Knight of St John
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Knight of St John Eroe. A. Pegullo
“Eroe A. Pegullo” refers to Fra Ambrogio Pegullo, a Knight of the Order of St John remembered as a hero/martyr—notably associated with the Great Siege of 1565. He is commemorated in Maltese art and sources as a celebrated Hospitaller who “lost his life” in service to the Order.
In art: Mattia Preti produced a work titled “A Hero of the Order of St John (Ambrogio Pegullo)”; Pegullo also appears among the heroic/saintly figures represented in St John’s Co-Cathedral’s Baroque decoration cycle.
Iconography: Scholarly notes describe Pegullo in the black habit of the Order with the white cross, consistent with Hospitaller dress.
In short: Ambrogio (A.) Pegullo was a Knight of St John, honored as an “eroe” (hero) of the Order, memorialized in Preti’s work and in the cathedral’s program celebrating defenders and saints of the Order.