can find them in the article What to do in Malta?

Looking for a hotel in Malta?

I have collected some recommended hotels for you to prevent you from making any unpleasant mistakes. However, before I give you my recommendations, I need to answer one important question: Where in Malta should you live? The answer to this question and my recommendations for hotels in Malta can be found in the article Where to look for a hotel in Malta.