ABSTRACT
The grand priory of Messina was one of the oldest institutions of the Order of St John. Along with the Provençal Grand Priory of San Gilles, it was one of two priories that were awarded an internal mandate to administer all Hospitaller assets in Outremer, when the Convent, in the early years, was located in the Middle East. The rich history of the Sicilian Hospitaller Priory was, of necessity, seamlessly merged with the history of the Mediterranean island as it shifted from one sovereign to another, and what was happening outside its walls must have influenced, if not determined, life within the priory and has to be taken in context.
