Insight Guides Malta

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• Publisher: Insight
• Print ISBN: 9781786710505
• eBook ISBN: 9781786716828
• Edition: 6
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Travel

There's so much to see and do in Malta: from the Unesco World Heritage Site of Valetta; to the deep blue lagoon on the uninhabited island of Comino; to the ancient Ggantija temples, which date back to 3,600BC. Get inspired to visit Malta with the new edition of Insight Guide Malta, a comprehensive full-colour guide to this historic country. Inside Insight Guide Malta:

� A fully overhauled edition by our expert Malta author.

� Highlights of the country's top attractions, including the lively city of Valetta on the main island, to the cultural hub that is Victoria, located on the island of Gozo.

� Descriptive region-by-region accounts that cover the two islands that make up Malta, together with all the main sights and attractions.

� Detailed, high-quality maps throughout will help you get around and travel tips give you all the essential information for planning a memorable trip to Malta, including our independent selection of the best hotels and restaurants.

About Insight Guides: Insight Guides has over 40 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce around 400 full-colour print guidebooks and maps as well as picture-packed eBooks to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture together create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

'Insight Guides has spawned many imitators but is still the best of its type.' - Wanderlust Magazine

Valletta

The Knights of St John founded Valletta in the 16th century, creating the finest fortified city in Europe. Having been ravaged during World War II, it is now being restored to its former glory.

Main Attractions

Triq Ir-Repubblika

St John’s Co-Cathedral

Valletta Living History

The Palace of the Grand Masters

St George’s Square

Manoel Theatre

The Malta Experience

Valletta Waterfront

Upper Barrakka Gardens

Lascaris War Rooms

Emerging bloodied but unbowed after the heroic Great Siege of 1565, the Knights and the other inhabitants of Malta realised that in order to be ready for a second Islamic invasion, they had to build a new and better fortified city on Malta.

The site chosen was virgin territory across from what was then called the Great Harbour (now the Grand Harbour). The high, barren, uninhabited rocky peninsula known as Mount Sceberras, with the tiny fort of St Elmo at its tip, both commanded the entrances to the harbours and dominated the lands on either side. It was from this unguarded superior position that the Turks had managed to rain down their fire with such devastation. The Knights would not make the mistake again of leaving such a strategic position accessible to the enemy.

A street view in Valletta, showing the traditional gallerija that many homes in the capital have.

Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications

A planned city

After much political argument and discussion, plans by the Vatican architect Francesco Laparelli were accepted. One of the most important planned towns of the Renaissance would now be built. Laparelli’s Valletta would be a city laid out in a rigid grid plan – that is, with all roads running straight and crossing each other at right angles. There would be main squares and secondary squares.

The landmark Carmelite Church soars above the capital city.

Sylvaine Poitau/Apa Publications

To make the city beautiful, there would be uniformity of house design. Noxious trades would be zoned together to protect the residential quarters. Laparelli designated a vast space for a Grand Masters’ palace to be built “as large as Palazzo Farnese in Rome”, and there would be excellent sites for a conventual church and hospital, as well as for eight auberges for the different langues that formed the Order.

Tip

Parking space in the city is limited. All cars are charged for time spent – the times are recorded by cameras and car-hire companies then informed. A Park and Ride service is sign-posted in Floriana.

On the morning of 28 March 1566, with great pomp, the foundation stone was laid. There, where the chapel of Our Lady of Victory would be built, a richly decorated altar was set up and High Mass celebrated in honour of Santo Spirito. The new city that would rise was christened Valletta after Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette, who had been the Great Siege commander and led the Order to victory.

In spite of the enthusiasm and urgency, work was slow and laboured. Hard rock had to be turned into a plateau before building could begin. After a few years Laparelli returned to Rome and the work passed into the hands of a Maltese architect, Gerolamo Cassar.

Lasting glory

Cassar, then in his late forties, had worked with Laparelli and, during the Siege, while only a boy, had helped repair fortifications and invent war weapons. He had studied in Rome at the expense of the Order. Slowly but surely, the city began to take shape.

Today, although much restored after the damage of World War II, and masked by a plethora of modern shop fronts and advertising hoardings, the city remains a delight, combining Laparelli’s original designs and Cassar’s magnificent architecture. The dramatic Valletta outline, with its superb bastion walls wrapped protectively around it, and its skyline of rectangular masses varied only by a cupola or church spire, remains one of Europe’s great cityscapes.

A night out in lively Paceville.

Malta Tourism Authority

Island Nightlife

For a capital city, Valletta has never really had a strong reputation for attracting night owls. Today, it is mostly popular with the island’s cultural crowd, who meander into the tiny wine bars, such as Trabuxu (http://trabuxu.com.mt), Leglegin or Bridge Bar, after an evening of theatre, music or fine art.

If you have something more exuberant in mind, head to the resort areas of St Julian’s, Paceville or Bugibba. St Julian’s is the most upmarket, with several luxury hangouts that include the ultra-chic Tiffany at Portomaso (www.tiffanymalta.com). Here you can sip on champagne cocktails while enjoying the backdrop of the marina below.

Paceville tends to attract a very young crowd, and is overflowing with international students during the summer months. They head straight for clubs such as Havana, Plush (www.plush-lounge.com) and Footloose, which are all open until the early hours. Wild nights often follow on from the many drinks offers available at these bars.

Bugibba, meanwhile, is somewhere in the middle of the two. It attracts crowds of expats, who love the British pubs and karaoke bars. There’s a great atmosphere to be enjoyed here, though, even if pubs and clubs aren’t your thing. Simply walk along the promenade soaking up the lively feeling in the air.

The changing face of the capital

The gracious Royal Opera House, one of the first sights a visitor would encounter within the city walls, was one of the many buildings destroyed by World War II bombing. It lay in ruins for decades until 2010, when plans were laid out for the complete rehabilitation of the entrance to the city. Fast-forward to the present, and the entrance to Valletta may well look a little different to visitors who haven’t been for a while: the capital has been given a much-needed face-lift by the City Gate A [map] project, led by renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano. The project involved the remodelling of the entrance, together with the construction of a new parliament building, a piazza and a new performing space. The most controversial aspect of the project was the demolition of the old Victorian City Gate, built by the British, and replace it with a modern structure, which has been compared by some people to the ancient Egyptian temple of Edfu. The new Parliament House, designed by Renzo Piano and officially inaugurated in 2015, also provoked criticism for allegedly being unnecessary, ugly and too expensive. The environmentally friendly building consists of massive, porous blocks connected by bridges to allow the view of the fortifications of St James Chevalier from the Republic Street. On the site of an old opera house now stands an open-air theatre, Pjazza Teatru Rjal (http://pjazzateatrurjal.com), which offers an interesting cultural programme. It is also the venue for the Valletta International Film Festival.

The European Capital of Culture Valletta 2018 programme includes some serious infrastructure projects, such as the regeneration of areas such as the covered...

Table of contents

• Malta’s Top 10 Attractions
• Editor’s Choice
• Introduction: Sun, Sea and History
• The Maltese People
• Decisive Dates
• In the Beginning
• The Knights of St John and Beyond
• Insight: The Knights of Malta Today
• Enter the British
• World War II
• Looking to the Future
• Cultivating Culture
• Superstition and Folklore
• Insight: Fireworks, Bands and Saints
• Maltese Architecture
• A Taste of Malta
• Sport and Scuba Diving
• Going to Sea
• Introduction: Introduction
• Valletta
• Insight: The British Influence
• The Three Cities
• Mdina and Rabat
• Central Malta
• Sliema and St Julian’s
• The North
• The South
• Insight: The Secrets of Malta’s Temples
• Introduction: Gozo
• Victoria
• Around Gozo
• Comino
• A Trip to Sicily
• Transport
• A-Z: A Handy Summary of Practical Information
• Understanding the Language
• Further Reading