"Mantanzas" means "slaughters" in Spanish.
You got it, Tico. Absolutely beautiful area. Do you know the city?
Well, Tico did get the exact location, so I'll just say St. Augustine, the oldest continually inhabited city in the U.S. and perhaps the world:
The history:
Fort Matanzas National Monument
History
Throughout its history, the story of Fort Matanzas has been closely intertwined with that of the city of St. Augustine. Located fourteen miles north of Fort Matanzas, St. Augustine and the Castillo de San Marcos serve as outstanding reminders of the might of the early Spanish empire in the New World.
The area of the Matanzas inlet, now preserved within the park boundaries, was the scene of crucial events in Spanish colonial history. The massacre of French soldiers here in 1565 was Spain's opening move in establishing a colony in Florida. Later, the construction of Fort Matanzas in 1740-1742 was Spain's last effort to ward off British encroachments from the north.
Fort Matanzas represents a very well-preserved masonry watchtower fort built by the Spanish from 1740 to 1742. The tall tower provided a perch to observe vessels approaching St. Augustine from the south, and the cannon blocked potential enemy advancements up the Matanzas River, the backdoor to St. Augustine.
The Massacre at Matanzas
In 1565, almost 175 years before construction began on Fort Matanzas, another story was played out at the Matanzas Inlet--the massacre of the French Huguenots. A large French force under Jean Ribault had left their settlement of Fort Caroline in Spanish-claimed territory near present-day Jacksonville to attack the Spanish at their new settlement of St. Augustine (San Agustin).
A storm shipwrecked the French fleet farther south. When the Spanish discovered the French on the beach, they ordered them to surrender, give up their Protestant faith, and accept Catholicism. Being without weapons or food, they did surrender, but renounce their faith they refused to do. So the Spanish massacred nearly 250 Frenchmen as trespassers and heretics near the inlet which was then appropriately named "Matanzas", the Spanish word for massacre. This confrontation began 235 years of Spanish control in Florida.
My wife and I visited St Augustine many years ago, but the aerial picture looks so much different than looking at it from ground level. We visited the fort and the oldest school house in the US. I also remember eating at a nice Spanish restaurant there.
C.I. Just like Hank Snow, you and Francis have been everywhere. <smile>
On Knights of Malta, we discussed that subject in one of your travel threads, CI; here's a link to the post where the topic started (the discussion goes on the page after that)
http://able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1347023#1347023
On the church St. John the Hermit, in Palermo -
http://www.bestofsicily.com/4canti.htm#hermits
osso, I'm not so sure I can agree with your assessment of the Knights of Malta. A Knight gave us a lecture one day about their organization in Valletta, and we all came out impressed with their accomplishments and goals. The Knight was also very articulate, and knew the history of the Knights of Malta very well tracing it's history from it's beginning to current times. I guess we all have our own opinions about issues and organizations that will not agree, but that's to be expected.
The park in Barcelona designed by GAudi
Here's a link about the Matanza in Sicily -
http://viatraveldesign.com/journal/archives/001711.html
Did you read the link I put on that other thread, CI?
I don't personally know anything negative to be true, but I've heard what is in that link several times over the years.
I read through the link, and the postings started to return into the grey matter of my memory. The stuff I posted then about the Knights of Malta still remains the same for me today.
Most often, when any pros and cons are expressed on any issue, I try to find information by going to some search engines. If I find only one or several negatives vs a majority of positives, I consider the sources and try to determine if the information is good or bad. For that reason, I like Wikipedia; they are usually balanced in ther opinions.
I thought I'd posted about 4 hours ago that you were correct, c.i. Where did that post go?
You are indeed correct.
Well, then. Whose turn is it?
Gotta go hunt down a pix. Give me a few minutes.
The Properties is a give away, so please refrain from looking at it. I'll omit it in the future.
I like it, wherever it is..
