The Mini Rough Guide to Malta (Travel Guide eBook)

Rough Guides

• Publisher: Rough Guides
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781785732898
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Travel

This pocket-sized guide is a convenient, quick-reference companion to discovering what to do, what to see and how to get around Malta. It covers top attractions like Valletta, Mdina and the Blue Lagoon, as well as hidden gems, including enjoying a leisurely lunch at the picturesque fishing village of Marsaxlokk. This will save you time, and enhance your exploration of this fascinating country. This title has been fully updated post-COVID-19. This Mini Rough Guide to Malta covers: Valletta, Outside Valletta, The Southeast, Heading Inland, The Northwest, Gozo, Comino.In this travel guide you will find: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EVERY TYPE OF TRAVELLER
Experiences selected for every kind of trip to Malta, from cultural explorations to family activities in child-friendly places or observing traditional Maltese life on the island of Gozo and exploring some of the oldest temples on earth. TOP TEN ATTRACTIONS
Covers the destination's top ten attractions not to miss, including Mosta's Santa Maria Assunta church, Mdina, The blue grotto, and a Perfect Day/Tour itinerary suggestions. COMPACT FORMAT
Compact, concise, and packed with essential information, with a sharp design and colour-coded sections, this is the perfect on-the-move companion when you're exploring Malta. HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL INSIGHTS
Includes an insightful overview of landscape, history and culture. WHAT TO DO
Detailed description of entertainment, shopping, nightlife, festivals and events, and children's activities. PRACTICAL MAPS
Handy colour maps on the inside cover flaps will help you find your way around. PRACTICAL TRAVEL INFORMATION
Practical information on eating out, including a handy glossary and detailed restaurant listings, as well as a comprehensive A-Z of travel tips on everything from getting around to health and tourist information. STRIKING PICTURES
Inspirational colour photography throughout.

Out and About

The Maltese Islands are compact and relatively easy to explore either independently in a rental car, on public transport or by an organised tour. We begin by looking at the largest island, Malta – including Valletta, the towns around it, and the Grand Harbour. Other sections of the book will explore the southeast coast before moving inland. Finally, we will journey along the northern coast before sailing across the water to Gozo, and paying a brief visit to Comino.

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The City Gate and Parliament building, designed by Renzo Piano

Valletta

When the Order of St John first settled on Malta in 1530 they made their home at Birgu (today’s Vittoriosa) in the Grand Harbour where the Maltese community lived. It was sheltered and had deepwater creeks for merchant ships. Across the harbour, separating it from the equally large Marsamxett Harbour with its fishing community, lay the barren Sceberras peninsula with a small fortress, Fort St Elmo, at its tip. As the fort guarded the entrance to the harbours, they set about reinforcing its battlements to make it impregnable.

In 1565, however, when the Ottoman force landed, it set up its mortars on the peninsula’s high ground and rained fire onto St Elmo below. The Knights and their Maltese compatriots put up some courageous resistance, but ultimately all but four of the defenders were killed. The Turks then turned all their fire on to the fortified community that lay across the harbour – Birgu, Bormla (today’s Cospicua) and l’Isla (Senglea). The Knights were finally victorious and the siege was lifted, but lessons had been learned. Plans were speedily made to create a new fortified city on the dominating heights of the peninsula. The city would be called Valletta 1 [map] in honour of Grand Master La Valette who led the islands to victory.

Balcony views

In the 18th century, to give privacy to wives and daughters watching daily life in the streets, many city buildings were furnished with gallarija, wooden balconies. Lines of these colourful balconies form one of the city’s most enduring images.

A simple yet effective design was created. The city would have towering bastion walls encircling it, with two defensive emplacements known as Cavaliers where troops would be stationed, overlooking a dry moat near the land-side entrance to the city. The newly restored, much larger Fort St Elmo would guard the sea approach. Within the city walls all streets would run in a grid pattern with palaces, churches and the auberges where each group of knights or langue would live, given due prominence. It would be a gracious city, built with the generous monies sent by the grateful monarchs of Europe who had seen the spread of the Ottoman Empire so successfully halted.

Work began in 1566 from plans drawn up by Francesco Laparelli, architect to the Vatican and the Medici family. He promised that the city could be constructed in a mere three months, but when he returned to Italy two years later there was still a great deal to be done. The project was left in the hands of his Maltese assistant, Gerolamo Cassar, who finished the work, and also added his own imprint on the city.

Following the departure of the Knights of St John at the end of the 18th century, many of Valletta’s beautiful buildings were taken for other civil or military uses. Today, the initial raison d’être for the creation of the city can still clearly be seen. The walls and bastions still stand firm, and to see the city from the air, or from the waters of the Grand Harbour or Marsamxett Harbour, really brings home the amazing feat of the builders. In 1980, the city of Valletta was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Fort St Angelo

City Gate

Valletta is less than 1km (0.6 miles) wide and 1.5km (1 mile) long. The main entrance, known as City Gate, has been replaced twice since the original Baroque gate was erected, firstly in the 1960s with an archway of little architectural value, and more recently by renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano in 2011–14. The project involved the remodelling of the entrance to the old city, the new parliament building, a piazza and a new performing space. The new City Gate is a modern structure, which bares similarities to the ancient Egyptian temple of Edfu. The Parliament House, inaugurated in 2015, is an environmentally friendly building consisting of large, porous blocks connected by bridges. The building has attracted sharp criticism for being expensive, ugly and allegedly unnecessary. Nevertheless, it has become symbolic of the city’s transformation.

As European Capital of Culture, the city underwent a programme of regeneration in 2018, including the renovation of the is-Suq l-Antik tal-Belt covered market and the creation of the Malta National Community Art Museum (MUŻA).

Ancient Malta

A timeline close to the doorway of the National Museum of Archaeology points out that the Maltese temple sites were built over 1,000 years before the pyramids in Egypt.

The gate sits at the top of the main road through the city, Triq ir-Repubblika A [map] (Republic Street), and exploring its attractions makes a good start for a tour. The upper section is relatively flat, then drops down towards Fort St Elmo jutting out to sea. It is a pleasant thoroughfare with several fine buildings as well as shops and cafés along the way.

Strolling down the street, which was known as Strada Reale during the Knights’ days and Kingsway under British rule, you will first notice the ruins of what would have been a large building; vestiges of classical columns can still be seen. This was the site of the Royal Opera House, which was bombed in 1942 and never rebuilt. Now, as part of the City Gate project, the site has been revamped into a modern open-air theatre, known as Pjazza Teatru Rjal (Royal Theatre Square), which will be the new venue of the annual Valletta International Film Festival.

Further along you will find the Auberge de Provence, finished in 1575 and housing the National Museum of Archaeology B [map] (https://heritagemalta.org; daily 9am–5pm, Oct–Dec until 6pm). The building itself is interesting, being one of the auberges that the public can still enter. The collections it displays are fascinating and add extra detail to the bare bones of the islands’ pre-historic times, with the Neolithic and Bronze ages being brought vividly to life. Beautiful pottery effigies and stone carvings found at Tarxien (for more information, click here) and other archaeological sites bear witness to the sophistication of these ancient peoples. Upstairs, the collection focuses on later periods, featuring finds from the Roman era.

Malta Art Museum

Nearby, on Merchants Street, the Malta National Community Art Museum C [map] (MUŻA; https://heritagemalta.org; daily 9am–4.30pm) occupies the revitalised Auberge d’Italie. This community-oriented, interactive, national museum presents four themes (Mediterranean, Europe, Empire and Artist) through objects and displays. Highlights of the collection include works by Italian artist Mattia Preti, British artist Victor Pasmore and Maltese sculptor Antonio Sciortino.

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Inside St John’s Co-Cathedral

St John’s Co-Cathedral

Next you come to one of the most important buildings in Valletta, the St John’s Co-Cathedral D [map] (www.stjohnscocathedral.com; Mon–Fri 9.30am–4.45pm, Sat 9.30am–12.30pm, Sun services only) dedicated by the Knights to their Maltese architect Gerolamo Cassar (entrance on Republic Street, opposite the Law Courts). Cassar’s design for the church, which was constructed between 1573 and 1577, surrounded the building with a number of small open squares. The severe facade of the cathedral belies the ornate beauty within – it is a magnificent decorative masterpiece. Small chapels off the main nave are dedicated to each langue, and the floor of the church consists of Knights’ tombs, highly embellished with coloured marble. The v...

Table of contents

• 10 Things Not To Miss
• A Perfect Day In Malta
• Overview
• History and Culture
• Out and About
• Things To Do
• Food and Drink
• Where To Eat
• A–Z Travel Tips
• Where To Stay