Europe Travel Guide

Valletta, population 7048 (official estimate for 2000), is the capital city of Malta – The city is located at 3554’16” North, 1431’32” East (35.904444, 14.525556).[1]

The foundation stone of Valletta was laid by the Grandmaster of the Order of Saint John, Jean de Vallette, on 28th March 1566; The Order (which was the long-time ruler of the city and the island) decided to found a new city on the Scebberras peninsula just after the end of the great Siege of Malta, so as to fortify the Order’s position in Malta, effectively binding the Knights to the island. The city was designed by Francesco Lapparelli, while many of the most important buildings were built by Gerolamo Cassar. Valletta, hence, is a urban area which boasts many buildings from the 16th century and onwards, but most of them were built during the time of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem (the Knights Hospitaller, or Knights of Malta).

In Maltese it is colloquially known as Il-Belt, simply meaning “The City”. After the Knights and the brief French interlude, the next building boom in Valletta occurred during the British rule. Gates were widened, buildings demolished and rebuilt, houses widened and civic projects installed: However the whole city and its infrastructure were damaged by air raids in World War II, notably losing its majestic opera house constructed at the city entrance in the 19th century. The city contains various historic cafes, meeting places and restaurants.

The official name the Order gave to the city was Humillima Civitas Valletta – a city bound to humility, however with the building of bastions, curtains and ravelins, along with the beauty of the baroque buildings along its streets, it became known as Superbissima – the ‘Superb’, amongst the ruling houses of Europe.

The Valletta peninsula, which is fed by the two natural harbours of Marsamxett and the Grand Harbour, is Malta’s major port, with unloading quays at Marsa; a Cruise-liner terminal has been built recently in the Grand Harbour, along the old sea-wall of the duty free stores built by Grandmaster Pinto.

The city contains several buildings of historic importance: the most noteworthy being St John’s Co-Cathedral, formerly the Knights’ Conventual Church; Castille Place (The Prime Minister’s offices), the fortifications built by the Knights to protect the city from attack, the former Grand Master’s Palace (now housing the Maltese Parliament), and the National Museum of Fine Arts. It is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Valletta has a suburb, Floriana, which was built on the outside part of the Valletta bastions and on the inner part of the Floriana Lines, hence leaving an area between these two lines to house those that could not afford a house in Valletta. Another area for such people is located within Valletta’s own walls: In the original plans, the Order wanted a man-made creek to house the navy, however this could not be completed, and so the area, known as Manderaggio, was taken over by the homeless, so resulting in a jumble of buildings with dark alleyways in despicable sanitary conditions. The Manderaggio was partially demolished in the 1950’s so as to build a housing area in Valletta.