St Paul's Island

Saint Paul's Island(s)

Native name: Selmunett Gżira/Gżejjer ta' San Pawl
View of Saint Paul's Islands
Geography
Location	off Malta, south of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea
Coordinates	35°57′55″N 14°24′2″E / 35.96528°N 14.40056°E / 35.96528; 14.40056
Archipelago	Maltese islands
Area	0.101 km2 (0.039 sq mi)
Coastline	0.9 km (0.56 mi)
Administration
Malta
Demographics
Population	0

St Paul's Island (Maltese: Il-Gżejjer ta' San Pawl), also known as Selmunett, is a small island off Selmun near the north-east of the main island of Malta. St Paul's Island is sometimes split into two islands by a shallow isthmus, and it is therefore sometimes referred to in the plural as St Paul's Islands. St Paul's Island has been uninhabited since World War II, and it is the largest uninhabited island of Malta, having an area of 0.1 square kilometres (0.04 square miles).

The Acts of the Apostles tell the story of how Paul the Apostle was shipwrecked on an island which some scholars have identified as Malta while on his way to Rome to face charges. Traditionally, St. Paul's Bay and St Paul's Island are identified as the location for this shipwreck.

Until 1575 the islands were named after the Salomone family, who owned a nearby land in Mellieha also called Selmun; the islands were named on maps as Isola Salomone and Isola Salomonetto and interpreted by the Maltese as Selmun and Selmunett. On other maps the islands were referred to as Selmun's Islands and The Scroll of Selmun. In 1576, Marco di Maria was being chased by Barbary corsairs off the coast of Malta. He navigated his vessel through the narrow channel between St Paul's Island and Malta, but when the pirates followed him they ran aground and were captured. As a result of this, the Grandmaster Jean de la Cassière gave St Paul's Islands to di Maria and the islands started to be called Tal-Barba Marku.

After the death of Marco, as decreed by the Grand Master, the island passed to his family. It first went to his son Giovanni de Maria and later to the nephew of Marco who was the son of Giavanni, whom was named Narduccio de Maria. Narduccio lost his life in a battle at sea in a fight against the Ottomans. The island was then transferred to the Religion, as the Order's possession. Sometime after 1649 a tower was built on the island by Grand Master Giovanni Paolo Lascaris. The tower was part of a contract, for the exchange of the island with the Casa della Giornata (now the site of the Royal Opera House) in Valletta that belonged to Michel de Torellas, the Prior of Catalonia.