Day two consisted of a walking tour of Valletta, the capital of Malta. The walled city of Valletta is on a peninsula and was built by Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette after the Great Siege victory by the Knights of St John over the Ottoman’s in 1565. The foundation stone of the city was laid by the Grand Master on 28 March 1566. The stone became part of Our Lady of Victories Church.
The walled city of Valletta was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. Its Baroque architecture is due to Pope Pius V’s own military architect, Francesco Laparelli, being employed to create, with financial support from Phillip II of Spain, a city for Catholic Europe’s noblest families – “a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen”.
Our first stop was St John’s Co-Cathedral which is dedicated to St John the Baptist and built by the Order of St John between 1573 and 1578. The Co-Cathedral is famous for displaying two of Michelangelo Merisi’s (known as Carravaggio) paintings when he was in Malta. Caravaggio apparently had a hot temper and whilst in Rome in 1606, killed a man in one of his many brawls. The Roman authorities issued a “bando capitale” on his head and he fled to Naples outside of their jurisdiction. He left Naples after a successful spell of commissions and travelled to Malta arriving in July 1607. Caravaggio was accepted into the folds of the Order of St John and Grandmaster Alof de Wignacourt accepted him as a Knight of Obedience. They knew of his past but were able to get papal permission to accept him into the Order. Caravaggio painted the “Beheading of St John” and “St Jerome writing”, both of which are preserved in the St John’s Co-Catherdral. The “Beheading of St John” is said to be the only painting signed by Caravaggio. By August 1608 Caravaggio was again involved in a brawl where a number of Knights were injured. Caravaggio escaped from Malta before his trial and was expelled from the Order in his absence.
Our next visit was the Grandmaster’s Palace which was built between the 16th and 18th centuries. During the British period it was known as the Governor’s Palace. The Palace currently houses the Office of the President of Malta and the Armoury.
The Grandmasters Palace contains some impressive rooms but the highlight is the Armoury which displays the armour of Knights of the Order of St John from the 17th and 18th century.
We then visited the National Museum of Archaeology that houses a spectacular collection of artefacts from Maltese prehistory and early history. The artefacts date back from Malta’s Neolithic period until early Phoenician period. The finds that were excavated from the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the megalithic temples and Hal Saflieni Hypogeum are in the museum, including the Sleeping Lady. The Sleeping Lady was unearthed in the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum and was thought to have been created in the Neolithic period.
Our last visit of the day was to the Upper Barrakka Gardens that have fantastic views over the Grand Harbour that sits between the Valletta peninsula and the Three Cities on the other side.
Words and photos: Copyright John Cruse 2024