It was a pleasure to read your interview with Cynthia Degiorgio, curator of St John’s; the exchange placed on record the great progress registered to return this unique monument to its former splendour (TMIS, 23 August).

The interview referred to the silver gates in the Chapel of Philermos “which, as every Maltese knows, were painted black to look like iron gates to fool Napoleon”.

Now that is a rather silly legend – a very old and persistent legend, but silly all the same. The majority of French knights in Valletta – hundreds – sided openly with Napoleon, welcomed him as a liberator and some became part of his innermost entourage. These pro-Napoleon knights knew the inside of St John’s like the palm of their hand – they all knew about the silver gates.

Painting the gates black could have fooled Napoleon, but not the hundreds of French knights who surrounded him and advised him, and knew that the gates were made of silver. Is it even remotely conceivable that of these hundreds of pro-Napoleon Knights of Malta, not one would have told him that the “painted” gates were actually made of precious metal? So what would have been the point of concealing something that thousands of people knew about?

Another pretty myth we should be binning, with apologies to tourist guides.

Giovanni Bonello

STRASBOURG