Comandatore Geronimo Marulli Issues the First Book Printed on Malta

The first book printed on the island of Malta, preserved in a possibly unique copy in the Library of Congress, was I Natali delle Religiose Militie. . . by Comandatore Geronimo Marulli of Barletta, Italy.

"Below the Order of St. John on the title-page, it bears the imprint: 'In Malta, l'anno MDCXXXXIII.' It has no printer's name, but in view of the fact that the title-page bears the arms of the Order of St. John it seems more likely to have been the work of Bonacota than that of Pompeo de Fiore. I. S. Mifsud, in his Bibliotheca Maltese writes: 'Il Marulli. . . nel 1633 aveva data alle stampe di Malta altra operetta initiola I Natali delle Religiose Miilizie'; but this was probably a misprint for 1643" (Clair, The Spread of Printing.  Eastern Hemisphere. Malta [1969] 8-11).