Links: Malta Tourism Authority, maps of Malta
Local newspapers: The Malta Independent, The Times

THE ISLANDS

Malta has often been referred to as the island of sunshine and history, and with good reason. For, throughout your stay in Malta you will find a surfeit of both.

Malta's history was, in a sense, pre-destined by its excellent natural harbour and strategic location. The harbour provided a sheltered base for naval fleets whilst the island itself, situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, enabled its colonising power to exercise control over shipping in this vast and turbulent sea.

Hardly surprising therefore, that Malta has always exerted an irresistible attraction to the would-be military powers of successive epochs. Control over Malta was a prerequisite to domination of the Mediterranean and for this reason all the various powers that, at one time or other, held sway over the Mediterranean at that same time exercised control over Malta. The long list of Malta's colonisers, the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Castilians, Order of St John, the French, and finally, the British is indicative of the important role Malta played in the moulding of European and Mediterranean history.

The list of important visitors to the islands, from the Apostle St. Paul to Napoleon and Nelson, is equally impressive. Maybe the meeting that changed the face of the world - that between Soviet President Gorbatchov and USA's George Bush signalling the end of the Cold War was the most significant. It is no exaggeration therefore that Malta’s history is a good starting point for the study of the history of the region.

If you want to enjoy Malta, soak up its history starting from around the year 3600 BC when the world's first man-made constructions in the shape of Ggantija Temple in Gozo was constructed. History, in Malta, stares you in the face and you cannot escape from it. It is all around you from the megalithic temples (older than the pyramids!) through the Arab and European colonialisations right up to the present day. Each civilisation that has enjoyed our hospitality has left an impression in our architecture and our culture. The good thing is that you will enjoy its captivating intensity and easy accessability.

Sliema & St. Julian's
Sliema is the island’s most fashionable residential area. Here also is the finest shopping in Malta, miles of rocky beaches and a beautiful promenade stretching from outside the Preluna all the way to the picturesque fishing village of Spinola Bay in St. Julian's.

Neighbouring St Julian’s (15 minutes walk along the promenade) is Malta’s gastronomic centre, where restaurants of all descriptions are available. The St Julian’s district of Paceville is home of the island’s nightlife and casino. (Admission to casinos requires an identity card or passport. Foreign nationals must be 18 to enter whilst Maltese citizens must be over 25.)

Valletta
The capital was named after its builder, Jean Parisot de la Vallette, the French Grand Master, who led the defence of the islands during the 1565 siege.

Valletta - dubbed a "city built by gentlemen for gentlemen" by Sir Walter Scott - and its battlements dominate the island's historic Grand Harbour, one of finest natural harbours in Europe.

Reflected within Valletta's limited perimeter are some of Malta's finest examples of architecture, its rich and colourful history, its archaeology and its arts and culture. Listed is a selection that will appeal to all tastes:

Armoury
The Armoury is housed in two halls of the Grand Master's Palace, and contains some fine examples of mediaeval armour and weapons used by the knights of St John and their adversaries.

Among the 6,000 or so exhibits are la Vallette's suit of armour and a particularly magnificent ceremonial suit made for Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt.

Barracca gardens
Valletta's Upper and Lower Barracca gardens command panoramic views of the Grand Harbour.

Casa Rocca Piccola
Casa Rocca Piccola is a small palazzo in Republic Street. It was built during the early days of the construction of Valletta, and has survived the rigours of time. It is now a private and historic family house belonging to the Marquis Nicky de Piro.
Casa Rocca Piccola is a window to Maltese domestic culture of yesteryear. The opening to the public of this lived-in family home gives everybody an opportunity to see and enjoy the charm and beauty of a genuine and ancient Maltese patrician household.

Fort St Elmo
Guarding the approaches to both the Grand and Marsamxett harbours, Fort St Elmo was the scene of a heroic defence during the Great Siege of 1565.

Grand Master's Palace
The Magisterial Palace was built from 1571 to 1574. And today is the president's office and seat of Malta's parliament, yet it is open to the public.

The palace is a treasure trove of art; in the Tapestry Chamber hangs a unique collection of Gobelin tapestries. Frescoes depicting the Great Siege of 1565, by Perez d' Aleccio, adorn the Hall of St Michael and St George - formerly the Order's Supreme Council Hall. The decorations on the ceiling of the corridors are by Nicolo Nasini; whilst many of the state apartments are embellished with friezes describing episodes of the Order's history. In the various state apartments are works by Ribera, Vanloo and Batoni.

Manoel Theatre
The Manoel Theatre was built as a court theatre by Grand Master Manoel de Vilhena in 1731, and is one of the oldest theatres in Europe still in daily use.

Monti
The flea market, known as the Monti, is open on weekday mornings in Merchant Street. The larger, Sunday Monti is held in St James's Ditch outside of Valletta.

Museum of St John's Co-Cathedral and Oratory
The recently restored Beheading of St John, Caravaggio's masterpiece, hangs in the Oratory. The Cathedral's museum, meanwhile, houses a unique collection of clerical vestments, objets d'art and Flemish tapestries.

National Library
Overlooking Queen's Square, the 18th Century National Library houses the archives of the Order of St John as well as the records of the Universita (commune) from 1350 to 1818.

National Museum of Archaeology
Housed in the Auberge de Provence, one of the inns of the knights of St John, the museum contains the more important finds from the various prehistoric sites that dot the islands. On chronological display are items of pottery, sculptures, statuettes, stone implements and personal ornaments.

Typical examples of Punic and Roman tomb furniture are on display along with the museum's most prized exhibits - the Maltese Venus and the Sleeping Lady.

National Museum of Fine Arts
The 18th Century palace houses works by Domenico de Michelino, Carpaccio, Perugino, Tintoretto, Guido Reni, Valentin, Mathias Stomer, Mattia Preti, Ribera, Tiepolo, Antoine de Favray and Claude Vernet. A section of the museum is devoted to works by Maltese painters such as Antonio Sciortino, Edward Caruana Dingli, Francesco Zahra and other contemporary artists.

Also on show are sculpture, furniture and other works of art connected with the Order of St John, notably the monetarium - a unique collection of coins and medals which may be viewed by appointment.

Sacra Infermeria
Valletta's Sacra Infermeria, built in 1574, was the new, bigger and better equipped hospital of the Order after the original in Vittoriosa was abandoned. The Infermeria had six wards, the largest measured 161 metres in length and is the longest room in Europe.

Each patient had his own bed, unsusual at the time, and silverware was used to serve meals and drinks.

Today the building has been converted into the Mediterranean Conference Centre, but the wards - now used as exhibition halls - are open to the public.

Siege Bell Memorial
Inaugurated in 1992 by Queen Elizabeth II, the Siege Bell Memorial is a tribute to the dead of the Second World War.

St John's Co-Cathedral
St John's Co-Cathedral, once the conventual church of the Order, is historically and artistically one of the most important monuments on the islands.

Designed by Gerolamo Cassar, the Order's Maltese chief engineer, and built between 1573 and 1577 the cathedral's severe facade belies the beauty within; in the church's crypt lie 12 grand masters, including la Vallette, and the only Englishman to have fought in the Great Siege of 1565 - Sir Oliver Starkey.

St Paul's Shipwreck church
This is one of the oldest churches in Valletta, and was originally designed by Girolamo Cassar. Built to commemorate St Paul's shipwreck in 60 ACE, it contains impressive vault paintings by Attilio Palombi that depict episodes in the saint's life. There is also a magnificent wooden statue of the apostle and two religious relics - a wrist bone of St Paul and a piece of the column on which he was beheaded.

War Museum
The museum is housed in the historic fortress of St Elmo. The permanent exhibition contains an ever-increasing collection of war relics and personal memorabilia, ranging from the heroic Gloster Gladiator - christened Faith - to the George Cross, awarded to the people of Malta for their bravery by King George VI in 1942.

Displayed are also an assortment of weapons, service vehicles and uniforms.

Mdina
The old capital of Malta is a typical mediaeval, walled city situated in the centre of the island. Mdina is the seat of several noble houses, including the islands' oldest titled family — created barons in 1350.

The 'Silent City', as it is also known, commands magnificent vistas of the island.

GOZO

Our smaller sister island of Gozo is only 20 minutes away from Malta by frequent ferry from Circewwa at Malta's northernmost tip. Gozo is more rural and hilly than Malta and boasts the world's oldest man-made construction - the Temple of Ggantija dating back to 3600 BC.