Malta

October 2019

Heavy rain in the afternoon of our adventure in Malta did not stop us exploring the cultural and history of Malta that has resulted  from centuries of foreign rule by various powers, including the Phoenicians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Sicilians, Swabians, Aragonese, Hospitallers, French, and British.
Malta is sheltered within a small archipelago, an island country in the middle of the Mediterranean and its capital, Valletta inhabits a tiny peninsula, just 1km by 600m.  There has been a long and turbulent history and from the 16th to the 19th centuries Malta was ruled by the Order of the Knights of St John.  

Buildings of Malta

According to UNESCO it is “one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world.” 

MDINA & MOSTA

Journeying back in time through Mdina, a medieval walled town, the island’s capital until 1530 we passed through the narrow streets of the city where each building, parapet, coat of arms and corner is full of history.  Evidence of settlements in Mdina goes back to before 4000 BC where one can still find buildings which go back centuries

MOSTA ROTUNDA also known as the Rotunda of the Church of St Maria Assunta, with its dominating dome is one of Malta’s most famous landmarks.

It was built between 1833 and 1860, designed by a local Maltese architect, Giorgio Grognet de Vassé with its heavily based his neo-classic design. The rotunda’s history took a dramatic turn on April 9, 1942, during World War II. A German bomb pierced the dome and fell right in the middle of the church while service was happening with over 300 people! Miraculously, it didn’t explode becaming known as the “Miracle Church,” a symbol of hope and divine intervention.

World War ll Shelter has been closed to the public for many years before it reopened again including a great number of displays.

MDINA GATE, Bab Er-Robb, which translates as ‘Lord’s Gate’, is the main gate into the fortified city of Mdina. St Paul, St Publius and St Agatha adorn the inside of the Main Mdina Gate. Mdina also has two other gates, the Greek Gate, which survives from the medieval era and the third entrance to Mdina was created in the 19th century to give a more direct access to the train station, Għarreqin Gate.

VILHENA PALACE the site of the Magisterial Palace has been occupied since prehistoric times enemies into the old capital.however it remained very incomplete.Maltese cross in the courtyard.

ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL, Metropolitan Cathedral of St Paul or Mdina Cathedral of Malta, dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle is located in St. Paul’s square, Mdina is built on the remains of the first Cathedral, a Norman cathedral built in medieval times, but badly damaged during the 1693 earthquake which destroyed most of the city of Mdina.  The Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafà was entrusted to rebuild the new Cathedral which was completed and consecrated in 1703. 

MDINA CATHEDRAL MUSEUM is a religious art museum located inside the mediaeval walled city of Mdina. The museum is housed within a Baroque building that was built as a Jesuit seminary on the right-hand side of the St. Paul’s Cathedral, in Archbishop’s Square. The museum’s collection includes an eclectic secular and ecclesiastical repertoire, the museum also holds various artwork and archaeology remains, including important artwork by Mattia Preti. The museum also owns the most important collection of Italian Baroque music that has been preserved south of Naples.

MAGISTERIAL PALACE more commonly known as Palazzo Vilhena was the site of the Magisterial Palace and has been occupied since prehistoric times when a bronze-age settlement existed here. The Grand Master Antonio Manoel de Vilhena (1722-1736) commissioned its building as part of his plan to restructure Medieval Mdina which was ravaged by 1693 earthquake, rebuilding much of the Medieval former capital in the image of the Knights of St John who ruled the island at the time.

PALAZZO FALSON, historic house museum pre-date the Knights, is the second oldest building in Mdina.

The ground-floor façade of Plazzo Falson  on Villegaignon Street dates to the early 15th century whilst the first floor was added and rebuilt later, extending to the start of the 16th century. The three windows on the first floor, responsible for the Palazzo being known as ‘The Norman House’, were probably designed around 1524 by Maltese master mason Jacobo Dimeg who was very active during the period when the palazzo’s second floor was built.

Some of the streets and signs in Mdina:

BACCHUS RESTAURANT within the fortifications of Mdina and inside a building dating back to the 1658 with outstanding architecture ranging from the Roman to the Medieval. Menu

VALLETTA

We sailing Valletta’s grand harbour on a traditional sailing vessel with views of the three cities, Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua that are part of Malta’s living history of fortifications, walls and buildings built by the Knights of St. John, Rhodes and Malta.

VALLETTA, seaport and amazing, tiny capital of Malta is built on the promontory of Mount Sceberras with the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west.

VALLETTA MOAT, Valletta Land Front is the large bastioned enceinte enclosing the landward approach to the city.

OPERA HOUSE RUINS is the site of the former Valletta Royal Opera House

THREE TRITON FOUNTAIN located just outside the City Gate of Valletta, Triton’s Fountain is one of the first landmarks. The statue consists of three bronze mythological Tritons (gods of the sea) each of which look towards the entrance of the city.

AUBERGE DE CASTILLE, Berġa ta’ Kastilja sits at the highest point of Valletta and overlooks Floriana and the Grand Harbour area. In 1805, the auberge became the headquarters of the British Armed Forces in Malta. A signalling station with a large aerial was installed on the roof in 1889 to liaise with warships of the Mediterranean Fleet moored in the Grand Harbour, known as the Castille Tower.  in December 1974 the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta moved from Auberge d’Aragon to Auberge de Castille.

SALUTING BATTERY used for over 500 years to protect the Grand Harbour from enemy attack, as well as to provide visiting dignitaries with a ceremonial welcome, the Battery also served as a public time marker, with three shots being fired daily, at sunrise, noon and sunset.

GRAND MASTERS ARMOURY housed at the Grandmaster’s Palace, was the main armoury of the Order of St. John in the 17th and 18th centuries, the last arsenal established by a crusader military order. One of the world’s largest collections of arms and armour still housed in its original building.

ST JOHN’S CATHEDRAL was built in the 1570s taking over from the Church of St Lawrence in Vittoriosa as the church for the Knights of St John. From the impressive barrel-vaulted ceiling and frescos, the ornate gilded arches, the marble floor dotted with tombs, the work of artist Mattia Preti, to Caravaggio’s Beheading of St John this Baroque masterpiece is an absolute must.

GRAND DINNER at the Knights Hospitalers

We were joined by the Australian High Commissioner to Malta, Julienne Hince (December 2016 to February 2020), an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the High Commission of the Commonwealth of Australia in Malta.

THE KNIGHTS HOSPITALLER

From the 16th to the 19th centuries Malta was ruled by the Order of the Knights of St John.

‘The Order of Malta, founded as the Knights Hospitaller around 1099 in Jerusalem, is a Roman Catholic chivalric society that received the Maltese Islands in a perpetual lease in 1530 from Charles I of Spain in exchange for the promise of one Maltese falcon a year. Grand Master Jean de la Valette, along with his knights, began created the country’s new capital, which would later be described by former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli as “a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen”. Today, Fra Critien is the only remaining knight on the archipelago who has taken the Order’s full vows, making him the last true Knight of Malta on Malta.’

‘The Knights of Malta, initially known as the Knights Hospitaller, established an impressive series of fortifications on the islands of Malta during their control, which commenced in 1530. These structures, purposefully designed to defend against Ottoman invasions, hold a prominent place in Mediterranean military history. The strategic positioning of Malta in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea rendered these defenses essential for commandeering naval routes and protecting Christian Europe.’

‘In 1530, the Knights Hospitaller were given control of the island of Malta. 35 years later, in 1565, the Ottoman Empire invaded the island. The Hospitallers drove them off during a siege that lasted over three months. Crucial to the Hospitallers’ success were the defenses they had built on the island. So what did they do to fortify it?’

Monastic Orders Knights Hospitaller