Manuel Pinto da Fonseca
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Dom Frei Manuel Pinto da Fonseca (1681 - 23 January 1773) was a Knight of the Langue of Portugal. He was the 68th Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Religion of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, of Palestine, of Rhodes, and called Malta, from 1741 to 1773. He was a Portuguese Nobleman, the son of Miguel Álvaro Pinto da Fonseca, Alcaide-Mór de Ranhados, and wife Ana Pinto Teixeira.
He was elected on 18 January 1741. On 25 May 1743 he gave his name to the then town of Qormi giving it the status of a city (Città Pinto). In 1749, one of his bodyguards, Cassar, refused to join a plot led by Pasha Mustafa to stage a muslim slave revolt. This refusal led to the exposure and suppression of the revolt. This event was then celebrated on every anniversary, 29th June. Pinto created several new noble titles which was greatly resented by some of the older nobles of Malta and gained a reputation for imposing heavy taxes. He expelled the Jesuits from Malta. He completed the Auberge de Castille, one of the most important buildings in the capital city, Valletta, which had been started in 1574 and his bust and arms adorn its façade. Today this building houses the Office of the Prime Minister. He made substantial donations to the Conventual Church and built several storehouses on the Marina which still bear his name. When he died his body was laid to rest in a monument with a mosaic portrayal of him. This is a major tourist attraction in Malta.
He was a friend of Cagliostro.
His coat of arms portrays five red crescents simbolizing that he once defeated five Ottoman Turks single-handedly. The city of Qormi adopted this as its own coat of arms and flag. Actually, those are the Arms of the Pinto family with the enamels exchanged.
He had an illegitimate son by one Rosenda Paulichi, daughter of Alberigo Paulichi and wife Patronilla Ramuzetta, named José António Pinto da Fonseca e Vilhena, who married his first cousin Maria Inácia Pinto da Fonseca de Sousa Teixeira e Vilhena, illegitimate daughter of Francisco Vaz Pinto (his father's brother) by one Clara Cerqueira, and had female issue.
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| Preceded by Ramon Despuig |
Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller 1741–1773 |
Succeeded by Francisco Ximenes de Texada |
