After the Great Siege of 1565 Grandmaster de Valette realised that it was essential to defend the Sciberras peninsula against a second Turkish attack. The Great Siege of 1565 was fought by the Knights of the Order of St John and the Maltese against the powerful Ottoman (Turkish) Empire. The long siege lasted four months until the Turks were forced to give up after enormous loss of life on both sides.
Since Malta was key to the defence of Christian Europe, Pope Pius V sent his architect Francesco Laparelli to design Valletta, the new capital city on the Sceberras peninsula. Valletta was designed on a grid pattern to make it easier to transport canons from one side to another. The main gates of Valletta are recent, as the original ones were too small to take traffic.
As one walks down Republic Street (formerly known as Kingsway) one sees the new Parliament House and remains of what was once the Royal Opera House, a magnificent building which had been designed by the English architect Barry and bombed during the Second World War. This site has now been converted to an open-air performance space designed by Renzo Piano who also designed the parliament.
Just opposite what once was the Opera House is a beautiful palace known as Palazzo Ferreria. Beyond the Opera House and Castille Square, the Upper Barrakka Gardens command breath-taking views of Valletta’s Grand Harbour, one of the finest natural harbours in Europe. Outside the gardens stands the Auberge de Castille, designed by the architect Andrea Belli. Over the main door is a bust of the Portuguese Grandmaster Manuel Pinto de Fonseca surrounded by symbols of his glory. The largest and most beautiful of the Auberges, it houses the office of Prime Minister.
On the corner of Castille Square one can admire Valletta’s first building, a church dedicated to Our Lady of Victories where the Grand Master who built Valletta – Jean Parisot de la Valette – was buried until the Convent Church, St John’s Co-Cathedral was built. Opposite Our Lady of Victories church is a lovely small church dedicated to St Catherine which forms part of the Auberge d’Italie in Merchants’ Street.
Opposite this Auberge is Palazzo Parisio, which today houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and where Napoleon Bonaparte stayed for seven days in June 1798, attested by a plaque on its facade.
Further down Merchants Street is another beautiful palace which served as the Knights’ Law Courts and known as La Castellania. Its elegant façade is decorated by two statues signifying Truth and Justice while its basement houses jail-cells. On the corner of the street a high stone pedestal combining a stool and wrist-irons acted as a pillory where criminals were tied for all to see, as a humiliation rather than torture.
On the left stands St John’s Co-Cathedral, an austere building befitting a military Order, while its interior is a dazzling feast of high Baroque.
Continuing right into Republic Street one finds a monument representing the Great Siege of 1565. The three statues next to each other signify Courage, Freedom and Religion sculpted by Maltese sculptor Antonio Sciortino. Opposite this monument are the Law Courts, is an impressive building erected on the site of the Auberge d’Auvergne which was destroyed in the Second World War.
The Auberge de Provence on Republic Street, the residence for all French Knights coming from Provence, is now the National Museum and Museum of Archaeology where one can admire many prehistoric remains, including urns, vases, jewellery and early sculpture.
In the middle of Pjazza Regina a statue of Queen Victoria, the work of the Italian sculptor Valenti, marks her golden jubilee overlooked by the Bibliotheca or National Library, the last major building of the Knights of the Order of St John, designed by architect Stefano Ittar, which houses archives of the Knights of the Order of St John dating back to the 11th century.
The Grand Masters’ Palace houses the offices of the President, the Ambassadorial Rooms, the State Rooms and the Tapestry Chamber, where one can admire a set of Flemish tapestries, which were a gift from Grandmaster Perellos. These tapestries designed by Rubens show exotic scenes and are considered amongst the best tapestries in the world. The Armoury at the Palace stocked enough armaments for 25,000 men during the reign of Grandmaster Pinto. Today there are 6000 pieces of armour in the Armoury, all of which have a role in history. The Palace is the work of the Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar.
The marble plaques on the wall of the Palace commemorate milestones in Malta’s history including King George VI’s award of the George Cross to Malta. The highest award of merit which can be given by a British sovereign to a nation, the George Cross was awarded to the Maltese for their courage and bravery during the Second World War.
Beyond the palace once can visit Casa Rocca Piccola, the residence of the Marquis de Piro, a stately home where visitors can get a fascinating insight into Maltese life, furniture and art over the past centuries, as well as visiting its underground war shelter.
At the bottom of Republic Street is Fort St Elmo which resisted the Turkish Siege of 1565 so heroically and has recently been converted into a museum. This star-shaped Fort built in 1552 was the setting for the film Midnight Express. To the right is the Sacra Infermeria, the hospital of the Knights, which was turned into the Mediterranean Conference Centre.
Further along the fortifications one finds the Siege Bell Memorial, inaugurated in 1992 by Queen Elizabeth as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the Siege of Malta during 1940 – 1943. It is rung daily at midday. Enjoy fine views from here across Malta’s Grand Harbour to the Three Cities of Vittoriosa, Senglea, and Cospicua.
The Grand Harbour’s deep, sheltered creeks surrounded by high stone bastions have played a major part in Malta’s history. Although now quiet and peaceful, it has been the location of fierce battles over the years and was the site of ferocious bombings and huge destruction in World War II.
The nearby Lower Barrakka Gardens house a grand monument to Sir Alexander Ball, the first de facto Governor of Malta, who was so respected by the Maltese that they built this monument in his honour out of their own pockets. Sir Alexander Ball is buried in Fort St Elmo.
Other notable buildings in Valletta include the Baroque St Paul’s Shipwreck Church in St Paul’s Street which celebrates its feast on February 10 with great pomp.
Admiralty House in South Street today houses Malta’s Museum of Fine Arts. Built by Andrea Belli in 1765, in 1808 Louis Charles, Viscount of Beaujolais and his brother Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans were accommodated in this palace and Viscount Beaujolais died here. The museum houses a fine collection of paintings and sculptures dating back to the Order of St John. Another interesting museum is the Fortifications Resource Centre in St Mark’s Street, close to the Marsamxett ferry to Sliema.
Also worthy of mention is St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral built on the site of the Auberge d’Allemagne between 1839 and 1842 and financed by Queen Adelaide, the wife of King William IV. Its Neo-Gothic spire or steeple is a landmark in a country of Baroque domes. In fact, the nearby Carmelite Church with its massive dome dominates Valletta’s skyline along with the Neo-Gothic spire of the Anglican Cathedral.
The Manoel Theatre built by Grandmaster Manoel de Vilhena, is a beautiful gem of a theatre, one of the oldest theatres in Europe that is still functioning, and certainly worth a visit.
Leaving Valletta via the bus terminus one can admire the Triton Fountain designed by Maltese sculptor Vincent Apap over 50 years ago and now wonderfully restored to its former glory.
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