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5444 | dbpedia | 2 | 42 | https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-films-about-indigenous-american-first-nations-experience | en | 10 great films about Indigenous American and First Nations experience | [
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] | 2023-10-06T09:13:49+01:00 | Ahead of the BFI London Film Festival premiere and UK release of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, we look at 10 films that made strides for the representation of the Indigenous people of North America. | en | BFI | https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-films-about-indigenous-american-first-nations-experience | It’s generally agreed that the first people to populate North America migrated across the Bering land bridge from Asia into Alaska. Mostly nomadic, these ancestral Indigenous Americans and First Nations people would move throughout this New World by following food sources, creating tribes and establishing communities.
Numbering up to 18 million by some estimates, they lived relatively peacefully until 1492 and the arrival of Christopher Columbus. This would mark the beginning of a sustained colonialist invasion, resulting in the enslavement, assault and slaughter of countless Indigenous peoples across the entire landmass. Those that survived were subject to the removal of their land rights, forced to live on reservations, and their children placed in residential schools. To reinforce these colonialist actions, Indigenous people were consistently negatively stereotyped, initially in news reports and popular literature and then in film, particularly in the hugely popular western genre, which would cement the image of the ‘savage Indian’ in the popular consciousness.
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As Indigenous cultural resistance to this mode of treatment and representation has grown from the 1960s period of self-determination, cinema has begun to steadily address history and its own treatment of Indigenous people. From revealing revisionist westerns, such as Broken Arrow (1950), and dramatisations of real-world events, such as Martin Scorsese’s forthcoming Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), to horror films and even sci-fi, Indigenous and non-Indigenous writers and directors are actively addressing and questioning colonist history, revealing the truth of how the West was really won and, more importantly, giving Indigenous Americans and First Nations people a voice to respond with and an agency to act against.
Killers of the Flower Moon gets its UK premiere at the 67th BFI London Film Festival. It will be released in UK cinemas, including BFI IMAX, from 20 October.
Broken Arrow (1950)
Director: Delmer Daves
After decades of genre misrepresentation, Broken Arrow was one of the first westerns to attempt a realistic and sympathetic depiction of Indigenous Americans and their culture, to the extent that the film won a Golden Globe for ‘best film promoting international understanding’. Based on the real experiences of US Army scout and Indian agent Tom Jeffords and Apache chief Cochise, the film chronicles the uneven path to a successful peace treaty between certain Apache tribes and the US government.
Daves presents Cochise (Jeff Chandler) and Jeffords (James Stewart) as equals: men of honour and integrity, both desiring peace and an end to violence. The Americans and Apaches are shown to be equally ruthless and brutal, considerate and tolerant in historically grounded events. The romance between Jeffords and Apache girl Sonseeahray (Debra Paget) may be fictional, but that too allows for the dramatisation of ceremonial traditions, rites and behaviours, deepening the film’s rich and relatively realistic representation of Indigenous cultures.
Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
Director: John Ford
Cheyenne Autumn was the last western to be directed by one of the genre’s most acclaimed auteurs, John Ford, who presented the film as an apology for the poor historic treatment and cinematic representation of Indigenous Americans. Based on the Northern Cheyenne Exodus of 1878 to 1879, the film charts the attempted journey of more than 300 Cheyenne from their reservation in Oklahoma to their ancestral land in Wyoming in a direct, defiant act against government orders. As the exodus begins, US Army troops, led by Captain Thomas Archer (Richard Widmark), are sent to stop them.
Ford presents Archer as sympathetic to the Indigenous people, willing to risk his career in order to save them while allowing Ford the opportunity to sustain his preoccupation and respect for those few good men in the cavalry. Deliberately paced, the film offers a clear account of the disregard and treatment of Indigenous peoples, proposing a greater need for unity and community now more than ever.
Powwow Highway (1989)
Director: Jonathan Wacks
Featuring a cast of Indigenous performers (including Wes Studi, Graham Greene and Gary Farmer), filmed on contemporary reservations and based on David Seals’ novel of the same name, Powwow Highway is an Indigenous reworking of the road/buddy movie. Cheyenne activist Buddy Red Bow (A Martinez) journeys from the Northern Cheyenne reservation to Santa Fe, New Mexico to bail his sister out of jail. Partnering with a childhood friend, Philbert Bono (Farmer), the pair begin a journey of adventure and discovery.
Bow and Bono are a mismatched pair, with Bow looking to the future through his angry activism (particularly preventing a strip-mining contract on Indigenous land) and contributions to sustaining his tribe, while Bono looks back, gathering ‘good medicine’ and tokens for the spirits. As the journey continues, a mutual respect for both perspectives on Indigenous life emerges between them, with the men attending a powwow, visiting sacred sites and singing to their ancestors, all culminating in the humanity of the past dissipating some of the anger of the present.
Geronimo: An American Legend (1993)
Director: Walter Hill
An accurate biographical account through film, particularly in relation to known Indigenous American figures, is always going to be complex, due to the sheer diversity of accounts but also, more importantly, whose perspective those accounts are written from. Despite this, in Walter Hill’s Geronimo: An American Legend, writers John Milius and Larry Gross work hard to create an ambitious recounting of the later life of famed Apache leader Geronimo, which involves his aggressive resistance to US Army and government policy, all leading up to his eventual surrender. The results are unexpectedly nuanced biography, imbued with a commentary on how the West was won through a form of cultural genocide.
Oscar-winning Indigenous American actor Wes Studi plays Geronimo with consideration and dignity, deftly balancing Geronimo’s strategic insight and skill with fierce action. Studi’s consummate performance presents Geronimo as a fighter and a killer but also a man driven to such actions in order to protect what little is left of his people, their land and culture as, little by little, more and more of it is violently taken away.
Smoke Signals (1998)
Director: Chris Eyre
Like Powwow Highway, Smoke Signals uses the road trip as a means to explore the friendship between two young men from the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation. Victor’s (Adam Beach) father, Arnold (Gary Farmer), rescues Thomas (Evan Adams) from a house fire which kills his parents. As he grows up, Thomas idolises Arnold while Victor experiences domestic abuse and eventual abandonment through Arnold’s alcoholism. When Arnold dies, the pair travel to Phoenix to retrieve his ashes.
Their journey is, unsurprisingly, one of self-discovery, of connecting with the past but also experiencing past prejudices sustained into the present. Arnold’s ghost lingers through flashbacks, a man both loving and violent, filled with pride but also a barely repressed anger and guilt for the truth about the fire. Widely recognised as being one of the first productions to be written, directed and produced by Indigenous Americans as well as featuring an Indigenous cast and location filming, in 2018 Signals was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the US National Film Registry for its cultural significance.
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)
Director: Zacharias Kunuk
Directed by Inuit filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk, Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner is a retelling of an Inuit legend and the first film to be written and performed entirely in Inuit. An evil spirit spreads malicious intent among a tribe of nomadic Inuit, leading to jealousy, violence, vengeance and eventually healing as Atanarjuat (Natar Ungalaaq) attempts to escape the men who murdered his brother.
Writer Paul Apak Angilirq developed the script over five years by interviewing tribal elders in relation to their understanding of the legend, then combined these various elements into one unified narrative. Dialogue, customs and costumes were also based on accounts from the elders as well as the journals of European explorers. Upon release, the film was praised for its writing, direction and portrayal of Inuit life, making it a significant critical and commercial success at the box office. It also won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes.
Blood Quantum (2019)
Director: Jeff Barnaby
Written and directed by Mi’kmaq/Canadian Jeff Barnaby, Blood Quantum deftly relocates the narratives and political dimensions of George A. Romero’s Dead trilogy on to the reservation. A viral outbreak transforms white Americans into ravaging zombies while the Indigenous people, due to their ancestral blood, remain immune. The reservation becomes a safe haven in a national pandemic, but its security and integrity is soon threatened by white Americans who, either dead or alive, once again seek to invade and take the land back as their own.
Barnaby’s film replays colonist history through the zombie apocalypse, with past events, such as the possibility of infected blankets being brought on to the ‘rez’, merging with more recent events, particularly the violent police raid on Barnaby’s childhood reservation, Restigouche. But, amid the brutality of reservation life – and the gore-soaked, flesh-eating moments – are characters who represent heritage and hope, offering solutions to generational trauma through Indigenous voice and agency.
Reservation Dogs (2021–)
Created by Taika Waititi and Indigenous American filmmaker Sterlin Harjo, Reservation Dogs is a watershed moment in streamed drama as it’s the first production of its kind to be made by Indigenous American writers and directors with an almost entirely Indigenous American cast and crew. Set in a rundown town in the Muscogee Nation, the series explores the lives of four Indigenous teenagers as they navigate life growing up on the reservation and their struggle to find a place in a community they desperately want to leave.
Alongside the recollections of their elders and advice from spirit guides, the colonial past, cultural traditions and folklore are subtly woven into the lives of the teenagers, providing them with guidance and security when their lives are at their most turbulent. Heritage guides them and their parents through generational trauma and recent family deaths, allowing them to embrace what has happened, and more importantly what they can now become. It’s an honest, humorous and often poignant portrait of contemporary life on the rez.
Slash/Back (2022)
Director: Nyla Innuksuk
The feature debut of Inuit co-writer and director Nyla Innuksuk is a coming-of-age story for a group of four Indigenous teenage girls, all wrapped up in a sci-fi horror narrative. After an attack by a mutated polar bear, the girls slowly realise their isolated Arctic hamlet of Pangnirtung, Nunavut is becoming ground zero for an alien invasion. With no adults to help them, the girls take it upon themselves to defend their community and repel the threat.
To cast the film, Innuksuk ran acting workshops in Nunavut, finding her four protagonists from among the untrained Indigenous locals and working alongside them to develop the characters and script. These authentic performances and voices address the idea of the Final Girl(s), while the film’s distinctive use of practical effects recalls the gruesome horror and intense claustrophobia of John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982). It all combines to demonstrate what it really means to fight for your community and heritage.
Prey (2022)
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
The seventh instalment in the Predator franchise, Prey marks a significant shift in direction for the series by relocating it to a historical setting: the Northern Great Plains in 1719. A young Comanche, Naru (Amber Midthunder), strives to prove herself a hunter by attempting to protect her tribe from a marauding lion, but inadvertently encounters the titular extraterrestrial.
Featuring a largely Indigenous American cast and produced by Jhane Myers (Comanche/Blackfeet) with Indigenous consultant Professor Dustin Tahmahkera (Comanche), Prey makes significant efforts to authentically depict Comanche life, rituals, roles, clothing and weaponry. It’s the first film to have a full Comanche dub. This strong focus on positive Indigenous representation and historic accuracy is balanced with the franchise’s essential need for violent action, creating a unique high-octane cinematic moment in which Indigenous women and culture are foregrounded as strong and capable, with voice and agency over both their narrative destiny and representation. | |||||
5444 | dbpedia | 3 | 18 | https://philosophynow.org/issues/69/Becoming_A_Woman_Simone_de_Beauvoir_on_Female_Embodiment | en | Becoming A Woman: Simone de Beauvoir on Female Embodiment | [
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] | null | [] | null | Felicity Joseph finds that sometimes it’s hard to become a woman. | /media/images/regulars/icon.png | null | Felicity Joseph finds that sometimes it’s hard to become a woman.
“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman”
Simone de Beauvoir
Generally for existentialists, one is not born anything: everything we are is the result of our choices, as we build ourselves out of our own resources and those which society gives us. We don ’t only create our own values, we create ourselves. Simone de Beauvoir, although an avowed life-long existentialist, posits limits to this central existentialist idea of self-creation and self-definition, qualifying the absolute freedom Jean-Paul Sartre posited in Being and Nothingness. By contrast de Beauvoir presents an ambiguous picture of human freedom, in which women struggle against the apparent disadvantages of the female body.
In The Second Sex, her most famous work, de Beauvoir sketches a kind of existential history of a woman ’s life: a story of how a woman’s attitude towards her body and bodily functions changes over the years, and of how society influences this attitude. Here de Beauvoir raises the core question of female embodiment: Are the supposed disadvantages of the female body actual disadvantages which exist objectively in all societies, or are they merely judged to be disadvantages by our society? She answers this question by exploring case studies of the various stages of female life. In these case studies the female body is presented as both positive and negative, and women as both oppressed and free. A woman ’s body is the site of this ambiguity, for she can use it as a vehicle for her freedom and feel oppressed by it. There is no essential truth of the matter: it depends upon the extent to which a woman sees herself as a free subject rather than as the object of society ’s gaze.
Sartre observed that whatever we perceive, including other people, is rendered as an ‘object’ to our gaze and is defined by us. De Beauvoir takes up this idea and applies it to men’s perception of women. The very concept of ‘woman’, de Beauvoir argues, is a male concept: woman is always ‘other’ because the male is the ‘seer’: he is the subject and she the object – the meaning of what it is to be a woman is given by men.
De Beauvoir argues that it is not the biological condition of women per se that constitutes a handicap: it is how a woman construes this condition which renders it positive or negative. None of the uniquely female experiences – the development of female sex organs, menstruation, pregnancy, menopause – have a meaning in themselves; but in a hostile or oppressive society they can come to take on the meaning of being a burden and disadvantage, as women come to accept the meanings a patriarchal society accords them.
De Beauvoir points out that pre-adolescent boys and girls are really not very different: they “have the same interests and the same pleasures” (The Second Sex, p295, Translation and Ed, H.M. Parshley, Vintage, 1997). If the initial psychological differences between young boys and girls are relatively trivial, what then causes them to become important? If one ‘becomes’ a woman, how does this ‘becoming’ happen?
The Flesh and the Feminine
De Beauvoir argues that as a girl’s bodily development occurs, each new stage is experienced as traumatic and demarcates her more and more sharply from the opposite sex. As the girl ’s body matures, society reacts in an increasingly hostile and threatening manner. De Beauvoir talks about the process of ‘becoming flesh’, which is the process whereby one comes to experience oneself as a sexual, bodily being exposed to another ’s gaze. This does not have to be a bad thing; but unfortunately, young girls are often forced to become flesh against their will:
“The young girl feels that her body is getting away from her… on the street men follow her with their eyes and comment on her anatomy. She would like to be invisible; it frightens her to become flesh and to show flesh” (p333).
There are many more such events in a growing girl’s life which reinforce the belief that it is bad luck to be born with a female body. The female body is such a nuisance, a pain, an embarrassment, a problem to deal with, ugly, awkward, and so on. Even if a girl tries to forget that she has a female body, society will soon remind her. De Beauvoir gives several examples of this: the mother who frequently criticises her daughter ’s body and posture, thus making her feel self-conscious; the ‘man on the street’ who makes a sexual comment about a young girl’s body, making her feel ashamed; and a girl’s embarrassment as male relatives make jokes about her menstruation.
However, de Beauvoir also gives positive examples of having a female body. She shows us that there are situations in which young women can be comfortable in their bodies – indeed, not only comfortable, but joyous and proud. Consider a girl who enjoys walking in the fields and woods, feeling a profound connection to nature. She has a great sense of happiness and freedom in her body which she doesn ’t feel in a social environment. In nature there are no males to gaze upon her, there are no mothers to criticise her. She no longer sees herself through others ’ eyes, and thus is finally free to define her body for herself.
But she cannot escape to the natural world forever. As part of belonging to a patriarchal society she must eventually undergo a further traumatic event – initiation into sexual intercourse. Intercourse is physically more traumatic for girls because it involves penetration and usually some corresponding pain. Culturally it is more traumatic because girls are kept in a greater state of ignorance than boys, and are often ill-prepared for what is to come. Culturally too, there are certain techniques of sexual intercourse which predominate, which may not be ideal for female enjoyment and orgasm (for instance, man on top). De Beauvoir points out that girls ’ sexual education tends to be mainly of the ‘romantic’ sort, which emphasises the courtship period and the pleasure of gentle caresses, but never the penetration. Thus when sex finally happens, it seems a world away from the romantic fantasies a girl has grown up with. De Beauvoir dryly observes that for the shocked young woman “love assumes the aspect of a surgical operation” (p404).
Ultimately, is it the biological penetration itself which causes the distress, or is it the culturally-engineered ignorance of young women? De Beauvoir thinks the biological facts need not be traumatic: the distress is due to a lack of generosity in the man ’s sexual behaviour, combined with the woman’s fear of being objectified before an aggressive sexual gaze. She suggests that the way to a more positive sexual experience for both genders is through each partner acting in ‘erotic generosity’ towards the other, rather than in selfish sensuality.
The experience of pregnancy is more positive, yet still an ambiguous one for women: it can be both an unfair invasion of her body and at the same time a wonderful enrichment. As a woman ’s pregnancy develops, society tends to consider her less sexually attractive, as no longer sexually available. This means that she temporarily escapes man ’s sexual gaze. This is a positive development for a woman, de Beauvoir argues, because “now she is no longer in service as a sexual object, but she is the incarnation of her species, she represents the promise of life, of eternity ” (p518).
What about as a woman gets older? The aging woman is described by de Beauvoir as “intent on struggling against a misfortune that was mysteriously disfiguring and deforming her ” (p595). This is a very negative description of the aging process. It evokes the tone of a cosmetics advert which pressures women to buy their products to struggle against time. Nevertheless, de Beauvoir ’s description is an honest one. We know from her autobiographical writings that she really struggled to come to terms with her aging body: she liked clothes, was considered attractive, and felt upset when she thought she was losing her looks. Yet as a philosopher she was able to step back and see that this attitude was due to an inordinate value placed by society on such ephemeral assets. She had accepted society ’s definition of her worth as her own definition.
De Beauvoir does admit that as a woman persists through the oncoming of age, she may find herself in a more positive stage of life: “She can also permit herself defiance of fashion and of ‘what people will say’, she is freed from social obligations, dieting, and the care of her beauty” (p595). So although old age has many negative aspects, it can provide a kind of escape from society ’s pressure. The desire to conform is lifted, and freedom increases. De Beauvoir’s point is that freedom needs space to move. In the case of female embodiment, there is often no room for women to really ‘see their bodies through their own gaze’, since the male gaze permeates everywhere.
Free Space
The intertwinedness of body and mind helps explain women’s oppression. Women do not choose to think about their bodies and bodily processes negatively; rather they are forced to do so as a result of being embedded in a hostile patriarchal society. On this view the body is not just the thing we can prod and poke, it is shaped by a plethora of perceptions: if we feel bad about it, it becomes a ‘bad thing’; if we feel good about it, it becomes a ‘good thing’. But the way we think about it is not a matter of free choice unless we live in a society which gives space for that freedom. What feminist philosophers like de Beauvoir aim to do is to open up a space for that freedom to flourish.
© Felicity Joseph 2008
Felicity Joseph currently lectures in recent European philosophy at the University of Melbourne, Australia. She is also co-editing a companion to existentialism for postgraduates. | ||||||
5444 | dbpedia | 1 | 2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_flick | en | Chick flick | https://en.wikipedia.org/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico | https://en.wikipedia.org/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico | [
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] | 2004-02-11T14:07:17+00:00 | en | /static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_flick | Slang term for romantic film genre catering to young women
Chick flick is a slang term for the film genre catered specifically to women's interests, and is marketed toward women demographics. They generally tend to appeal more to a younger female audience and deal mainly with love and romance.[1][2] Although many types of films may be directed toward a female audience, the term "chick flick" is typically used only in reference to films that contain personal drama and emotion or themes that are relationship-based (although not necessarily romantic, as films may focus on parent-child or friend relationships). Chick flicks often are released en masse around Valentine's Day.[3]
History
[edit]
The term "chick flick" was not widely used until the 1980s and 1990s. It has its roots in the "women's pictures" of the early twentieth century, which portrays the woman as a victim and housewife, and later the film noir of the 1940s and early 1950s, which portrays the threat of sexualized women.[4][5][6] In the 1950s, many women who were in the workforce during World War II faced the transition back into the home. Brandon French notes that the women's films of the 1950s "shed light on a different cluster of issues and situations women faced in their transition from the forties to the sixties: romance, courtship, work, marriage, sex, motherhood, divorce, loneliness, adultery, alcoholism, widowhood, heroism, madness and ambition."[7]
The film Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), commonly known as one of the "classic" films from the golden age of cinema, is sometimes considered an early chick flick due to common elements such as dealing with loneliness, obsessive materialism, and happy endings.[8][9] Author Molly Haskell has suggested that chick flicks are very different from the women's films of the 1940s and 1950s in that they now "sing a different tune." She feels that they are "more defiant and upbeat, post-modern and post-feminist.
In the United States in the 1980s, a succession of teenage drama pictures also labeled as chick flicks were released, many by director John Hughes. These often had a different and more realistic tone than previous chick flicks, with dramatic elements such as abortion and personal alienation being included.[8]
Several chick flicks have been patterned after the story of Cinderella and other fairy tales (e.g. A Cinderella Story (2004), Ever After (1998) and Pretty Woman (1990)), or even Shakespeare in the case of She's the Man (2006) and 10 Things I Hate About You (1999). In addition, a large number are adapted from popular novels (e.g. The Princess Diaries (2001) and The Devil Wears Prada (2006)) and literary classics (e.g. Little Women (1994)). While most films that are considered chick flicks are lighthearted, some suspense films also fall under this category, such as What Lies Beneath (2000).
Evolution & controversy
[edit]
These works have risen since the 1980s, mostly noticed in the early 2000s, and continued to evolve through the 2010s and early 2020s. In its early development, the films were created as white-female-targeted films, primarily involving white-female characters, topics, and interests.[10]
As the genre developed, there was repetitiveness in the plot and characters of these productions. "Chick flicks" often began with single characters, who soon after unexpectedly meeting a suitable and charming significant other, their lives took a turn for the better.[11]
The first productions of this genre were not initially labeled as "chick flicks"; they were just known as "Girly Films".[12] "What sets it apart from other films geared towards a female is its focus on consumer culture.".[12] Iconic films of the genre such as Clueless (1995), The Princess Diaries (2001), and Mean Girls (2004) act as evidence of such. In all of them, buying feminine clothes, makeup, or shoes is portrayed as a large part of women's identities. Women are often portrayed as overly emotional and dependent on men; reinforcing patriarchal societal expectations that women should prioritize finding a romantic partner and getting married.[11] These expectations can be interpreted from movies such as He’s Just Not That Into You (2009) and The Notebook (2004).
Many believe that the content of this genre in the industry is more inclusive than discriminating. Different varieties of the female protagonist and plot themes are being noted more often. The representation of women in noticeable male-dominated professions and/or positions is seen in films such as Legally Blonde (2001) and The Proposal (2009). There is a broadening of topics the films portray in films such as The Edge of Seventeen (2016) which “explores themes such as loss, grief, and depression, but in a dry, humorous and cutting fashion.”.[13] These films have become a vehicle for other issues in our present society including homophobia and women's rights.[14] This can be seen in films including, but not limited to Love, Simon (2018) and Lady Bird (2017). The industry has evolved the genre from solely portraying soapy romance stories to a focus on more realistic hardships.
There is not doubt that "chick flicks" are misunderstood as simply appealing for audiences of the teen girl persuasion, and not a serious contender for awards and recognitions.[13] Sex and the City (1998–2004) – a "chick flick" series – was nominated for 54 Emmy Awards, 24 Golden Globe Awards, 11 Screen Actors Guild Awards, 10 Directors Guild of America Awards, 7 Satellite Awards, and 4 Producers Guild of America Awards.[15] Additional greatly successful "chick flicks" in the box office are Love Actually (2003), Notting Hill (1999), and Mamma Mia (2008).[16]
Critique of the genre
[edit]
The term chick flick has generated several negative responses from the modern feminist community.[12] The word chick at the height of the women's liberation movement in the 1970s was considered an insult directed towards women.[17] "Chick" was used to demean women, casting them as childlike, delicate, fluffy creatures in need of protection from men. [17] The affiliation of chick with chick flicks has resulted in an immediate negative response to many women and feminists. [17]
Chick flicks are stuck with many negative stereotypes in which women are typically portrayed as women who are klutzy, sassy, airheaded, etc. When a movie is branded with the title of 'chick flick,' for many it diminishes the credibility of a film, inherently saying that the movie is cheesy, predictable and has a poor plot.[18] This labeling is specifically seen with movies that have subject matters that revolve around women, often reinforcing the idea that themes surrounding women in movies should not be taken seriously.[18] Most criticisms of the genre concentrate on the negative consequences that arise from gendering certain interests, in this case, film. Author of The Chick Flick Paradox: Derogatory? Feminist? or Both? Natalia Thompson states that chick flicks are "an attempt to lump together an entire gender's interests into one genre".[19]
Many critics argue that unnecessary gendering can negatively affect many different social groups.[20] There is evidence from Russian social scientist Natal'ia Rimashevskaia that gender stereotypes further perpetuated by the media can lead to discrimination against women and limit their "human and intellectual potential".[21] More criticisms of the term arise from the actual content of the films in the chick flick genre and how the content affects society's perception of women. Some say that chick flicks are micro-aggressions actions or exchanges that degrade a person based on their membership in a "race, gender, age, and ability".[22]
Film critics take issue with the content most chick flicks have in common. Although the subcategories represent different plotlines, they all share several characteristics.[12] Many chick flicks can have the "ironic, self-deprecating tone" that film theorist Hilary Radner associates with chick lit. This tone is one of the genre's defining characteristics, and she argues that many feel it lacks substance compared with other genres.[12] She says they follow "a set of narrative tropes" which can be seen as "repeated film to film". Radner also goes on to say the genre is "incredibly heteronormative and white-washed".[12] These common characteristics of the genre can lead to criticism from minority groups and social justice activists.[12] It is often visible through the films and their tendency to use typecasting for their roles; because of this, actors such as Reese Witherspoon, Cameron Diaz, Seth Rogan and Sam Claflin fall into the category of "white-washing" the film. More issues with the genre emerge from the opinion that chick flicks play to every woman's "patriarchal unconscious". Radner furthers that claim by saying that it "constitutes a very attractive – and hence often exploited – version of feminine identity".[23]
Some argue against the criticism of chick flicks. Researcher Sarah-Mai Dang acknowledges that the films can be "criticized as threatening backlash to the achievements to feminism"; however she contends that they can be celebrated for their representation of female freedom.[24] Dang further proclaims that it gives space for the female voice to be present or heard in contemporary work like chick flicks.[24]
Diversity of the genre
[edit]
Chick flicks are often also lumped in with the genre of romantic comedies. This narrows what can or cannot be considered a chick flick, with many people believing that for a film to be considered a chick flick it must have romance and comedy. There are key differences in how a romantic comedy v.s. a chick flick is marketed. A romantic comedy is often produced/marketed with men in mind. However, a chick flick is "a motion picture intended to appeal especially to women."[25]
More recently, women have been wondering why is it that romance is the only thing that is marketed to women, when in fact there are many other themes, topics and issues women could relate to? Due to there not being a "dude-flick" category, many individuals are not asking if there is a need to associate a movie genre to women, and then make them feel guilty for liking it.[18] Others argue that chick flicks have been a continuation of the "chick cultural explosion," which reflected and promoted the new visibility of women in popular culture. Instead, chick flicks were grouped with the product of chick culture and the deliberate decision to address female audiences, meaning that womens significance in contemporary culture was increasing.[17]
The typical narrative in a chick flick of falling in love has now been adapted, and instead there has been an upward trend of including a greater representation of women in chick flicks. Women who instead focus on their professional life, women who reject beauty standards and feminist themes have all been seen in more recent chick flicks.[17] There have also been chick flicks that aim to raise questions about the many choices women must confront such as the possibility of having it all, and the different effects of beauty standards in films such as Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), The Princess Diaries (2001), and In Her Shoes (2005).[17]
There has been little to no emphasis on including individuals from ethnic/racial minorities in chick-flicks. If an individual who is an ethnic/racial minority is cast as a lead role, their co-star will usually not be an ethnic minority. In the movie Hitch where Will Smith was cast as the main male lead, and Eva Mendes was cast as the female lead was a deliberate decision. [26] A black or white woman was not cast in the role, as Will Smith believed that a black couple would have put off audiences worldwide while a interracial couple with a black male lead and white female lead would have offended viewers in the U.S.[26] Casting Eva Mendes was seen as a solution because a Latina female lead and a black male lead was not considered taboo in the U.S.[26] We see this type of casting with many different chick-flicks such as Upgraded (2024) having a Latina female lead and an English male lead. This is an ongoing issue that raises questions about racism and issues of ethnic minority inclusion in the film industry, with much progressing needing to be made in showcases people from ethnic minorities and displating LGBTQ+ relationships.[27]
Examples
[edit]
The following films have been characterized as chick flicks by some commentators:
See also
[edit]
Film portal
Chick lit
Feminist film theory
Female buddy film
"Love means never having to say you're sorry"
Women in film
Women's cinema
Woman's film
October 3
References
[edit]
Notes
Bibliography | ||||
5444 | dbpedia | 2 | 54 | https://www.newyorker.com/books/joshua-rothman/gone-girl-really | en | What “Gone Girl” Is Really About | [
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] | 2014-10-08T12:45:19-04:00 | “Gone Girl” exposes the irrational side of our fear of coupledom. | en | https://www.newyorker.com/verso/static/the-new-yorker/assets/favicon.ico | The New Yorker | https://www.newyorker.com/books/joshua-rothman/gone-girl-really | According to Anthony Lane, there are approximately “twenty-one people” who haven’t read Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl.” I’m one of them. This past weekend, when I saw the movie, I liked it so much that I felt sad about missing out on the book when it was published, two years ago. At the same time, “Gone Girl” seemed like one of those experiences to which the “cultural uncertainty principle” applies: you can read the book or you can see the movie, but you can’t fully embrace both versions, because they’ll occupy the same brain-space, obscuring one another. Basically, you have to choose an experience. The upside of my choice is that I enjoyed Fincher’s film on its own terms, in all its abstract, intellectual, postmodern glory.
The book version of “Gone Girl,” so I’ve heard, is a crime novel: an absorbing, ingenious thriller in which, halfway through, a big twist upends everything. (Spoiler alert: I plan to discuss that twist below.) Among the book’s many virtues, I’m told, is its concreteness. It’s not that the book is plausible, exactly, but that it’s full of texture and detail, both forensic and psychological. The events in the book make sense; the voices, thoughts, and actions of Nick and Amy seem like they could belong to real people.
None of that is true of David Fincher’s “Gone Girl.” Gillian Flynn may have written the screenplay, but the film is not interested in being convincing as a crime story. The movie crosses the thin line that divides genre fiction from postmodern fiction; it is decisively unreal, in the manner of “Fight Club”—a movie in which the actual and the symbolic occupied the same slice of reality. Its characters are ciphers, its setting is perfunctory, and its violence is stylized. “Gone Girl” is what the critic Ted Gioia calls a “postmodern mystery”: it lets us luxuriate in the “reassuring heritage” of the traditional mystery, which feels like it’s building toward a tidy solution, even while we enjoy “the fun of toppling it over and watching the pieces fall where they may.”
As in many postmodern narratives, the heroes and villains in Fincher’s “Gone Girl” aren’t people but stories. We hope that the familiar, reassuring ones will win out (they don’t). In fact, the film is so self-aware that none of the stories it tells can be taken at face value. As my colleague Richard Brody has written, the movie’s drama and characters have been streamlined so as to reveal their “underlying mythic power.” But “Gone Girl” is also anti-myth. When Amy (Rosamund Pike) says, of her plot against her husband, Nick (Ben Affleck), “That’s marriage,” you’re not supposed to believe her. If the myth of the perfect marriage is poisonous, then so is the myth of the continual “war of the sexes.” The question the movie asks is: Are there any stories that we can tell ourselves about marriage that ring true?
If that question sounds familiar, that’s because, in some ways, with “Gone Girl,” Fincher has returned to the structures of “Fight Club,” substituting a married couple for Tyler Durden and his gaggle of disenchanted bros. In both stories, the characters rebel against the unbearable myth of attainable perfection, substituting for it an alternative one of transcendent, authentic, freedom-giving destruction. “Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need,” Tyler Durden says. “We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars, but we won’t.” Durden’s response to his disillusionment with contemporary masculinity is to embrace a seductive, violent, and supposedly more genuine idea of “real” manliness—but that alternative turns out to be a disastrous illusion. In “Gone Girl,” it’s the mythos of coupledom, not the mythos of masculinity, that’s oppressive. But the imagined solution is the same: “We’re so cute I want to punch us in the face,” Amy says.
“Gone Girl,” in a sense, is “Fight Club” squared. To explore the positive and negative sides of the manliness myth, Fincher had only to propose a single character, a man with a “disassociated” personality (Brad Pitt’s enraged Tyler Durden is the alter ego of Edward Norton’s unnamed, milquetoast protagonist). “Gone Girl” demands two bifurcated people, each of whom must play both the victim and the aggressor. And the mythos of coupledom is more complex and troubled than the mythos of manliness. Even back in 1999, when “Fight Club” came out, there was something trumped-up and artificial about the idea that men were experiencing a crisis of masculine disenchantment. (The urgency of that crisis, if it did exist, certainly seems to have faded.) Coupledom, on the other hand, is and remains genuinely fraught territory. While our cultural imagination no longer fixates on the Great War or the Western frontier, the idea of the perfect couple (and, especially, the perfect wife) is still alive and well.
“Gone Girl” is fascinating because it gets at what is unsettling about coupledom: our suspicion that, in some fundamental sense, it necessarily entails victimization. Just as “Fight Club” showed that manliness and violence were imaginatively inseparable, “Gone Girl” raises the possibility that marriage and victimhood are inseparable, too. In real life, this is a widespread suspicion, sometimes justified, sometimes not. We’re more aware than ever of the prevalence of hidden domestic abuse; we’re cognizant of the widespread unfairness of the economic arrangements between men and women. We understand that marriages that look respectable can also hide a lot. At the same time, our concepts of masculinity and femininity—and of personhood, success, and freedom—have grown less compatible with the compromises of coupled life. The men’s and women’s magazines for which Nick and Amy worked tell us that our ideal selves are urban, maximally attractive, and maximally single, with absolute career freedom, no children, and plenty of time for the gym. To be in a couple, in short, is to be in a power relationship. And in power relationships, there are always winners and losers.
“Gone Girl” is especially good because it digs beneath these more-or-less legitimate concerns, exposing the irrational side of our fear of coupledom. In real life, as in the film, the tabloid media can’t wait to describe the home of every perfect couple as a lurid crime scene, haunted by cruelty, infidelity, and wickedness. “Gone Girl”—spoiler alert!—pulls the curtain back on the Victorian fears that drive those tabloid suspicions. When Amy is kidnapped by Desi Collings (Neil Patrick Harris), her wealthy ex-boyfriend, and locked up in his castle-like lake house, we get an old-style Gothic plot of female imprisonment. When it’s revealed that Amy has framed Nick, we get a classic tale about a manipulative, wicked woman who traps a hapless man in her web. These archetypal, gendered fantasy stories, the film suggests, contribute just as much to our suspicions about coupled life as our supposedly modern concerns about, say, work-life balance. Fincher’s “Gone Girl,” in its best scenes, travels all the way down into the id, revealing these inherited fears in sexy, bloody, sensational detail.
There’s a reason, of course, why the first rule of Fight Club is not to talk about Fight Club. It’s that the lurid core of our imaginative lives is best kept secret. When you see your dark fantasies realized in the light of day, there’s something absurd about them. And there’s something shameful, too: it becomes obvious that they’re rooted, to some degree, in narcissism. To be the victim of a manipulative madwoman, or to be abducted into a Gothic lair, is to suffer, but it’s also to be special, a hero or a heroine in your own way. That’s partly why we’re fascinated with stories of victimhood—and why, especially in tabloid, cable-news culture, we endow victims with specialness, sanctity, and celebrity. “Gone Girl” asks whether genuine expressions of sympathy or solidarity with victims can ever happen without being infected by the politicized, media-enabled “cult of victimhood.” But it also digs a tunnel from that “cult” to our suspicions about marriage. Ordinarily, our concerns about the unfair compromises of married life seem entirely separate from our unseemly fascination with lurid, violent, Gothic victimization. But, in “Gone Girl,” those two imaginative mindsets are shown to be connected, perhaps even identical. Modern gender politics and Gothic fear are mixed together.
“Gone Girl” is a fantasy, of course, and it takes place in a dream world, not reality. Leaving the theatre, you have to ask yourself how connected these ideas are in real life. And you can’t miss the fact that, fundamentally, “Gone Girl” is a farce. There is no real crime or horror in the Dunne household. Amy and Nick hurt one another, but in unexceptional ways; Nick’s affair with a sexy student—Emily Ratajkowski, of the “Blurred Lines” music video—is played for comedy. In fact, it’s the creation of a heightened atmosphere of suspicion around those banal “crimes” that leads, eventually, to the real ones. Maybe “Gone Girl” is just playing around—making up, rather than finding, connections within our imaginative lives.
The same sort of question could be asked about “Fight Club,” too: Do young men really think that growing comfortable with violence is the only way to make sense of themselves? Surely that movie overstates things—but that doesn’t mean it isn’t onto something. Should “Gone Girl” convince you that our contemporary skepticism about marriage is rooted, ultimately, in our lurid, misguided, communal fantasy life? No. That said, sometimes you need a big pair of pliers to turn a tiny bolt. “Gone Girl” has resonated for a reason. It has found a creepy, confused, and troubling part of us, and expressed it. | ||||
5444 | dbpedia | 2 | 9 | https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-movies/ | en | AFI’s 100 YEARS…100 MOVIES | [
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You can adjust all of your cookie settings by navigating the tabs on the left hand side. | ||||
5444 | dbpedia | 2 | 8 | https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/g3243/best-romantic-comedy-movies/ | en | 60 Best Romantic Comedies (Rom | [
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] | 2018-01-02T15:00:00 | Nothing beats these hilarious love stories. See our picks of the best romantic comedies (Rom-Coms) of all time and get ready to marathon these classics. | en | /_assets/design-tokens/goodhousekeeping/static/images/favicon.8e97a02.ico | Good Housekeeping | https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/g3243/best-romantic-comedy-movies/ | The meet-cute where sparks fly for the first time. The silly-sweet hijinks that show they're perfect for each other. The first time they kiss and that moment when it looks like everything won't work out after all. And oh, the endings! When many of us want to lose ourselves in romantic movies, we reach for a romantic comedy. They're the perfect blend of funny and heartstring-tugging; perfect for soothing a broken heart after a breakup, reminding the long-coupled how much they love love or just for a relaxing, low-stress movie night. Thanks to streaming services, we can enjoy decades of our favorites at the click of a button (check out these romantic comedies on Netflix for starters, if that's one of your platforms of choice).
When it comes to finding the best romantic comedies of all time, there's almost too much to choose from. Come on, how do you pick between "you-had-me-at-hello" and "I want the rest of my life to start as soon as possible?" The only solution is to watch them both, and then queue up some more after that. Here are a few of our favorite sexy, screwball, sci-fi and even superhero romance stories that prove love is alive and well. And you'll find all types of love here, including the most romantic LGBTQ+ movies ever. | ||||
5444 | dbpedia | 1 | 3 | https://boords.com/blog/100-movie-genres-the-definitive-list-with-examples | en | 100+ Movie Genres. The Definitive List, with Examples | [
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] | null | [] | 2024-01-19T00:00:00 | Understanding film genres is important when discussing film theory and helps you compare genre elements and the work of filmmakers when critically analyzing movies. | boords.com | https://boords.com/blog/100-movie-genres-the-definitive-list-with-examples | What are movie genres?
The big genre list: an overview of movie genres and subgenres
Movie genres have evolved alongside the movie industry itself. In the early days of Hollywood filmmaking, the limited number of movie genres had distinct and clear definitions. It was easy to categorize releases based on their subject and style into specific movie genres.
Today, movie genres are more numerous and less rigid, with the emergence of hybrid and crossover movies. Filmmakers experiment with genre theory and play with audience expectations to tell stories in innovative ways.
Understanding movie genres is crucial in discussing movie theory and aids in comparing genre elements and the work of filmmakers during critical analysis of movies. We'll provide you with an introduction to movie genres and explain their significance before delving into a comprehensive list of movie genres, including important subgenres.
What are movie genres?
Film genres categorize a film based on content and style. They address what story is being told and how it's being told, impacting several elements:
Setting: Where does the story take place?
Characters: Who is the main character or ensemble of main characters, and which antagonists do they face?
Plot: What is happening in the story? Do the heroes go on a quest, or does the main character solve a crime, riddle, or mystery?
Theme: What is the underlying universal theme of the story, for example, forgiveness, love, death, or friendship?
Mood and tone: Is it dark or light-hearted, gloomy, mysterious, or inspiring?
Narration: Are there typical narrative techniques, such as voice-over narration, on-screen titles, excessive flashbacks, or a non-linear storyline?
Movies often blend genres, creating mixed or hybrid styles. The primary genre indicates the movie's main classification, while subgenres provide more specific distinctions or combine elements of different genres, like an action-thriller.
For example, a science-fiction thriller with horror elements in the style of a heist movie suggests a Sci-Fi setting, thriller-like suspense, horror-like shock, and a plot involving a specialized team executing a task. Such classifications help in understanding the movie's narrative style and thematic focus.
Why categorize movies into genres?
While a personal approach to sorting movies might be as simple as those seen and those yet to see, or liked versus disliked, this binary method overlooks many defining aspects of movies. Categorizing movies into genres provides a basic characterization and helps group similar movies together. This organization into basic film genres aids in navigating the vast landscape of cinema, offering a starting point for exploring different styles, themes, and storytelling techniques.
Movie genres aid viewers in discovering new films, particularly through browsing on streaming platforms. Critics utilize genres to compare movies and assess artistic elements like cinematography within genre contexts. Additionally, genres and subgenres enable broader discussions about the history and theory of moviemaking, enriching our understanding and appreciation of films.
Basic movie genres
From Hollywood's inception and the dawn of cinema, certain foundational genres have shaped the film industry. These film genres, originally rooted in live-action filmmaking, set the stage for storytelling through motion pictures. With the advent of advanced special effects and animation technology, new genres like animation emerged, expanding the cinematic landscape.
Action
Comedy
Documentary
Drama
Fantasy
Horror
Musical
Mystery
Romance
Science Fiction
Thriller
Western
The big genre list: an overview of movie genres and subgenres
We've organized our movie genre list into a tree structure with major movie genres as branches, from which the subgenres branch off further. We'll walk you through each genre, highlighting their key features, must-watch titles, and standout filmmakers.
Action
The action genre is all about excitement: think edge-of-your-seat chases, explosive stunts, and nail-biting danger. It's a realm where movies are defined by their high-energy scenes, often branching into subgenres like martial arts or military adventures.
Known for their big budgets, action films are where you'll find jaw-dropping explosions and intricate stunts. Directors like James Cameron, known for hits like "Terminator," along with John Woo, Michael Mann, Kathryn Bigelow, and Michael Bay, have mastered this thrilling genre.
In action cinema, there's always more to explore with its various subgenres and hybrids, each offering a unique flavor of adrenaline-pumping excitement. The action genre continues to evolve, consistently captivating audiences with its dynamic blend of spectacle and storytelling.
The action genre comprises several subgenres and hybrid genres:
Adventure: Indiana Jones franchise, Jurassic Park franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, The Lost City of Z, Hard Boiled
Disaster: Moonfall, The Day After Tomorrow, Dante’s Peak, Deep Impact, Armageddon
Martial Arts: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Triple Threat, 47 Ronin, Romeo Must Die, Jackie Chan movies
Military Action: American Sniper, 12 Strong, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
Spy and Espionage: James Bond franchise
Superhero: Marvel universe, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman franchises
Video game movies: Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Doom, Resident Evil
Action comedy (including Buddy movie): Jungle Cruise, The Lost City, Bad Boys
Action crime: The Gentlemen, No Sudden Move, Den of Thieves
Action drama: Training Day, Collateral, The American
Action-horror: Peninsula, The Predator, Till Death, Underwater, Jaws
Action thriller: The Accountant, Drive, Jack Reacher
Animation
Animation is a diverse movie genre, where the magic lies in bringing inanimate objects to life through various techniques, each forming a unique subgenre.
CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery): Dominating modern animation, CGI creates vibrant worlds through advanced computer rendering. These films, often significant in production time and cost, include classics like the Toy Story franchise, The Lego Movie, Wall-E, Ratatouille, Shrek, Frozen, Coco, and Luca.
Claymation and Stop Motion: This technique breathes life into objects through frame-by-frame adjustment in still photography. Claymation, a subset, uses clay-crafted characters and settings. Notable films include Chicken Run, Early Man, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Isle of Dogs, and The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Cutout Animation: Once relying on physical cutouts, this style now often blends with CGI. Its distinct look is showcased in films like South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut and The Beatles - Yellow Submarine.
Traditional Drawn Animation: This classic style features hand-drawn frames and painted backgrounds, exemplified by early Disney films like Fantasia and Beauty and the Beast, as well as Studio Ghibli's My Neighbor Totoro and Persepolis.
Live-Action Hybrid: These films mix real actors with animated elements, creating a unique crossover. Examples include Waltz with Bashir, Space Jam, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, The Mask, Casper, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, the 1978 animated The Lord of the Rings, Waking Life, and A Scanner Darkly.
Puppet Animation: Utilizing various puppetry forms, from marionettes to shadow puppets, this subgenre includes films like Eraserhead, Labyrinth, Street of Crocodiles, The Muppet Christmas Carol, and Team America: World Police.
Comedy
The comedy genre, with its wide range of humor, from simple dad jokes to sophisticated satire and dark wit, is one of the most versatile film genres. The comedy genre is a playground for creativity, offering filmmakers the flexibility to blend humor with other themes and styles.
Black or Dark Comedy: This subgenre tackles taboo topics like death or tragedy with humor. Examples of dark comedy movies include Dr. Strangelove, In Bruges, Parasite, and Fargo.
Buddy Comedy: Here, the comedy arises from the dynamics between two or more characters, whether they share a deep friendship or a love-hate relationship. It can blend with action or the Hangout genre, as seen in Dumb and Dumber and The Hangover.
Hangout Movies: These films focus on a group of characters whose interactions bring the laughs. They become almost like friends to the audience Examples include The Big Lebowski, Clerks, and The Breakfast Club.
Parody and Spoof: Parodies mock specific films, like Spaceballs does with Star Wars, while spoofs target entire movie genres, such as The Naked Gun with police movies and Scary Movie with the horror genre.
Prank Movies: These involve putting people in unexpected, often outrageous situations, typically without their knowledge. Borat and the Jackass series are key examples of prank comedy movies.
Satire: Satire humorously criticizes broader concepts or institutions, often through exaggeration. Examples include Natural Born Killers and Monty Python's Life of Brian, with mockumentaries like This is Spinal Tap using a documentary format for humor.
Slapstick Comedy: Originating in vaudeville, slapstick comedy relies on physical humor and gags, demonstrated by classics like Charlie Chaplin and The Three Stooges, and modern films like Ace Ventura and Home Alone.
Screwball Comedy: Evolving from slapstick, this romantic comedy subgenre often features a strong, quirky female lead challenging a male protagonist. Classic examples include It Happened One Night and The Philadelphia Story, with modern takes evident in films like She's Funny That Way.
Crime
The crime movie genre delves into the world of criminal activities, legal battles, and moral complexities. It explores themes from the classic good vs. evil to the gray areas of morality, often making heroes out of underdogs or even the 'bad guys' in gangster films.
Cop Movies: These focus on police protagonists, sometimes paired with partners, blending with buddy films. They can be action-packed or comedic, like Beverly Hills Cop and Lethal Weapon.
Crime Drama: This subgenre centers on legal proceedings and courtroom battles, often with a mix of detective work. Key examples include A Few Good Men and Erin Brockovich, where the climax often hinges on a pivotal court decision.
Crime Thriller: Combining crime with the intensity of a thriller, this subgenre can have psychological twists or action-packed revenge plots, as seen in John Wick and The Equalizer.
Detective and Whodunnit: Centered around an investigation, these films often feature an unlikely hero uncovering mysteries. Classics like L.A. Confidential and The Silence of the Lambs fall into this category, offering either a hidden perpetrator or a crime followed by an investigation.
Gangster Films: Focusing on organized crime, these movies showcase the life of gangs or the efforts to bring them down. Examples include GoodFellas and The Departed.
Hardboiled: A specific type of detective film, often set in the film noir era, featuring a cynical detective. Films like The Maltese Falcon and Chinatown exemplify this style.
Heist and Caper: These films revolve around elaborate plans like heists or prison breaks, blending humor and seriousness. They feature masterminds and complex plots, as seen in Ocean's Eleven and The Sting.
Documentary
Documentaries are the non-fiction storytellers of cinema, educating and informing through real-life events and facts. As a movie genre, they come in various styles and subgenres, each offering a unique perspective on the world.
Expository Documentary: These straightforward documentaries present information directly, often narrated, combining historical footage with modern interviews and expert insights. Notable examples include The Blue Planet, March of the Penguins, and An Inconvenient Truth.
Observational Documentary: Focusing on close, unobtrusive observation, these films offer a firsthand look at their subjects with minimal commentary. Examples are Hoop Dreams and The Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun.
Poetic Documentary: More abstract, these films are like visual essays, expressing feelings and ideas through creative compositions. Films like Koyaanisqatsi and Voyage of Time fit this style.
Participatory Documentary: The filmmaker plays a role in the narrative, either through commentary or direct involvement. Michael Moore's works exemplify this style, as do films like Free Solo and Paris Is Burning.
Reflexive Documentary: These are personal investigations, often focusing on the filmmaker's discovery of the subject. Examples include Man with a Movie Camera and Biggie & Tupac.
Performative Documentary: Similar to participatory, these focus on subjective experiences and emotional responses, as seen in Bowling for Columbine and The Thin Blue Line.
Drama
Dramas, known for their deep exploration of conflict and emotions, truly shine in the drama genre, offering a vivid reflection of human experiences and complexities. They bring to life pivotal moments with a focus on authenticity and human nature, rather than relying on sensational action.
Docudrama: Merging drama with documentary, these films recreate real events with accuracy, like Sully and 127 Hours, providing a factual yet dramatic portrayal.
Melodrama: Aiming to evoke intense emotions, melodramas often place narrative above character development, and are known for their moral narratives, as seen in The Fault in Our Stars and Life is Beautiful.
Teen Drama: These films focus on the trials and tribulations of teenage life, capturing the essence of growing up, with examples like Virgin Suicides and Mid90s.
Medical Drama: Set in the world of healthcare, these dramas explore the lives, conflicts, and ethical dilemmas of medical professionals, as showcased in Bringing Out The Dead.
Legal Drama: Revolving around the legal arena, these dramas delve into the interactions and challenges within the legal system, with films like The Practice and The Firm.
Religious Drama: Tackling themes and conflicts arising from religion or supernatural events, these films often delve into deeper philosophical and spiritual issues, as seen in Silence and The Passion of the Christ.
Sports Drama: Centered on athletes, coaches, or teams, these films explore the dramatic world of sports and the personal struggles of those involved, with movies like Creed and The Blind Side.
Political Drama: Set against the backdrop of political intrigue, these dramas explore the lives and challenges of politicians, elections, and diplomacy, with films like Primary Colors and Argo.
Anthropological Drama: Focusing on human behavior and societal interactions, these films draw drama from real-life social dynamics, as depicted in City of God and In A Savage Land.
Philosophical Drama: Delving into existential themes and the human condition, these films tackle profound philosophical questions, as seen in The Fountain and Waking Life.
Fantasy
The fantasy genre, with its boundless imagination, stands out in the cinematic world. It brings to life the incredible, featuring fictional universes, magical elements, and mythical beings. This genre is a canvas for the extraordinary, where anything is possible, and the fantasy genre continually captivates audiences with its unique blend of escapism and wonder.
Contemporary and Urban Fantasy: This subgenre blends fantasy with modern settings. Urban fantasy specifically focuses on cities, often with supernatural beings like vampires or werewolves. Films like Meet Joe Black, Interview With The Vampire, and Ghostbusters are prime examples.
Epic Fantasy: Also known as high fantasy, this subgenre immerses viewers in fully-realized worlds, complete with rich lore and fantastical creatures. Examples include Harry Potter, The Lord Of The Rings, and Avatar.
Fairy Tale: These films range from traditional fairy tales to modern adaptations with magical elements and often a 'happily ever after' ending, such as The Princess Bride, Mary Poppins, and Cinderella.
Dark Fantasy: Combining real-world settings with menacing fantasy elements, this subgenre of the fantasy genre includes films like Pan's Labyrinth and A Monster Calls, where reality meets the hauntingly fantastical.
History
Among movie genres, the historical genre stands out for its blend of truth and fiction, taking viewers back in time to real or accurately depicted settings and eras.
Historical Film: These films can span various styles, from drama to action or romance. They often center around significant historical events, periods, or figures, providing context and storytelling that may not always be entirely factual. Examples include Apollo 13, Lincoln, Ben-Hur, and Titanic.
Period Film: Similar to historical films but without the reliance on real-life characters, period dramas focus on specific time periods, prioritizing accurate depiction over factual narratives. Films like The Age of Innocence and Little Women are quintessential period films.
Alternate History: This subgenre creatively reimagines historical events, offering speculative twists on crucial moments in history. It can merge elements of fantasy and science fiction, as seen in Inglourious Basterds and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
Biography (Biopic): Biopics tell the life story or a significant part of a historical figure, often dramatizing events for cinematic effect. While they aim to be informative, they sometimes take liberties with historical accuracy. Notable biopics include A Beautiful Mind, The Social Network, and Bohemian Rhapsody.
Horror
Within the diverse array of movie genres, the horror genre uniquely captivates with its blend of terrifying events, creatures, and stories. Horror films continually evolve, with filmmakers exploring new ways to unsettle and frighten audiences, pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved in this spine-chilling genre.
Ghost: In horror films featuring ghosts, spirits return from the afterlife to haunt, as seen in The Others, The Frighteners, and The Sixth Sense.
Zombie: Horror movies about zombies bring apocalyptic scenarios to life, with classics like Night Of The Living Dead, 28 Days Later, and the humorous take in Zombieland.
Werewolf: The transformation under the moonlight leads to thrilling werewolf tales in The Wolfman, American Werewolf, and Underworld.
Vampire: Long-fanged nocturnal creatures are central in vampire horror films, from the eerie Nosferatu to the comedic What We Do in the Shadows.
Monster: A category of horror movie for all other terrifying creatures, with movies like The Thing, Alien, and Chucky.
Slasher: A horror genre staple, featuring antagonists who terrorize communities, as seen in Psycho, Scream, and Halloween.
Splatter and Gore: Emphasizing the gruesome and bloody, films like Braindead and Hellraiser have defined this subgenre.
Body Horror: This type of horror movie concentrates on the grotesque aspects of the human body, offering unique frights in films like The Fly and The Human Centipede.
Folk Horror: Often set in rural areas, these films explore unknown terrors, with Children Of The Corn and Midsommar as examples.
Occult: Delving into hidden and paranormal horrors, this subgenre of the horror genre includes The Exorcist, Hereditary, and Rosemary's Baby.
Found Footage: Creating an illusion of reality, films like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity use supposedly 'recovered' footage to enhance their scares.
Outbreak: Exploring global pandemics and diseases, movies like The Stand and Contagion tap into widespread fears of contagion and collapse.
Music Film and Musical
Musicals stand out for their unique blend of storytelling, song, and dance. When characters spontaneously burst into song, often accompanied by a chorus and elaborate dance numbers, you're watching a musical film. This movie genre ranges from adaptations of beloved Broadway shows to original creations filled with dazzling choreography and special effects. The music in these films isn't just for show; it's woven into the narrative, offering deeper insights into the characters, each with their own signature songs.
The genre's diversity is evident in its rich history, with classics like My Fair Lady and The Wizard of Oz, cult favorites like Rocky Horror Picture Show, timeless treasures like The Sound of Music, and modern hits including In The Heights, Mamma Mia!, Grease, Les Miserables, Chicago, and La La Land. Other notable examples span various approaches, such as Moonwalker, 8 Women, Pitch Perfect, The Muppets, and Sing Street.
Romance
The romance genre is particularly notable for exploring love, relationships, intimacy, and deep connections. Often intertwining with drama and comedy, romance movies are fundamentally about lovers, passion, and the journey of relationships. This movie genre, with its wide emotional spectrum and universal themes, continues to enchant and resonate with audiences worldwide.
Historical Romance: These films, set in distinct time periods, showcase how historical contexts influence the pursuit of love and relationships. Classics like Gone with the Wind, Titanic, and Doctor Zhivago exemplify this subgenre.
Regency Romance: A subset of historical romance set during the British Regency or the early 19th century, often focusing on the upper class. These films are known for their luxurious settings, elaborate costumes, and eloquent language, as seen in Emma, Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey.
Romantic Drama: Diving deeper into the complexities of relationships, the romantic drama explores themes of loss, separation, and infidelity, with films like Casablanca, The English Patient, and Marriage Story.
Romantic Comedy: Perhaps the most popular subgenre of the romance genre, the romantic comedy blends humor with heartwarming narratives, often leading to a happily ever after. Films like Some Like It Hot, Love Actually, and Notting Hill are beloved examples.
Chick Flick: While often marketed towards women, these romance movies have a broad appeal, characterized by dreamy narratives and emotional depth. Titles like Pretty Woman, Romeo + Juliet, and The Notebook are perfect for a night in with ice cream and tissues.
Fantasy Romance: Combining elements of fantasy with love stories, this subgenre sets epic romances against a backdrop of fantastical worlds, as seen in The Twilight Saga, Warm Bodies, and I Am Dragon.
Science Fiction
Science fiction, often shortened to Sci-Fi, is a film genre that has long fascinated viewers with its explorations of space, the speculative, and the future. Sci-fi movies delve into themes like advanced technology, artificial intelligence, outer space exploration, time travel, and alien life, often examining humanity's role in the universe.
Space Opera or Epic Sci-Fi: This subgenre of science fiction combines elements of comedy, romance, adventure, and space exploration, seen in epic sagas like Star Wars, The Fifth Element, and Dune.
Utopia: These films explore seemingly perfect societies that often hide darker truths or dystopian elements, prompting a need for change or revolution. Utopian sci-fi movies include Gattaca, Tomorrowland, and The Truman Show.
Dystopia: The flip side of utopia, dystopian films depict societies marked by struggle, oppression, and bleak futures, featuring centralized governments or AI dominance. Notable films include Blade Runner, The Matrix, and Mad Max.
Contemporary Sci-Fi: Set in the present or near future, this subgenre introduces a major science fiction element, like a groundbreaking scientific discovery or alien contact, into a familiar setting. Films such as Arrival and Ex Machina are prime examples.
Cyberpunk: This science fiction subgenre paints a picture of a high-tech, often grim future with themes of cybernetics, virtual reality, and AI, seen in Blade Runner 2049 and Minority Report.
Steampunk: A unique twist on cyberpunk, steampunk is set in the world of the 19th century, blending steam-powered technology with futuristic concepts, as seen in Howl's Moving Castle and Mortal Engines.
Thriller
Thrillers are a diverse and engaging movie genre, captivating audiences with suspense, heightened emotions, and a sense of imminent danger. The thriller genre is all about the thrill of the chase, the tension of the unknown, and characters facing off against formidable opponents, whether they are concrete or abstract. The thriller genre excels in keeping viewers on the edge of their seats, often blending with other genres, leading to exciting hybrids like action-thrillers, adventure-thrillers, or fantasy-thrillers.
Psychological Thriller: Here, the focus is on the mental and emotional states of the characters. These films often involve mysterious circumstances, paranoia, and extreme actions, sometimes leading to murder. Films like Vertigo, Gone Girl, and Shutter Island are exemplary of this subgenre.
Mystery: Often centered around a crime or murder, mystery thrillers engage the audience in a quest for answers, without necessarily involving law enforcement. These films, like Knives Out and Memento, keep viewers on the edge of their seats, eager to unravel the mystery.
Film Noir: Characterized by its style as much as its content, film noir emerged in the 1940s and 1950s. These black-and-white films feature crime, moral ambiguity, stark lighting contrasts, narrative monologues, and femme fatales. Classics include Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard. Neo-noir, a modern iteration, maintains the style of film noir but adds complexity and modern elements, as seen in Pulp Fiction and Taxi Driver.
War
War movies, as a movie genre, are known for their depiction of large-scale conflicts and the realities of war, making the battlefield itself a central character or theme. These films often intersect with other genres like military action, historical drama, science fiction, and even the thriller genre, offering diverse storytelling perspectives and heightened emotional stakes. Action films, in particular, frequently draw inspiration from war movies, incorporating intense battle scenes and high-stakes scenarios.
Movies like 1917 and Dunkirk immerse viewers in the intensity of war, while Platoon and All Quiet On The Western Front explore the deeper aspects of conflict. The Thin Red Line and Pearl Harbor blend historical drama with the raw emotions of war. Films like Full Metal Jacket and Jarhead provide a closer look at the life of soldiers, and 300 showcases a blend of war with fantasy elements. Each of these films contributes to the rich and varied tapestry of the war movie genre, offering insights into the complexities and human experiences within the context of war.
Western
Among the various film genres, the Western genre stands out with its distinct setting and time period, primarily focusing on the American West during the 19th century. This film genre is rich with elements like horse riding, cattle farming, military expansion, encounters with Native Americans, settlers' stories, railway construction, and, of course, the iconic gunfights and duels.
Classic Western movies like The Searchers, Stagecoach, and Red River showcase these elements beautifully. The Western genre often features outlaws and criminals, matched by marshals, lawmen, or bounty hunters, and is ripe with revenge plots and stories highlighting righteous protagonists. Revisionist Westerns aim to reinterpret the traditional narratives of the genre.
Spaghetti Westerns, so named for their Italian filmmaking roots or production in Italy, hold a special place in the Western genre. Some of the most acclaimed Westerns belong to this category, including Django, A Fistful of Dollars, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Modern Western movies bring fresh perspectives and filmmaking techniques to this historical Hollywood genre, revitalizing it with new storytelling methods while honoring its rich legacy. Films like Unforgiven, Dances with Wolves, and Django Unchained, along with No Country For Old Men and The Hateful Eight, demonstrate how the Western continues to evolve and captivate audiences. | ||||||
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] | 2021-09-27T10:00:00+01:00 | With the youngest female billionaires, activists and entrepreneurs making waves, it is high time we take a look at the most inspirational women of the 21st century. | en | /sites/default/files/favicon.ico | The Motivational Speakers Agency | https://motivationalspeakersagency.co.uk/news/women-who-are-changing-the-world | Meet the women who helped create a thriving society where equality prevails. Inspirational women of today are going further, doing more, breaking through barriers and giving people courage. Women may only occupy 0.5% of history books, according to Dr Nina Ansary, but the outstanding women in this list are transforming our futures.
Here at The Motivational Speakers Agency, we have assembled a list of great women from a wide range of industries, who have broken glass ceilings and motivated many - taking inspiration from the exclusive selection of the 15 Official Best Motivational Speakers to Hire in the UK. Many of these women are also established and impactful public speakers, who tour the world to share their important message of female empowerment. If you want to book any of the fantastic female speakers featured in this post, head to our contact section and get in touch today!
In no particular order, here are 50 of the most inspirational women of the 21st century who are changing the world today.
1. Malala Yousafzai
“I tell my story not because it is unique, but because it is the story of many girls.”
Malala Yousafzai is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate the world has ever seen. This incredible woman overcame an assassination attempt by the Taliban in occupied Pakistan at the age of fifteen, to campaign for women’s rights and children’s rights to an education.
To advocate in an area where the Taliban pose a serious threat makes her a contemporary heroine. Yousafzai has fought life and limb for what she believes in.
2. Karren Brady
“As long as you like yourself, as long as your family like you, as long as you are good at what you do, your staff respect you, and your board have trust in you, that's what is important.”
Known as the first lady of football, Karren Brady has worked in the beautiful game for over 20 years. Joining Birmingham City as their Managing Director in 1993, she encountered a devastating amount of sexism during her time in the role, something she often discusses at her speaking events.
A strong campaigner for women in business, Brady can discuss this topic which is close to her heart, encouraging women to pursue a business career.
3. Phoebe Schecter
"I never really thought of myself as being the ‘only female’. I think we really need to remove that mindset from the situation because otherwise, we're always going to be singling ourselves out. Mentally, that can play mind games with you."
Britain's first female NFL coach, Phoebe Schecter, is an inspiring sportswoman. She joined the Buffalo Bills as their Coaching Intern, before being appointed the Tight Ends Coach for the successful American Football team. Continuing her incredibly successful career, Phoebe was later named the Community & Grassroots Project Manager for NFL UK.
From such influential positions, Phoebe has changed the face of American Football. She continues to inspire budding female coaches across the globe, proving that a male-dominated environment is just lacking female influence.
4. Michelle Obama
“Friendships between women, as any woman will tell you, are built of a thousand small kindnesses... swapped back and forth and over again.”
American lawyer and writer, Michelle Obama, became a source of inspiration to millions in the US when she became the first African American First Lady of the United States in 2009, during Barack Obama’s eight-year presidential reign.
Her impact was felt so strongly that she has become a role model for women across the globe, and a leading advocate for health, wellbeing and education.
5. Indra Nooyi
“If you don’t give people a chance to fail, you won’t innovate. If you want to be an innovative company allow people to make mistakes.”
The Board Director of Amazon and a regular keynote speaker at World Economic Forums, Indra Nooyi has earned a spot on the Forbes list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women.
Knowledgeable, experienced and a top-level Director, she is a must-have authority at international conventions.
6. Melinda Gates
“All women, everywhere, have the same hopes: we want to be self-sufficient and create better lives for ourselves and our loved ones.”
American philanthropist and wife of Microsoft owner, Bill Gates, Melinda Gates has become one of the most powerful women in the world, due to her efforts to support areas of society in desperate need of help or remodelling.
Together with Bill Gates, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama for their extraordinary efforts.
7. Madonna
“I am because we are. We all bleed the same color. We all want to love and be loved.”
Madonna is known as the Queen of Pop. She has broken records in the music industry on her way to becoming one of the most powerful women on the planet. Her sheer drive and unprecedented success have seen her lauded as “America’s smartest businesswoman” and one of the biggest influences on contemporary pop music.
As a result, Madonna is a true tour-de-force of the entertainment industry. Not only that, but Madonna is also an international ambassador for feminism, freedom and equality.
8. Angela Merkel
“When it comes to human dignity, we cannot make compromises.”
The Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel remains one of the foremost figureheads in global politics. An expert in a range of fields, Merkel is often described as the 'most powerful woman in the world'.
The longest-serving leader in the European Union and one of the most inspirational female speakers in the world, Merkel's influence is indisputable.
9. Joanna Lumley
“I've looked forward to being older because you will have that many more miles covered. We mustn't be led into thinking getting old is bad. Growing old is good.”
Joanna Lumley's role as Patsy Stone in hit British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous endeared her to television viewers across the country.
Her true-to-life, rebellious yet charming attitude may have made her a television star, but it is her work as a human rights activist, not least during the Gurkha Justice Campaign, that has earned her a place on this list, and more importantly a charming status as the 'Daughter of Nepal'.
10. Emma Gonzalez
“We are going to be the kids you read about in textbooks. Not because we're going to be another statistic about mass shooting in America, but because, just as David said, we are going to be the last mass shooting.”
When her school was invaded by a gunman who killed many of her friends, she stood up to let the world know that she and her classmates demanded change. She brought the world to tears with one of the most courageous speeches of our time.
Still leading the fight, with her dedicated team, against gun laws, Emma Gonzalez will not be going away anytime soon.
11. Queen Elizabeth II
“The upward course of a nation's history is due in the long run to the soundness of heart of its average men and women.”
HRM was the youngest monarch in history when she took to the throne and is now the longest-reigning monarch of all time. Having seen 13 Prime Ministers come and go since her 1952 coronation, Queen Elizabeth II is highly respected due in some part to her astonishing status as the world’s oldest ruling monarch.
Queen Elizabeth II has become a mainstay of British culture and will remain a hallmark of history.
12. Linda Cruse
“It is time to flip our traditional model of social change right on its head.”
Sir Richard Branson once stated: “Linda Cruse makes the impossible, possible”. There a few testimonials with as much weight as one from the multi-billionaire philanthropist but Linda Cruse deserves it.
She has been changing lives with programmes designed to support communities and businesses. This modern-day Mother Theresa is no doubt one of the finest humanitarians in the world today.
13. Fiona Bruce
“If I were to say anything to my 18-year-old self, it would be, ‘Loosen up. Chill out.’”
You may know her name from her presentation of the BBC News at Six, Crimewatch or the Antiques Roadshow but there is more behind the scenes to Fiona Bruce. She has become an outspoken feminist, has worked with many charities like Women's Aid and NSPCC.
The latter even inducted the newsreader into their Hall of Fame thanks to her hard work for the charity. In 2019 she made her debut as the new presenter of Question Time, drawing praise from critics for her expert handling of the show, after taking charge of the prestigious current affairs show when David Dimbleby retired.
14. Jane Goodall
“We can move toward a world where we live in harmony with nature. Where we live in harmony with each other. No matter what nation we come from. No matter what our religion. No matter what our culture. This is where we’re moving towards.”
British national treasure and the world's first chimpanzee expert, Jane Goodall is a force of nature.
Her conservation and environmental work, as well as her work as one of the leading primatologists, brought her a long string of awards including a UN Messenger in Peace award and a Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science.
15. Randi Zuckerberg
“This is a new world we live in, and it should be possible for a woman to be taken seriously and still do what she loves.”
When your brother is the creator of the biggest social media platform of our time, Facebook – it would be easy to fade into obscurity. Not Randi Zuckerberg. After becoming one of the powerhouses of the marketing team at Facebook, she founded Zuckerberg Media, working with Fortune 500 companies like Paypal and Conde Naste.
She still found time to become a New York Times best-selling author and feature on television coverage of the US midterm elections which earned her an Emmy Award in 2011.
16. Ann Daniels
“You are good enough. Don’t let anybody else take away your self-worth. You are good enough.”
Ann Daniels has led men and women into the most dangerous terrain on the planet. A world record holder, she is considered to be among the top British adventurers of all time.
Along with her teammate Caroline Hamilton, she was the first woman to reach the North Pole and the South Pole in an all-female team.
17. Oprah Winfrey
“Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a new way to stand.”
What superlatives haven’t been used to describe Oprah Winfrey? America’s sweetheart overcame a background shrouded in poverty and abuse to become the biggest name in entertainment. A tireless activist, campaigner and television host, the superstar became the richest African American of the 20th Century. She was also the youngest female billionaire in history.
Today she is a respected philanthropist and recently received worldwide acclaim for her passionate, inspirational #MeToo speech. Winfrey is undisputedly one of the most inspirational women of the 21st century.
18. Emma Watson
“If you truly pour your heart into what you believe in, even if it makes you vulnerable, amazing things can and will happen.”
It was always going to take some doing to come out of the spotlight of her fame as Hermione Granger in the hit film adaptation of the Harry Potter series. Emma Watson showed the resilience and talent to do so, making herself an icon through her work as an actress, model and activist.
The star has had no end of successes in film and fashion as well as being chosen as the Woman of the Year by British GQ in 2013. She was appointed as a UN Women Goodwill ambassador in 2014, reflecting her assiduous campaigning.
19. Jo Salter
“Inclusive leadership for me is really about understanding the people that you are working with and coming to them with a humility that respects who they are and what they bring to the team."
Jo Salter made history when she became the first British woman to pilot a fast jet, the Panavia Tornado. The popular female speaker was in the Royal Air Force from 1986 to 2000, and over those 14 years, she completed several missions in war-torn countries.
Today, Jo is regularly booked for corporate events to share her incredible insight into leadership and high-performance teamwork. She has even published two books, Energy – 52 ways to fire up your life and become an Energy Angel and Energize.
20. Christine Lagarde
“To me, leadership is about encouraging people. It’s about stimulating them. It’s about enabling them to achieve what they can achieve - and to do that with a purpose.”
Chairwoman of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde is one of the world's most powerful women.
A former lawyer and politician, Lagarde has earned the respect of international peers, establishing herself as an intellectual authority and thought-leader.
21. Kathryn Bigelow
“If there’s specific resistance to women making movies, I just choose to ignore that as an obstacle for two reasons: I can’t change my gender, and I refuse to stop making movies.”
The first and only female Academy Award-Winning Director in Hollywood to date, Bigelow has made history. Her Academy Award-winning film, The Hurtlocker is one of many of her successes. She is a leading luminary in showbiz and one of the most influential women today.
22. Sheryl Sandberg
“Taking initiative pays off. It is hard to visualize someone as a leader if she is always waiting to be told what to do.”
A key player in the technology sector, Sheryl Sandberg is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Facebook.
The first woman to serve on the board for the social platform’s team, she was inducted into a list of Most Influential People in the World by Time magazine in 2012 and has gone on to be worth well over a billion.
23. Beyoncé
“The most alluring thing a woman can have is confidence.”
A symbol of power and independence among women, Beyoncé is a true icon. The American singer-songwriter has a belting voice and a songbook that has inspired generations. She has used her fanfare to become a superpower influence on young people today.
She has shown her support for the LGBTQ community on many occasions, as well as tackling matters such as feminism. When Beyoncé talks, people listen.
24. Zaha Hadid
“I don't think that architecture is only about shelter, is only about a very simple enclosure. It should be able to excite you, to calm you, to make you think.”
One of the world's most innovative architects, Zaha Hadid has conceptualized and realized the process, from planning through to execution, of some of the most enticing buildings worldwide.
She is an award-winning titan of the industry and a truly inspiring woman.
25. Jessica Ennis-Hill
“There is a need to be the best you can be. You can't panic; you concentrate. When I run up to the hurdles, I'm very nervous, but I'll tend to think about technical things to keep my mind focused.”
The London 2012 Olympic Games broke records in every area. An already incredible triathlete and heptathlete, Jessica Ennis-Hill was one of the big hopes for the games.
She defied all expectation and became the face of the 2012 Olympic Games and one of the most decorated athletes in the country’s history. Now a national treasure and an inspiration to many up-and-coming athletes, she is an incredible motivational speaker.
26. Bonita Norris
“What I've learned from climbing mountains is that we can push ourselves far beyond what we think we are capable of, and it's outside of our comfort zones that the most amazing things happen.”
Summiting Everest is the challenge of a lifetime and one you would expect to take many years to prepare for. Bonita Norris, however, gained adulation for having gone from novice climber to the top of the world in just two tough years.
This amazing achievement made her the youngest woman in history to reach the summit, at just 22 years of age.
27. Leanna Shuttleworth
“I love trying to inspire, especially younger women, as climbing is so male-dominated.”
From the youngest woman ever to have climbed the great heights of Everest, to her successor for the title. Leanna Shuttleworth climbed to the summit of Everest at just 19 years of age in 2012, two years after Bonita, before becoming the youngest British female to have completed the ‘Seven Summits’.
She is now dedicated to helping young girls chase their dreams.
28. Maria Shriver
“Perfectionism doesn't make you feel perfect. It makes you feel inadequate.”
One of the leaders in the fight against Alzheimer’s, Shriver has used her influence as a journalist and author for the greater good.
She won an Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Award for The Alzheimer’s Project and a Pathfinders to Peace Award for her continued commitment to peace and compassion.
29. Claire Brumby
“If you want it – really want it – nothing or no one can stand in your way. Turn your power up.”
Finding a gap in the market to launch a business is always a difficult thing to do, this is also something that entrepreneur Claire Brumby knows all about. The founder of award-winning Scrubbys Vegetable Crisps, Claire is one of the most renowned retail speakers in the industry.
Founded in 2007 as a healthy alternative to normal crisps, the company has gone on to be commonplace on the shelves of some of the UK’s biggest supermarkets. The company now has over 40 different products in its range and at all of her events, Claire can discuss how she took her product from just a concept to a market leader.
30. Hillary Clinton
“The worst thing that can happen in a democracy–as well as in an individual's life–is to become cynical about the future and lose hope: that is the end, and we cannot let that happen.”
Former US Senator, First Lady and the 67th US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton is another politician who is shrouded in controversy.
But her commitment to making a better world for women and children especially, with her work for the Too Small to Fail initiative and No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project shows that she is a torch holder for women everywhere.
31. Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin
“We want girls to be creators of tech, not mere users. Watching them write code is beautiful. Many of them never touched a computer before they got here. It's mind-blowing. The joy on their faces, that's more than money. I can't buy it.”
Named the most inspirational woman in the world in BBC's 2018 list, young teacher Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin has changed the face of communities in Nigeria.
Founding NGO, GirlsCoding she has taught young women coding, design and web development - vital to the future endeavours of the women in her community.
32. Judy Murray
“As soon as it's watchable, it's marketable, it's sponsorable, it's televisable and that generates bigger numbers who are inspired by watching it.”
Judy Murray is perhaps most famous for being the mother and original coach of Britain’s most successful tennis players, Wimbledon winners Andy Murray and Jamie Murray. The foremost was the British men’s singles No.1 and for some time the world No.1 and Jamie is a former doubles world No.1.
Judy balanced motherhood with coaching to ensure her two boys reached the absolute top of the game and was awarded an OBE for services to tennis, women in sport and charity.
33. Judi Dench
“I think you should take your job seriously, but not yourself - that is the best combination.”
One of the most naturally gifted actresses in British history, it is no surprise that Judi Dench has become one of the most decorated stars of the screen in our country. The seven-time Oscar nominee was a popular theatre performer before she became a megastar as M in the James Bond film GoldenEye.
Her success in the role saw her cement her place in the franchise for 20 years. She was made Judi Dench in 1998 and has been recognised for her outstanding contribution to the arts.
34. Amal Clooney
“As women, we may not be a minority, but there is a bond that we all share. It is not a bond of geography. Or religion. Or culture. It is a bond of shared experience - experiences that only women go through and struggles that only women face.”
A leader in international law and human rights, British-Lebanese barrister Amal Clooney is one of the most high-profile names in law. She is currently representing Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder engaged in a legal battle against extradition.
She has also represented Prime Ministers and famous journalists and happens to be married to Hollywood megastar George Clooney.
35. Meghan Markle
“Make a choice: continue living your life feeling muddled in this abyss of self-misunderstanding, or you find your identity independent of it. I think that having the courage to step out of the norm is the most important thing.”
The newest addition to the immediate royal family, Meghan Markle married Prince Harry in a ceremony that had the world watching in awe. One of the first Black Royals, she represents a new chapter for the monarchy. Now the Duchess of Sussex is one of the most influential women in the world and has the potential to inspire those watching on.
With many years of experience as a campaigner for women’s rights and human rights behind her- balanced alongside her former acting role- there is little doubt among spectators that she will fulfil her potential as one of the most inspirational royals the country has ever seen.
36. Joanna Shields
“Our lives are being transformed by technology and the pace of change is unprecedented. And you, the great women here tonight, are at the centre of that creative disruption.”
One of the leading names in the technology and security sectors, Joanna Shields acts as the UK Prime Minister's Special Representative on Internet Safety, after serving as Minister of Internet Safety and Security under David Cameron.
She has been lauded as an inspirational leader and top tech personality.
37. Elizabeth Blackburn
“Challenges in medicine are moving from 'Treat the symptoms after the house is on fire' to 'Can we preserve the house intact?”
A biological researcher who became the recipient of a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine when she co-discovered telomerase, an enzyme able to repair and protect the telomeres of a chromosome.
Sound complicated? Not for this modern-day science sensation.
38. Kate Middleton
“Together with open conversations and greater understanding, we can ensure that attitudes for mental health change and children receive the support they deserve.”
Kate Middleton is married to the likely future king of England, making her the future king’s consort and one of the most important names in British society.
Her charity work, especially as an advocate for mental health, has made the Duchess of Cambridge a much-appreciated member of the royal family and a great motivational figure for many.
39. Jennifer Lawrence
“In Hollywood, I’m obese. I’m considered a fat actress. I eat like a caveman. I’ll be the only actress that doesn’t have anorexia rumours! I’m never going to starve myself for a part. I’m invincible. I don’t want little girls to be like ‘Oh, I want to look like Katniss, so I’m going to skip dinner’.”
The modern-day Marilyn Monroe, Jennifer Lawrence beats off competition from the likes of Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus for a place on this list as a person with a defining influence on young people and women today.
Fearless and brave like her character from the hit film, The Hunger Games, Jennifer is relatable to modern men and women and is not afraid to speak out for others.
40. Deborah Meaden
“The most important characteristics you need to succeed in business are resilience, determination and persistence.”
Best known for her role as one of the dragons on the popular Dragons’ Den, Deborah Meaden is an entrepreneur who ran her own multimillion-pound holiday business. After leaving school at 16 with minimal qualifications, she studied business at university before working for a glass and ceramics company in Italy.
At all of her speaking events, she can highlight these experiences and discuss how she managed to overcome them.
41. Twiggy
“I've always loved life, and I've never known what's ahead. I love not knowing what might be round the corner. I love serendipity.”
British model and symbol of the swinging sixties, nobody quite summed up the era's fashion and musical evolution quite like Twiggy. She was named ‘The Face of 1966’ by the Daily Express and voted Woman of the Year that same year.
Ask your parents or grandparents about her - they’ll tell you she was the Kate Moss of the sixties.
42. Serena Williams
“Think of all the girls who could become top athletes but quit sports because they’re afraid of having too many defined muscles and being made fun of or called unattractive.”
23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams is an American tennis player who has broken records to be considered by many as the greatest female tennis player of all time.
In addition to her great feats on the court, she has inspired many with her support for the LGBTQ community and the Black Lives Matter campaign.
43. Martina Navratilova
“I think the key is for women not to set any limits.”
Right there beside the last tennis great is Martina Navratilova, another tennis star who can claim to be one of the greatest female tennis players of all time. Like her contender for the title of the biggest name in tennis, Martina is a committed activist.
She has worked with charities on animal rights, LGBTQ rights and underprivileged children. She won a National Equality Award in 2000 for her commitment to these causes. She is a star and an inspiration to generations.
44. Paula Stone Williams
“The more you’re treated as if you don’t know what you’re talking about, the more you begin to question whether or not you do, in fact, know what you’re talking about. I understand a woman’s tendency to doubt herself.”
An LGBT ambassador, pastor and equality speaker, Paula Stone Williams has become a leading speaker. As a transgender woman, she can discuss the difference between living as a male and living as a female in America. Her insight has served universities, government agencies, religious groups, publications and blue-chip companies for many years.
Alongside the likes of Caitlyn Jenner and Kellie Maloney, her role in the LGBT and especially transgender community has proven pivotal.
45. Kelly Holmes
“I was 12 when I started and 34 before I achieved my dream, that should give people hope.”
A story that was so nearly one of disappointment and failure to deliver on potential became one that summed up the power of never giving up.
Bouncing back from injury at the age of 34, after a career where Olympic gold had eluded her Kelly Holmes managed to win a double gold medal in her final Olympic appearance in Athens in 2004. Remarkable!
46. Rita Clifton
“It’s a drive, you know, go with it and use it... you worry that you’re not going to be good enough, and you stretch yourself. That’s when you grow most.”
Former Chair of Interbrand UK, Rita Clifton is a thought-leader in all things brand-related. Helping to revolutionise the future of British and worldwide brands, Rita has been quite the revelation.
Referred to as the 'Doyenne of Branding' and 'a brand guru' - she is one of the most engaging female keynote speakers in marketing.
47. Marissa Mayer
“Really in technology, it's about the people, getting the best people, retaining them, nurturing a creative environment and helping to find a way to innovate.”
Former President and CEO of multinational search engine and news hub, Yahoo!, Marissa Mayer was the youngest woman ever to be listed in Fortune Magazine’s annual list of America’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business at just 33 years old.
She followed this up with a place in that ranking for the following eight years. One of the most influential businesswomen in the world, Marissa Mayer helped to smash the glass ceiling for women in business.
48. Tanni Grey-Thompson
“Anything is possible. Part of it is how much you want to do it. Some people achieve success very easily, but that's a tiny percentage of people. For the majority of people, it's about working hard. I train twice a day, six days a week, 50 weeks a year.”
Tanni Grey-Thompson won 11 gold medals, four silver medals and a bronze medal over five Paralympic Games to become one of the UK’s most successful Paralympians of all time.
Competing in short distance events to wheelchair marathons, this superstar has become a popular figure on television and as a crossbench peer in the House of Lords.
49. Laura Kenny
“Nothing is too big an achievement.”
The most successful female Olympian in British history as well as the most successful female track cyclist in the sport's history - Laura Kenny is an inspirational female Olympic speaker and athlete who is seemingly unbreakable.
She teaches women and girls across the globe that their aspirations are valid, their heart is strong and glass ceilings were built to be shattered by female achievements.
50. Holly Tucker
“I’m passionate about shining a light and championing women in business, in what continues to be a male-dominated landscape.”
Responsible for co-creating the popular online marketplace, Not On The High Street, Holly Tucker displayed her entrepreneurial talent from a young age. Running a school tuck shop in her youth, it wasn’t long until she was making waves in the real world of business.
As well as helping co-found Not on the High Street, Holly also runs a business consultancy and advice platform where she shares her tips on how to succeed in the demanding industry, something she can also share at her speaking events.
Book a Female Inspiration Speaker | ||||
5444 | dbpedia | 2 | 43 | https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/082015/10-must-watch-movies-finance-professionals.asp | en | The 10 Best Finance and Wall Street Movies | [
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"Zaw Thiha Tun"
] | 2015-08-20T12:47:00-04:00 | Finance makes for great cinema. Here are 10 of the best offerings by Hollywood on the subject. | en | /favicon.ico | Investopedia | https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/082015/10-must-watch-movies-finance-professionals.asp | The financial world, in all its incarnations, makes for great cinema. Tragedy, comedy, ingenuity, catastrophe, and redemption are all present in the many finance movies that Hollywood has produced over the years.
While most finance movies portray financial professionals in a less than flattering light, the unbelievable stories of excess, risk-taking, and, of course, greed all make for compelling cinema. They are required viewing for anyone thinking of, or already working in the business.
The 10 finance and Wall Street movies below, in no particular order, were chosen for their financial and stock market storylines plus their "plucked from the headlines" resonance.
10. The Big Short (2015)
Based on the nonfiction book "The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine" by Michael Lewis, this movie follows a few savvy traders as they become aware—before anyone else—of the housing bubble that triggered the financial crisis in 2007-2008.
The movie is known for how it cleverly presented explanations of sophisticated financial instruments. For example, it has actress Selena Gomez explain what synthetic CDOs are at a poker table and actress Margot Robbie explain mortgage-backed bonds in a tub with champagne.
9. Barbarians at the Gate (1993)
This 1993 TV movie centers on the leveraged buyout (LBO) of RJR Nabisco, and it's based on the 1989 book of the same name by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. While the movie does take some creative liberties in portraying this real-life event, audiences may be shocked and amused at the incompetence and greed of Nabisco’s CEO F. Ross Johnson and the behind-the-scenes negotiations and skullduggery around this famous LBO.
8. American Psycho (2000)
In this violent and thought-provoking film adaptation of the critically acclaimed Bret Easton Ellis novel set in the backdrop of finance, Christian Bale plays a wealthy investment banker with a dark and deadly secret.
While there is actually little about finance in this movie, American Psycho does shed light on the surreal world inhabited by the financial industry's elite class, and the utter disconnect they have with reality.
7. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
An acclaimed big-screen adaptation of a David Mamet play, this infinitely quotable movie focuses on a team of downtrodden real estate salesmen whose morals have been utterly eroded after years of working for their unscrupulous company.
The movie showcases the greed and underhanded tactics that those in financial product sales positions may be exposed to. It underscores the unremitting pressure exerted on salespeople by their superiors who have sales goals to meet.
While the entire cast is top-notch, Alec Baldwin’s motivational speech steals the whole movie. It brings to light the best and worst aspects of working in the financial industry under enormous stress.
6. Rogue Trader (1999)
This movie tells the true story of Nick Leeson, a trader who single-handedly caused the insolvency of Barings Bank, the world’s second-oldest merchant bank.
A rising star on the Singapore trading floor, Leeson blew up as quickly as he rose, covering enormous losses from his superiors in carefully hidden accounts. His actions eventually lead to the mother of all failed trades with a short straddle position on the Nikkei, which ends up experiencing a large sigma move.
While the movie is entertaining, it's Leeson’s story itself that makes for a great lesson in risk management and financial oversight.
5. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
Though the events contained in the documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room occurred more than 20 years ago, they still have the power to shock. Based on the best-selling book of the same title, the film relies on a trove of video footage, congressional hearings testimony, and interviews with Enron executive Mike Muckleroy and whistle-blower Sherron Watkins, to argue that Enron, far from being a stellar energy corporation that lost its way, was actually a con game almost from the beginning.
In one of the more stunning revelations, the film lays out how the California energy crisis of 2001 was a sham created by Enron traders, who are overheard asking plant managers to "get a little creative" in closing plants for "repairs." Enron shut down up to 76% of California's energy industry, as it criminally manipulated the state's energy supply and relentlessly drove up the price of electricity.
4. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
This Martin Scorsese-helmed biopic chronicles the rise and fall of a famous stock scammer, Jordan Belfort. It features excellent performances by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill.
The Wolf of Wall Street is based on real-life events. This finance film looks at the infamous Stratton Oakmont, an over-the-counter brokerage firm, and a pump and dump scheme that helped launch the IPOs of several large public companies during the late 1980s and 1990s.
3. Boiler Room (2000)
While Barbarians at the Gate takes place in the glitz and glamor of a corporate boardroom, Boiler Room is set on the absolute lowest rung of the financial firm ladder: the pump and dump scheme.
The term refers to unscrupulous firms boosting the price of a security with misleading and sometimes false statements. They then sell their own holdings of the security, leaving investors with stock that's lost its value.
Boiler Room is a work of fiction but pump-and-dump firms are very real, as are the pain and suffering they inflict upon their victims.
This finance movie serves as a warning for those starting to invest in the stock market to stick to transparent, solid companies and to invest based on sound fundamentals. Viewers of Boiler Room won't soon forget the adage “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
2. Margin Call (2011)
Perhaps the most financially accurate movie on the list, Margin Call takes place over the span of 24 hours in the life of a Wall Street firm on the brink of disaster (modeled closely after some of the bulge bracket banks).
Margin Call does little to hide its contempt for the reckless risks taken by some of the largest banks in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. It highlights the trading of complex derivative instruments that investment banks themselves barely understood.
A poignant scene in the movie features two main characters talking about the catastrophe that is soon be unleashed upon, not just their firm but the whole, unsuspecting financial community of companies and investors as well, as a janitor stands between them, completely oblivious to what is going on.
1. Wall Street (1987)
One finance movie every professional should consider seeing is the Oliver Stone classic that got thousands of college graduates to utter the immortal phrase “Blue Horseshoe loves Anacott Steel” as they rushed to their Series 7 exams.
Originally crafted to show the excess and hedonism associated with finance, Wall Street still wields power as a recruiting tool for traders, brokers, analysts, and bankers nearly 30 years after it was made.
Although the Wall Street movie serves to warn us about the dangers of insider trading, let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to be Bud Fox or even Gordon Gekko and indulge a bit in our greedy side. After all, it was Gekko who famously said, “Greed is good.”
The Bottom Line
These movies are a must-see for any prospective financial pro. Even if you aren’t thinking of a career in the field, these films can provide a bit of insight into the wild and sometimes absurd world of finance. | ||||
5444 | dbpedia | 2 | 14 | https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/gallery/movie-ballgowns-dresses-pretty-woman-titanic | en | 56 of the most epic movie costumes of all time (yes, including Andie Anderson's yellow dress) | [
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"Charlie Teather",
"Jabeen Waheed",
"Charley Ross",
"Ali Pantony",
"Sheilla Mamona",
"Fiona Ward",
"Kathleen Walsh",
"María Mérida",
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] | 2020-10-01T15:08:00+01:00 | The best movie costumes & iconic dresses EVER, from Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman to Kate Hudson in How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days & Lupita Nyong'o in Black Panther | en | https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/verso/static/glamour-international/assets/favicon.ico?v=1 | Glamour UK | https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/gallery/movie-ballgowns-dresses-pretty-woman-titanic | You know that feeling when you're housebound for six months (and counting...) and have completed Netflix? Same.
But while you may have already smashed your way through Tiger King, Too Hot To Handle and Normal People (twice), there's a whole new world of things to watch while you procrastinate a bit more, putting off that wardrobe clear out that you've been 'too manic' to make a start on just yet.
In fact, we don't know why we didn't think of it before. Perhaps we were too busy falling in love with Paul Mescal and perfecting our Dalgona coffee recipe, but there's a whole other world of entertainment just waiting to be devoured. That's right, it's time to rewatch some of the world's all-time classic movies...
34 best films on Netflix for your next movie night
Gallery34 Photos
View Gallery
One of our favourite things about rewatching the most epic films? Other than knowing every single line and driving our partner wild by saying each one a couple of seconds before the actress does (it truly riles them every time), we just can't help but enjoy falling back in love with the costumes all over again.
A good wardrobe department can certainly make a film more enjoyable, but great ones can make it truly iconic and incredibly memorable. And there is an array of amazing costume designers who have created some seriously incredible works of art.
66 of the best Netflix series to watch during your next sofa sesh
Gallery66 Photos
View Gallery
From Kate Hudson's slinky yellow gown in How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days to Lupita Nyong'o's empowering armour in Black Panther - not forgetting the outfits from movies such as Titanic, Clueless and Grease or those we fell for in Pretty Woman and Kill Bill - sartorial reminiscence is the perfect form of escapism right now.
We look back at the good, the amazing and the utterly fabulous costumes to have ever graced the big screen. We hope we've included your all-time favourite... | ||||
5444 | dbpedia | 0 | 76 | https://www.ranker.com/list/best-pedophilia-movies-list/ranker-film | en | 50+ Powerful Movies About Pedophilia | https://imgix.ranker.com/list_img_v2/6821/646821/original/646821-u9 | https://imgix.ranker.com/list_img_v2/6821/646821/original/646821-u9 | [
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"Ranker Film"
] | 2013-01-31T00:00:00 | Explore this curated list of the most powerful pedophile movies, including Lolita, Pretty Baby, Bastard out of Carolina and more - ranked by viewers. | en | /img/icons/touch-icon-iphone.png | Ranker | https://www.ranker.com/list/best-pedophilia-movies-list/ranker-film | Exploring dark and complicated themes, certain films have courageously tackled the unsettling subject of pedophilia. The best movies about pedophilia are not easy watches, but they spark crucial conversations about the complexities and consequences of such heinous acts. These films, through their storytelling and character portrayals, aim to provide a deeper understanding and awareness of the traumatic impacts involved.
Lolita, directed by Stanley Kubrick and adapted from Vladimir Nabokov’s controversial novel, delves into the obsession of an older man with a young girl, challenging viewers with its provocative and morally queasy narrative. Pretty Baby stars Brooke Shields in a poignant depiction of a child growing up in a brothel, shedding light on the destructive realities of exploitation. Bastard out of Carolina, based on Dorothy Allison’s novel, brutally portrays a young girl’s harrowing experience with abuse at the hands of her stepfather, delivering a raw and powerful narrative that resonates deeply.
Films like these are essential for raising awareness and fostering discussions on such difficult topics. Now, we invite you to participate. Vote on the top pedophile movies of all time and contribute to the discourse. Your votes will help recognize these impactful films and the important conversations they initiate, bringing greater attention to stories that need to be told. | ||
5444 | dbpedia | 2 | 80 | https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/news-entertainment/g44786446/barbie-movie-quotes/ | en | 20 Best Quotes From the New Barbie Movie 2023 | [
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"Josiah Soto"
] | 2023-08-10T20:44:43.185472-04:00 | These quotes from the new Barbie movie are iconic, hilarious, and inspirational! Read through the many lines that made the movie a success. | en | /_assets/design-tokens/thepioneerwoman/static/images/favicon.00e5daa.ico | The Pioneer Woman | https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/news-entertainment/g44786446/barbie-movie-quotes/ | The new Barbie movie has seemingly taken over the world. We're not complaining, though! The film starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling hasn't just given us great cinema, but it has also inspired some fun Barbie recipes, Barbie Halloween costume ideas, and of course, the actual collectable dolls themselves! The feel-good movie is great for so many reasons, but the comedic banter and inspirational monologues has stuck with us even after just one watch. While picking out every line from the movie we loved would be impossible, we decided to list 20 of our favorite Barbie movie quotes.
Sure, you'll get a good laugh from many of these hilarious lines, like this famous Ken quote that gets us every time: “Yeah, because actually my job, it’s just Beach.” Even this quote from the Narrator (who just happens to be 1923 star Helen Mirren) is a good example: “Barbie has a great day every day, but Ken only has a great day if Barbie looks at him.” Other quotes on this list are certainly inspirational quotes that will definitely give you a different perspective. This quote from the inventor of Barbie is a great example: "We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back to see how far they have come." Read through them all, and you'll be reminded why the film was so great! | ||||
5444 | dbpedia | 0 | 21 | https://time.com/6295639/barbie-movie-review/ | en | Barbie Is Very Pretty But Not Very Deep | [
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"Stephanie Zacharek"
] | 2023-07-18T23:00:34+00:00 | Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie is a mosaic of many shiny bits of cleverness with not that much to say. Read TIME's review. | en | /favicon.ico | TIME | https://time.com/6295639/barbie-movie-review/ | The fallacy of Barbie the doll is that she’s supposed to be both the woman you want to be and your friend, a molded chunk of plastic—in a brocade evening dress, or a doctor’s outfit, or even Jane Goodall’s hyper-practical safari suit—which is also supposed to inspire affection. But when you’re a child, your future self is not a friend—she’s too amorphous for that, and a little too scary. And you may have affection, or any number of conflicted feelings, for your Barbie, but the truth is that she’s always living in the moment, her moment, while you’re trying to dream your own future into being. Her zig-zagging signals aren’t a problem—they’re the whole point. She’s always a little ahead of you, which is why some love her, others hate her, and many, many fall somewhere in the vast and complex in-between.
With Barbie the movie—starring Margot Robbie, also a producer on the film—director Greta Gerwig strives to mine the complexity of Barbie the doll, while also keeping everything clever and fun, with a hot-pink exclamation point added where necessary. There are inside jokes, riffs on Gene Kelly-style choreography, and many, many one-line zingers or extended soliloquies about modern womanhood—observations about all that’s expected of us, how exhausting it all is, how impossible it is to ever measure up. Gerwig has done a great deal of advance press about the movie, assuring us that even though it’s about a plastic toy, it’s still stuffed with lots of ideas and thought and real feelings. (She and Noah Baumbach co-wrote the script.) For months now there has been loads of online chatter about how “subversive” the movie is—how it loves Barbie but also mocks her slightly, and how it makes fun of Mattel executives even though their real-life counterparts are both bankrolling the whole enterprise and hoping to make a huge profit off it. The narrative is that Gerwig has somehow pulled off a coup, by taking Mattel’s money but using it to create real art, or at least just very smart entertainment.
Read More: Our Cover Story on Barbie
It’s true that Barbie does many of the things we’ve been promised: there is much mocking and loving of Barbie, and plenty of skewering of the suits. But none of those things make it subversive. Instead, it’s a movie that’s enormously pleased with itself, one that has cut a big slice of perfectly molded plastic cake and eaten it—or pretend-eaten it—too. The things that are good about Barbie—Robbie’s buoyant, charming performance and Ryan Gosling’s go-for-broke turn as perennial boyfriend Ken, as well as the gorgeous, inventive production design—end up being steamrollered by all the things this movie is trying so hard to be. Its playfulness is the arch kind. Barbie never lets us forget how clever it’s being, every exhausting minute.
That’s a shame, because the first half-hour or so is dazzling and often genuinely funny, a vision that’s something close to (though not nearly as weird as) the committed act of imagination Robert Altman pulled off with his marvelous Popeye. First, there’s a prologue, narrated by Helen Mirren and riffing on Stanley Kubrick’s 2001, explaining the impact of early Barbie on little girls in 1959; she was an exotic and aspirational replacement for their boring old baby dolls, whose job was to train them for motherhood—Gerwig shows these little girls on a rocky beach, dashing their baby dolls to bits after they’ve seen the curvy miracle that is Barbie. Then Gerwig, production designer Sarah Greenwood, and costume designer Jacqueline Durran launch us right into Barbieland, with Robbie’s approachably glam Barbie walking us through. This is an idyllic community where all the Dream Houses are open, not only because its denizens have no shame and nothing to hide, but because homes without walls mean they can greet one another each day with the sunrise. “Hello, Barbie!” they call out cheerfully. Everyone in Barbieland—except the ill-fated pregnant Midge, based on one of Mattel’s many discontinued experiments in toy marketing—is named Barbie, and everyone has a meaningful job. There are astronaut Barbies and airline pilot Barbies, as well as an all-Barbie Supreme Court. Garbage-collector Barbies, in matching pink jumpsuits, bustle cheerfully along this hamlet’s perpetually pristine curbs. This array of Barbies is played by a selection of actors including Hari Nef, Dua Lipa, Alexandra Shipp, and Emma Mackey. The president is also Barbie—she’s played by Issa Rae. (In one of the early section’s great sight gags, she brushes her long, silky tresses with an overscale oval brush.)
Barbieland is a world where all the Barbies love and support one another, like a playtime version of the old-fashioned women’s college, where the students thrive because there are no men to derail their self-esteem. Robbie’s Barbie—she is known, as a way of differentiating herself from the others, as Stereotypical Barbie, because she is white and has the perfectly sculpted proportions and sunny smile of the Barbie many of us grew up with—is the center of it all. She awakens each morning and throws off her sparkly pink coverlet, her hair a swirl of perfectly curled Saran. She chooses an outfit (with meticulously coordinated accessories) from her enviable wardrobe. Her breakfast is a molded waffle that pops from the toaster unbidden; when she “drinks” from a cup of milk, it’s only pretend-drinking, because where is that liquid going to go? This becomes a recurring gag in the movie, wearing itself out slowly, but it’s delightful at first, particularly because Robbie is so game for all of it. Her eyes sparkle in that vaguely crazed Barbie-like way; her smile has a painted-on quality, but there’s warmth there, too. She steps into this role as lightly as if it were a chevron-striped one piece tailored precisely to her talents.
Barbie also has a boyfriend, one Ken of many Kens. The Kens are played by actors including Kingsley Ben-Adir and Simu Liu. But Gosling’s Ken is the best of them, stalwart, in a somewhat neutered way, with his shaggy blond hair, spray-tan bare chest, and vaguely pink lips. The Kens have no real job, other than one known as “Beach,” which involves, as you might guess, going to the beach. The Kens are generally not wanted at the Barbies’ ubiquitous dance parties—the Barbies generally prefer the company of themselves. And that’s why the Kens’ existence revolves around the Barbies. As Mirren the narrator tells us, Barbie always has a great day. “But Ken has a great day only if Barbie looks at him.” And the moment Robbie does, Gosling’s face becomes the visual equivalent of a dream Christmas morning, alight with joy and wonder.
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You couldn’t, of course, have a whole movie set in this highly artificial world. You need to have a plot, and some tension. And it’s when Gerwig airlifts us out of Barbieland and plunks us down in the real world that the movie’s problems begin. Barbie awakens one morning realizing that suddenly, nothing is right. Her hair is messy on the pillow; her waffle is shriveled and burnt. She has begun to have unbidden thoughts about death. Worst of all, her perfectly arched feet have gone flat. (The other Barbies retch in horror at the sight.) For advice, she visits the local wise woman, also known as Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), the Barbie who’s been “played with too hard,” as evidenced by the telltale scribbles on her face. Weird Barbie tells Robbie’s confused and forlorn Barbie that her Barbieland troubles are connected to something that’s going on out there in the Real World, a point of stress that turns out to involve a Barbie-loving mom, Gloria (America Ferrera), and her preteen daughter, Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt), who are growing apart. Barbie makes the journey to the Real World, reluctantly allowing Ken to accompany her. There, he’s wowed to learn that men make all the money and basically rule the land. While Barbie becomes more and more involved in the complexity of human problems, Ken educates himself on the wonders of the patriarchy and brings his newfound ideas back to empower the Kens, who threaten to take over the former utopia known as Barbieland.
By this point, Barbie has begun to do a lot more telling and a lot less showing; its themes are presented like flat-lays of Barbie outfits, delivered in lines of dialogue that are supposed to be profound but come off as lifeless. There are still some funny gags—a line about the Kens trying to win over the Barbies by playing their guitars “at” them made me snort. But the good jokes are drowned out by the many self-aware ones, like the way the Mattel executives, all men (the head boob is Will Ferrell), sit around a conference table and strategize ways to make more money off selling their idea of “female agency.”
The question we’re supposed to ask, as our jaws hang open, is “How did the Mattel pooh-bahs let these jokes through?” But those real-life execs, counting their doubloons in advance, know that showing what good sports they are will help rather than hinder them. They’re on team Barbie, after all! And they already have a long list of toy-and-movie tie-ins on the drawing board.
Meanwhile, we’re left with Barbie the movie, a mosaic of many shiny bits of cleverness with not that much to say. In the pre-release interviews they’ve given, Gerwig and Robbie have insisted their movie is smart about Barbie and what she means to women, even as Mattel executives have said they don’t see the film as being particularly feminist. And all parties have insisted that Barbie is for everyone. | ||||
5444 | dbpedia | 3 | 74 | https://www.pampers.com/en-us/pregnancy/baby-names/article/top-baby-girl-names | en | Top 1,000 Girl Names for Your Baby Girl in 2024 | [
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] | 2024-04-24T14:40:28.204000+00:00 | Choosing a baby girl name can be hard, so we've compiled a list of the top 1,000 names from the Social Security Administration to help you pick the perfect one. | en | Web-Pampers-US-EN | https://www.pampers.com/en-us/pregnancy/baby-names/article/top-baby-girl-names | Choosing a name for your baby girl can be a tough decision to say the least. After all, you want something thatâs unique, beautiful, pretty, sweet, or cute to match your new daughterâs personality. Not to mention that popularity may be a factor in your decision, too. Our list of top baby names for girls is comprised of the 1,000 most popular names for girls from last year. You have plenty of good options at your fingertipsânow itâs just a matter of picking the best name for your baby girl!
Top 1,000 Most Popular Girl Names in the U.S.
Each year the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) gathers information on births and baby names chosen in the United States; then, the SSA creates a ranking for the top names for girls and boys. This extensive list includes not only the top 10 names that have held steady for several years in a row but also also the most frequently chosen names from the previous yearâmost recently the top 1,000 for 2022. Choose from among the top names for girls that were the most popular in the United States in 2022 (in order of popularity). Youâll surely find some good options for pretty, beautiful, and cute baby girl names on this list:
1. Olivia 2. Emma 3. Charlotte 4. Amelia 5. Sophia
6. Isabella 7. Ava 8. Mia 9. Evelyn 10. Luna 11. Harper 12. Camila 13. Sofia 14. Scarlett 15. Elizabeth 16. Eleanor 17. Emily 18. Chloe 19. Mila 20. Violet
21. Penelope 22. Gianna 23. Aria 24. Abigail 25. Ella 26. Avery 27. Hazel 28. Nora 29. Layla 30. Lily 31. Aurora 32. Nova 33. Ellie 34. Madison 35. Grace 36. Isla 37. Willow 38. Zoe 39. Riley 40. Stella 41. Eliana 42. Ivy 43. Victoria 44. Emilia 45. Zoey 46. Naomi 47. Hannah 48. Lucy 49. Elena 50. Lillian 51. Maya 52. Leah 53. Paisley 54. Addison 55. Natalie 56. Valentina 57. Everly 58. Delilah 59. Leilani 60. Madelyn 61. Kinsley 62. Ruby 63. Sophie 64. Alice 65. Genesis 66. Claire 67. Audrey 68. Sadie 69. Aaliyah 70. Josephine 71. Autumn 72. Brooklyn 73. Quinn 74. Kennedy 75. Cora 76. Savannah 77. Caroline 78. Athena 79. Natalia 80. Hailey 81. Aubrey 82. Emery 83. Anna 84. Iris 85. Bella 86. Eloise 87. Skylar 88. Jade 89. Gabriella 90. Ariana 91. Maria 92. Adeline 93. Lydia 94. Sarah 95. Nevaeh 96. Serenity 97. Liliana 98. Ayla 99. Everleigh 100. Raelynn 101. Allison 102. Madeline 103. Vivian 104. Maeve 105. Lyla 106. Samantha 107. Rylee 108. Eva 109. Melody 110. Clara 111. Hadley 112. Julia 113. Piper 114. Juniper 115. Parker 116. Brielle 117. Eden 118. Remi 119. Josie 120. Rose 121. Arya 122. Eliza 123. Charlie 124. Peyton 125. Daisy 126. Lucia 127. Millie 128. Margaret 129. Freya 130. Melanie 131. Elliana 132. Adalynn 133. Alina 134. Emersyn 135. Sienna 136. Mary 137. Isabelle 138. Alaia 139. Esther 140. Sloane 141. Mackenzie 142. Amara 143. Ximena 144. Sage 145. Cecilia 146. Valeria 147. Reagan 148. Valerie 149. Catalina 150. River 151. Magnolia 152. Kehlani 153. Summer 154. Ashley 155. Andrea 156. Isabel 157. Oakley 158. Olive 159. Oaklynn 160. Ember 161. Kaylee 162. Georgia 163. Juliette 164. Anastasia 165. Genevieve 166. Katherine 167. Blakely 168. Reese 169. Amaya 170. Emerson 171. Brianna 172. June 173. Alani 174. Lainey 175. Arianna 176. Rosalie 177. Sara 178. Jasmine 179. Ruth 180. Adalyn 181. Ada 182. Bailey 183. Ariella 184. Wren 185. Myla 186. Khloe 187. Callie 188. Elsie 189. Alexandra 190. Ryleigh 191. Faith 192. Norah 193. Margot 194. Zuri 195. Journee 196. Aspen 197. Gemma 198. Kylie 199. Molly 200. Blake 201. Zara 202. Alaina 203. Alana 204. Brynlee 205. Amy 206. Annie 207. Saylor 208. Ana 209. Amira 210. Kimberly 211. Noelle 212. Kamila 213. Morgan 214. Phoebe 215. Harmony 216. Sutton 217. Taylor 218. Finley 219. Lilah 220. Juliana 221. Lila 222. Londyn 223. Kailani 224. Vera 225. Kaia 226. Angela 227. Hallie 228. Diana 229. Lennon 230. Presley 231. Arabella 232. Aliyah 233. Lilly 234. Milani 235. Jordyn 236. Camille 237. Ariel 238. Aubree 239. Selena 240. Sawyer 241. Nyla 242. Delaney 243. Mariana 244. Rachel 245. Adaline 246. Leila 247. Collins 248. Lia 249. Octavia 250. Kali 251. Lena 252. Kiara 253. Kaylani 254. Elaina 255. Daniela 256. Leia 257. Gracie 258. Dakota 259. Elise 260. Hope 261. Harlow 262. Lola 263. Stevie 264. Malia 265. Miriam 266. Alora 267. Gia 268. Evangeline 269. Brooke 270. Lilith 271. Sydney 272. Ophelia 273. Alayna 274. Tatum 275. Evie 276. Rowan 277. Marley 278. Daphne 279. Kayla 280. Dahlia 281. Lucille 282. Blair 283. Adelaide 284. Wrenley 285. Haven 286. Teagan 287. Adelyn 288. Alyssa 289. Payton 290. Jane 291. Mckenna 292. Celeste 293. Juliet 294. Palmer 295. Maggie 296. Rebecca 297. London 298. Noa 299. Samara 300. Thea 301. Kendall 302. Mya 303. Talia 304. Winter 305. Angelina 306. Vivienne 307. Esme 308. Laila 309. Nina 310. Trinity 311. Vanessa 312. Mabel 313. Camilla 314. Jocelyn 315. Journey 316. Paige 317. Phoenix 318. Amina 319. Alivia 320. Amari 321. Joanna 322. Nicole 323. Annabelle 324. Raegan 325. Aitana 326. Julianna 327. Lauren 328. Catherine 329. Adriana 330. Madilyn 331. Harley 332. Tessa 333. Evelynn 334. Elianna 335. Rory 336. Dream 337. Nayeli 338. Poppy 339. Gabriela 340. Jayla 341. Cataleya 342. Celine 343. Hayden 344. Shiloh 345. Mariah 346. Charlee 347. Maisie 348. Regina 349. Adelynn 350. Briella 351. Giselle 352. Fatima 353. Danna 354. Alessia 355. Mckenzie 356. Wynter 357. Fiona 358. Brooklynn 359. Gracelynn 360. Luciana 361. Alexis 362. Everlee 363. Laura 364. Selah 365. Reign 366. Alayah 367. Rosemary 368. Lilliana 369. Ariyah 370. Heidi 371. Esmeralda 372. Logan 373. Amora 374. Kalani 375. Leighton 376. Cali 377. Melissa 378. Aniyah 379. Izabella 380. Michelle 381. Raelyn 382. Alessandra 383. Viviana 384. Madeleine 385. Arielle 386. Serena 387. Francesca 388. Brynn 389. Gwendolyn 390. Kira 391. Destiny 392. Elle 393. Makayla 394. Alaya 395. Malani 396. Willa 397. Saige 398. Makenna 399. Remington 400. Demi 401. Adelina 402. Raya 403. Astrid 404. Azalea 405. Veronica 406. Meadow 407. Anaya 408. Elisa 409. Raven 410. Alexandria 411. Hattie 412. Alicia 413. Sabrina 414. Gracelyn 415. Matilda 416. Skye 417. Annalise 418. Frances 419. Miracle 420. Maia 421. Helen 422. Lana 423. Daleyza 424. Rosie 425. Charli 426. Bianca 427. Royalty 428. Sarai 429. Amiyah 430. Nylah 431. Aylin 432. Maryam 433. Scarlet 434. Antonella 435. Sylvia 436. Sylvie 437. Nadia 438. Ari 439. Lexi 440. Mylah 441. Julieta 442. Lorelei 443. Avianna 444. Armani 445. Camryn 446. Emely 447. Rylie 448. Colette 449. Daniella 450. Liana 451. Brinley 452. Kate 453. Salem 454. Marlee 455. Alison 456. Carmen 457. Felicity 458. Fernanda 459. Holly 460. Ariah 461. Aisha 462. Kora 463. Amanda 464. Ailani 465. Elaine 466. Emory 467. Joy 468. Oaklee 469. Lyric 470. Madelynn 471. Haisley 472. Allie 473. Helena 474. Danielle 475. Katalina 476. Carolina 477. Zariah 478. Navy 479. Cassidy 480. Lorelai 481. Stephanie 482. Alma 483. Mira 484. Legacy 485. Jolene 486. Anya 487. Dorothy 488. Paris 489. Yaretzi 490. Aurelia 491. Maddison 492. Renata 493. Jimena 494. Xiomara 495. Itzel 496. Heaven 497. Lyra 498. Estella 499. Gabrielle 500. Maren 501. Jacqueline 502. Jennifer 503. Imani 504. Jordan 505. Paislee 506. Ainsley 507. Emmy 508. Jessica 509. Alondra 510. Mae 511. Makenzie 512. Bristol 513. Edith 514. Cameron 515. Elora 516. Jazlyn 517. Averie 518. Ivory 519. Kenzie 520. Emelia 521. Angel 522. Cecelia 523. Maliyah 524. Oakleigh 525. Opal 526. Oaklyn 527. Kinley 528. Kayleigh 529. Bonnie 530. April 531. Kamryn 532. Mallory 533. Briar 534. Leona 535. Keira 536. Alexa 537. Macie 538. Ariya 539. Briana 540. Virginia 541. Skyler 542. Amber 543. Hanna 544. Monroe 545. Frankie 546. Miranda 547. Dayana 548. Charleigh 549. Meredith 550. Carter 551. Sierra 552. Sunny 553. Indie 554. Eve 555. Beatrice 556. Nalani 557. Kyla 558. Clementine 559. Katie 560. Kennedi 561. Myra 562. Blaire 563. Davina 564. Faye 565. Anahi 566. Madilynn 567. Alejandra 568. Alanna 569. Ivanna 570. Mariam 571. Yara 572. Anne 573. Addilyn 574. Braelynn 575. Lilian 576. Dylan 577. Amirah 578. Lina 579. Reyna 580. Amalia 581. Amani 582. Ryan 583. Calliope 584. Isabela 585. Michaela 586. Abby 587. Alia 588. Emerie 589. Lylah 590. Holland 591. Sevyn 592. Winnie 593. Leyla 594. Shelby 595. Rosalia 596. Zariyah 597. Rhea 598. Emberly 599. Marie 600. Nia 601. Remy 602. Chaya 603. Haley 604. Kaliyah 605. Rosa 606. Zahra 607. Jayleen 608. Karsyn 609. Malaysia 610. Jaliyah 611. Mina 612. Kensley 613. Lennox 614. Maxine 615. Hadassah 616. Mikayla 617. Margo 618. Noah 619. Azariah 620. Mara 621. Eileen 622. Florence 623. Melany 624. Reina 625. Journi 626. Amaia 627. Kaitlyn 628. Elliott 629. Kelsey 630. Nola 631. Gloria 632. Keilani 633. Freyja 634. Arleth 635. Jenna 636. Sloan 637. Analia 638. Louise 639. Melina 640. Sasha 641. Dior 642. Thalia 643. Noemi 644. Maci 645. Dallas 646. Marina 647. Aliana 648. Ezra 649. Adley 650. Cassandra 651. Aleena 652. Leslie 653. Capri 654. Mckinley 655. Angelica 656. Romina 657. Della 658. Kathryn 659. Kyra 660. Milan 661. Tiana 662. Khaleesi 663. Nellie 664. Cleo 665. Murphy 666. Bethany 667. Irene 668. Ellianna 669. Zelda 670. Aleah 671. Janelle 672. Yareli 673. Adalee 674. Dani 675. Marceline 676. Coraline 677. Estrella 678. Ila 679. Iyla 680. Mavis 681. Kenna 682. Vienna 683. Zendaya 684. Cheyenne 685. Erin 686. Karla 687. Mikaela 688. Jazmin 689. Persephone 690. Elodie 691. Selene 692. Chelsea 693. Scout 694. Theodora 695. Lara 696. Marilyn 697. Novah 698. Ellis 699. Charley 700. Jemma 701. Amayah 702. Karina 703. Kendra 704. Miley 705. Laney 706. Laurel 707. Leilany 708. Halle 709. Jenesis 710. Malaya 711. Marleigh 712. Wrenlee 713. Zaylee 714. Fallon 715. Julie 716. Priscilla 717. Bellamy 718. Adrianna 719. Angie 720. Siena 721. Aileen 722. Macy 723. Estelle 724. Hana 725. Martha 726. Flora 727. Kylee 728. Liv 729. Megan 730. Sariyah 731. Galilea 732. Penny 733. Jovie 734. Jamie 735. Amoura 736. Emmie 737. Henley 738. Sky 739. Christina 740. Violeta 741. Arlet 742. Belen 743. Aviana 744. Kori 745. Monica 746. Savanna 747. Naya 748. Alena 749. Aya 750. Waverly 751. Brynleigh 752. Aliza 753. Kiana 754. Love 755. Clover 756. Pearl 757. Skyla 758. Bria 759. Ocean 760. Alisson 761. Treasure 762. Lillie 763. Jaylani 764. Liberty 765. Rayna 766. Milana 767. Zaria 768. Emerald 769. Halo 770. Taytum 771. Andi 772. Milena 773. Noor 774. Kataleya 775. Kimber 776. Carly 777. Jream 778. Samira 779. Ashlyn 780. Hunter 781. Marlowe 782. Promise 783. Joelle 784. Dulce 785. Lea 786. Ashlynn 787. Zoya 788. Elliot 789. Jolie 790. Kai 791. Bridget 792. Johanna 793. Paulina 794. Ramona 795. Aila 796. Jessie 797. Mercy 798. Rayne 799. Rivka 800. Arlette 801. Paula 802. Valery 803. Birdie 804. Nala 805. Kelly 806. Kinslee 807. Linda 808. Madisyn 809. Aspyn 810. Baylor 811. Chana 812. Zaniyah 813. Goldie 814. Marianna 815. Novalee 816. Loretta 817. Elyse 818. Stormi 819. Adele 820. Berkley 821. Anika 822. Marisol 823. Kassidy 824. Roselyn 825. Louisa 826. Alexia 827. Dalia 828. Ensley 829. Hayley 830. Jayda 831. Harmoni 832. Jada 833. Marigold 834. Zayla 835. Ayleen 836. Natasha 837. Sol 838. Annika 839. Malayah 840. Drew 841. Anais 842. Angelique 843. Zhuri 844. Aliya 845. Azaria 846. Zora 847. Allyson 848. Brittany 849. Kamiyah 850. Gwen 851. Vada 852. Giuliana 853. Elina 854. Hadlee 855. Itzayana 856. Jianna 857. Cadence 858. Greta 859. Lilianna 860. Denver 861. Robin 862. August 863. Jazmine 864. Royal 865. Braelyn 866. Celia 867. Yamileth 868. Avayah 869. Baylee 870. Iliana 871. Teresa 872. Amelie 873. Judith 874. Kara 875. Lacey 876. Amiri 877. Elowyn 878. Georgina 879. Justice 880. Emmalyn 881. Harlee 882. Kamari 883. Kaydence 884. Khalani 885. Luisa 886. Whitley 887. Bailee 888. Cynthia 889. Karter 890. Livia 891. Aubrie 892. Veda 893. Janiyah 894. Salma 895. Araya 896. Aubrielle 897. Bexley 898. Giana 899. Keyla 900. Katelyn 901. Saoirse 902. Sariah 903. Araceli 904. Artemis 905. Averi 906. Yasmin 907. Kaiya 908. Emberlynn 909. Amaris 910. Sapphire 911. Kallie 912. Shay 913. Guinevere 914. Lilyana 915. Magdalena 916. Tinsley 917. Zainab 918. Deborah 919. Kenia 920. Laylah 921. Layne 922. Scottie 923. Carla 924. Chandler 925. Rosalina 926. Kairi 927. Lauryn 928. Nyomi 929. Raina 930. Aubriella 931. Elia 932. Lenora 933. Lisa 934. Nori 935. Tiffany 936. Giovanna 937. Jaylah 938. Rosalyn 939. Chanel 940. Maddie 941. Avah 942. Leanna 943. Luz 944. Addilynn 945. Brylee 946. Casey 947. Laylani 948. Tru 949. Billie 950. Lottie 951. Alianna 952. Meilani 953. Lexie 954. Nathalia 955. Avalynn 956. Julissa 957. Paloma 958. Rosalee 959. Rebekah 960. Simone 961. Egypt 962. Scarlette 963. Sarahi 964. Alaiya 965. Hadleigh 966. Inaya 967. Keily 968. Lakelynn 969. Nyra 970. Princess 971. Rowyn 972. Vida 973. Elisabeth 974. India 975. Ryann 976. Barbara 977. Belle 978. Saanvi 979. Xyla 980. Winona 981. Aadhya 982. Indigo 983. Lakelyn 984. Paola 985. Emmeline 986. Joyce 987. Kamilah 988. Maisy 989. Rylan 990. Soleil 991. Ainhoa 992. Maleah 993. Neriah 994. Elsa 995. Emiliana 996. Luella 997. Nancy 998. Cielo 999. Madalyn 1000. Kahlani
Top 20 Baby Girl Names Growing in Popularity
Some girl names have made epic jumps in popularity in 2021 when compared to the previous year. The following girl names became even trendier when they made massive moves in the list. For example, the no. 1 name, Raya, climbed 441 spots. See the top 20 baby girl names that made the biggest leaps last year:
1. Raya 2. Wrenley 3. Angelique 4. Vida 5. Emberlynn 6. Flora 7. Murphy 8. Arleth 9. Ocean 10. Oakleigh 11. Freyja 12. Mylah 13. Taytum 14. Elia 15. Jaylani 16. Zayla 17. Navy 18. Della 19. Clover 20. Nyra
Pampers Picks For 2023: Top 20 Baby Girl Names
While you wait for SSA to publish the most popular baby girl names in 2022, weâve already created a list of our 20 favorite girls names for 2023. We think these names will be all the rage in 2023âbut thatâs just our prediction! 1. Adeline
2. Aubree
3. Bonnie
4. Celeste
5. Daphne
6. Felicity
7. Freya
8. Isabella
9. Jane
10. Kali
11. Luna
12. Maeve
13. Maggie
14. Nia
15. Opal
16. Rosie
17. Rory
18. Siena
19. Thea
20. Winter
7 Ideas for Choosing a Name for Your Baby Girl
There are many factors you might consider when choosing a name for your baby girl. Whether youâd like to select a common, popular name or something rarer, there are plenty of routes you can take to get you to the perfect name! Here are ways to go about making this important decision:
1. Search for a Girlsâ Name Thatâs Pretty Different
Choose a unique name for your baby girlâsomething thatâs cool, preppy, or edgy, but still beautiful in its own wayâby selecting a name that isnât at the top of the most popular list.
2. Honor a Female Relative by Choosing a Beautiful Girlsâ Name From the Family Tree
Choose a name in the familyâit could be your motherâs name, grandmotherâs name, auntâs name, etc.
3. Be Inspired by Your Beautiful Surroundings
Look for a name inspired by something around you, such as nostalgic country girl names, monikers connected to nature, or flower names, all perfect for a little girl.
4. Go for a Tried-and-True Traditional Girlsâ Name
If youâre old-school, choose an old-fashioned girlsâ name or a name thatâs found in the Bible.
5. Pick a Girlsâ Name Thatâs Cute, Cool, and Modern
If you consider yourself a trendy parent, go with a unisex name, especially if youâve decided to let your babyâs gender be a surprise. There are plenty of cute and cool girl name options that are a great fit for modern times.
6. Dig Deep Into History for a Pretty Retro Girlsâ Name
If youâd like something a bit retro, choose from a list of 90s baby names or even ones from decades past by using the SSA website to search for name data as far back as 1879. Simply pick any yearâwhether that year has significance for you or notâand retrieve results for the girlsâ names that were popular back then.
7. Seek Input From Your Family and Friends
If you want to leave it up to popular opinion, you could host a baby-naming party where friends and family come up with sweet suggestions for your baby girlâs name.
The Bottom Line
We hope this list of 1,000 names for girls lends inspiration on your journey of choosing the best option for your babyâs moniker! If youâre still on the fence or need even more ideas, check out this extensive list of baby girl names by letter of the alphabet, starting with A. Here youâll surely find the perfect option for your little lady. By the way, if youâre looking for the perfect middle name for your baby girl, any of the above could work. However, we also have a separate list of middle names for baby girls to inspire you. | |||||
5444 | dbpedia | 3 | 1 | https://www.girlschase.com/content/how-tell-girl-whos-beautiful-one-whos-made | en | How to Tell a Girl Who's Beautiful from One Who's Made Up | [
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] | 2017-06-25T23:59:00 | Women use makeup, hair, dress, and behavior to make you think they’re prettier and more sexually receptive than they are. But you don’t need to be fooled. After I’d been meeting girls in bars and on the street for a few years, I decided to undertake a project. I wanted to become instant and good at differentiating naturally beautiful girls from all the rest. And there were a | en | null | Hey! Chase Amante here.
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Women use makeup, hair, dress, and behavior to make you think they’re prettier and more sexually receptive than they are. But you don’t need to be fooled.
After I’d been meeting girls in bars and on the street for a few years, I decided to undertake a project. I wanted to become instant and good at differentiating naturally beautiful girls from all the rest. And there were a few reasons I decided to do this.
Contents
1. What’s So Good About Pretty Girls?
2. How Makeup Works
3. How to See Past Makeup
4. Hair, Dress, and Behavior
5. Freedom to Date True Beauties
If you aren’t too experienced with women yet, or you haven’t paid much attention to this, there’s a lot women can do to make themselves look more attractive than they naturally are. And in fact, often this ‘artificial beauty’ commands men’s attention more than natural beauty does. I discussed this in “You’re Passing Up the Hottest, Coolest Girls”; how, quite often, a guy will go for the flashy girl with red lips and a low neckline over the girl who actually has the prettier face and better breasts, but who does not advertise these.
My suggestion is for you to switch it up. Rather than go for the girl who makes herself look better and more sexually receptive than she is, you go for the girl who is genuinely beautiful, and genuinely receptive, yet isn’t angling for your attention as much.
Of course, that’s hard to do if you don’t know what you’re looking for. The hair, makeup, and clothes industry is designed to trick the male brain. It is hard to not be spellbound by the woman in flashy attire, with flashy hair, and flashy makeup.
Thus, if you’d like to see past the illusion, you must train to attune to certain things. | ||||||
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] | 2023-03-26T03:30:15+00:00 | The movie 50 Shades of Grey is a must-watch. If you liked the movie, here are some other movies that you must check out. | en | https://www.mysmartprice.com/favicon.ico | MySmartPrice | https://www.mysmartprice.com/gear/entertainment/entertainment-features/movies-like-fifty-shades-of-grey-ott/ | Fifty Shades of Grey, the 2015 film adaptation of E.L. James’s bestselling novel, caused quite a stir upon its release for its provocative depiction of a BDSM relationship between a wealthy businessman and a college student. The film’s success spawned two sequels and opened the door for other films that explore similar themes of sexuality, power dynamics, and taboo desires.
If you’re a Fifty Shades fan looking for more movies that push the boundaries of eroticism and sensuality, there are several options. In this article, we’ll explore some of the best films that capture the essence of Fifty Shades, from steamy romances to psychological thrillers. So grab some popcorn and get ready to explore the world of adult cinema.
Table of Contents
Top Movies like 50 – Shades of Grey
Movie Name Where to Watch IMDb Rating The Handmaiden Netflix 8.1 Belle de Jour Cataz 7.7 The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover Amazon prime Video 7.5 Lust, caution Netflix 7.5 Eyes Wide Shut Amazon Prime Video. 7.5 Sex, Lies and Videotape Netflix. 7.2 Pretty Woman Prime Video 7.1 The dreamers Netflix 7.1 Basic Instinct Netflix 7 Nymphomaniac Netflix 6.9
The Handmaiden
This Korean film is set in Korea during the Japanese colonial era. It follows the story of a young Korean woman named Sookee, who is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress named Lady Hideko. Sookee is part of a plan devised by a con man, posing as a count, to swindle Lady Hideko out of her inheritance. Sookee’s job is to gain Lady Hideko’s trust and convince her to marry the count. However, as Sookee spends more time with Lady Hideko, she begins to develop feelings for her and question her role in the con.
Cast – Kim Min-hee, Ha Jung-woo, Cho Jin-woong, Moon So-ri, Kim Tae-ri, Yong-nyeo Lee, Min-chae Yoo, Dong-hwi Lee, Kim Hae-sook, Kyu-jung Lee, Si-eun Kim, Si-yeon Ha, Rina Takagi, Geun-hee Won, Jong-Dae Kim, Han-sun Jang, Eun-yeong Kim, Ri-woo Kim
Director – Park Chan-wook
Where to watch – Amazon Prime Video
Also Read: Best Kantara-like Movies on OTT: Pushpa, Tumbbad, Asuran,and More
Belle de Jour
This movie is about a young woman named Séverine who appears to have a perfect life as a bourgeois housewife in Paris. However, she secretly desires masochistic fantasies and becomes a prostitute during the day under the name “Belle de Jour.” Séverine’s double life creates a rift between her and her husband, Pierre, who is unaware of her daytime activities. Meanwhile, her experiences as a prostitute lead her to explore her sexuality and desire while revealing the darker side of human nature.
Cast – Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Michel Piccoli, Geneviève Page, Pierre Clementi, Macha Meril, Françoise Fabian, Maria Latour, Muni, Claude Cerval, Michel Charrel, Iska Khan, Bernard Musson, Marcel Charvey, François Maistre, Francisco Rabal, Georges Marchal, Francis Blanche.
Director – Luis Buñuel
Where to watch – Cataz
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover is a 1989 British film directed by Peter Greenaway. The film is set in a lavish restaurant called Le Hollandais, owned by a brutal and vulgar gangster named Albert Spica. The story revolves around the relationship between Albert’s wife, Georgina, and a bookshop owner named Michael. Georgina and Michael begin an affair and use the restaurant as their secret meeting place, but their relationship is eventually discovered by Albert, leading to tragic consequences.
Cast – Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Alan Howard, Tim Roth, Gary Olsen, Ethan Stewart, Ciarán Hinds, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Liz Smith, Ron Cook, Emer Gillespie, Janet Henfrey, Arnie Breeveld, Tony Alleff, Paul Russell, Alex Kingston, Ian Sears.
Director – Peter Greenaway
Where to watch – Amazon Prime Video
Also Read: Upcoming Hollywood Movies in Theatres
Lust, Caution
Lust, Caution is a 2007 drama film directed by Ang Lee, set in Shanghai during World War II. The film follows a group of Chinese students who plot to assassinate a high-ranking Japanese collaborator named Mr Yee. The plot revolves around a young woman named Wong Chia Chi, who poses as a wealthy socialite, Mrs Mak, to get close to Mr Yee. Over time, Wong and Mr Yee begin a passionate and dangerous affair, and Wong’s loyalties become increasingly conflicted as she falls deeper in love with him.
Cast – Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Tang Wei, Joan Chen, Leehom Wang, Tsung-Hua Tou, Lawrence Ko, Zhi-Ying Zhu, Ying-Hsuan Kao, Johnson Yuen, Kar Lok Chin, Yan Su, Saifei He, Ruhui Song, Jie Liu, Hui-Ling Wang, Akiko Takeshita, Hayato Fujiki, Anupam Kher.
Director – Ang Lee
Where to watch – Netflix
Eyes Wide Shut
Tom Cruise plays Dr William Harford, a wealthy and successful New York City doctor. His marriage becomes strained after his wife Alice confesses to having sexual fantasies about a naval officer she met on vacation. Dr Harford becomes obsessed with these revelations and embarks on a journey of sexual and psychological exploration, which takes him to a mysterious masked orgy and a series of encounters with different women. As he delves deeper into the sexual underworld, he discovers a dark and dangerous conspiracy threatening his life.
Cast – Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Todd Field, Sidney Pollack, Madison Eginton, Jackie Sawiris, Madison Eginton, Peter Hans Benson, Michael Doven, Sky du Mont, Louise J Taylor, Stewart Thorndike, Lisa Leone, Randall Paul, Kevin Connealy, Julienne Davis, Marie Richardson, Thomas Gibson.
Director – Stanley Kubrick
Where to watch – Amazon Prime Video
Sex, Lies and Videotape
This movie is about a woman named Ann who finds herself trapped in a loveless and unfulfilling marriage with her successful but emotionally distant husband, John, played by Peter Gallagher. Despite her efforts to connect with him, John is more interested in sleeping with Ann’s younger sister, Cynthia. Things unravel when Graham, an old friend of John’s who has been living a nomadic lifestyle for years, comes back into town. Graham’s unconventional views on sex and relationships lead to increasingly uncomfortable encounters between him and Ann, culminating in Graham videotaping Ann and Cynthia as they share their deepest sexual desires with each other.
Cast – James Spader, Peter Gallagher, Laura San Giacomo, Ron Vawter, Steven Brill, Alexandra Root, David Foil.
Director – Steven Soderbergh
Where to watch – Netflix
Also Read: Movies in Theatres this Week: New Films Playing in Theatres Right Now
Pretty Woman
Everyone who is a Richard Gere fan knows how memorable this movie is! The movie’s plot revolves around a wealthy businessman named Edward Lewis, who hires a prostitute named Vivian Ward to escort him for a week while attending various social events in Los Angeles. At first, the relationship between Edward and Vivian is strictly business, but as they spend more time together, they begin to develop feelings for each other. Vivian introduces Edward to a different way of life while he helps her to gain confidence and self-respect. During their weekends, Edward offers to keep Vivian as his mistress and provide her with financial support, but she refuses, realizing that she wants more out of life than just money. Ultimately, they part ways, but not before realizing how much they have learned from each other.
Cast – Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Jason Alexander, Ralph Bellamy, Laura San Giacomo, Alex Hyde-White, Amy Yasbeck, Elinor Donahue, Hector Elizondo, Jason Randal, Judith Baldwin, Bill Applebaum, Tracy Bjork, Gary Greene, Billy Gallo, Abdul Salaam El Razzac, Hank Azaria, Larry Hankin.
Director – Garry Marshall
Where to watch – Amazon Prime Video
The Dreamers
This movie is about ambiguous sexual relationships and surpasses a lot of boundaries! In this movie, an American exchange student named Matthew befriends a French brother and sister, Theo and Isabelle. Matthew becomes drawn into the siblings’ world of cinephilia and intellectualism, and they spend most of their time together watching classic films and discussing their passions. As the friendship deepens, a complex and sexual relationship between the three begins, blurring the lines between love, desire, and intellectual curiosity.
Cast – Louis Garrel, Michael Pitt, Eva Green, Anna Chancellor, Robin Renucci, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Florian Cadiou, Pierre Hancisse, Valentin Merlet, Lola Peploe, Gilbert Adair, Ingy Fillion, Fred Astaire, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill
Director – Bernardo Bertolucci
Where to watch – Netflix
Basic Instinct
Basic Instinct is a 1992 erotic thriller and a landmark movie back then! Set around a San Francisco detective Nick Curran played by Michael Douglas, who investigates the brutal murder of a rock star. Curran’s prime suspect is Catherine Tramell, played by Sharon Stone, a seductive and manipulative novelist dating the victim. Tramell’s novels are known for their sexually explicit content and portrayal of violent crimes, leading Curran to suspect that she may be capable of murder. Curran becomes increasingly drawn to Tramell as the investigation deepens, despite her obvious attempts to manipulate and control him. The two engage in a passionate sexual relationship, which only adds to the case’s complexity.
Cast-Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Denis Arndt, Leilani Sarelle, Chelcie Ross, Bruce A Young, Dorothy Malone, Daniel von Bargen, Wayne Knight, Benjamin Mouton, Stephen Tobolowsky, Jack McGee, Bill Cable, Stephen Rowe, Mitch Pileggi, Mary Pat Gleason
Director – Paul Verhoeven
Where to watch – Netflix
Nymphomaniac
This erotic movie is about Joe, a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac who recounts her erotic experiences to an older man named Seligman after he finds her beaten and abandoned in an alleyway. Joe tells Seligman about her sexual awakening as a young girl, her many sexual partners, and her various sexual encounters, which range from mundane to taboo. Along the way, she explores the limits of her sexuality and confronts the emotional consequences of her actions.
Cast – Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stacy Martin, Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Uma Thurman, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Connie Nielsen, Ronja Rissmann, Maja Arsovic, Sofie Kasten, Ananya Berg, Anders Hove, James Northcote, Charlie G. Hawkins, Clayton Nemrow, Simon Böer, Jeff Burrell.
Director – Lars von Trier
Where to watch – Netflix
These are the top 10 movies like the 50 Shades of Grey! Let us know which one did you like the most. | ||||
5444 | dbpedia | 0 | 37 | https://www.documentary.org/online-feature/period-end-sentence-transforming-taboo-cause | en | 'Period. End of Sentence': Transforming a Taboo into a Cause | https://www.documentary.org/themes/custom/ida_bootstrap_sass/images/favicon.ico | https://www.documentary.org/themes/custom/ida_bootstrap_sass/images/favicon.ico | [
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] | null | [] | 2024-07-24T08:34:28-07:00 | en | /themes/custom/ida_bootstrap_sass/images/favicon.ico | International Documentary Association | https://www.documentary.org/online-feature/period-end-sentence-transforming-taboo-cause | If you are an urban Indian woman, chances are that you’ve been asked at some point to desist from touching or staining or entering spaces while on your period. Temples and other religious sites are off limits. In certain homes, so are kitchens. This is such a normalized phenomenon, that most Indian women will not blink at it. When buying pads at the local store, chances are that the owner has wrapped the pack in newspaper so your period will remain private, not to be carried or seen out in the open. In Bengal, even today, albeit under protest by feminists, the term “shorir kharap,” or sickness, is colloquial phrasing for menstruation. In the Indian rural context, a period may be considered a curse or the onset of shame, to be covered up at all costs, rendering a woman unclean. And while times are changing and Indian women are in open and often defiant celebration of their bodies, the conversation in villages and smaller towns has only just begun.
A new documentary by Rayka Zehtabchi, Period. End of Sentence, has been nominated for an Oscar this year, in the shorts category. Zehtabchi, 25, is of Iranian-American descent, raised in Southern California. The film follows a group of women in rural Hapur district, outside of Delhi, India, as they transition from crippling shame at their own menstrual cycles to creating the beginnings of a microeconomy, based on a low-cost sanitary napkin machine. Arunachalam Muruganantham, an entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu, famously created the pad machine to spare his wife the trauma of having to reuse unhygienic rags for her period. This is not the stuff of rom-coms, however—Shanti was displeased at her pioneering husband’s interest in her or anyone else’s period, and the couple fought vigorously over his desire to have her experiment with pads. In her experience, men were excluded from any conversation around the gynecological properties of women’s bodies. Anything else invited unwelcome attention.
Prior to Zehtabchi’s team entering their lives, the women of Hapur had little idea what pads were, and certainly did not have the resources to afford them. For Zehtabchi, this was a sea-change in perspective. “We have entire aisles for pads and tampons when we go to stores,” she observes. “We don’t think about it because it is at our disposal. When I went to India, we heard about [rural] women using rags and leaves and even ashes to deal with their period. They were dropping out of schools, hiding from society, seriously hindered by this. It was a huge cultural difference.”
In 2013, a group of female students at Oakwood, a North Hollywood private school, found themselves in a unique position. One of them, Helen Yenser, had visited a United Nations Commission on the Status of Women that focused on the impact of taboos around menstruation on women in countries such as Afghanistan, India and Nigeria. Girls in these chapter schools were dropping out because of their lack of access to feminine hygiene products and the trauma that ensued as a result. When Yenser and her mother, Melissa Berton (a high school English teacher at Oakwood and, like Yenser and the other Oakwood students, a producer on the project), returned from the trip, they wanted to raise funds for pad machines. Berton also suggested that the team make a documentary. Says Yenser, “People in the activist world wondered why we would pour money into a film instead of the machine. We could make a film and have one machine or instead, have three or four machines. My mom had the foresight to see that if we made a good film, we might raise money for eight machines.”
Producer Garret Schiff is father to Ruby Schiff, one of the Oakwood students involved in the pad project (both Schiffs are producers on the film). During their time as film students at USC, Zehtabchi and her boyfriend and creative partner, Sam Davis (editor and cinematographer on the film), had worked with Garret Schiff on a project. Soon after Rayka’s graduation, Schiff called her to pitch the documentary. “I didn’t hesitate,” says Zehtabchi. “My first official Pad Project meeting for the film was walking into a room of high school girls who were going to be my executive producers. It was a really cool experience because I’m a young female filmmaker and I felt very connected to the girls and their journey of activist work.”
In the first few minutes of Period. End of Sentence, two pre-teen girls from Hapur melt into giggles of embarrassment at having to discuss their period. The older women exhibit quiet rage at having to live lives of seclusion, away from a pervasive male gaze, because of their period. Zehtabchi’s oldest female subject, at least 60, calls it dirty blood and a mysterious illness. Then, Zehtabchi captures the arrival of the pad machine in Hapur. The women are equal parts terrified and eager—the men have been told that it is a machine that makes diapers for children. Once trained, the women make enough pads for personal use as well as commercial sale, quickly evolving into a small business. This is no small impact, onscreen or in its message. “It was crazy that we saw a real-time transition and shift,” Zehtabchi remarks. “I would never have expected that we would come back to India, six months after my first trip, and see that the women had made about 18,000 pads that they were trying to package and market. They were whispering about the pads to their aunts and sisters and friends. That was when they started to open up. I think the presence of the pad machine and our efforts at opening up the conversation reassured them that it was okay to talk about periods.”
The Oakwood girls and Zehtabchi say that they were aware that they were making a film about a foreign culture, from what may be a position of privilege. Zehtabchi observes, “We were filming people telling us things that they don’t want to be talking about, so we were always trying to not be invasive, especially with the camera. And in the edit. For example, we walked into a co-ed classroom, unannounced, in India. The teacher asked the 15-year-old students if anyone could tell her what menstruation was. And there’s a shot in the film of a young girl who’s called upon, and she stands up completely petrified. In the film, there is about 30 seconds where she literally cannot say a word. In real life we got about three minutes of footage of her where it seemed like she was going to faint. It was so hard to watch and realize that the shame was so painful. In the edit, part of you wants to indulge in the drama of it and continue that shot for as long as you can. And then you realize what it is to be respectful and sensitive and not exploit them.” Echoes Yenser, “I never wanted it to be a film that said, ‘Look at these poor women, at this backward village.’The United States also has issues with menstruation and stigma around it. When we added pads and tampons to low-income schools in New York, attendance went up. When I saw the film, it was a relief.”
Yenser, currently a screenwriting student at USC, describes an incident in one of her MFA classes. "As part of an introduction, we were asked to name an interesting extra-curricular that we did,” she recounts. “I said, ‘My name is Helen and my extracurricular is this documentary about periods.’ The reaction I essentially got was, ‘That's so weird.’ I was asked to have a better lead-in to that because there were guys in this classroom who may not be comfortable with me talking about my period. It reminded me that I had been advertising this film for seven years and I forget that some people may not be as comfortable.”
Period. End of Sentence is visually rich, with the shawls and tapestries and faces of wintertime in Hapur. This is Zehtabchi’s first documentary, a medium in which making cinematic choices while trying to capture moments of truth before they are lost is notoriously challenging. “My background and training is in narrative storytelling with tight story structure and character arcs,” she explains. “When I came to this potential documentary idea, I knew that I wanted a beautiful film that took audiences on a journey with these characters, rather than a straight journalistic treatment.” Zehtabchi speaks no Hindi, the language of the film. Both she and Berton testify to the enormous aid extended to them by Action India, a grassroots feminist organization in India, for the three years that it took to get the requisite permissions for filming. For Zehtabchi in particular, the value of a local producer and translator—in this case, Mandakini Kakar—was invaluable. “Mandy would conduct interviews and break every ten minutes to give us a quick summary,”Zehtabchi recalls. “We would pivot based on those responses. I would have detailed conversations with her and map out an outline of all the points that I wanted to hit in the film or topics I wanted to dig deeper into.”
Zehtabchi and Kakar, after dozens of interviews, secured subjects whose anger and strength shine through the film. Central to the narrative is Sneha, an aspiring police officer, who would like to be saved from the prospect of marriage, and like the other women, remains fearful of the reactions that the film might get, especially from the men in their lives. This fear was dispelled only after a joyous first screening. “It was hard enough to film in a foreign country, but harder to film a painfully taboo topic, in a village,” Zehtabchi observes. “We were often surrounded by a crowd, mostly men, obviously interested in what we were doing. It was important to protect the women and yet navigate this intimate topic. Mandakini was a wonderful producer, and that was key because we were making such a low-budget film and didn’t have much time to film in the villages. For me, after a certain period of time and spending time with the women and talking to them through Mandy, things began to fall into place. I could put myself in their shoes—times in my life where I’ve been afraid of something and it’s held me back. It was heartbreaking to see that the thing that was holding them back is really the thing that gives them strength and should be empowering them.”
Zehtabchi and Davis returned to Los Angeles to edit their film in true low-budget style—in their apartment. This was a period of collaboration with the Oakwood students and Berton, who watched cuts and provided feedback, both positive and dissenting. For a final version, another Oakwood parent came on board, editor Doug Blush, who is also credited as an executive producer on the film. (Another Oakwood parent and producer on the film is prominent publicist and Oscar campaign strategist Lisa Taback.) Berton describes the film’s journey as “kismet-y”: “Everybody was inspired by her or his daughter. Gary Schiff came on because he was moved by his daughter; Lisa Taback, by her daughter; Guneet Monga [the acclaimed Indian producer], by Stacey Sher’s daughter. I think it’s been the students’ bravery and their willingness to be front-and-center about a topic that’s still touchy in the United States. Here were a bunch of high school students saying that girls and women should be free to talk about their period. I think they were so irresistible that their parents came on board to help. One of the parents was our accountant.”
The film is a beginning of a universal, extended conversation that one hopes that Zehtabchi and the Oakwood students will utilize their reach and access to continue, both in the rural and urban context, across countries. The Oscars are a leap towards some of that awareness, and the girls of Oakwood, the women of Hapur and Zehtabchi will attend with their team. Notes Yenser, “It’s like Suman says in the film: ‘Everything in the patriarchy takes time.’ I’ve always loved that line because I feel like the same thing can be said of the United States, or really any society.”
Period. End of Sentence will screen as part of IDA’s DocuDay, a daylong showcase of the Academy Award-nominated documentaries, taking place at the Writers Guild of America theater in Beverly Hills.
Nayantara Roy is a writer and producer based in Los Angeles. During the day, she works in unscripted development at AGBO Films. | |||
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] | 2024-08-05T12:15:00+00:00 | Austrian director Jessica Hausner in an interview discusses the Locarno Film Festival, her next movie ‘ Toxic,’ absurdity, being strict on dialogue. | en | The Hollywood Reporter | https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/jessica-hausner-locarno-film-festival-interview-toxic-1235960615/ | Austrian auteur Jessica Hausner (Club Zero, Lourdes, Little Joe) is attending the 77th edition of the Locarno Film Festival this year as the head of the jury that will decide the winner of the Pardo d’Oro, or Golden Leopard, in the international competition section.
For the filmmaker, it marks a return to the Swiss festival, which takes place Aug. 7-17. After all, it was the first international festival where her work turned heads when she won the main prize in the Pardi di Domani section, which showcases short and medium-length films focused on experimentation and innovative forms, for her short Flora in 1997.
Before the 2024 edition of Locarno, Hausner talked to THR about how she picks themes and topics to explore based on emotion, her influences, why her films’ endings tend to cause debate and why she likes to “create a certain absurdity.”
How exciting is it for you to return to Locarno — this time as president of the international competition jury? And how do you approach this role?
I’m looking forward to this experience very much. Locarno is a festival that is really focused on artistic films, arthouse films, films that pursue an interesting style in filmmaking. So it’s not only about entertaining but also original films. This is something I’m looking forward to very much.
The discussion with the other jury members will, I think, be very interesting. My experience from being on juries is that every person sees a different film. So it’s always about discussing why I like this, why I don’t like that, what did I see at all, what did I make of a film? I’m looking forward to that.
Is that why your own films typically have endings that can be interpreted in different ways? How important is it for you to be ambiguous and leave things open to interpretation?
I would like to put it this way: I think there is an immediate emotion in a film, which works very fast, very direct. When you see a child crossing the street and a car is approaching fast, you are afraid, you feel for the child. That is a very immediate, direct emotion of empathy. But I think there is another sort of emotion when watching a film, which comes later and comes from understanding something about us as human beings. This is a more complex emotion that is more connected to reflection and something that you cannot simplify. It is a complex thing. Us human beings are torn. We want to be important, but we’re not. We need to be happy, but we’re not always. We want to do good but sometimes cause evil. We have so many contradictions in our lives. This second reflective emotional understanding is what I’m trying to do with my films.
Some people find your work very provocative. How do you start out with film ideas and do you look to cause debate or do you just find a topic that you want to explore?
The latter. I start from an idea that I find interesting. Most of the time, it’s quite a simple idea. It’s sometimes just a very small plot logline or so. And from there, I develop the story. But it starts from a simple idea that I find intriguing and mysterious or daring. I then start to investigate and do a lot of research and try to find out what it is that really interests me about it. But it doesn’t come from an intellectual point of view. It comes from a very emotional moment. In the beginning, I don’t know why I want to make that film.
Would you agree that your visual style has become more pronounced or more emphasized? It seems to me that there are even more colors, and you seem to use music more. How much more important have these things become as you’ve grown as a filmmaker?
I think you’re right. I would say that the colors, the costumes, the music have become even more artificial or extreme or surrealist. The first films were a little bit more naturalistic in style, but not very much more. (Laughs.) Maybe I understood that this way of visual storytelling helps me to also create a certain absurdity. What I’m also looking for is humor that comes from those weird, absurd moments. I don’t know, say, someone is very sad, but wearing a crazy pink hat. This contradiction is something I like. Because it’s not easy to say this is right, this is wrong, or this is good, this is bad. So I create mixed emotions.
I wanted to ask you about your influences, whether in film, theater, other forms of art or even philosophy. I sometimes am reminded of the theater of the absurd when I watch your films. And to get even more philosophical, I sometimes wonder if they are an existentialist exercise. Do you notice any influences?
Now that you say it, I have always been interested in existentialism. As a teenager, I loved to read [Jean-Paul] Sartre and [Albert] Camus. The surrealist movement also inspired me. I usually mention the filmmaker Maya Deren, a surrealist filmmaker in the U.S. in the 1940s, who inspired me a lot. Her films and the way she edits her scenes create a weird dream-like feeling of time and space. That is very inspiring for me. She also worked with the composer Teiji Ito. In my film Little Joe, I also used music by that same composer.
I read that your next project may be called Toxic and that you may be in the process of writing it. Can you give us a little update on whether that is still in the works and what you can share about it?
At the moment, that’s the plan. I’m working on a script that is called Toxic. It’s about work life and about the question “do we live to work or do we work to live?” So it’s also a little bit about overworking and about exploitation. I’m trying to juxtapose some of those positions.
While you’re writing, do you think about actors or other key elements for the film?
Sometimes I don’t but with this film, it will be four episodes, so I already think about actors, because it makes it easier for me to distinguish the different characters.
With Club Zero, there was a Pied Piper theme. And people have compared Little Joe to the story of Frankenstein. With Toxic, did you have any legends or fairy tales or other stories in mind to help you explore working life?
There is one story that has always impressed me because it’s the opposite of the society we live in, where we always want to have more and need more and be the better version of ourselves. That fairy tale is Hans im Glück (Hans in Luck, from the Brothers Grimm). He loses step by step. He loses more and more, and in the end, he has nothing. And that’s when he’s really happy.
Why did you decide to make this film episodic? And will it also explore #MeToo and harassment in the workplace?
Well, the episodes came from my understanding that it’s interesting for this film to show different experiences, different situations. I had started to have it in one place, but then I found something was missing. I wanted to show different versions of how we live and work. So that’s where the idea of doing it in episodes came from. And on the #MeToo topic: I don’t know — maybe in the film after this one.
When you watch things for your own pleasure, what kind of films, series or plays do you enjoy? Is it offbeat and arthouse fare or do you watch silly things too?
Oh, I have to say I watch both. I can enjoy this and that. I find it interesting that in every genre, you have films that are really fascinating, and others that are less interesting. In the blockbuster business, there are films that don’t reach that entertainment [level] that they promise and others do. The same is true for arthouse. Arthouse films can also be boring and pretentious but others can touch my soul deeply. So I wouldn’t say that I prefer the one or the other. I just like to see films that really evoke something in me.
Anything you have recently seen that fits that bill?
In Vienna, we have the Wiener Festwochen [arts festival]. And I saw a very interesting play by Florentina Holzinger. She’s a star in the performance theater scene. Her play was a sort of mixture of performance and theater play. And it was very irritating. It was a sort of body horror thing. I think she really hurt herself on the stage. But it was also very feminist. So she made some very interesting, also intellectually interesting, points. That was a very interesting experience.
Your films always feature very strong, very present female characters. How important is it for you to bring a female presence and perspective to the table?
When I started as a filmmaker, that was a natural thing, because my perspective is a female perspective. So it felt very natural to have female lead characters. And then, when #MeToo came about, it changed a lot. In my life it did because suddenly, there was a big understanding of the misogynist treatment of women, which before was very unreflected, even normal. And suddenly we talked about it, suddenly it became something conscious. So this changed a lot, also in my own understanding of my role in life. And since then, I am consciously aware of the fact that by having female characters in my films, of course, I also contribute to the diversity and a change of the image of women.
Is it just me or do viewers these days more readily identify with characters who are different from them, whether in terms of gender or age or whatever, as long as they are compelling…
Depends on the perspective. Women used to identify with male characters. Now men start to identify with female characters. I have a son who is 14. We watched children’s films, and now we watch adult films together. In the last 10 years, female characters have become more and more active heroines. And, this is so interesting, he totally identifies with them. So it does work perfectly.
Speaking of creating characters: When it comes to the dialogue you write, how strict are you on set and is there room for actors to change it?
Normally, I am very strict. But if an actor or an actress has an idea or would like to change some of the lines, we go through the dialogue, but we do not do that on set. We do it weeks before shooting. This is really something that can be done in advance. Because on set, there are enough unforeseen things. So I always try to be as well prepared as possible, because then I’m more free to make decisions on set.
It can be a little bit of a struggle because sometimes an actor tries to make the dialogue more logical. And that’s when I don’t follow because that’s how I like to write dialogues. They don’t make sense necessarily. That’s how I — that’s how we speak. You start a sentence, and then you lose it and say something different, so I want to keep that. I also use a lot of repetitions. For example, if one character uses a specific word, we find it again later in another dialogue, but in a totally different context. So I need to be quite precise about the dialogue. | |||||
5444 | dbpedia | 2 | 96 | https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/g33668021/best-period-dramas/ | en | 30 Best Period Dramas of All Time You Can Stream Now | [
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"Elena Nicolaou",
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] | 2020-08-24T20:42:27.946951+00:00 | From Bridgerton to The Gilded Age, these period drama movies and TV series are on Netflix, Amazon Prime, BBC, Britbox, Hulu, & HBO Max and beyond. | en | /_assets/design-tokens/oprahdaily/static/images/favicon.7b2a65b.ico | Oprah Daily | https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/g33668021/best-period-dramas/ | From elaborate costumes to sumptuous storylines (and the strong desire to live in a time other than the present)—there is so much to love about period dramas. With the push of a button, these TV series and movies act as instant portals into other eras. The only question is: Where do you want to time-travel first?
Each of these shows and films explores an era in history, through the lenses of both the upper class and everyday people. For Tudor buffs, there's a series that ventures into the early days of King Henry VIII's notorious rule—through the eyes of his first wife. Regency fans have a movie that looks at what life was like for a young Black woman in a wealthy family during that era; then, of course, there's Bridgerton.Many period dramas are based in this era, the time of Shakespeare and the Tudors, or the 18th century, but we've also included a few that take place in the 20th century, too, like a series that chronicles working in a hospital at the turn of the century to a 1950s drama about the dangers of racism. | ||||
5444 | dbpedia | 0 | 60 | https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/082015/10-must-watch-movies-finance-professionals.asp | en | The 10 Best Finance and Wall Street Movies | [
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"Zaw Thiha Tun"
] | 2015-08-20T12:47:00-04:00 | Finance makes for great cinema. Here are 10 of the best offerings by Hollywood on the subject. | en | /favicon.ico | Investopedia | https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/082015/10-must-watch-movies-finance-professionals.asp | The financial world, in all its incarnations, makes for great cinema. Tragedy, comedy, ingenuity, catastrophe, and redemption are all present in the many finance movies that Hollywood has produced over the years.
While most finance movies portray financial professionals in a less than flattering light, the unbelievable stories of excess, risk-taking, and, of course, greed all make for compelling cinema. They are required viewing for anyone thinking of, or already working in the business.
The 10 finance and Wall Street movies below, in no particular order, were chosen for their financial and stock market storylines plus their "plucked from the headlines" resonance.
10. The Big Short (2015)
Based on the nonfiction book "The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine" by Michael Lewis, this movie follows a few savvy traders as they become aware—before anyone else—of the housing bubble that triggered the financial crisis in 2007-2008.
The movie is known for how it cleverly presented explanations of sophisticated financial instruments. For example, it has actress Selena Gomez explain what synthetic CDOs are at a poker table and actress Margot Robbie explain mortgage-backed bonds in a tub with champagne.
9. Barbarians at the Gate (1993)
This 1993 TV movie centers on the leveraged buyout (LBO) of RJR Nabisco, and it's based on the 1989 book of the same name by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. While the movie does take some creative liberties in portraying this real-life event, audiences may be shocked and amused at the incompetence and greed of Nabisco’s CEO F. Ross Johnson and the behind-the-scenes negotiations and skullduggery around this famous LBO.
8. American Psycho (2000)
In this violent and thought-provoking film adaptation of the critically acclaimed Bret Easton Ellis novel set in the backdrop of finance, Christian Bale plays a wealthy investment banker with a dark and deadly secret.
While there is actually little about finance in this movie, American Psycho does shed light on the surreal world inhabited by the financial industry's elite class, and the utter disconnect they have with reality.
7. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
An acclaimed big-screen adaptation of a David Mamet play, this infinitely quotable movie focuses on a team of downtrodden real estate salesmen whose morals have been utterly eroded after years of working for their unscrupulous company.
The movie showcases the greed and underhanded tactics that those in financial product sales positions may be exposed to. It underscores the unremitting pressure exerted on salespeople by their superiors who have sales goals to meet.
While the entire cast is top-notch, Alec Baldwin’s motivational speech steals the whole movie. It brings to light the best and worst aspects of working in the financial industry under enormous stress.
6. Rogue Trader (1999)
This movie tells the true story of Nick Leeson, a trader who single-handedly caused the insolvency of Barings Bank, the world’s second-oldest merchant bank.
A rising star on the Singapore trading floor, Leeson blew up as quickly as he rose, covering enormous losses from his superiors in carefully hidden accounts. His actions eventually lead to the mother of all failed trades with a short straddle position on the Nikkei, which ends up experiencing a large sigma move.
While the movie is entertaining, it's Leeson’s story itself that makes for a great lesson in risk management and financial oversight.
5. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
Though the events contained in the documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room occurred more than 20 years ago, they still have the power to shock. Based on the best-selling book of the same title, the film relies on a trove of video footage, congressional hearings testimony, and interviews with Enron executive Mike Muckleroy and whistle-blower Sherron Watkins, to argue that Enron, far from being a stellar energy corporation that lost its way, was actually a con game almost from the beginning.
In one of the more stunning revelations, the film lays out how the California energy crisis of 2001 was a sham created by Enron traders, who are overheard asking plant managers to "get a little creative" in closing plants for "repairs." Enron shut down up to 76% of California's energy industry, as it criminally manipulated the state's energy supply and relentlessly drove up the price of electricity.
4. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
This Martin Scorsese-helmed biopic chronicles the rise and fall of a famous stock scammer, Jordan Belfort. It features excellent performances by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill.
The Wolf of Wall Street is based on real-life events. This finance film looks at the infamous Stratton Oakmont, an over-the-counter brokerage firm, and a pump and dump scheme that helped launch the IPOs of several large public companies during the late 1980s and 1990s.
3. Boiler Room (2000)
While Barbarians at the Gate takes place in the glitz and glamor of a corporate boardroom, Boiler Room is set on the absolute lowest rung of the financial firm ladder: the pump and dump scheme.
The term refers to unscrupulous firms boosting the price of a security with misleading and sometimes false statements. They then sell their own holdings of the security, leaving investors with stock that's lost its value.
Boiler Room is a work of fiction but pump-and-dump firms are very real, as are the pain and suffering they inflict upon their victims.
This finance movie serves as a warning for those starting to invest in the stock market to stick to transparent, solid companies and to invest based on sound fundamentals. Viewers of Boiler Room won't soon forget the adage “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
2. Margin Call (2011)
Perhaps the most financially accurate movie on the list, Margin Call takes place over the span of 24 hours in the life of a Wall Street firm on the brink of disaster (modeled closely after some of the bulge bracket banks).
Margin Call does little to hide its contempt for the reckless risks taken by some of the largest banks in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis. It highlights the trading of complex derivative instruments that investment banks themselves barely understood.
A poignant scene in the movie features two main characters talking about the catastrophe that is soon be unleashed upon, not just their firm but the whole, unsuspecting financial community of companies and investors as well, as a janitor stands between them, completely oblivious to what is going on.
1. Wall Street (1987)
One finance movie every professional should consider seeing is the Oliver Stone classic that got thousands of college graduates to utter the immortal phrase “Blue Horseshoe loves Anacott Steel” as they rushed to their Series 7 exams.
Originally crafted to show the excess and hedonism associated with finance, Wall Street still wields power as a recruiting tool for traders, brokers, analysts, and bankers nearly 30 years after it was made.
Although the Wall Street movie serves to warn us about the dangers of insider trading, let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to be Bud Fox or even Gordon Gekko and indulge a bit in our greedy side. After all, it was Gekko who famously said, “Greed is good.”
The Bottom Line
These movies are a must-see for any prospective financial pro. Even if you aren’t thinking of a career in the field, these films can provide a bit of insight into the wild and sometimes absurd world of finance. | ||||
5444 | dbpedia | 2 | 79 | https://www.vogue.com/article/celebrities-married-to-normal-people-jennifer-lawrence-cooke-maroney | en | 20 Times Celebrities Married Normal People | [
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Hathaway met Shulman, an actor-slash-jewelry-designer, at the Palm Springs Film Festival in 2008, through a mutual friend. Their chemistry was so apparent that Hathaway told her pal: I’m going to marry that man. “I think he thought I was a little nuts, which I am a bit, but I’m also nice,” Hathaway has said. “I knew from the second I met him that he was the love of my life.” While Shulman’s acting career hasn’t mirrored the same success as his wife’s, aside from a part in the 2015 Meryl Streep dramedy, Ricki and the Flash and producing Song One, which Hathaway also starred in, he has a jewelry line called James Banks. He even helped design Hathaway’s ethically sourced, six-carat diamond engagement ring when he proposed in 2011.
Jerry Seinfeld and Jessica Sklar
Married: December 1999
Sklar was a newlywed at the Reebok gym on the Upper West Side, wearing headphones and filling a water bottle when she met Seinfeld. “I was going through a difficult time, and I was approached by Jerry Seinfeld and he attempted to make me laugh, and I was really not interested in being entertained at that moment,” Sklar has said. “He came around again and said something funny, and I actually had to laugh.” At the time, Sklar was a PR executive for Tommy Hilfiger and had just married Eric Nederlander, the son of theater magnate Robert Nederlander, two months earlier. (When they were wed, guests’ invitations were styled after Playbills and indicated Sklar was “making her Broadway debut.”) Soon after meeting Seinfeld, Sklar broke things off with her marriage and became engaged to Seinfeld a year later, after he proposed at Soho’s Balthazar.
Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth
Married: December 2014
Redmayne and Bagshawe started out as friends. Redmayne was studying at Eton College, the English all-boys boarding school, while Bagshawe attended a neighboring boarding school for girls. When Bagshawe and her classmates organized a fashion show for charity, Redmayne volunteered to walk the runway. Shirtless. “I was this pasty, freckly guy and when I came on, the girls in the audience didn’t take much notice of me,” Redmayne later recalled. Someone did take notice, however, and so began the 12-year-long friendship: Redmayne caught glimpse of Bagshawe from across the room at an after-party: “She was very beautiful and very funny and she loves the arts and theater just as I do, so we became friends.” The actor and the former financial publicist began dating in 2012, before making their red carpet debut together that December at the London premiere of Les Misérables.
Patrick Dempsey and Jillian Fink
Married: July 1999
The Grey’s Anatomy star found his match at Fink’s salon, Delux, in 1994. When the hairstylist noticed there was an appointment under the name “Patrick Dempsey,” she wrote it off as a joke. “I was shocked,” Fink said of her surprise when Patrick Dempsey himself came in for a trim. “But at the same time, I was happy because he was so cute.” Both were in relationships with other people, and it took three years of regular haircuts before the two got together.
Alec Baldwin and Hilaria Thomas
Married: June 2012
Baldwin and Thomas were first introduced in February 2011 at Pure Food and Wine, a since-closed vegan restaurant in Union Square. As Thomas recapped the event for the couple’s New York Times wedding announcement: “I was standing near the door with my friends when he walked up and took my hand and said, ‘I must know you.’ ” (The actor has since admitted his opening line was “none too clever.”) Thomas was 27 years old and working as an instructor at Yoga Vida, a studio she helped open upon graduating from NYU. “I saw right away that she was very dedicated,” Baldwin told the Times. “She’s the yoga queen of the Village.”
Vince Vaughn and Kyla Weber
Married: January 2010
Vaughn’s movie-producer friend reportedly introduced him to Weber at a wedding in 2008. A former Calgarian from rural Alberta, Weber was raised on a small farm in Blackie (population est. 400) and worked as a real estate agent. “Because she lived far away, at first I was nervous to date her because it’s one of my best friends’ wife’s best friend from childhood…. If it goes wrong, you’re talking about awkward,” Vaughn said during an appearance on Live! with Regis and Kelly. “She’s a civilian, which is good.” According to Vaughn, they started off by exchanging emails and phone calls, and they’ve been inseparable ever since.
Christian Bale and Sibi Blazic
Married: January 2000
Blazic was working as personal assistant to Winona Ryder when she met Bale, according to reports, at one of the actress’s barbecues. They later eloped in Las Vegas, and an Elvis impersonator reportedly officiated the marriage; Bale was 26 years old and Blazic was 30. When Bale won an Oscar for best actor in a supporting role for The Fighter, he told reporters: “I get choked up about that stuff…. [My wife] had to be married to so many different characters over our marriage. I know that it truly would be impossible to do it without her. She’s such a good, strong woman.” Case in point: The following year Blazic was a stunt driver in The Dark Knight Rises.
Paul Rudd and Julie Yaeger
Married: February 2003
After his breakout role in Clueless (1995), Rudd moved to New York and, on the advice of Amy Heckerling, the film’s director, got a publicist. When he arrived to the city, Rudd went straight to his publicist’s office, where Yaeger also worked as a publicist herself. As Rudd was late for an audition, Yaeger offered to drop Rudd’s bags at his friend’s apartment. A few days later, hardly knowing a single soul in Manhattan, he asked her out for lunch, and the rest, as they say, is history.
George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin
Married: September 2014
Long considered one of Hollywood’s most infamous bachelors, Clooney fell in love with Lebanese-British human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin when a mutual friend brought her by his Lake Como home. After marrying Clooney in Venice in 2014, Alamuddin gave birth to a set of twins, Ella and Alexander, in 2017.
Jennifer Lawrence and Cooke Maroney
Married: October 2019
Lawrence and art dealer Cooke Maroney now epitomize power-couple style. The couple met through a mutual friend in 2018; one year later they got married at a 150-person ceremony in Rhode Island (to which the bride wore Dior of course).
Amy Schumer and Chris Fischer | ||||
5444 | dbpedia | 2 | 4 | https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/g18753561/best-classic-movies/ | en | Old Classic Films Everyone Should Watch | [
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] | 2018-02-28T20:27:00-05:00 | Each one of these classic films delivers a heady dose of nostalgia, is genuinely entertaining, and will make you sound more interesting at cocktail parties. Where else can you find all that? | en | /_assets/design-tokens/townandcountrymag/static/images/favicon.80ace0d.ico | Town & Country | https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/g18753561/best-classic-movies/ | Whether you are a classic movie buff who has spent hours upon hours indulging in movie marathons, or perhaps a novice who just wants to get a taste of film history—and the movies that changed it—we've rounded up some other timeless flicks for you to sink your teeth into. Maybe you fancy an early rom-com (How to Steal a Million), a gripping drama about an organized crime syndicate (The Godfather), or a psychological thriller that set new standards for horror (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane); whatever flavor appeals to you, there's no better time to check out some of cinema's best. Each one of these films delivers a heady dose of nostalgia, is genuinely entertaining, and will make you sound more interesting at cocktail parties. | ||||
5444 | dbpedia | 0 | 17 | https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118799/ | en | Das Leben ist schön (1997) | [
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Life Is Beautiful manages to walk the extremely thin line between humor, fantasy, and tragedy. Sure, the film is clearly comedic, but nevertheless it manages to very effectively communicate the tremendous losses suffered in the Nazi concentration camps and has scenes at least as intense as any scene in Schindler's List.
This is one of the best films that I have ever seen. It manages to be so encompassing that you hardly notice the subtitles are even there. I proudly cast my vote of 10. | |||||
5444 | dbpedia | 3 | 15 | https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/science-says-bella-hadid-most-beautiful-woman-in-world | en | Bella Hadid is Most Beautiful Woman in the World, According to Science — Beyoncé, Models | [
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] | 2024-03-16T12:10:41+00:00 | According to Science, Bella Hadid is the Most Beautiful Woman in the World | en | /favicon/apple-icon-57x57.png | L'Officiel USA | https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/science-says-bella-hadid-most-beautiful-woman-in-world | From Melissa McCarthy to Zach Galifianakis, prepare for another star-studded season with your favorite crime solving podcasters.
The New York-based label, responsible for crafting cult classic pieces across generations, is back again with another ultra-buzzy campaign.
The pop music renaissance is upon us. See all of the up-and-coming Gen-Z singers and musicians to watch for 2024.
Use the runway as your guide to get a first look at the fall fashion trends everyone will be wearing this year.
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Take your makeup look to the next level with a pH-adaptive color changing lip oil. | ||||
5444 | dbpedia | 0 | 56 | https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/periods-genres/film-tv/best-film-scores-all-time/ | en | The 50 best film scores of all time | https://imgs.classicfm.com/images/182938?width=1200&crop=16_9&signature=o3UnyU219FzTsLNjQqtpX0GXLs8= | https://imgs.classicfm.com/images/182938?width=1200&crop=16_9&signature=o3UnyU219FzTsLNjQqtpX0GXLs8= | [
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] | 2022-08-30T11:36:35+01:00 | From John Williams’ Harry Potter to Ennio Morricone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, these are the 50 film soundtracks you voted for as the greatest of all time. | en | /assets_v4r/classic/img/favicon-16x16.png | Classic FM | https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/periods-genres/film-tv/best-film-scores-all-time/ | Frozen – Christophe Beck
In Frozen, Disney animation moves back to its best form. Christophe Beck, composer for the Muppets’ recent big screen outings, wrote touching music that perfectly complemented the songs by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.
Frozen - Frozen Heart HD
Interstellar – Hans Zimmer
Zimmer delivered magnificently for Interstellar, receiving an Oscar nod for his soundtrack. Painstakingly composed over two years, Zimmer visited London’s Temple Church to record its historic organ. An ensemble of 34 strings, 24 woodwinds, four pianos, and a 60-voice mixed choir were later added. The feeling of air and breath resonates throughout the music.
Read more: The 10 best Hans Zimmer soundtracks
Interstellar Main Theme - Extra Extended - Soundtrack by Hans Zimmer
Casablanca – Max Steiner
The peak of Max Steiner’s noir years, he apparently begged to drop ‘As Time Goes By’ from featuring in the film’s score, but was overruled. And now it’s iconic.
Casablanca - As Time Goes By - Original Song by Sam (Dooley Wilson)
James Bond Theme – Monty Norman
The most famous guitar riff in cinema has featured in every official Bond film since Dr. No (1962), when it accompanied the opening title. It appeared again over the opening credits for From Russia with Love, and from then on became as integral to the James Bond universe as corny one-liners and gadgets. The guitar riff heard in the original recording of the theme was played by Vic Flick, who was paid a one-off fee of £6 for recording the tune.
007 : James Bond : Theme
Superman – John Williams
The movie and the special effects may have dated since Christopher Reeve’s Superman first flew onto our screens in 1978. But the music hasn’t. If anything, it’s grown and become iconic, and that’s probably down to Williams’s ability to capture the essence of the movie in his music. This is John Williams in grand, brassy Star Wars fanfare mode, helping us truly believe that a man could fly.
Read more: 10 of John Williams’ all-time greatest film themes, ranked
Superman Theme - Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra
Alien – Jerry Goldsmith
“In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream.” Luckily we have Jerry Goldsmith’s score compensating for the silence in this terrifying Sigourney Weaver-led space horror.
Main Title
Pride and Prejudice – Dario Marianelli
Using the piano sonatas of Beethoven as his springboard, Marianelli set about writing a soundtrack that sounds as if it could actually have been heard by any of Jane Austen’s characters. Indeed, given that several scenes involve some of the characters playing a piano, Marianelli found himself in the unconventional position of actually having to have music ready well before the film’s completion.
Soundtrack - Pride and Prejudice - Liz On Top Of The World
Inception – Hans Zimmer
Before embarking on this score, Zimmer was told to let his imagination run wild. What emerged was a densely constructed, imaginative, electronic sound world, incorporating a guitar sound reminiscent of the music of Ennio Morricone played by Johnny Marr, former guitarist of The Smiths. Édith Piaf’s hit, ‘Non, je ne regrette rien’, which appears in the film, is also integrated into Zimmer’s score. The film’s iconic brass instrument fanfare even resembles a slowed-down version of the song.
Hans Zimmer performs INCEPTION "Time" - The World of Hans Zimmer
Avatar – James Horner
Ten years after James Horner’s career went stratospheric with Titanic, expectations were high for his next collaboration with James Cameron on Avatar. The composer delivered a superb score that fused sweeping orchestral sounds with tribal percussion and synthesised sounds. The mystical world of the Na’vi is captured with tinkling chimes and the closing battle is one of Horner’s greatest with a huge choral climax.
AVATAR SUITE LIVE IN CONCERT - ORIGINAL VERSION HD !!! Hollywood in Vienna 2013
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Stephen Warbeck
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin explored the relationship between Greeks living on the island of Cephalonia during World War II with their enemy occupiers. The mandolin is central to the story and, in an unusual move, composer Stephen Warbeck conceived the score before shooting even began, making the music the basis around which the film was edited. This is a delicate emotional score, pitting the sweetness of the mandolin against the darkness of war.
Captain Corelli's Mandolin: Pelagia's Song
Once Upon a Time in the West – Ennio Morricone
For his 1968 epic – his first for a major Hollywood studio – Sergio Leone called upon his countryman, the late Ennio Morricone to provide the score. The composer finished the score before filming had even begun so that the music could be played to the actors during shoots. An integral part of the film, with various leitmotifs relating to each of the main characters, the ‘Man with the Harmonica’ cue is particularly recognisable and has been put to use in other productions.
Ennio Morricone - Once upon a time in the West (Sergio Leone film)
Romeo and Juliet – Craig Armstrong
Shakespeare’s timeless play is updated to the hip modern suburb of Verona Beach. Director Baz Luhrmann’s collaboration with Craig Armstrong led to an enduring partnership, including the musical spectacular Moulin Rouge. An unconventional soundtrack to the very unconventional interpretation, the touching piano theme for the Balcony Scene has become the standout moment.
Craig Armstrong - Balcony Scene (from Romeo + Juliet OST)
Jaws – John Williams
One of the most iconic pieces of film music, the two-note shark motif that made going in the sea terrifying almost becomes a character in its own right. Rarely has a piece of film music so perfectly captured a film’s atmosphere. When Williams first played the two notes to Spielberg on a piano, the director initially laughed, thinking it was a joke. Williams described the theme, performed on the tuba, as “grinding away at you, just as a shark would do, instinctual, relentless, unstoppable”.
FSO - Jaws - "The Shark Theme" (John Williams)
The Big Country – Jerome Moross
For a soundtrack that needed to be as sweeping as the action and location, director William Wyler turned to Jerome Moross who had orchestrated dozens of movies and had extensive experience composing for the concert hall, ballet and theatre. While Moross’s Oscar-nominated score is somewhat reminiscent of the wild west ballets of Aaron Copland, The Big Country became his most important contribution to film music, clearly influencing many of the great western scores that followed.
The Big Country Theme
Titanic – James Horner
For the biggest film of its time, composer Horner turned his back quite deliberately on the traditional idea of what a film score for a Hollywood blockbuster should sound like. Instead, he focused on the Irish background of Leonardo di Caprio’s character, Jack Dawson, and created a soundworld somewhat reminiscent of the likes of Enya and Clannad. Titanic earned Horner a fortune and two Oscars. And it also made Celine Dion, who sang the theme tune, a few pennies too.
FSO - Titanic - "Suite" (James Horner)
Pirates of the Caribbean – Klaus Badelt & Hans Zimmer
Klaus Badelt and Hans Zimmer headed a team of 15 composers who worked on this score to get it completed quickly. Composer Alan Silvestri, who had collaborated with director Gore Verbinski on Mouse Hunt and The Mexican, was set to provide the score, but the producers went with Badelt instead. Johnny Depp swaggered and strutted as Captain Jack Sparrow, the music did too – thrilling, surging and just a little bit cheeky.
Pirates of the Caribbean (Auckland Symphony Orchestra) 1080p
Last of the Mohicans – Trevor Jones
It could have ended up being an electronic score if director Michael Mann had had his way, but thankfully this glorious 1992 soundtrack from Trevor Jones ended up as an orchestral affair. The film’s main character Hawkeye – played by Daniel Day-Lewis – had little to say, but the music spoke volumes. A majestic, thrilling but ultimately simple soundtrack.
The Last Of The Mohicans (1992) Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Full OST
Battle of Britain – Ron Goodwin & William Walton
William Walton was originally commissioned to write the music for this World War II drama. When producers decided to drop Walton's score in favour of Ron Goodwin's, star Laurence Olivier stepped in and demanded his name be removed from the credits if Walton's music was removed. Goodwin's gripping score remained but Walton's cue for the battle sequence itself was re-instated. It is Goodwin's theme thought that became a favourite for military bands.
Battle of Britain(1969)-Battle of Britain Theme
The Dam Busters – Eric Coates
Eric Coates' brilliant theme to the 1955 film, The Dam Busters, is now so popular in its own right that it's often played at military flypasts in the UK. It's not surprising, given its catchy tune.
The Dam Busters- Eric Coates
Back to the Future – Alan Silvestri
Alan Silvestri’s Back To The Future is right up there with Star Wars and Indiana Jones as one of those iconic Hollywood themes – brassy, bombastic and thrilling. Silvestri’s score flits around Marty McFly’s increasingly wacky adventures, but among all the chaos and the pop culture references that run throughout the movie, at its heart it still all comes back to that one main theme.
"Back to the Future" with composer Alan Silvestri conducting in Vienna!
The Godfather – Nino Rota
Rota's score for Francis Ford Coppola's gangster epic was removed at the last minute from the list of 1973 Academy Award nominees when it was discovered that Rota's famous 'Love Theme' used the same melody as one he had used previously in Eduardo De Filippo's 1958 comedy Fortunella. Confusingly, his score for The Godfather Part II went on to win the Oscar in 1974, even though it featured the same Love Theme that made the 1972 score ineligible. Whatever. It's an all-time classic.
The Godfather Theme Song
Apollo 13 – James Horner
This Ron Howard-directed drama told the true story of the ill-fated 13th American mission to the moon. At a time when space flights had become routine to the American public, the impending tragedy and heroism of the astronauts and scientists suddenly grabbed headlines again. Horner's Copland-esque score for Apollo 13 is possibly his greatest – understated yet stirring, patriotic but with a reverence and dignity, which at times makes it feel more suited to a historical documentary.
Apollo 13 OST FULL - James Horner
Saving Private Ryan – John Williams
Saving Private Ryan won five Oscars in 1998 but Best Soundtrack was not among them. Spielberg wanted to keep much of the film silent, to concentrate on the true horrors of war and to make sure that the harsh and real atmosphere was heard (and it clearly worked, hence winning the Best Sound Oscar). This put considerable limits on Williams, but he still managed a moving theme, played over the end credits and soon becoming a stand-alone hit, Hymn to the Fallen. The wordless chorus with a trumpet and snare-drum combination certainly tugs at the heart strings.
Cinema in Concert - 08 - John Williams - Hymn to the Fallen
The Sound of Music – Richard Rodgers
Set in Austria, this beloved musical tells the story of Maria, who takes a job as governess to the von Trapp family while she decides whether to become a nun. She soon falls in love with the children and their widowed father, Captain von Trapp, and we’re plunged into their world of music, mountains, bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens.
"Do-Re-Mi" - THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)
Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark – John Williams
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have a knack for producing great cinematic adventures, and this was certainly the case with Raiders of the Lost Ark, which introduced Indiana Jones to delirious audiences around the world. John Williams's blistering ‘Raiders March’, first heard on Raiders, went on to symbolise the reckless antics of Harrison Ford's Indy for three more cinematic outings. The score received an Oscar nomination but lost out to Vangelis' score for Chariots Of Fire.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Complete Soundtrack - John Williams
American Beauty – Thomas Newman
Thomas Newman used a range of percussion to create a complex rhythmic soundtrack for Sam Mendes's award-winning movie, including marimbas, pianos, xylophones and bongos, as well as more unconventional tools such as metal bowls. The pensive and thoughtful music perfectly encapsulates the ennui of the mid-life crisis being experienced by Kevin Spacey's lead character. Newman's soundtrack doesn't so much drive the narrative forward as float it along and it's one of the reasons that American Beauty's denouement is so powerfully shocking.
'American Beauty' - Thomas Newman (from the 'plastic bag scene')
Born Free – John Barry
John Barry's popular theme song for the true story of Elsa the lion cub nearly didn't make it into the film. The producers thought it uncommercial and cut it from the print shown at the film's royal premiere. Singer Matt Monro and lyricist Don Black lobbied the producers to restore it and succeeded; it finally appeared over the closing credits, which enabled it to qualify for an Academy Award. It won, as did Barry's expansive soundtrack which gives just a hint of his Out of Africa score 19 years later. ‘Born Free’ even pops up in the 2012 video game Silent Hill: Downpour.
John Barry "Born Free"
Gone with the Wind – Max Steiner
Max Steiner is one of the founders of film music as we know it today and his name is now attached to the annual 'Max Steiner Award' for film music which recognises his pioneering role in the early development of the craft. Steiner was drafted in to provide the music to Gone With The Wind and his sweeping score has really stood the test of time, still able to send shivers down spines and create goosebumps.
Tara's Theme ~ Gone with the Wind
Dangerous Moonlight – Richard Addinsell
Producers of the 1941 film Dangerous Moonlight had their eyes on Rachmaninov to write their score. The lugubrious Russian wasn't that keen, so the job of penning the music went to Richard Addinsell. Despite all that, it's fair to say that even he passed on much of the work, too: it fell to the arranger and orchestrator Roy Douglas to knit together the melodies and turn them into a fully orchestrated, heart-on-your-sleeve concert piece, known as the Warsaw Concerto. Full of indulgent harmonies and grand Romantic gestures, the piece remains hugely popular today.
Addinsell Warsaw Concerto Laszlo Kovacs Hungarian Symphony Orchester, Miskolc
Lawrence of Arabia – Maurice Jarre
Jarre became involved in the 1962 epic after both William Walton and Malcolm Arnold had proved unavailable. Despite this, and the brief six weeks he was given to write the score, Jarre came through with music that perfectly captures director David Lean's vast desert setting and Peter O'Toole's Oscar-winning turn as Lawrence. One of cinema's most famous themes, Jarre's mix of orchestra and exotic percussion captures the romance of the desert.
Lawrence of Arabia - Main Theme - Maurice Jarre
Braveheart – James Horner
As Mel Gibson, playing Scottish nationalist William Wallace, cried "Freedom!", James Horner's stirring score helped transport us back to the 13th century. There were Horner's trademark traditional Celtic and Scottish influences, and not a few eyebrows were raised at the inclusion of some Irish themes, and a Kena flute from the Andes. Combined with the orchestra and a spine-tingling boys' choir, they create a stirring and beautiful, romantic score.
A Gift of a Thistle ("Brave Heart" OST)
Blade Runner – Vangelis
Composed in 1982 and presaging the ambient music genre that would follow in the wake of house beats by almost a decade, Vangelis’s music perfectly captures the mood of the dystopian, rain-lashed Los Angeles in which the film is set. Evocative and seductively melancholy.
Blade Runner • Main Theme • Vangelis
Amélie – Yann Tiersen
This delightful French comedy set in Montmartre became an unexpected global smash. It tells the story of the whimsical, shy waitress who decides to change the lives of those around her for the better. Yann Tiersen provided a charming Gallic score, with touching piano moments, and a little accordion making it all very authentic.
Amélie (2001) Official Trailer 1 - Audrey Tautou Movie
633 Squadron – Ron Goodwin
British composer Ron Goodwin created an iconic theme for this World War Two saga of heroism and bravery in which an RAF squadron is assigned to knock out a German rocket fuel factory in Norway. Goodwin’s big tune – with its rhythm of 6-3-3 – has become an evergreen piece for brass bands and remains one of British cinema’s catchiest themes.
633 Squadron | Soundtrack Suite (Ron Goodwin)
The Magnificent Seven – Elmer Bernstein
Undoubtedly one of the greatest Western themes ever, Bernstein drew upon Copland's Wild West ballets to create a galloping, expansive romp that has remained a worldwide favourite. Along with the iconic main tune, the score also contains allusions to twentieth-century symphonic works, including a reference to Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra in the tense, quiet scene just before the shoot-out.
The Magnificent Seven • Main Theme • Elmer Bernstein
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
John Williams’s close relationship with Steven Spielberg and the director’s own meteoric career meant that he was the composer for many major films of the period, including Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman and of course, E.T. for which Williams won his fourth Oscar. No one does the magic and wonder of childhood better than Spielberg, and no one could have produced more sympathetic and timeless scores.
John Williams - Flying Theme (E.T. the Extra-terrestial Soundtrack) [HQ]
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – John Williams
John Williams conjures up another magical score reminiscent at times of Saint-Saëns’s Danse Macabre. The first Harry Potter film introduced the instantly recognisable ‘Hedwig’s Theme’. With its use of the celesta in its introduction, it evokes another magical moment from musical history, Tchaikovsky’s ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ from The Nutcracker.
John Williams - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer´s Stone - Suite
Ladies in Lavender – Nigel Hess
Nigel Hess struck gold with Classic FM listeners with his music for Charles Dance’s 2004 film. Set in picturesque 1930s Cornwall, the sweeping, lyrical score perfectly matches the stunning scenery and ocean vistas. For the main theme, Hess employs a full symphony orchestra alongside a solo violin, performed on the original soundtrack by the star violinist Joshua Bell.
(HD 1080p) Ladies in Lavender (OST), Joshua Bell
Cinema Paradiso – Ennio Morricone
This touching 1988 Italian film celebrates both childhood and cinema. In keeping with the film’s study of a relationship between a child and a father figure, composer Morricone collaborated with his son Andrea for the film's score and their work won them a Bafta. While Morricone is best known for the experimental nature of his earlier work scoring westerns for Sergio Leone with natural sounds, electric guitars and harmonica, Cinema Paradiso is a more traditional orchestral score. However, it is a perfect accompaniment to the sentimental and romantic nature of the film itself.
Ennio Morricone - Cinema Paradiso (In Concerto - Venezia 10.11.07)
Doctor Zhivago – Maurice Jarre
David Lean’s screen version of Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago was a sumptuous, sprawling, epic about the life of a Russian doctor-poet who, although married, falls for a political activist's wife and struggles against all the odds to survive the turmoil of war. It won numerous Academy Awards including one for Maurice Jarre’s moving score. While the music largely lets the movie speak for itself, the memorable love theme, Lara’s Theme, is a constant reference point and became a worldwide hit.
Lara's Theme de Doctor Zhivago por La Orquesta de la Ciudad de Praga
Jurassic Park – John Williams
Written in the same year as Schindler’s List, which was a major award-winner in 1993, John Williams’s score for Jurassic Park may have been somewhat overshadowed. However the dinosaur blockbuster enabled him to use an array of compositional techniques which he employed in many of his 1990s film scores. The minute this theme was first aired, it sounded like it had been around for millions of years, instantly an old friend. Majesty is somehow written into the score and befits the wonderful, enormous creatures that Spielberg brought to life on the screen.
Jurassic Park conducted by a dinosaur
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Ennio Morricone
Italian master, Morricone, certainly created one of the most iconic pieces of film music with his main theme, and the rest of the score to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly comes complete with all the classic Morricone traits – including whistling, yodelling and gunfire.
The Good the Bad and the Ugly • Main Theme • Ennio Morricone
Chariots of Fire – Vangelis
Greek synthesiser wizard Vangelis opted for a very modern, electronic score in contrast to the film's 1920s setting – a decision that worked. The famous theme has lived way beyond its original purpose and is widely used for sporting events in real life, forming a memorable moment at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, with Sir Simon Rattle, the LSO and Mr. Bean! Vangelis won an Oscar for his soundtrack.
London Symphony Orchestra - Chariots of Fire (London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony)
Star Wars – John Williams
In 1977, Star Wars caused a revolution; Williams brought a new hope to movie soundtracks, reviving the golden age of grand symphonic scores. He’s since composed for most of the Star Wars movies and most recently worked on ‘Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker’. From the brass blasts of ‘Imperial March’ to Princess Leia’s theme, every one of Williams’s motifs is pure class.
John Williams conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in the 'Imperial March'
Dances with Wolves – John Barry
Reflecting the movie's political and ecological themes, Barry rejected the usual western clichés for a gentle depiction of the story's wide-open plains. As well as the hugely popular 'John Dunbar Theme', the 'Love Theme' is eloquent and ever so slightly haunting; while the music used to accompany Two Socks (the 'star' wolf) is also beautiful.
John Barry：Dances With Wolves
Out Of Africa – John Barry
John Barry – with a little help from Mozart's Clarinet Concerto – provided tender accompaniment to Streep and Redford's doomed, sub-Saharan love affair. The soundtrack, evoking the expanse of the landscape, won Barry an Oscar for Best Original Score and also sits at No.15 in the American Film Institute's list of top 25 film scores.
John Barry: "Out of Africa" Theme (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra)
Gladiator – Hans Zimmer
An Oscar-nominated score for the epic that revived the sword and sandals blockbuster. For Gladiator, Hans Zimmer uses a simple but stirring melody throughout and, as a result, the film joins the ranks of those movies for which the music is a key part of its success. Lisa Gerrard’s haunting voice added a timeless and atmospheric quality.
Gladiator • Now We Are Free • Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard
The Lord of the Rings – Howard Shore
Canadian composer, Howard Shore, may have seemed an unusual choice for the most ambitious production in cinema history, but he triumphed. Nothing in recent years has come close for scale, drama, melody and skill. Shore’s score – which features some 80 different themes and motifs representing the various characters and locations – won him three Oscars, four Grammys and three Golden Globes.
The Lord of the Rings soundtrack: all you need to know about Howard Shore’s score
The Lord of the Rings • May It Be • Enya
Schindler’s List – John Williams
John Williams initially thought this heartrending movie would be too challenging to score, telling director Steven Spielberg: “You need a better composer than I am for this film.” Spielberg responded: “I know, but they’re all dead!” As it turned out, Williams captures perfectly the traditional music and sad plight of Europe’s Jewry, and the shame of man’s inhumanity to man.
Schindler's List Theme by Itzhak Perlman in Chile | ||
5444 | dbpedia | 1 | 36 | https://www.centralparknyc.org/articles/movies-in-central-park-our-favorite-park-locations-made-famous-on-film | en | Movies in Central Park: Our Favorite Park… | [
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] | null | [] | 2023-07-27T11:42:00-04:00 | Experience the magic of movies in Central Park! Explore our favorite Park locations made famous on film. Then go even further behind the scenes on our… | en | Central Park Conservancy | https://www.centralparknyc.org/articles/movies-in-central-park-our-favorite-park-locations-made-famous-on-film | With its abundance of historical landmarks, iconic sites, and breathtaking landscapes—as well as the New York City skyline as a backdrop—Central Park has been the filming ground for hundreds of movies. In fact, it’s the most popular filming destination in the world. From just about anywhere in New York City’s 843-acre backyard, an establishing shot of the Park instantly becomes synonymous with the Big Apple.
Perhaps by now your mind is running like a film reel, rapidly scrolling through the many Central Park locations that have been featured in memorable scenes. What movies in Central Park first come to mind?
Read on for a handful of our favorite Park locations made famous on film. Then go even further behind the scenes on our Central Park Summer Movies Tour!
THE MALL
The Mall’s promenade—the only straight path in the entire Park—is flanked by two rows of American elm trees that bring a sense of peace and tranquility to any film. Consider Maid in Manhattan where Maria Ventura (Jennifer Lopez), a single mother trying to make ends meet by working as a maid in a first-class Manhattan hotel, and Chris Marshall (Ralph Fiennes), a New York politician, share an intimate conversation about a possible future while strolling along this iconic Central Park location. Interested in seeing how the Mall looked before the creation of the Conservancy? Follow Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) in Kramer vs. Kramer as he tries to squeeze time out of his busy workday to teach his son, Billy, how to bike.
BOW BRIDGE
No setting is more fitting for lovers of the romance genre than the elegant Bow Bridge. It’s the perfect place to reflect and wonder if “fairy tale” love can exist in the real world of NYC—a theme explored in the movie Enchanted. Channel your inner Princess Giselle and venture across Bow Bridge’s graceful arch to Bethesda Terrace...maybe while singing “That’s How You Know.”
BETHESDA TERRACE
Speaking of Bethesda Terrace, the heart of Central Park has been a centerpiece for a number of films. Consider the movie Marathon Man in which Thomas Levy (Dustin Hoffman) makes a brief stop at the Terrace before continuing his journey to other picturesque Park locations such as the Reservoir and the Delacorte Theater. More recently, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye, gathered at Bethesda Terrace to determine what the future holds for the villainous Loki following his siege on the Big Apple in Marvel’s the Avengers.
CHERRY HILL
If there is anything Cherry Hill can tell us, it’s that Central Park is ever-changing in its appearance and functionality much like the City itself. Central Park’s history could be described as a long, winding journey—something Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and the rest of the Muppets gang can relate to in The Muppets Take Manhattan. In one scene on Cherry Hill, Miss Piggy spies on Kermit; her purse is stolen, and the porcine protagonist pursues the thief in roller skates to retrieve her belongings. Showing the dangers of crime and poverty that had befallen the Park during the 1970s and ’80s, this iconic location underwent massive transformations in large part due to the Conservancy’s efforts. | |||||
5444 | dbpedia | 3 | 97 | https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-07-30/evolution-makes-women-more-attractive/1371676 | en | Evolution makes women more attractive | https://live-production.wcms.abc-cdn.net.au/9082692097dbdbff1acd136748269163?impolicy=wcms_watermark_news&cropH=308&cropW=549&xPos=0&yPos=0&width=862&height=485&imformat=generic | https://live-production.wcms.abc-cdn.net.au/9082692097dbdbff1acd136748269163?impolicy=wcms_watermark_news&cropH=308&cropW=549&xPos=0&yPos=0&width=862&height=485&imformat=generic | [
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] | 2009-07-30T00:00:00 | Evolution is driving women to become more attractive, scientists find. | en | /news-assets/favicon-32x32.png | https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-07-30/evolution-makes-women-more-attractive/1371676 | Good news girls: you're getting more beautiful. But the forecast isn't so rosy for men.
Scientists have found that evolution is driving women to become more attractive, while men are not likely to advance in the looks department at all.
A study, led by Markus Jokela from the University of Helsinki, found beautiful women had up to 16 per cent more children than their plainer counterparts.
The research used data gathered in a US study, which involved 1,244 women and 997 men being followed through four decades of life.
Their beauty was assessed from photographs and data was also gathered on the number of children they had.
Evolution expert Dr Jack da Silva, from the University of Adelaide, says even though 16 per cent is not a huge difference, a "beauty race" is being formed.
"From an evolutionary perspective, there's a selection in women to be more beautiful," he told ABC News Online.
"The study showed that women on a whole are more attractive than men."
And not only that, these more attractive women are producing more beautiful women.
"Attractive parents have been found to have a higher ratio of daughters to sons," Dr da Silva said.
"For women, beauty was strongly correlated with the number of children they have, but it wasn't for men.
"One of the predictions is that if you are an attractive woman, you will have more daughters because being more attractive is more beneficial to women than it is to men."
And why is that? Dr da Silva says research shows men choose their mates on the basis of beauty, while women pick their partners based on behaviour.
"Women are not primarily choosing their partners based on beauty," he said.
"They're choosing their mates based on other characteristics ... whereas men choose genetic success based on looks.
"Women often choose men based on behaviour that is successful."
And Dr da Silva says there could be a genetic excuse for the stereotype of older wealthier males going for young attractive women.
"Really, really successful men often are serially monogamous," he said.
"They often trade up for younger, more fertile women. You often see very rich, powerful men with very young attractive women hanging off their arms.
"In these men, their genetic endowment probably determines their success [and] women may choose a certain man because he's a good provider."
Hunter gatherers
Dr da Silva says even though we now live in a very urbanised world, humans behaving as hunters gatherers is stuck in our roots.
"In humans, we've been hunter gatherers for most of our history so we still really behave as hunter gatherers," he said.
"And for most our history women's resource gathering potential hasn't been as important.
"The importance of a mate as a female would be that she could bear lots of children and be able to raise these children.
"Whereas, the importance of a male as a mate would be to bring stuff back from the hunt and provide protection. That sounds really old fashioned in an urban society, but for the vast majority of our history, that's how we lived."
But why is beauty so important anyway? Dr da Silva believes humans link beauty with genetic perfection.
"There's a theory that certain characteristics reflect a person's genetic quality and in humans that is beauty," he said.
"If you have children with someone, you're going to think your children will carry these qualities."
You're so symmetrical
And if you think stocking up on beauty products will help, think again. Dr da Silva says it has been found that humans judge beauty based on symmetry.
"One reason we think certain people are beautiful is because of certain features like symmetry of the face, because possibly that reflects the genetic quality of the person," he said.
"Symmetry is seen as a good indication of genetic quality because genetic mutations interrupt with that. It's very difficult to be born symmetrical."
But Dr da Silva says not being "too old" or having extreme features also helps.
"Another aspect of faces that makes them more attractive is that they don't have any extreme features. So any average face without extreme features - so the nose isn't too big or too small, the ears aren't too big or too small, the eyes aren't too far apart or too together," he said.
"And because women's fertility peaks in their mid 20s, if you want to be the ideal beautiful woman, you want average features, a symmetrical face and you want to be about 25."
"When a man's choosing a mate, he wants a fertile mate - for evolutionary reasons, but he's not necessarily doing this consciously."
Dr da Silva says that even though there are slight differences in what people find attractive, it is generally pretty much the same across the board.
"In just about everything you measure in terms of human behaviour, there's a lot of variations but people do generally agree on who's beautiful and who's not," he said.
"Look at celebrities. People generally agree that some celebrities are beautiful and some are not. Everybody tends to think Angelina Jolie is beautiful." | |||
5444 | dbpedia | 3 | 78 | https://sites.middlebury.edu/disneyprincesses/body-image/ | en | The Deconstruction of Disney Princesses | [
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] | null | [] | null | en | https://sites.middlebury.edu/disneyprincesses/body-image/ | The more troubling depictions of women is the way in which young girls are taught that their “most valuable asset is [their] beauty” (Hains). This is known as the feminine beauty ideal and is pervasive throughout the princess movies. Most likely unintentionally, Disney has objectified and devalued women and body types since their first film in 1937. Through a statistical analysis of the movies, this criticism is quite evident. 94% of the fairy tale and princess movies mention physical appearance. Within each movie, this discussion occurs on average 13.6 times, with a range from 0 to 114 times for female physical appearance and a range from 0 to 35 times for male physical appearance. The sheer difference in number of times physical attraction is discussed based on gender is an explicit representation of the polarity and inequality represented in these films.
It is also important to understand the relation of physical beauty to character and other qualities within these stories. In 31% of the stories, beauty and goodness are associated with one another — most often referring to the princess as being chaste and innocent. Similarly, ugliness and evil are related in 17% of the princess stories. For example, Snow White’s stepmother is seen as “intelligent, independent, and is sure of what she wants” (Disney princesses). However, she is ridiculed and labeled as the antagonist, while Snow white is compliant and naive. While any form of physical appearance and personality association is detrimental to a girl’s self-esteem, this stark separation between beauty and ugliness, goodness and evil is extremely harmful. Throughout the majority of the films, the antagonist is depicted as less attractive than the protagonist, representing her as the old, ugly witch. This is exhibited repeatedly, from Cinderella, to Snow White to The Little Mermaid. Bestowing these positive personality attributes, such as intelligence and independence, onto the unattractive, antagonistic character leads young girls to want to associate with the personality attributes of the beautiful princess.
The most upsetting issue surrounding the depiction of these women and their physical appearance is the unrealistic portrayal of body image within the fairy tales. As seen in the images above, every princess has an unnaturally small waist, large breasts, fair skin, exaggerated eyes and batting eyelashes. Buzzfeed wrote an article in which members of the team dressed up in costume as a Disney Princess and had their bodies digitally altered to fit the frame that is represented in the animations. They clearly are able to reveal the unrealistic, and harmful, alterations that Walt Disney has created. Similarly, another website, Above Average, found that in 6 out of the 11 Disney Princesses, their eyes were larger than their waists. This displays the lack of credible anatomical basis within the creation of these characters. While the actual relation between the size of their waists and breasts is physically impossible, their innocent yet sexualized facial features suggest a storyline beyond a pure, childlike storyline as well. These implausible bodies are representations of the “ideal feminine body-subject” in which women are taught to be “smaller than a man, demure, and take up little space” (Giovanelli). This is clearly illustrated in these movies both in the body type of the women and the large, masculine bodies of the princes.
Although these depictions of women are offensive and degrading, some could argue it is because the Disney Princesses emerged at a point when conventional gender roles were at an unnatural height in society and media. The period following World War II was a time of heightened domestic idealism in the United States. It is not surprising, therefore, that the conservative gender ideals found in Disney princess films were readily embraced by audiences. However, this does not excuse the artists’ and producers’ choices and definitely does not justify Disney’s continuing depiction of passive and physically impossible female characters in their current adaptations; for example, consider the size of Cinderella’s waist in the 2016 adaptation.
Finally, there is evident pushback within society against the depiction of females in the princess movies as unrealistic and overly sexualized. A blogger took it upon herself to create the “curvy version” of the princes in an article “If Disney Princesses Were Curvy Kate Girls…” While I admire the attempt at representing the princesses as more accessible to female viewers, some of them such as Snow White and Pocahontas are hardly “curvy” and promote a false idea of what a bigger figure might look like.
Emma Hatheway | |||||||
5444 | dbpedia | 2 | 34 | https://www.imdb.com/list/ls056440903/ | en | lovers Movies | [
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""
] | null | [] | null | (obviously SPOILER ALERT!) All the movies I've watched in which at least one of the main characters hates or doesn't like the other one at first, but then they fall in love. | en | IMDb | https://www.imdb.com/list/ls056440903/ | (obviously SPOILER ALERT!)
All the movies I've watched in which at least one of the main characters hates or doesn't like the other one at first, but then they fall in love. | |||||
5444 | dbpedia | 2 | 22 | https://www.businessinsider.com/heartthrobs-hollywood-golden-age-2018-12 | en | 27 heartthrobs from the golden age of Hollywood | https://i.insider.com/5c619080eb3ce82144347053?width=1200&format=jpeg | https://i.insider.com/5c619080eb3ce82144347053?width=1200&format=jpeg | [
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"Melina Glusac",
"Frank Olito"
] | 2020-05-30T17:35:00+00:00 | From James Dean to Marilyn Monroe, check out movie stars who made audiences swoon in Hollywood in the '30s, '40s, and '50s. | en | /public/assets/BI/US/favicons/apple-touch-icon-192x192.png?v=2023-11 | Business Insider | https://www.businessinsider.com/heartthrobs-hollywood-golden-age-2018-12 | This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? .
Hollywood's golden age took place from the end of the silent film era to the early 1960s, and was a high point for the film industry.
The era was also rife with heartthrobs, many of whom drew huge box office numbers for their respective studios.
From Marlon Brando to Marilyn Monroe to Paul Newman, movie lovers in the early and mid 20th century had a lot to look forward to.
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The heartthrob is not a recent invention. Though many Justin Bieber and One Direction fans may think their crushes are the first in existence, crush-worthy famous people are a phenomenon that dates back to Hollywood's golden age.
Silent film star Rudolph Valentino, for example, is considered by some to be one of Hollywood's first heartthrobs.
From Cary Grant to Sophia Loren to Doris Day, here are 27 swoon-worthy stars from Hollywood's golden years.
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? .
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Before she became a princess, Grace Kelly was known for her beauty and talent in Hollywood.
Grace Kelly's star-making performance came in 1953 when she appeared in "Mogambo" opposite Clark Gable. After that, Alfred Hitchcock took her under his wing and made her the star of "Dial M for Murder" and "Rear Window," turning her into a household name. Kelly won an Academy Award in 1955 for her role in "Country Girl."
In 1956, she left Hollywood to marry Prince Rainier and became the princess of Monaco. She still remains a beauty and style icon today.
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Frank Sinatra was the original heartthrob.
The ladies called him "Ol' Blue Eyes," and the world called the ladies "bobby soxers." In the mid-'30s, singer and actor Frank Sinatra became, arguably, the original heartthrob. Ladies around the nation flocked to his shows, as The Guardian's New York correspondent observed about Sinatra in 1945:
"The United States is now in the midst of one of those remarkable phenomena of mass hysteria … the teenage girls who constitute the main part of his audience also wear short white half-hose, and are therefore called 'bobby-sox girls' or, more simply, 'bobby-soxers.'"
And according to Mental Floss, Sinatra's publicist, George Evans, even auditioned bobby soxers to scream at Sinatra's concerts, paying them a few bucks each to ignite excitement for the star.
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Marilyn Monroe was one of the original sex symbols.
Marilyn Monroe started out in Hollywood in the late '40s, but she really started to get her footing — and gain heightened exposure — after appearing in films like "The Seven Year Itch" (1955) and "The Misfits" (1961). She was known "both for her winsome embodiment of the Hollywood sex symbol, and her tragic personal and professional struggles within the film industry," according to IMDb.
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James Dean's bad boy persona has had a lasting legacy.
Another teen idol of his time, actor James Dean was known for his bad boy persona and, fittingly, his role in 1955's "Rebel Without a Cause."
Dean only made three movies in his lifetime, as the budding actor died in a car accident at the age of 24 in 1955. His premature death left him etched into American pop culture as a forever young, T-shirt-and-jeans-clad icon. The New York Times described the enduring James Dean image as "clear, remaining strong, instantly recognizable, American as Coca-Cola."
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Jayne Mansfield was one of the leading ladies in '50s and '60s film.
Described as "one of the leading sex symbols of the 1950s and 1960s," Jayne Mansfield was a popular actress who was also noted for her resemblance to Marilyn Monroe, a contemporary. She was tragically killed in a car accident in 1967, leaving behind 31 films to her name, and a still-iconic image.
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With blue eyes and a knack for romance, Paul Newman captured hearts in the 1950s.
Piercing blue eyes, a thoroughly gentleman-like manner, and acting chops to boot — how can you go wrong?
Paul Newman came onto the scene in the mid-1950s, fresh out of the Actors Studio. Successful turns in box-office hits, like "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1958) and "Sweet Bird of Youth" (1962), cemented his place in Hollywood as a bona fide hunk and movie star.
His 2008 obituary in the LA Times reads: "His irresistible good looks suggested more of a romantic hero than an unregenerate rogue, but he had a way of incorporating into his seductive appeal (those oceanic eyes, those killer abs!) a startling barbed-wire-like menace."
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Known for her side-swept hair, Veronica Lake was a total glamour girl.
Nicknamed "the peek-a-boo girl" for her signature, side-swept tresses that covered her right eye, actress Veronica Lake started out in a string of successful films in the late '30s and early '40s. She reached the peak of her fame and glamour after portraying Lieutenant Olivia D'Arcy in 1943's "So Proudly We Hail!," which was a box-office smash.
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Even Cary Grant wanted to be Cary Grant.
Known for his Trans-Atlantic accent and suave charm, actor Cary Grant became one of Hollywood's biggest stars from the '30s well into the '50s.
He appeared in famous films such as "The Philadelphia Story" (1940), "Bringing Up Baby" (1938), and Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" (1959). According to the Quad-City Times, "Grant's masculine elegance and darkly handsome features made him an unrivaled star of both sophisticated comedy and chilling intrigue for more than 30 years."
As the actor's famous quote reads: "Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant."
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Italian beauty Sophia Loren stunned the silver screen.
Sophia Loren first caught the attention of an agent while competing in a beauty pageant at age 14, and the rest, as they say, is history. She won an Oscar in 1960's "Two Women," the culmination of over a decade of successful work in Hollywood. Loren is often referred to as "one of world cinema's greatest treasures."
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Rock Hudson's manly good looks won the big screen's attention.
Rock Hudson burst onto the scene in the early 1950s, and, after filming hits like "Magnificent Obsession" (1954) and "All That Heaven Allows" (1955) with Universal Studios, he became a heartthrob by the end of the decade. Hudson was known for his "easy-going" charm on screen, as well as his manly good looks.
Tragically, Hudson died of AIDS in 1985, which exposed his homosexuality to the world after years of speculation and cover-ups. Hudson was the first major celebrity to die from the disease, and to speak publicly about it.
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Handsome and innovative, Montgomery Clift's quiet charm enchanted the big screen.
The Guardian calls Montgomery "Monty" Clift "one of the most innovative and handsome actors in history." Clift dominated the silver screen throughout the 1930s, '40s, '50s, and even into the early '60s, appearing in such classics as "The Misfits" (1961) and "Judgment at Nuremberg" (1961).
Clift was also one of the first "method" actors to study with Lee Strasberg, alongside Marlon Brando and Elia Kazan. His turbulent personal life has often been discussed in the media, as Clift struggled with his homosexuality and substance abuse issues throughout his life.
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Rita Hayworth was everyone's dream girl during the World War II era.
Hollywood maven Rita Hayworth made her film debut at 16, and after a string of mediocre films, hit it big with 1941's "The Strawberry Blonde" and "You'll Never Get Rich." In the latter film, she danced alongside Fred Astaire in a performance that "exuded the warmth and seductive vitality that was to make her famous."
Hayworth is perhaps most well-known for her role in 1946's "Gilda," which made her a bonafide superstar. She famously quipped, "Men fell in love with Gilda, but they wake up with me."
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Before he was "The Godfather," Marlon Brando was a Hollywood stud.
Before he was "The Godfather" and widely lauded as the greatest actor of all time, Marlon Brando was a young star on the heels of Lee Strasberg training and a brief stint on the live stage. But after scoring successful movie roles in "On the Waterfront" (1954) and "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951), he became a Hollywood heartthrob. The actor was a known womanizer, too, fathering 11 children in his lifetime with his wives and lovers.
Marlon Brando's sexy status has outlived him, as gifs of the actor flirtatiously rolling his eyes during his screen test for "A Streetcar Named Desire" are still driving the internet crazy.
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Tyrone Power's good looks impacted box office numbers from the '30s to the '50s.
Tyrone Power was a major heartthrob of the 1930s to 1950s, known for his roles as a swashbuckler and romantic lead. TCM calls him "one of the few matinee idols to give MGM's Clark Gable and Warner Bros.' Errol Flynn a run for their money as resident sex symbol; someone who could pull in as many female as male moviegoers."
Sadly, Power's career was cut short as he died of a heart attack on set in 1958, but he remains a staple of the old Hollywood era.
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Doris Day was the ultimate "good girl" of the '50s.
Audiences loved Doris Day for her bubbly personality on screen, as well as her all-American beauty and singing voice. Her breakthrough role was in "Calamity Jane" (1953), which was a box-office smash, and 1959's "Pillow Talk." She was also known for her squeaky-clean image, which prompted the famous line (attributed to either Groucho Marx or Oscar Levant), "I'm so old, I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin."
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Clark Gable's debonair flair came through in "Gone With The Wind."
One of Hollywood's all-time greats, Clark Gable was widely regarded as the "king" of Hollywood and drew interest for his on- (and off-) screen romances.
He starred in such classics as "Gone With the Wind" (1940) and "It Happened One Night" (1934). Gable was known as a ladies man and was married five times throughout his lifetime.
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Everyone likes an every-man — and William Holden was no exception.
William Holden drew interest for his every-man roles, and for his "handsome face and easy, masculine manner [that] made him the quintessential American in many movies," according to the LA Times.
He's well known for his performances in the film noir "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) and "Stalag 17" (1953). Though Holden was married for a good portion of his professional life, he reportedly had many extramarital affairs, including one with Audrey Hepburn on the set of 1954's "Sabrina."
Gene Tierney was known for her sophistication — and her high cheekbones.
Gene Tierney had an upper-class background, something she channeled into her performance in 1944's murder mystery "Laura," for which she is most well known. Her career continued to flourish throughout the '50s, and she became a top box-office draw. She kept a low profile later in life, making her last film in 1964.
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The original Robin Hood, Errol Flynn stole many hearts in the '30s and '40s.
Perhaps no one was better known in Hollywood for playing a swashbuckling hero than Errol Flynn, the original Robin Hood circa 1938.
Flynn was also known for his lavish lifestyle and excessive drinking, and as TCM's biography says, "In spite of his ongoing-if-tumultuous marriage, his prolific sexual appetites (with partners of both sexes, tabloid-scented biographies alleged in more recent years, though widely disputed)" were quite infamous.
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Burt Lancaster's iconic beach scene in "From Here to Eternity" made him all the more desirable.
After the famous scene in 1953's "From Here to Eternity" showing Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr kissing on the beach as the waves crash over them, Lancaster was almost immediately elevated to heartthrob status.
A lifelong athlete, Lancaster was known for his buff physique and acting range. Despite his early "macho" roles, he refused to be typecast and went on to have a successful, diverse career well into the 1970s.
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Ava Gardner signed with MGM based on her beauty alone.
Ava Gardner's brother-in-law put a photo of her in his studio in New York City, and it was quickly noticed by MGM. They signed the 18 year old on her beauty alone, as she had zero acting experience. She gained popularity in films like "Mogambo" (1953) and "Bhowani Junction" (1956), and is also known for her high-profile marriage to fellow heartthrob Frank Sinatra, which lasted from 1951–1957.
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Sir Laurence Olivier's finesse shone through for decades in Hollywood.
One of the most acclaimed actors of his era — and the 20th century at large — Sir Laurence Olivier was known for his mastery of Shakespeare, as well as his tempestuous marriage to fellow actor Vivien Leigh. The two abandoned their previous spouses to be together, and afterward began a successful string of performances in London's West End theater district.
His roles as Heathcliff in "Wuthering Heights" (1939) and in "Marathon Man" (1976) won him acclaim on the big screen, and Olivier went on to become the youngest actor to be knighted by the British monarchy.
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Humphrey Bogart's swagger has proven to be timeless.
Humphrey Bogart is synonymous with the 1940s, and was one of the biggest film stars of his era. After his iconic role in the 1942 war romance "Casablanca," Bogart appeared in films like "Sabrina" (1954) alongside William Holden, and became known for his tough, cool-guy persona.
Following his death in 1957, "his work drew superlative critical praise and his personality the object of cultish adulation," according to Biography.com, "both because of and despite his cavalierly anti-Hollywood persona, Bogart remains timelessly cool in a way few celebrities have ever been able to achieve."
Marlene Dietrich translated her seductive allure to the big screen.
According to IMDb, Marlene Dietrich was known in school for her "bedroom eyes," which got her — and a professor — in trouble. She channeled her allure into cabaret singing in the '20s, and she was soon discovered by Hollywood and became a star of the silent film era. She was one of the highest paid actresses of her time, and she also had a reputation for "romancing her co-stars."
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Tony Curtis' dark, luscious locks inspired Elvis Presley to go for a similar look.
Known for his dark, curly locks, Bronx-born actor Tony Curtis quickly became a heartthrob after starring in a string of successful films throughout the 1950s. According to the Independent, Elvis Presley even modeled his iconic hairstyle after Tony Curtis' luscious 'do.
Curtis and his first wife, Janet Leigh, were the subject of much magazine fodder throughout the decade — and they had two daughters, one of whom is actress Jamie Lee Curtis. After Curtis and Leigh's divorced in 1962, Curtis went on to marry five more times.
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The classy demeanor of Gary Cooper epitomized old Hollywood.
Gary Cooper's "rugged mug, soft-spoken demeanor and earnest, haunted eyes" made him a hit with the ladies and a hit on the big screen. Cooper was known for playing down-to-earth men, though in his private life, he was described as a "debonair ladies man" with a taste for the finer things.
Known for his roles in "It" (1937) and "High Noon" (1952), among others, Cooper was one of the few actors to make the transition from silent films to the talkies of the future. He continued to make films until his death in 1961.
Read next
Hollywood Actors
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5444 | dbpedia | 2 | 75 | https://www.space.com/best-ai-movies | en | Best AI movies of all time | [
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] | null | [
"Fran Ruiz"
] | 2024-01-29T14:00:01+00:00 | From ChatGPT to self-driving cars, AI is a controversial but extremely fascinating subject that's been the focus of many a sci-fi movie. | en | Space.com | https://www.space.com/best-ai-movies | AI is a hot topic at the moment, something which a fair few sci-fi works have dabbled with, so we've collected the best AI movies you can watch right now.
Much is being done and written about AI, but artists have always been ahead of the curve when it comes to these ideas and the discussion surrounding them. It started with literary works, but nowadays we're used to watching movies and TV shows about artificial intelligence and how it can change (or destroy) our lives.
One big issue with media that explores the matter of AI and its future uses is that, most of the time, it's strictly linked to robots so that audiences can follow (or fear) physical characters. However, many works go above and beyond to make us really think about the implications of human-made consciences and whether they can truly be like us.
In the case of movies, we can expect action most of the time (which doesn't erase the points being made when the scripts are good), yet some famous AI movies have allowed themselves to be brainier and create suspense without resorting to expensive, flashy sequences. In our AI movies ranked list, we've included a bit of everything.
If you're looking for more of the finest sci-fi movies ever made, we suggest exploring our best alien invasion and space horror movies of all time lists. On top of that, gamers can enjoy plenty of sci-fi and space-set goodness with the best alien invasion games and space settlement games available now.
10. Westworld
Release date: October 24, 1973
Cast: Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, James Brolin
Yes, the HBO show-remake of "Westworld" of sorts was much better, but we're talking about movies here. Now, the original feature written and directed by Michael Crichton (author of "Jurassic Park") remains a very interesting exploration of both artificial intelligence and the transition into the modern conception of amusement parks.
It's also a nice, off-beat Western flick, with actor Yul Brynner delivering an iconic performance that informed much of the earlier episodes of the HBO series. Mind you, the 88-minute runtime didn't allow for a proper exploration of themes such as creation and evolution, but it's a pulpy romp that doesn't sacrifice its brain to be entertaining.
Unlike most of Crichton's works that made it to the big screen, this movie was born from an original screenplay he wrote and chose to direct. It was also the first feature film to use digital image processing to "pixelate photography to simulate an android point of view" (an idea that James Cameron's "Terminator" would later expand on).
9. The Creator
Release date: September 26, 2023
Cast: John David Washington, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe
Gareth Edwards' "The Creator" is the most recent movie in this list, and it's one we'll be recommending for a while to make up for its poor box office performance. Amidst far too many empty sequels and nostalgia-bait franchise revivals, it's the kind of ambitious, original sci-fi feature that rarely happens anymore.
The movie is largely set in 2070, years after a nuclear detonation destroyed Los Angeles and a war against AI started. An ex-special forces agent is brought back into the fight to find and kill the man who has supposedly created a weapon which can end the war and give the AIs and their New Asia allies the win. While its elements may be too familiar for some, the final result is engaging, emotional, and even surprising at times, plus it looks stellar despite a constrained $80 million budget.
8. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Release date: June 29, 2001
Cast: Jude Law, Haley Joel Osment, Frances O'Connor
"A.I." was often brought up as one of Steven Spielberg's lesser works, but it has gained a following over the years. Eventually, it became a modern classic, with many now calling it one of the director's best movies. In our honest opinion, this is a movie ahead of its time, and it's aging like a fine wine.
Unsurprisingly, Stanley Kubrick was originally attached to the project; he acquired the rights to Brian Aldiss' sci-fi short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long" in the early 1970s. Around the mid-1990s, the project hit development hell, but Spielberg picked up the baton and eventually made the movie and dedicated it to Kubrick.
In broad strokes, the story is a modern retelling of sorts of "Pinocchio," with David, a very advanced robotic boy, hoping to become a "real boy" in order to win back his human mother's love after being abandoned. If this sounds really sad to you, that's because, well, it's a really sad movie.
7. The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Release date: April 23, 2021
Cast: Danny McBride, Abbi Jacobson, Maya Rudolph
"The Mitchells vs. the Machines" is a movie you might have thrown into your Netflix watchlist without doing much research, but it's genuinely one of the streaming platform's best recent releases. It was a project they acquired from Sony Pictures Animation after the theatrical release was dropped in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it's a shame we never got to see it on the big screen, because it's a looker.
On the surface, this animated flick looks charming and quirky as we follow the dysfunctional Mitchell family on their journey after a global uprising of robots. This movie has plenty of heart and some very interesting thoughts about how we interact with each other in modern times and the importance we give to the latest technologies.
6. Ex Machina
Release date: April 24, 2015
Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac
Everyone loves a good psychological thriller which also happens to be an easy-to-digest sci-fi tale. "Ex Machina" was Alex Garland's (of "28 Days Later" and "Sunshine" fame) directorial debut, and it remains one of the most memorable takes on the matter of artificial intelligence and robotics in recent memory.
The lean script and tight runtime allow the story to move at a rapid pace despite its calm setting and more philosophical tone. But, of course, the secret sauce here was a small but stellar cast led by Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, and Oscar Isaac. It follows a shy programmer invited by his CEO to a remote location to study and connect with Ava, a humanoid robot who has passed the Turing test. Things get weird and dangerous fast, and aren't as predictable as they may at first seem.
5. WALL-E
Release date: June 27, 2008
Cast: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Sigourney Weaver
Widely considered to be one of Pixar's greatest movies ever, as well as one of the best animated space movies for kids, "WALL-E" also easily earns a top spot on our list of the best AI movies. The studio was brave enough to let a solitary robot carry a good chunk of the movie and explore the topics of consumerism, corporatocracy, and human environmental impact, all through the lens of a seemingly innocent kids' movie about cute little robots.
While "WALL-E" doesn't feature a super deep exploration of robots' consciousness in a hypothetical future or anything like that, it's an excellent adventure that highlights how AI doesn't have to eventually "replace us," with the most likely outcome being that AI and robots will allow humans to become "more" of what we already are. As a bonus, we also got a fantastic (and unexpected) space odyssey.
4. Blade Runner & Blade Runner 2049
Release date: June 25, 1982 / October 6, 2017
Cast: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young / Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas
It's impossible to do a best AI movies list without mentioning the two excellent "Blade Runner" movies. It all started with Ridley Scott's adaption of Philip K. Dick's famous 1968 novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and culminated with Rutger Hauer becoming a sci-fi icon with a killer monologue recited under an unforgettable rain.
Against all expectations, Denis Villeneuve's "Blade Runner 2049" successfully brought back the replicants as well as the secrets and conspiracies that shaped the same world decades later. Harrison Ford was as good as always as Rick Deckard, but it was Ryan Gosling's nuanced performance as K and his relationship with the holographic AI Joi (Ana de Armas) which elevated the sequel to new heights and gave it a voice of its own.
Humans take two steps back here because the plot and worldbuilding demand so, yet there are heaps of humanity to be found in K's "artificial" role in the larger story.
3. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Release date: July 3, 1991
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick
There are many Terminator movies, and only two remarkable ones: James Cameron's. Why have we ignored the first one for this list? Because it wasn't about AI, how Skynet was created, or the evolution of Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-800. The sequel, however, subverted most expectations by giving the killer robot – now turned ally – humanity and warmth in order to face a more dangerous threat.
The reprogrammed Terminator, played once again by Schwarzenegger, is at the center of the story alongside Sarah and John Connor, and not just as an almost perfect killing machine from the future; he also becomes John's father figure and a progressively human-like companion. If the first "Terminator" was an ambitious sci-fi twist on the slasher formula, "Terminator 2" is an all-timer of an action movie with a beating heart in the most unexpected of places.
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey
Release date: April 3, 1968
Cast: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
Circling back to Stanley Kubrick, we can't ignore the massive impact of "2001: A Space Odyssey" not just on science fiction and cinema as a whole, but also on the topic of AI on the big screen. HAL, the computer with a human-like personality, has often been considered the true star of the movie given his layered role and prominent presence during most of the runtime.
The screenplay was written by Kubrick and renowned science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, and was inspired by Clarke's 1951 short story "The Sentinel" and a handful of others. While most cinephiles and more casual viewers have always praised it for its impressive sets, pioneering special effects, masterful use of music, and ambiguous imagery, there was something really special and foreboding about its depiction of a rogue AI messing with human jobs and lives. That's also why it's earned a spot on our best sci-fi movies based on books list.
1. The Matrix
Release date: March 31, 1999
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss
"The Matrix" (as in the first movie) was a lot to digest at first. Beyond establishing a distinct audio-visual style that would impregnate countless sci-fi and action movies in the 2000s, it presented several big questions and themes weaved together using the trippiest worldbuilding mainstream fiction had seen in years. Things were taken up a notch in The Matrix sequels, but the 1999 original is virtually perfect and feels like a once-in-a-lifetime miracle.
There's a "Terminator"-like dystopian future in which humanity lost a war against the machines and are trapped inside a simulated reality also populated by AI designed to monitor and control the illusion of free will. Then we also have a traditional and messianic story of good vs. evil, rebels vs. an empire, in a real world that looks like a metal nightmare hellscape. Somehow, Hugo Weaving's Agent Smith and the Matrix's Agents, a bunch of secret service-looking men in black, are the perfect embodiment of an oppressive artificial system looking to squash the human element. | |||||
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"Alicia Miller"
] | 2024-06-03T08:00:00+00:00 | Plan the perfect day in the Maltese capital, from breakfast pastries to a waterfront dinner. | en | Travel | https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/what-to-do-valletta-malta | Built by the Knights of St John in the 16th century, Valletta retains much of its time-worn charm, with narrow streets leading between honey-coloured buildings, and glimpses of the Mediterranean never far from view. It’s a small place – just 0.3 square miles – so all of its attractions are within easy walking distance. Here’s how to make the most of it.
8am: Breakfast at Caffe Cordina
Opened in 1837, this elegant cafe in the heart of the city centre not only serves up traditional Maltese pastizzi (savoury pastries stuffed with ricotta or peas and beef) and round qassatat pies, often filled with peas, but also a sublime atmosphere. Expect marbled floors, gold-lined ceilings and elegant chandeliers to backdrop your coffee and cake consumption. If you’re chomping at the bit to get exploring, they also sell some treats to take away.
10am: Explore Casa Rocca Piccola
If you visit one museum in Valletta, make it this 16th-century palace — the family home of the ninth Marquis de Piro. A glorious timewarp showcasing artistic treasures both Maltese-made and imported, the series of treasure-cluttered rooms contain everything from a portable altar hidden in a bureau to possibly the last surviving set of medical instruments from the Knights of St John. There are underground tunnels used for shelter during Second World War bombings, too. Tours run every hour and last about 45 minutes.
11am: Water taxi to the Three Cities
Get a prime view of Valletta’s skyline and a nautical adventure at the same time by hopping aboard a dgħajsa (traditional water taxi) to the historic towns known as the Three Cities, just across the Grand Harbour. Trips departing from water level below the Upper Barrakka Gardens cost just a few euros per person and only take around 15 minutes each way. Alternatively, ask your skipper to give you a personalised boat tour of the harbour.
1pm: Lunch at Café Jubilee
Filled with quirky art pieces — including vintage posters and inverted milk jugs repurposed into pendant lights — this homely family-owned restaurant in the historic core of Valletta specialises in the cuisine of Malta’s neighbouring island, Gozo. Tuck into dishes such as sheep’s cheese ravioli with tomato and basil sauce, rabbit stew with orange, spices and red wine, and baked marrow stuffed with beef. Wash everything down with the local Cisk lager or Maltese craft beers such as Blue Lagoon Witbier.
3pm: Tour the Teatru Manoel
Opened in 1732 by António Manoel de Vilhena, a Grand Master of the Knights of St John, Teatru Manoel is a spectacular example of a surviving baroque theatre. Twice-daily tours, which run at 11am and 3pm on weekdays, cost €5 (£4) and will take you from the stalls up into the wooden boxes where the people-watching opportunities are often as thrilling as what’s shown on stage.
4pm: Valletta Design Cluster
Set on a quiet side street in a building that was once used as a slaughterhouse, the Valletta Design Cluster doesn’t look like much from the outside — but step into the lobby and take the lift to the top floor, and you’ll be welcomed by a verdant surprise. The leafy rooftop garden with seating, tables and a pond provides an elevated perspective of the surrounding city rooftops, and is the perfect outdoor place to sit and relax for an hour among trees, shrubs and fragrant lavender blooms.
5pm: Aperitifs at Kamy Cocktail Bar
Wander around Valletta’s historic centre in the waning light, then pop into this popular cocktail bar. Mixologist Iliyan Iliev combines creative flavours with artistic prowess; try the clarified negroni. Paintings and photographs line the walls and each cocktail comes topped with a recognisable (and drinkable) masterpiece floating on its surface — for example, Munch’s The Scream or Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus.
8pm: Dinner at The Harbour Club
On the south Valletta waterfront facing out to Fort St Angelo and the Three Cities, this elegant dining favourite in an 18th-century building provides impressive views over the Grand Harbour. The menu is inspired by the streets of Valletta, with dishes like Strait Street, starring local pork loin with celeriac and pork gratin, and Old Theatre Street, featuring crab tart and marie rose sauce. Rather unusually in meat-loving Malta, there’s also a seven-course vegan tasting menu. | |||||
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] | null | [] | null | en | https://static.parastorage.com/client/pfavico.ico | Saluting Battery | https://www.salutingbattery.com/history-and-stories | The Saluting Battery is located on one of the best vantage points overlooking the Grand Harbour. Its origins are as old as those of the City itself, having been built as part of it, in 1566, by the Order of St. John on the design of the military engineer Francesco Laparelli. The building of Valletta followed the end of the Great Siege of 1565. During that conflict, the full length of the Valletta promontory was easily overrun by the Ottomans who built several powerful siege batteries to keep the Knights of St. John and the Maltese holed-up within Fort St. Angelo and the walled towns of Vittoriosa and Senglea.
Origins
One such battery was located on the rocky outcrop on which the present day Upper Barracca and Saluting Battery stand. Equipped with heavy bronze basilisks and directly facing Fort St. Angelo this battery mercilessly pounded the ancient fortress across the water.
Following the miraculous lifting of the Siege on the 8th September 1565, the Order of St. John hurriedly rounded support from all the crowned heads of Europe and the Pope, in particular, to build a new fortified city on the same peninsula which had been occupied by the Turks, known at the time as the Sciberras Hill. In doing so, they also sought to build a powerful defensive position in place of the infamous Ottoman battery which had caused them so much worry and pain throughout the siege.
This led the military engineers to devise a powerful multi-tiered artillery platform that could rake with its cannon fire the full length and depth of the Grand Harbour and also command its surrounding high grounds. A large number of heavy calibre guns were mounted here for this purpose. According to the Order’s custom, the city ramparts were divided in eight parts each of which was assigned to a given langue. In this case, the responsibility for the manning of the St. Peter and St. Paul Bastion fell on the Italian langue that was also responsible for the Order’s fleet and the artillery. Hence, it became known as the Italian Post.
Description
The Italian Post represents the left shoulder of the landward defences of Valletta. The bastion is roughly quadrilateral in shape and slopes outwards for stability. Its front and left flanks face the harbour, whilst its right flank overlooks Marsa and Floriana. The extreme-end of the right flank reforms into a projecting rounded shoulder which protects a partially covered sunken flanking battery (piazza bassa) which defended the foot of the St. Peter and St. Paul’s Curtain at the back of the bastion. This battery is entered via an underground tunnel by the gated entrance of the bastion. The right face of the bastion is flanked by Valletta’s Grand-ditch. A counter-guard was added across the ditch at a later date to strengthen the right face of this bastion.
The upper part of the bastion consisted of a massive platform that could accommodate a large number of heavy cannon. Its loftiness ensured that it would enjoy an unobstructed field of fire of some 270° over the harbour and the headland beyond the fortifications of Valletta. Entrance was gained through a grand ceremonial gate from Castille Place. This and the fact that it enjoyed unrivalled vistas over the harbour may have contributed to its becoming a popular social meeting point for the Italian knights. So much so, that in the early 17th century the celebrated Italian Knight Fra Flaminio Balbiani obtained permission from the Grandmaster to erect a roofed arcaded loggia for the benefit of the knights that congregated there for games and leisure. This remained so till 1775 when on the orders of Grandmaster Ximenez the roof was dismantled, some say to discourage any plotting, from taking place there, against him. In 1824, this part of the bastion was opened as a public garden as it remains today. It also became the resting place of one of Malta’s early British governors - Thomas Maitland.
Since its conversion into a public garden, numerous monuments were erected to commemorate dignitaries and important members of the community.
The lower part of the bastion is where the Saluting Battery stands. This consists of an open rectangular platform surrounded by a continuous stone parapet over which guns could fire. A crenelated parapet stood along the right side of the battery but this was removed sometime in the mid-19th century. The battery has two small gun powder magazines positioned on either side of a central side-arm store, in which, artillery implements for all guns were stored. The original entrance of the battery lies to its left extremity through Battery Street. An additional stepped entry was also added in 1924 when it was linked to the upper garden. In 1824, Lt. Col. Henry Anderson-Moorshead, Chief Royal Engineer and Lt. Governor, was buried at the battery. An ornate Greek temple-like monument was built for him.
Ceremonial platform
From its very start, the grand location of the battery ensured that it was to be used for ceremonial artillery firings. As a result, along with its highly important defensive role the firing of gun salutes was added. Gun salutes were fired to greet dignitaries or ships visiting the island and to mark national and religious occasions. Gun salutes were also fired to announce important naval and military victories and the succession or death of a sovereign. Minute guns were also fired from this battery in the event of state funerals.
Time service
After the adoption of a time ball service by the Royal Navy at Portsmouth, England in 1824, a similar service was started in Malta. This indicated the exact hour at mid-day for the benefit of ship-masters on board vessels to calibrate their ship clocks by. These time-pieces, also called maritime chronographs, were used to find the longitude at sea by comparing the difference between the time at the last harbour visited and that on board ship at that moment in time. The time ball service also employed the firing of a gun at the striking of the ball at noon which delivered a loud signal for all to hear. The noon-day gun service in Malta was provided from one of the guns at the Saluting Battery and went on, uninterrupted until November 1923 when its place was taken by the telegraphic signal sent out from the Greenwich Observatory.
The use of artillery as a means of announcing public time was not new in Malta, for three gun signals had been fired from a signal gun in Valletta since its inception. This gun was first operated from on top of St. James Cavalier where the Order of St. John also had its principal signal station. From here, three rounds were fired daily at sunrise, mid-day and sunset to signal out the exact time of prayer and to regulate the pace of life. The first and last shots also indicated the opening and closing of the city gates.
With the arrival of the British in 1800, these time signals were transferred to the Saluting Battery although at times they were also fired from Fort St. Angelo possibly in periods when the armament at the battery was under maintenance.
Armament
Throughout its long period of use, the Saluting Battery saw the full range of the principal artillery types that chart the historic evolution of artillery. In its early days, its armament consisted of heavy bronze pieces that fired large stone spherical shot. The number of which varied from time to time. Towards the end of the Knights’ period, the Ordinance List denotes the presence of 16 x 12 pounder bronze guns along with an array of other small calibre pieces most of which still used stone shot. A large number of shot and other ammunition are also represented.
During the brief French occupation of the islands (1798-1800), the armament seems to have remained unchanged. Mention is made in the orders issued by the French Commander, General Vaubois that some of these guns were to have their elevations increased in an effort to better reach the Maltese insurgent positions on the Corradino Heights; in order to lessen the impact of the nuisance they were causing to the besieged inhabitants of Valletta and Floriana.
The big changes began with the arrival of the British who after surveying its armament concluded that it was too old and largely worn-out. As a result, they sought to replace it first with French captured guns and eventually with weapons of their own. In 1803, several hundred French captured guns were issued from the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich for delivery to Malta.
In 1803, 2 x 24-pdr carronades and an unspecified number of 24-pdr cannon, possibly captured French examples, were added to the battery’s old armament. These remained in situ until 1825. In 1848, mention is again made of the presence of 4 x 12-pdr guns which is odd considering that in 1852 the armament is given as 10 x 24-pdr guns (main parapet), 4 x 32-pdr guns (right flank), 3 x 8-inch howitzers (left flank), 2x13-inch mortars (at the back of the parapet guns, on either side, on mortar beds) and 2 x 56 pounder carronades (located in the salient angles). A few years later, in 1864, no changes are reported and the 24-pdr guns are listed as having been increased to eleven and as serving for a saluting purpose. These were at the time positioned at the centre of the main parapet facing Fort St. Angelo.
In 1886, the 8-inch howitzers were replaced with 2 x 64-pdr Rifle Muzzle Loaders also mounted on traversing carriages in the salient angles. The 32-pdrs were removed leaving just the 11 x 24-pdr saluting guns. This arrangement lasted up to the late 1890s when all armament was replaced with just 11 x 32-pdr Muzzle Loading saluting guns. Quite oddly, the new guns were mounted on truck-less timber carriages as used in the case of traversing mounts.
Early in the 20th century, the battery saw its armament replaced again, this time, by 8 x 32-pdr Smooth-Bore Breech Loading guns. These guns were conversions of the 32-pdr SB gun of 42 cwt Monk pattern. In all, 269 guns of this nature were converted and an additional 15 specifically manufactured. This type of gun was meant as flanking armament for the protection of forts’ ditches.
In Malta, guns of this nature were mounted at most of the large land-front forts. This gun was worked by six men, but for the firing of blank salutes only two men were needed,
The 32-pdr SBBL guns went silent for the duration of the First World War as part of drive to save gun powder for the war effort. Their role was resumed with the news of the Armistice in Europe on November 11th, 1918. At 11 o’clock on that day its guns pronounced the good news to be answered back by a loud cheer of approval from the combined fleets of Britain, France and Japan fleet anchored in the harbour.
Decline
Malta’s role in the Great War was that of a massive hospital base where thousands of British and Commonwealth troops were brought for treatment away from the front, mostly from the East. Malta’s unwavering loyalty towards Britain during this conflict also earned her the right for Self-Government and the granting of a new constitution which took place in 1921.
One of the first things that the new Maltese government did was to try to wrest from the military several properties which it deemed as held illegally and to the detriment of the general public. One such property was the Saluting Battery which the civil government wanted ceded by the military in an effort to extend the Upper Barracca Gardens.
In 1924, the 32pdr SBBL guns were replaced by four 18pdr Quick Firing field guns except for one example that was kept as a Signal Gun. This significant reduction in the number of guns served as a handy pretext for the civilian authorities in demanding the return of the battery for public use.
As expected, such claims found little sympathy with the military. It took several years for an acrimonious settlement to be reached, which in the case of the Saluting Battery, saw it being partitioned between the civil government and the military with the latter retaining the main gun platform and fencing off the guns from the public. The military also kept hold of the old gun powder stores and the side-arm store along with the old Keeper’s quarters and the side entrance. The space under the arcade was fenced off and a number of small rooms were added for military use. On their part, the civil authorities intentionally removed the whole of the gun platform with the exception of the small portion retained by the military as a good measure against any possible future military intentions. They also added a stepped entrance between the right gun powder store and the Side Arms Store which linking the battery directly with the Upper Barracca Gardens. The newly gained open space was landscaped and garden furniture added for public use. Despite all efforts by the authorities this new extension never equaled in popularity with the upper garden and was largely the domain of children intrigued by the presence of guns and military activity.
World War Two
With the onset of yet another world war in 1939, the saluting guns at the battery were removed for deployment along the coast against invasion. Their place was taken by a single 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun. This gun was installed in the right salient to form part of the anti-aircraft barrage cover over the harbour and the Dockyard. This was at first manned by elements of the Dockyard Defence Battery which formed part of the 3rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment of the Royal Malta Artillery. It was eventually restyled as the 11th Battery within the same regiment.
During this period several small rooms were added under the arches to accommodate the gun crew.
On the 24th December 1942, a stick of bombs fell on the Upper Barracca and the battery causing serious damage. A soldier was killed under falling debris but the gun remained unscathed.
The Demise
Following the ravages of the Blitz, the battery was patched up and restored back to its pre-war functions. Very briefly, its armament was replaced with four 25-pdr Q.F. Mk I. Alas, this was not to last for the battery was shut down in 1954, following an uninterrupted service of 398 years, with its role being transferred to Abercrombie Bastion in Fort St. Elmo, Valletta. For a number of years it lay semi-derelict until the remaining parts of the property still in military tenure were surrendered to the civil government in 1965. This opened the way for the whole of the battery to be turned into a garden.
Restoration
With its demise, the memory of the battery’s historic significance ebbed away quickly. This predicament was only reversed in 2004, when Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna – the Malta Heritage Trust with the financial support of the Malta Tourism Authority and the Bank of Valletta restored the Saluting Battery to its former glory. In 2011, eight new working replicas of 32-pdr Smooth-bore Breech Loading cannon were installed at this battery. This was done in order to be able to conserve the replaced guns which were in effect original early 19th century museum pieces – British 24-pdr Blomfield cannon. The new cannon were funded through a grant received from the European Regional Development Fund with part-funding from the Government of Malta.
Every year, hundreds of thousands witness the daily spectacle of the Noon-day gun firing and the full-gun salutes fired at irregular intervals throughout the year. Hopefully, this effort will last as long as the rich history of this battery and that tradition will carry on being preserved for future generations as a direct result of history being brought back to life for the enjoyment of all through the daily re-enactments. | |||
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"Mark Joseph Jochim"
] | 2018-03-28T00:00:00 | On March 28, 1566, the foundation stone of Valletta, Malta's capital city, is laid by Jean Parisot de Valette, Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Geographically, it is located in the South Eastern Region, in the central-eastern portion of the main island of Malta having its western coast with access to the Marsamxett… | en | https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/adefba2e155966a57558f29c20c7be2f8186bff210bbcb14fbd9434994fa9edb?s=32 | A Stamp A Day | https://stampaday.wordpress.com/2018/03/28/valletta/ | On March 28, 1566, the foundation stone of Valletta, Malta’s capital city, is laid by Jean Parisot de Valette, Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Geographically, it is located in the South Eastern Region, in the central-eastern portion of the main island of Malta having its western coast with access to the Marsamxett Harbour and its eastern coast in the Grand Harbour. The historical city has a population of 6,444 (as of March 2014), while the metropolitan area around it has a population of 393,938. Valletta is the southernmost capital of Europe and the second southernmost capital of the European Union after Nicosia.
Valetta is located on the Sciberras Peninsula, as is the suburb Floriana. The peninsula is a strip of land between the Grand Harbour in the south and Marsamxett Harbour in the north. It is called a peninsula, despite the absence of an isthmus, and at the end of this feature stands the Mount Sciberras, which gave its name to the peninsula. During the Arab occupation the peninsula was called Mu’awiya, which has been taken up in Maltese as Xagħriet Mewwija (uncultivated and undulating heaths). The Valletta peninsula has two natural harbours, Marsamxett and the Grand Harbour. The Grand Harbour is Malta’s major port, with unloading quays at nearby Marsa. A cruise-liner terminal is located along the old seawall of the Valletta Waterfront that Portuguese Grandmaster Manuel Pinto da Fonseca built.
Valletta contains buildings from the 16th century onwards, built during the rule of the Order of St. John also known as Knights Hospitaller. The city is essentially Baroque in character, with elements of Mannerist, Neo-Classical and Modern architecture in selected areas, though the Second World War left major scars on the city, particularly the destruction of the Royal Opera House. The City of Valletta was officially recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980.
The official name given by the Order of Saint John was Humilissima Civitas Valletta (The Most Humble City of Valletta), or Città Umilissima in Italian. The city’s fortifications, consisting of bastions, curtains and cavaliers, along with the beauty of its Baroque palaces, gardens and churches, led the ruling houses of Europe to give the city its nickname Superbissima (Most Proud).
Please see the previous ASAD entry on Malta for extensive political and postal histories of the Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta’ Malta),
The building of a city on the Sciberras Peninsula had been proposed by the Order of Saint John as early as 1524. Back then, the only building on the peninsula was a small watchtower dedicated to Erasmus of Formia (Saint Elmo), which had been built in 1488. In 1552, the watchtower was demolished and the larger Fort Saint Elmo was built in its place.
In the Great Siege of 1565, Fort Saint Elmo fell to the Ottomans, but the Order eventually won the siege with the help of Sicilian reinforcements. The victorious Grand Master, Jean de Valette, immediately set out to build a new fortified city on the Sciberras Peninsula to fortify the Order’s position in Malta and bind the Knights to the island. The city took his name and was called La Valletta.
The Grand Master asked the European kings and princes for help, and he received a lot of assistance, due to the increased fame of the Order after their victory in the Great Siege. Pope Pius V sent his military architect, Francesco Laparelli, to design the new city, while Philip II of Spain sent substantial monetary aid. The foundation stone of the city was laid by Grand Master de Valette on March 28, 1566. He placed the first stone in what later became Our Lady of Victories Church.
In his book Dell’Istoria della Sacra Religione et Illustrissima Militia di San Giovanni Gierosolimitano (The History of the Sacred Religion and Illustrious Militia of St John of Jerusalem), written between 1594 and 1602, Giacomo Bosio writes that when the cornerstone of Valletta was placed, a group of Maltese elders said: “Iegi zimen en fel wardia col sceber raba iesue uquie” (Which in modern Maltese reads, “Jiġi żmien li fil-Wardija [l-Għolja Sciberras] kull xiber raba’ jiswa uqija“, and in English, “There will come a time when every piece of land on Sciberras Hill will be worth its weight in gold”).
De Valette died from a stroke on August 21, 1568, at age 74 and never saw the completion of his city. Originally interred in the church of Our Lady of the Victories, his remains now rest in St. John’s Co-Cathedral among the tombs of other Grand Masters of the Knights of Malta.
Francesco Laparelli was the city’s principal designer and his plan departed from medieval Maltese architecture, which exhibited irregular winding streets and alleys. He designed the new city on a rectangular grid plan, and without any collacchio (an area restricted for important buildings). The streets were designed to be wide and straight, beginning centrally from the City Gate and ending at Fort Saint Elmo (which was rebuilt) overlooking the Mediterranean; certain bastions were built 154 feet (47 meters) tall. His assistant was the Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar, later oversaw the construction of the city himself after Laparelli’s death in 1570. The Ufficio delle Case regulated the building of the city as a planning authority.
The city of Valletta was mostly complete by the early 1570s, and it became the capital on March 18, 1571, when Grand Master Pierre de Monte moved from his seat at Fort St Angelo in Birgu to the Grandmaster’s Palace in Valletta. Seven Auberges were built for the Order’s Langues, and these were complete by the 1580s. An eighth Auberge, Auberge de Bavière, was later added in the 18th century.
In Antoine de Paule’s reign, it was decided to build more fortifications to protect Valletta, and these were named the Floriana Lines after the architect who designed them, Pietro Paolo Floriani of Macerata. During António Manoel de Vilhena’s reign, a town began to form between the walls of Valletta and the Floriana Lines, and this evolved from a suburb of Valletta to Floriana, a town in its own right.
In 1634, a gunpowder factory explosion killed 22 people in Valletta. In 1749, Muslim slaves plotted to kill Grandmaster Pinto and take over Valletta, but the revolt was suppressed before it even started due to their plans leaking out to the Order. Later on in his reign, Pinto embellished the city with Baroque architecture, and many important buildings such as Auberge de Castille were remodeled or completely rebuilt in the new architectural style.
In 1775, during the reign of Ximenes, an unsuccessful revolt known as the Rising of the Priests occurred in which Fort Saint Elmo and Saint James Cavalier were captured by rebels, but the revolt was eventually suppressed.
In 1798, the Order left the islands and the French occupation of Malta began. After the Maltese rebelled, French troops continued to occupy Valletta and the surrounding harbor area, until they capitulated to the British in September 1800. In the early 19th century, the British Civil Commissioner, Henry Pigot, agreed to demolish the majority of the city’s fortifications. The demolition was again proposed in the 1870s and 1880s, but it was never carried out and the fortifications have survived largely intact.
Eventually, building projects in Valletta resumed under British rule. These projects included widening gates, demolishing and rebuilding structures, widening newer houses over the years, and installing civic projects. The Malta Railway, which linked Valletta to Mdina, was officially opened in 1883. It was closed down in 1931 after buses became a popular means of transport.
In 1939, Valletta was abandoned as the headquarters of the Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet due to its proximity to Italy and the city became a flashpoint during the subsequent two-year long Siege of Malta. German and Italian air raids throughout the Second World War caused much destruction in Valletta and the rest of the harbor area. The Royal Opera House, constructed at the city entrance in the 19th century, was one of the buildings lost to the raids.
The entire city of Valletta has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980, along with Megalithic Temples of Malta and the Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni. On November 11, 2015, Valletta hosted the Valletta Summit on Migration in which European and African leaders discussed the European migrant crisis. After that, on November 27, 2015, the city also hosted part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2015. Valletta has been selected as the European Capital of Culture for 2018.
The architecture of Valletta’s streets and piazzas ranges from mid-16th century Baroque to Modernism. The city is the island’s principal cultural center and has a unique collection of churches, palaces and museums and act as one of the city’s main visitor attractions. When Benjamin Disraeli, future British Prime Minister, visited the city in 1830, he described it as “a city of palaces built by gentlemen for gentlemen,” and remarked that “Valletta equals in its noble architecture, if it does not excel, any capital in Europe,” and in other letters called it “comparable to Venice and Cádiz” and “full of palaces worthy of Palladio.”
Buildings of historic importance include St John’s Co-Cathedral, formerly the Conventual Church of the Knights of Malta. It has the only signed work and largest painting by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The Auberge de Castille et Leon, formerly the official seat of the Knights of Malta of the Langue of Castille, Léon and Portugal, is now the office of the Prime Minister of Malta. The Grandmaster’s Palace, built between 1571 and 1574 and formerly the seat of the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, used to house the Maltese Parliament, now situated in a purpose-built structure at the entrance to the city, and now houses the offices of the President of Malta.
The National Museum of Fine Arts is a Rococo palace dating back to the late 1570s, which served as the official residence of the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet during the British era from the 1820s onwards. The Manoel Theatre (Teatru Manoel) was constructed in just ten months in 1731, by order of Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena, and is one of the oldest working theatres in Europe. The Mediterranean Conference Centre was formerly the Sacra Infermeria. Built in 1574, it was one of Europe’s most renowned hospitals during the Renaissance. The fortifications of the port, built by the Knights as a magnificent series of bastions, demi-bastions, cavaliers and curtains, approximately 330 feet (100 meters) high, all contribute to the unique architectural quality of the city.
Scott #1426 is the lowest denomination — 19 euro cents — in a set of three stamps released on March 9, 2011, bearing Maltese landscape paintings by Edward Said. The set also included a 37-cent stamp picturing Manoel Island and a 1.57-euro value with a painting of Cittadella. These were lithographed on watermarked paper, perforated 14×14½. | ||||
9289 | dbpedia | 1 | 19 | https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Borg-Olivier | en | George Borg Olivier | Maltese statesman, independence leader, constitutional reformer | [
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] | 2015-07-10T00:00:00+00:00 | George Borg Olivier was a Maltese politician who led the Maltese Nationalist Party from 1950 to 1976 and twice served as the island’s prime minister (December 1950 to March 1955 and March 1962 to June 1971), including the period during which Malta gained independence from Britain in 1964. Borg | en | /favicon.png | Encyclopedia Britannica | https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Borg-Olivier | George Borg Olivier (born July 5, 1911, Valletta, Malta—died October 29, 1980, Sliema) was a Maltese politician who led the Maltese Nationalist Party from 1950 to 1976 and twice served as the island’s prime minister (December 1950 to March 1955 and March 1962 to June 1971), including the period during which Malta gained independence from Britain in 1964.
Borg Olivier’s political philosophy was based on a moderate, pro-Western stance, and he campaigned throughout his career for Malta to retain its links with Britain and NATO, in opposition to his main political rival, Labour Party leader Dom Mintoff. Trained as a lawyer (1937) at the Royal University of Malta, Borg Olivier served on the council of government (1939–47) and in 1947 was elected to the Legislative Assembly created by the post-World War II constitution. He was minister of works and of education under Enrico Mizzi, whom he succeeded (1950) as Nationalist Party leader and prime minister. In 1955, after the failure of the coalition government, Mintoff was elected and stayed in power until his resignation provoked the constitutional crisis of 1958–62. In 1962 the Nationalists were returned to power, with Borg Olivier again prime minister. After endorsement by referendum of the independence constitution, the island became independent on September 21, 1964. Borg Olivier believed that the country’s economy as well as its defense interests were best served by strong links with Britain, but the economic benefits of that policy were eroded by British defense cuts. In 1971 Mintoff won the election, and in 1974 he declared Malta a republic. Borg Olivier remained the leader of the opposition until his retirement in 1977. | ||||
9289 | dbpedia | 0 | 55 | https://www.visitmalta.com/en/history-of-malta-timeline/ | en | Maltese History | [
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] | null | [] | 2021-05-17T17:25:43+00:00 | With a rich and colourful history spanning over 7,000 years, it’s no wonder the Maltese Islands are home to no less than 3 UNESCO World Heritage Sites! | en | Visit Malta | https://www.visitmalta.com/pl/history-of-malta-timeline/ | With a rich and colorful history spanning over 7,000 years, it’s no wonder the Maltese Islands are home to no less than three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the stunning Capital of Valletta, the awesomely preserved Ħal-Saflieni Hypogeum, and seven Megalithic Temples. With a past that includes the Phoenicians, the Arabs, the Knights of St. John as well as the French under Napoleon, Malta and history truly go hand in hand.
Achieving Independence from the British in 1964, and becoming a Republic ten years later, Malta has always managed to adapt and develop through time. The Island has kept abreast with all the luxuries of the modern world, but there is evidence of the island’s vast and vivid past everywhere you look! | |||||
9289 | dbpedia | 1 | 35 | https://issuu.com/visitmalta/docs/1228_mta_history_and_culture_brochure_27.10.21 | en | History & Culture Brochure | Online Version Only (EN) | [
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Here you'll find an answer to your question. | ||||
9289 | dbpedia | 0 | 5 | https://historytimelines.co/timeline/valletta-malta | en | History Timeline | [] | [] | [] | [
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] | null | [] | null | A History Timeline About Valletta, Malta. Valletta, the capital city of Malta, has a rich and storied history that dates back to the 16th cent... | en | History Timelines | https://historytimelines.co/timeline/valletta-malta | ||||||
9289 | dbpedia | 2 | 37 | https://www.eurotravelogue.com/2013/09/Best-of-Valletta-Malta.html | en | Valletta: Europe’s Most Underrated Capital? | [
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] | 2013-09-26T20:31:00-04:00 | Malta,Valletta Malta,Megalith Temples, Malta Megalith Temples,Mediterranean Island of Malta | en | https://www.eurotravelogue.com/favicon.ico | https://www.eurotravelogue.com/2013/09/Best-of-Valletta-Malta.html | Welcome to Valletta, Malta and to the Alexander Ball Temple in the Lower Barracca Gardens. Photo: Cebete.
When you think of grand European capital cities, places like Rome, Paris and Vienna probably come to mind at first and while these famous cities are undoubtedly brilliant, it’s easy to forget about some of the smaller, yet equally fascinating, capitals across Europe.
Valletta, Malta’s historic capital city, is a prime example. Its incredible beauty, history and culture make it one of the best city break destinations in all of Europe, yet this tiny Mediterranean island of Valletta on Malta remains well under the radar of many holiday-goers.
The view of Valletta, Malta from Sliema. Photo: Paul Stephenson.
If you’re planning a visit to the Maltese capital, here’s a brief guide on where to go and what to see:
History
One of Malta's Megalith Temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Photo: WikiMedia.org.
Throughout history, Malta’s desirable location in the Mediterranean, below Italy and north of Libya, has drawn many nations to stake their claim on this tiny island: First came the Phoenicians, followed by the Romans, Normans, Habsburgs and finally the British from whence it received its independence in 1964. Later that same year, it became a member of the United Nations and went on to become a republic in 1974, and finally entered into the European Union in 2004.
With such diversity in history, it's no wonder that history buffs seek out Malta to explore its fascinating past especially in Valletta's National War Museum, not to mention many of its UNESCO World Heritage sites scattered throughout the 55-hectare island—chief among these, the Megalithic Temples—11 prehistoric monuments erected between 5000 and 700 B.C. that claim the title as the oldest free-standing structures in the world; although that fact is still being debated in light of the Göbekli Tepe in Turkey.
Scenery
Upper Barracca Gardens in Valletta, Malta. Photo: Malcome Bott.
One of Valletta’s best attractions is simply its gorgeous landscapes. Walk around the Upper Barracca Gardens and enjoy panoramic views of the city’s charming Grand Harbor. The public park, which sits atop Valletta’s historic fortifications, is an ideal spot for a picnic or a romantic stroll. If you’re looking to extend your scenic walk, the Lower Barracca Gardens are equally stunning.
Another shot of the Upper Barracca Gardens in Valletta, Malta. Photo: Wolfgang Jung.
Whilst Valletta’s natural scenery, the sun-drenched coastline and the sparkling Mediterranean, provide a scenic backdrop, the city’s man-made structures are also worth mentioning. You don’t have to be an architecture enthusiast to enjoy the striking beauty of 16th-century Baroque St. John's Co-Cathedral; the 18th-century Rococo palace—home to the National Museum of Fine Arts; and the many grand, Renaissance-era buildings that line its cobblestone streets.
Saint John's Co-Cathedral built in the 16th century by the Knights of Malta. Photo: Ondablv.
Spectacular interiors await inside Saint John's Co-Cathedral. Photo: jonralinson.
Cuisine
Foodies feel right at home in Malta, where the cuisine is a brilliant mix of Italian favourites, North African flavours and age-old recipes unique to Malta’s rich heritage. If you’re dining out in the city, head to Da Pippo Trattoria on Melita Street. The cosy eatery has attracted many a famous celebrity.
Epicurean adventurers to Valletta must try the rabbit stew (stuffat tal-fenek), a Maltese specialty served in nearly every restaurant. Other Maltese dishes include Timpana, a baked macaroni dish, Pastizzi, savoury fritters and Klamari mimlija: calamari stuffed with rice, breadcrumbs, capers and herbs.
Valletta, Malta. Photo: Paul Stephenson.
Valletta may be smaller than some of the better-known European capitals, but it’s no less noteworthy. If you’re looking for a less obvious city break destination, visit Malta’s hidden gem before the spotlight finally shines on Valletta and visitors start to flood in .... | |||||
9289 | dbpedia | 3 | 82 | https://www.foratravel.com/guides/CPKGW9/sun-sea-and-history-guide-to-a-vacation-in-malta-fora | en | Sun, Sea & History: Guide to a Vacation in Malta | [
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] | null | [] | 2022-11-06T17:16:43.834000+00:00 | Traveling to Malta? Get inspired with this Fora-curated itinerary: Sun, Sea & History: Sun, Sea & History: Guide to a Vacation in Malta. | en | /apple-touch-icon.png | Fora Travel | https://www.foratravel.com/guides/CPKGW9/sun-sea-and-history-guide-to-a-vacation-in-malta-fora | History
Travel back in time and visit one of the prehistoric temple sites like Ħagar Qim, Mnajdra or Ġgantija, spread throughout Malta and Gozo. Don’t miss the impressive underground maze of chambers at the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum. If you’re interested in Malta’s Roman past, visit the town of Rabat where you can find catacombs and the remains of a roman villa, Domus Romana, which still has original mosaics in place.
One does not have to look very hard to see the legacy that the Knights of St. John left on the island as the capital city of Valletta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built by the Order and still stands in all its magnificence today. Valletta is home to dozens of museums, palazzos, monuments and churches - the most impressive of which is St. John’s Cathedral. The Cathedral holds the tombs of several Grandmasters of the Order and the cathedral museum boasts a Caravaggio painting “The Beheading of John the Baptist”. The Baracca Gardens offer a commanding view across the Grand Harbour to the Three Cities, also built during the Knight’s reign, and you can take a traditional Maltese gondola ride to them from the Valletta waterfront.
The beautiful medieval city of Mdina is another historic gem, and dates back even further than Valletta. It is one of my favourite places to spend an afternoon walking round its shaded alleyways and sqaures, especially on a hot summer day. Visit the Mdina dungeons for a glimpse into Malta’s macabre past under the French occupation, or Palazzo Falson which is the oldest house in Mdina to have survived the 1693 Sicily earthquake.
Culture
Malta’s culture is as diverse as its history. Its occupiers have included Phoenecians, Romans, Arabs (the Maltese language is most closely related to Arabic but written in the Roman alphabet), French and (until the 1960s) the British - which means most of the population speak English fluently. Catholicism played a big role in the island’s identity; village life is centered around its parish church and piazza and during the summer months you can go to one of the village feasts that are dedicated to their respective patron saint.
Festivities last a week to ten days, culminating in the feast day itself where the statue of the saint is paraded through the streets to the sound of a brass band; fireworks and catherine wheels, which are still made by hand, put on an impressive show; and people eat and drink in the streets while catching up with friends and neighbours.
Adventure
The warm waters of the Maltese islands make it a big scuba diving destination. Whether you are an experienced diver or would like to try it for the first time, and maybe get certified on your trip, there are many dive schools that offer courses or guided trips to dozens of dive sites. I caught the diving bug in 2018 and always book a couple of dives when I visit. There are several wreck sites of boats and WWII planes that are really fun for those looking for adventure on their dive.
Watersports are available to rent at most of the beaches and resorts at the north end of the island or if you prefer to take a boat trip, a day at Comino’s Blue Lagoon is fun for all ages.
If staying on land is more your speed, take a day trip to Gozo and go on a quad bike tour of the island.
Relaxation
When you need a break from the sightseeing and adventure, why not book an afternoon at one of the many excellent spa’s on the island. One of my favourites is at the Golden Sands Resort. Located by the sea, when you are done being pampered you can enjoy an alfresco cocktail or dinner while listening to the sounds of the waves.
Nightlife
Malta has a very vibrant nightlife and cafe culture. The main area for bars and clubs most popular with a younger crowd can be found in the Paceville area of St. Julian’s but Valletta has come alive in recent years and offers a much more sophisticated nightlife scene with cocktail bars, live music and restaurants open till late at night. Malta also hosts international DJs for parties throughout the summer months.
Day Trips from Malta
Gozo is a short 30 min car and passenger ferry ride from the north end of the island and is a smaller more laid back version of Malta.
Comino can be accessed by a smaller boat from the north end of the island. It is a tiny island with one hotel but it’s blue lagoon is a popular swimming area.
Sicily is 60 miles to the north of Malta and day trips are offered by catamaran with coach tour and stops at Mount Etna, Taormina and Catania before returning to Malta in the evening.
Maltese Pastizzerias: Can be found in every town and village and offer traditional pastries called Pastizzi (filo pastry parcels filled with savoury ricotta or peas) that are delicious at any time of the day. They also serve other snacks like pizza by the slice, sausage rolls and cold drinks. Be sure to try the Maltese bread too, which is served in most restaurants with your meal, and in my opinion is the best bread in the world!
Manouche Cfraft Bakery: A modern take on the traditional french bakeries and bistros, they are open from breakfast to dinner.
The Hilltop Restaurant: A restaurant in the north of the island serving Mediterranean cuisine for lunch and dinner.
Trattoria A.D. 1530: Tucked away in a piazza in the Medieval city of Mdina serving lunch and dinner, they have a varied menu that includes some of the best pizza and pasta you’ll ever taste.
The De Mondion Restaurant: If you’re looking for a fine dining restaurant with fabulous panoramic views from the Mdina bastions, this Michelin starred restaurant inside the Xara Palace Relais & Chateau hotel is the place to go.
Acqua Blu: A seafood restaurant in one of the historic Three Cities. Sit by the edge of the water and enjoy your lunch or dinner while looking out across the grand harbour to Valletta.
Soul Food: Vegan, vegetarian and gluten free restaurant in the capital city, famous for their Buddah bowls.
Wagyu: Also in Valletta, this is an Asian Fusion restaurant serving sushi, curries, noodle dishes and an impressive cocktail menu. There is also an upstairs bar with music if you are just looking for somewhere to enjoy a classy cocktail.
Terrazza: Jump over to Gozo (Malta’s sister island) to enjoy an array of dishes and cocktails artfully prepared using local ingredients overlooking the picturesque bay of Xlendi. Get there in time for sunset - it won’t disappoint.
Ta'Tona: Also on Gozo, this family run restaurant is open for dinner during the summer months, and serves Mediterranean cuisine right by the harbour so you can take the ferry across and return after dinner.
La Nostra Padrona: Located in the fishing village of Marsaxlokk and specializing in seafood, you can roam the Sunday market then have lunch right by the water’s edge as you watch the fishermen bring in their catch.
Ta Marija: Serving traditional Maltese food since 1964. The national dish of Malta is rabbit which can be prepared as a stew or fried and is delicious. | ||||
9289 | dbpedia | 1 | 74 | https://commonwealthchamber.com/member-countries/malta/ | en | Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce | [
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] | null | [] | 2021-05-19T20:43:24+00:00 | en | Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce | https://commonwealthchamber.com/member-countries/malta/ | Demographics
As of December 2022, the population of Malta is 444,454. Around 95% of Malta’s population are of local Maltese nationality, and due to the island’s position between neighbouring countries, there are also a small number of citizens from North Africa and European countries. Following previous government-encouraged emigration, Maltese nationals have been returning to Malta in recent years. Malta’s population growth has slowed in the last century, rendering the younger Maltese citizens a smaller proportion of the country’s demographic. Despite this, Malta’s population density is amongst the highest in the world. Over 95% of the population is concentrated in urban areas.
The national language of Malta is Maltese whilst English also constitutes as an official language due to colonial history. Malta is known to be one of the top multilingual countries with 100% of the population speaking Maltese, 88% speaking English, and 66% speaking Italian. Roman Catholicism is the official religion of Malta, accounting for 98% of the population’s religious beliefs while Islam, Buddhism, other religions, and atheism account for the remaining 2%.
History
The earliest traces of human existence dated from 7000 years ago. Artifacts unearthed at Ħal Saflieni was declared a UNESCO World Heritage in 1980. In 218 BC, Malta was controlled by the Roman Empire and formed part of the praetorship of Sicily. St. Paul, the Apostle, converted the Maltese inhabitants to Christianity in 60 CE. Malta was subject to different foreign rule throughout its history. It came under Constantinople (now Istanbul) rule (395-535 CE), Byzantine rule (535-870 CE), Arab rule (870-1090), Norman and Swabian rule (1090-1266), Angevin rule (1266-82), and Spanish rule (1282-1530). In 1530, Malta was ceded to a religious and military order of the Roman Catholic Church and withstood the 1565 Ottoman siege. The capital of Valetta was founded in 1566, named after Jean de Valette, the grand master of the Order of the Knights, who successfully resisted the Ottoman siege that started in 1565.
In 1798, Napoleon captured the island of Malta. However, the French surrendered it to the British in 1800. The Treaty of Paris (1814-15) ratified constitutional guarantee of the Maltese’s rights as they acknowledged British sovereignty. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 helped Malta grow its trade and economy. In 1912, a dyarchical government is formed under which the British was responsible for foreign and military affairs, whereas the Maltese legislature handle local issues. However, this arrangement was withdrawn in 1933 due to Maltese resistance. Malta reverted to a colonial regime and became a military base during World War II. National sentiments grew after the war.
The British granted self-government in 1947, but revoked so in 1959 and restored so in 1962. On 21 September 1964, Malta finally achieved independence and became a Commonwealth member. On 13 December 1974, it became a republic. Malta was under the governance of the Nationalist Party (Partit Nazzjonalista; PN) from 1962 until 1971 when they lost the elections to the Malta Labour Party; the latter of which pursued rigorous non- alignment policies. The PN returned to leadership in 1987, seeking full membership of the European Economic Union (Later to become EU), but when the MLP retook office in 1996, they halted Malta’s membership application. In 1998, PN won the elections once more, restarting the application though it faced intense opposition from MLP. Alas, in 2003 by referendum, Malta officially joined the EU the following year, on 1 May, and adopted the euro as its currency on 1 January 2008.
Key Dates:
1921 Malta granted dyarchical self-governance for the first time
1964 Malta gains independence on 21 September
1974 Malta becomes a republic
1979 The last British military base closes
1990 Malta applies to join European Union
1995 Malta joins NATO’s Partnership in April for the Peace programme but leaves in October 1996 to maintain its neutrality
2004 Malta joins the EU on 1 May
2008 Malta adopts the Euro as its currency on 1 January
Legal System and Government
Malta is a unitary multiparty republic wherein the parliament consists of a unicameral House of Representatives based on the British model. Members of the parliament are elected for five-year terms by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation. The parliament elects the President, who is the head of state. The President appoints the leader of the majority party or coalition to be the Prime Minister, who is the head of the government on a five-year term.
Malta follows a mixed judicial system. On the one hand, the codified Maltese law follows Napoleonic law. On the other hand, criminal proceedings and fiscal and maritime legislation are based on English common law, yet without a binding judicial precedent. The judiciary is divided into the Superior Courts, which are presided over by a bench of judges, and the Court of Magistrates, which hear matters at first instance. Malta hosts a single tier system of appeal.
Economy
Malta is a high-income country with a GDP per capita of US$33,257, nearly threefold of the global average. Despite being the 6th smallest economy in the EU, it is the 25th richest country in the world.
The GDP of Malta reached US$17.36 billion in 2021, resulting in a 5.2% growth. The economy is highly industrialised and service-based, providing most professional services in the Mediterranean region. Notably, financial service providers manage assets more than 500% of Malta’s GDP and contribute to 15% of government revenues. Tourism is another pillar of the economy, contributing 27% to GDP. During the summer months, Malta’s economy is primarily fuelled by tourism.
Benefited by its geographical location between Europe and North Africa, Malta also serves as a trading hub with foreign trade representing 272% of the GDP. Due to the island’s lack of natural resources, Malta rely heavily on imported foodstuffs, water, and energy. It also manufactures and re-export mineral fuels and oils. Malta’s economy is one of the fastest growing in Europe and continues to benefit from the high value of foreign direct investment that it receives.
Trade
Malta’s GDP in 2021 amounted to US$17.36 billion. The main exports for the year included electrical machinery and electronics (23.1%), pharmaceutical products (15.6%), printed books, newspapers and other photographical products (10.3%) and mineral fuels, oils and products of their distillation (9.5%). The top export destinations for Maltese products were Germany (13.1%), Italy (9.2%), France (5.8%), and Japan (5.5%). Malta’s top imports for 2021 comprised of mineral fuels, oils and products of their distillation (17.7%), aircraft, spacecraft and parts thereof (13.8%), electrical machinery and electronics (10.9%) and ships, boats and other floating structures (8.0%). These imports were predominantly supplied by Italy (22.3%), Canada (6.7%), France (6.7%) and Spain (6.0%).
Malta has entered into numerous preferential trade arrangements as an EU member state.
Investment Opportunities
Investment in Malta is known to be a fairly stable choice, as the country is home to an educated and skilled workforce at low labour costs. Additionally, due to the island’s geographical position, it is an ideal location for investment projects which seek to operate either in or between Southern Europe and North Africa.
The Maltese government has recognised the need to promote ecotourism in its effort to protect the country’s World Heritage site and surrounding natural environment. Foreign investors may therefore seek to establish or finance existing sustainable travel options from Mainland Europe; this being the main source of Malta’s tourists. Similarly, conservation projects could render a positive return in the summer months, when the tourism sector is at its peak.
Although Malta exports refined petroleum, most of its energy is imported. Investment into green energy projects around the country could help to reduce the country’s trade deficit and serve as a sustainable alternative to existing power generation. | ||||||
9289 | dbpedia | 1 | 23 | https://www.aceenglishmalta.com/malta/history-culture/ | en | History and Culture | [
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] | null | [] | 2018-08-10T10:39:14+00:00 | Travel in time across the millennia and discover an amazing variety of myths and historical events that have shaped the destiny of Europe and the world. | en | ACE English Malta | https://www.aceenglishmalta.com/malta/history-culture/ | The Maltese islands went through a golden Neolithic period, the remains of which are the mysterious temples dedicated to the goddess of fertility. Later on, the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Romans and the Byzantines all passed through Malta and left their mark on the island’s design and structure. In 60 AD, St. Paul was shipwrecked on the island while travelling to Rome, and initiated its transformation into the largely Christian and Catholic island and culture that has survived to this day.
Arabic civilisation conquered Malta in 870 AD and left an important mark on the Maltese language and the island’s architecture. Until 1530, Malta was an extension of Sicily, with the Normans, the Aragonese and other conquerors ruling over the island. From 1530 to 1798 the Knights took Malta through one of its golden eras, transforming it into a key player in the European cultural scene throughout the 17th and 18th century.
As you begin to explore Malta, you will find yourself surrounded by and breathing in the rich cultural history of the islands with every step that you take. The artistic and cultural life of the islands were shaped and enriched by the presence of artists such as Caravaggio, Mattia Preti and Favray, who were commissioned by the Knights to embellish churches, palaces and auberges. Their works survive to this day and can be seen in various museums and other renowned cultural and heritage sites around the island. In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte took control of the island from the Knights while moving toward Egypt. The French presence on the island was short-lived, as the English, who had been called on by the Maltese to help them expel the French, took over the islands in 1800.
British Rule in Malta lasted until 1964, when Malta became independent. The Maltese adopted the British system of administration, education and legislation. Malta became a Republic in 1974 and joined the European Union in May 2004.
Valletta, founded around the middle of the 16th century, is the actual capital of Malta. From around 1490 to 1550, there was just a single watchtower, where one can today find the Fort Saint Elmo. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
During the period when the Order of the Knights Hospitallers controlled the Maltese islands, Malta suffered through the Great Siege, during which they temporarily lost control of the fort before taking it back with the help of Sicilian reinforcements. After the Hospitallers won the Great Siege, it was the Grand Master Jean de La Valette who ordered the building of the fortified city which took its name from him: "La Valletta."
Mdina is a fortified city in the centre of Malta, which was founded in the 8th century and served as capital of Malta from antiquity to the medieval period. Its name derives from the Arabic "medina," which means "city." Mdina is also known as "the silent city" due to its low population (under 300) and the restricted number of cars allowed in the city. | |||||
9289 | dbpedia | 2 | 76 | https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/christmas/christmas/126513/the_return_of_christmas_in_the_capital | en | The return of Christmas in the Capital | [
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] | null | [] | null | Valletta Cultural Agency has unveiled its annual Christmas programme named Christmas in the Capital | en | /ui/images/icons/Icon-Small@2x.png | MaltaToday.com.mt | https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/christmas/christmas/126513/the_return_of_christmas_in_the_capital | Just a few days ago, the Valletta Cultural Agency unveiled its annual Christmas programme named Christmas in the Capital. As with each passing year, the Agency maintains its steadfast commitment to prioritize the community within the city. The programme is designed to engage and celebrate the spirit of the local community during the festive season.
In these festive times, a profound sense of unity prevails, offering an opportunity for collective celebration of the inherent beauty of humanity. Given the current backdrop of cruelty, violence, and conflicts in various parts of the world, including the very lands where the history of Christmas originated, this year's Christmas programme by the Valletta Cultural Agency also focuses on the themes of peace and serenity, encapsulating the true spirit of Christmas.
A notable addition to the Agency's programme, in collaboration with the Archbishop, the Curia, the Mużew Society, and the community, is the reintroduction of the traditional procession of Baby Jesus. This cherished procession, deeply rooted in Maltese tradition, symbolizes not only celebration but also serves as a powerful emblem of hope and peace, resonating with the essence of Christmas.
The procession will commence near the Church of Our Lady of Victory, traversing Zackary Street, pausing in front of St John’s Co-Cathedral where the Archbishop will deliver a message. The journey will continue with a musical performance by the Choral and Orchestral Society Maria Bambina and will conclude at Triton Square. This revival of the procession seeks to honour its historical significance and infuse it with the life and recognition it deserves.
The Christmas programme is brimming with a diverse array of activities, totalling 29 in all. The festivities commenced on Monday 27th November, with the illumination of locally produced lights adorning the main streets of Valletta. A living tree was also unveiled in front of the Parliament, destined to be planted in Ta' Qali once the Christmas Programme concludes. The artistic Christmas crib, situated next to the entrance of St John’s Co-Cathedral, was inaugurated.
The festive atmosphere in Valletta was enhanced with the launch of an original Christmas song titled "Tridx Tkun Tiegħi Dan il-Milied”. The song was performed live by The Travellers, Michela, Ira Losco, and Gianluca Bezzina on the day of the launch. Additionally, an official music video was unveiled online just a few days ago, offering a visual complement to the holiday anthem. The artists delighted the audience with a short concert, infusing the Christmas celebration in Valletta with a wonderful musical experience.
On December 5th, the eagerly anticipated projections illuminated St George’s Square, featuring a magical scenario that includes a stunning depiction of a sky filled with stars. This visual spectacle added a magical touch to the festive ambiance, enhancing the overall experience for those visiting the square during the Christmas celebrations in Valletta.
Throughout the remainder of December, several engaging activities will unfold in Valletta. Republic Street will resonate with the sounds of Christmas music, creating a festive atmosphere. The Valletta Design Cluster will host Shadow Puppetry Workshops dedicated to children, offering a creative and entertaining experience. Stilt Walkers will grace the main streets, adding an element of joy to the festivities.
Dancel Dance Studio will contribute to the celebration with Pop-Up Events, while Street Animators will enliven various locations across the city. Choirs, including Centrestage Children’s Choir, Malta School of Music, and EnKor, will serenade the audience with traditional Christmas songs. Additionally, a classical concert by Kor Malta will take place at the Anglican Cathedral. The musical offerings continue with performances by popular groups and artists such as Sean Borg and Veronique, RIONA, Opening Doors, and others, ensuring a diverse and vibrant celebration of the holiday season in Valletta.
The grand finale of the Christmas programme will culminate in the New Year’s Eve event, the largest of its kind in the country. St. George’s Square will once again play host to this spectacular event, offering free admission to all attendees. As the year draws to a close, this event promises to be a memorable and festive celebration, bringing the community together for a joyous conclusion to the Christmas festivities in Valletta.
The overarching goal of this year's Christmas programme is not only to spread joy but also to foster a sense of solidarity and reflection. The Valletta Cultural Agency envisions that, through its programmes, it can inspire a spirit of goodwill and compassion that transcends the festive season. | ||||
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This article is about the country. For other uses, see Malta (disambiguation).
Malta ( MOL-tə, MAWL-tə, Maltese: [ˈmɐːltɐ]), officially the Republic of Malta,[14] is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago 80 km (50 mi) south of Italy, 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia,[15] and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya.[16][17] The two official languages are Maltese and English. The country's capital is Valletta, which is the smallest capital city in the EU by both area and population. With a population of about 542,000[8] over an area of 316 km2 (122 sq mi),[7] Malta is the world's tenth-smallest country by area[18][19] and the fifth most densely populated. Various sources consider the country to consist of a single urban region,[20][21] for which it is often described as a city-state.[22][23][24]
Malta has been inhabited since about 5900 BC.[25] Its location in the centre of the Mediterranean has historically given it great geostrategic importance, with a succession of powers having ruled the islands and shaped its culture and society.[26] These include the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and Romans in antiquity; the Arabs, Normans, and Aragonese during the Middle Ages; and the Knights Hospitaller, French, and British in the modern era.[27][28] Malta came under British rule in the early 19th century and served as the headquarters for the British Mediterranean Fleet. It was besieged by the Axis powers during World War II and was an important Allied base for North Africa and the Mediterranean.[29][30] Malta achieved independence in 1964,[31] and established its current parliamentary republic in 1974. It has been a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations since independence; it joined the European Union in 2004 and the eurozone monetary union in 2008.
Malta's long history of foreign rule and close proximity to both Europe and North Africa have influenced its art, music, cuisine, and architecture. Malta has close historical and cultural ties to Italy and especially Sicily; between 62 and 66 percent of Maltese people speak or have significant knowledge of the Italian language, which had official status from 1530 to 1934.[32][33] Malta was an early centre of Christianity, and Catholicism is the state religion, although the country's constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and religious worship.[34][35]
Malta is a developed country with an advanced high-income economy. It is heavily reliant on tourism, attracting both travelers and a growing expatriate community with its warm climate, numerous recreational areas, and architectural and historical monuments, including three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum,[36] Valletta,[37] and seven megalithic temples which are some of the oldest free-standing structures in the world.[38][39][40]
Name
[edit]
The English name Malta derives from Italian and Maltese Malta, from medieval Arabic Māliṭā (مَالِطَا), from classical Latin Melita,[41] from latinised or Doric forms[42] of the ancient Greek Melítē (Μελίτη) of uncertain origin. The name Melítē—shared by the Croatian island Mljet in antiquity—literally means "place of honey" or "sweetness", derived from the combining form of méli (μέλι, "honey" or any similarly sweet thing)[43] and the suffix -ē (-η). The ancient Greeks may have given the island this name after Malta's endemic subspecies of bees.[44] Alternatively, other scholars argue for derivation of the Greek name from an original Phoenician or Punic Maleth (𐤌𐤋𐤈, mlṭ), meaning "haven"[45] or "port"[46] in reference to the Grand Harbour and its primary settlement at Cospicua following the sea level rise that separated the Maltese islands and flooded its original coastal settlements in the 10th century BC.[47] The name was then applied to all of Malta by the Greeks and to its ancient capital at Mdina by the Romans.[47]
Malta and its demonym Maltese are attested in English from the late 16th century.[48] The Greek name appears in the Book of Acts in the Bible's New Testament.[49] English translations including the 1611 King James Version long used the Vulgate Latin form Melita, although William Tyndale's 1525 translation from Greek sources used the transliteration Melite instead. Malta is widely used in more recent versions. The name is attested earlier in other languages, however, including some medieval manuscripts of the Latin Antonine Itinerary.[50]
History
[edit]
Main article: History of Malta
Prehistory
[edit]
Malta has been inhabited from circa 5900 BC,[51] since the arrival of settlers originating from European Neolithic agriculturalists.[52] Pottery found by archaeologists at the Skorba Temples resembles that found in Italy, and suggests that the Maltese islands were first settled in 5200 BC by Stone Age hunters or farmers who had arrived from Sicily, possibly the Sicani. The extinction of the dwarf hippos, giant swans and dwarf elephants has been linked to the earliest arrival of humans on Malta.[53] Prehistoric farming settlements dating to the Early Neolithic include Għar Dalam.[54] The population on Malta grew cereals, raised livestock and, in common with other ancient Mediterranean cultures, worshipped a fertility figure.[55]
A culture of megalithic temple builders then either supplanted or arose from this early period. Around 3500 BC, these people built some of the oldest existing free-standing structures in the world in the form of the megalithic Ġgantija temples on Gozo;[56] other early temples include those at Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra.[40][57][58] The temples have distinctive architecture, typically a complex trefoil design, and were used from 4000 to 2500 BC. Tentative information suggests that animal sacrifices were made to the goddess of fertility, whose statue is now in the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta.[59] Another archaeological feature of the Maltese Islands often attributed to these ancient builders is equidistant uniform grooves dubbed "cart tracks" or "cart ruts" which can be found in several locations throughout the islands, with the most prominent being those found in Misraħ Għar il-Kbir. These may have been caused by wooden-wheeled carts eroding soft limestone.[60][61] The culture apparently disappeared from the islands around 2500 BC, possibly due to famine or disease.
After 2500 BC, the Maltese Islands were depopulated for several decades until an influx of Bronze Age immigrants, a culture that cremated its dead and introduced smaller megalithic structures called dolmens.[62] They are claimed to belong to a population certainly different from that which built the previous megalithic temples. It is presumed the population arrived from Sicily because of the similarity of Maltese dolmens to some small constructions found there.[63]
Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Romans
[edit]
Phoenician traders[64] colonised the islands under the name Ann (𐤀𐤍𐤍, ʾNN)[47] sometime after 1000 BC[15] as a stop on their trade routes from the eastern Mediterranean to Cornwall.[67] Their seat of government was apparently at Mdina, which shared the island's name; the primary port was at Cospicua on the Grand Harbour, which they called Maleth.[47] After the fall of Phoenicia in 332 BC, the area came under the control of Carthage.[15][68] During this time, the people on Malta mainly cultivated olives and carob and produced textiles.[68]
During the First Punic War, the island was conquered after harsh fighting by Marcus Atilius Regulus.[69] After the failure of his expedition, the island fell back in the hands of Carthage, only to be conquered again during the Second Punic War in 218 BC by the Roman consul Tiberius Sempronius Longus.[69] After that, Malta became a Foederata Civitas, a designation that meant it was exempt from paying tribute or the rule of Roman law, and fell within the jurisdiction of the province of Sicily.[44] Its capital at Mdina was renamed Melita after the Greek and Roman name for the island. Punic influence, however, remained vibrant on the islands with the famous Cippi of Melqart, pivotal in deciphering the Punic language, dedicated in the second century BC.[70][71] Local Roman coinage, which ceased in the first century BC,[72] indicates the slow pace of the island's Romanisation: the last locally minted coins still bear inscriptions in Ancient Greek and Punic motifs, showing the resistance of the Greek and Punic cultures.[73]
In the second century, Emperor Hadrian (r. 117–38) upgraded the status of Malta to a municipium or free town: the island's local affairs were administered by four quattuorviri iuri dicundo and a municipal senate, while a Roman procurator living in Mdina represented the proconsul of Sicily.[69] In AD 58, Paul the Apostle and Luke the Evangelist were shipwrecked on the islands.[69] Paul remained for three months, preaching the Christian faith.[69] The island is mentioned at the Acts of the Apostles as Melitene (Greek: Μελιτήνη).[74]
In 395, when the Roman Empire was divided for the last time at the death of Theodosius I, Malta, following Sicily, fell under the control of the Western Roman Empire.[75] During the Migration Period as the Western Roman Empire declined, Malta was conquered or occupied a number of times.[72] From 454 to 464 the islands were subdued by the Vandals, and after 464 by the Ostrogoths.[69] In 533, Belisarius, on his way to conquer the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa, reunited the islands under Imperial (Eastern) rule.[69] Little is known about the Byzantine rule in Malta: the island depended on the theme of Sicily and had Greek Governors and a small Greek garrison.[69] While the bulk of population continued to be constituted by the old, Latinized dwellers, during this period its religious allegiance oscillated between the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople.[69] The Byzantine rule introduced Greek families to the Maltese collective.[76] Malta remained under the Byzantine Empire until 870, when it was conquered by the Arabs.[69][77]
Arab period and the Middle Ages
[edit]
See also: Arab–Byzantine wars and Islam in Malta
Malta became involved in the Arab–Byzantine wars, and the conquest of Malta is closely linked with that of Sicily that began in 827 after Admiral Euphemius' betrayal of his fellow Byzantines, requesting that the Aghlabids invade the island.[78] The Muslim chronicler and geographer al-Himyari recounts that in 870, following a violent struggle against the defending Byzantines, the Arab invaders, first led by Halaf al-Hadim, and later by Sawada ibn Muhammad,[79] pillaged the island, destroying the most important buildings, and leaving it practically uninhabited until it was recolonised by the Arabs from Sicily in 1048–1049.[79] It is uncertain whether this new settlement resulted from demographic expansion in Sicily, a higher standard of living in Sicily (in which case the recolonisation may have taken place a few decades earlier), or a civil war which broke out among the Arab rulers of Sicily in 1038.[80] The Arab Agricultural Revolution introduced new irrigation, cotton, and some fruits. The Siculo-Arabic language was adopted on the island from Sicily; it would eventually evolve into the Maltese language.[81]
Norman conquest
[edit]
Main article: Norman invasion of Malta
The Normans attacked Malta in 1091, as part of their conquest of Sicily.[82] The Norman leader, Roger I of Sicily, was welcomed by Christian captives.[44] The notion that Count Roger I reportedly tore off a portion of his checkered red-and-white banner and presented it to the Maltese in gratitude for having fought on his behalf, forming the basis of the modern flag of Malta, is founded in myth.[44][83]
Malta became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Sicily, which also covered the island of Sicily and the southern half of the Italian Peninsula.[44] The Catholic Church was reinstated as the state religion, with Malta under the See of Palermo, and some Norman architecture sprang up around Malta, especially in its ancient capital Mdina.[44] King Tancred made Malta a fief of the kingdom and installed a Count of Malta in 1192. As the islands were much desired due to their strategic importance, it was during this time that the men of Malta were militarised to fend off attempted conquest; early Counts were skilled Genoese privateers.[44]
The kingdom passed on to the Hohenstaufen dynasty from 1194 until 1266. As Emperor Frederick II began to reorganise his Sicilian kingdom, Western culture and religion started to exert their influence more intensely.[84] Malta was declared a county and a marquisate, but its trade was totally ruined. For a long time it remained solely a fortified garrison.[85]
A mass expulsion of Arabs occurred in 1224, and the entire Christian male population of Celano in Abruzzo was deported to Malta in the same year.[44] In 1249 Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, decreed that all remaining Muslims be expelled from Malta[86] or compelled to convert.[87][88]
For a brief period, the kingdom passed to the Capetian House of Anjou,[89] but high taxes made the dynasty unpopular in Malta, due in part to Charles of Anjou's war against the Republic of Genoa, and the island of Gozo was sacked in 1275.[44]
Crown of Aragon, the Knights of Malta and Portuguese Rule
[edit]
Malta was ruled by the House of Barcelona, the ruling dynasty of the Crown of Aragon, from 1282 to 1409,[90] with the Aragonese aiding the Maltese insurgents in the Sicilian Vespers in the naval battle in Grand Harbour in 1283.[91]
Relatives of the kings of Aragon ruled the island until 1409 when it formally passed to the Crown of Aragon. Early on in the Aragonese ascendancy, the sons of the monarchs received the title Count of Malta. During this time much of the local nobility was created. By 1397, however, the bearing of the comital title reverted to a feudal basis, with two families fighting over the distinction. This led King Martin I of Sicily to abolish the title. The dispute over the title returned when the title was reinstated a few years later and the Maltese, led by the local nobility, rose up against Count Gonsalvo Monroy.[44] Although they opposed the Count, the Maltese voiced their loyalty to the Sicilian Crown, which so impressed King Alfonso that he did not punish the people for their rebellion. Instead, he promised never to grant the title to a third party and incorporated it back into the crown. The city of Mdina was given the title of Città Notabile.[44]
On 23 March 1530,[92] Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, gave the islands to the Knights Hospitaller under the leadership of Frenchman Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam,[93][94] in perpetual lease for which they had to pay an annual tribute of a single Maltese Falcon.[95][96][97][98][99][100][101] These knights, a military religious order also known as the Order of St John and later as the Knights of Malta, had been driven out of Rhodes by the Ottoman Empire in 1522.[102]
The Knights Hospitaller ruled Malta and Gozo between 1530 and 1798.[103] During this period, the strategic and military importance of the island grew greatly as the small yet efficient fleet of the Order of Saint John launched their attacks from this new base targeting the shipping lanes of the Ottoman territories around the Mediterranean Sea.[103][104]
In 1551, the population of the island of Gozo (around 5,000 people) were enslaved by Barbary pirates and taken to the Barbary Coast in North Africa.[105]
The knights, led by Frenchman Jean Parisot de Valette, withstood the Great Siege of Malta by the Ottomans in 1565.[94] The knights, with the help of Portuguese, Spanish and Maltese forces, repelled the attack.[106][107] After the siege they decided to increase Malta's fortifications, particularly in the inner-harbour area, where the new city of Valletta, named in honour of Valette, was built. They also established watchtowers along the coasts – the Wignacourt, Lascaris and De Redin towers – named after the Grand Masters who ordered the work. The Knights' presence on the island saw the completion of many architectural and cultural projects, including the embellishment of Città Vittoriosa (modern Birgu) and the construction of new cities including Città Rohan (modern Ħaż-Żebbuġ). However, by the late 1700s the power of the Knights had declined and the Order had become unpopular.
French period and British conquest
[edit]
The Knights' reign ended when Napoleon captured Malta on his way to Egypt during the French Revolutionary Wars in 1798. During 12–18 June 1798, Napoleon resided at the Palazzo Parisio in Valletta.[108][109][110] He reformed national administration with the creation of a Government Commission, twelve municipalities, a public finance administration, the abolition of all feudal rights and privileges, the abolition of slavery and the granting of freedom to all Turkish and Jewish slaves.[111][112] On the judicial level, a family code was framed and twelve judges were nominated. Public education was organised along principles laid down by Bonaparte himself, providing for primary and secondary education.[112][113] He then sailed for Egypt, leaving a substantial garrison in Malta.[114]
The French forces left behind became unpopular with the Maltese, due particularly to the French forces' hostility towards Catholicism and pillaging of local churches to fund war efforts. French financial and religious policies so angered the Maltese that they rebelled, forcing the French to depart. Great Britain, along with the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of Sicily, sent ammunition and aid to the Maltese, and Britain also sent its navy, which blockaded the islands.[112]
On 28 October 1798, Captain Sir Alexander Ball successfully completed negotiations with the French garrison on Gozo for a surrender and transfer of the island to the British. The British transferred the island to the locals that day, and it was administered by Archpriest Saverio Cassar on behalf of Ferdinand III of Sicily. Gozo remained independent until Cassar was removed by the British in 1801.[115]
General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois surrendered his French forces in 1800.[112] Maltese leaders presented the main island to Sir Alexander Ball, asking that the island become a British Dominion. The Maltese people created a Declaration of Rights in which they agreed to come "under the protection and sovereignty of the King of the free people, His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland". The Declaration also stated that "his Majesty has no right to cede these Islands to any power...if he chooses to withdraw his protection, and abandon his sovereignty, the right of electing another sovereign, or of the governing of these Islands, belongs to us, the inhabitants and aborigines alone, and without control."[112][116]
British Empire and the Second World War
[edit]
In 1814, as part of the Treaty of Paris,[112][117] Malta officially became a part of the British Empire and was used as a shipping way-station and fleet headquarters. After the Suez Canal opened in 1869, Malta's position halfway between the Strait of Gibraltar and Egypt proved to be its main asset, and it was considered an important stop on the way to India, a central trade route for the British.
A Turkish Military Cemetery was commissioned by Sultan Abdul Aziz and built between 1873 and 1874 for the fallen Ottoman soldiers of the Great Siege of Malta.
Between 1915 and 1918, during the First World War, Malta became known as the Nurse of the Mediterranean due to the large number of wounded soldiers who were accommodated there.[118] In 1919, British troops fired into a crowd protesting against new taxes, killing four. The event, known as Sette Giugno ("7 June"), is commemorated every year and is one of five National Days.[119][120] Until the Second World War, Maltese politics was dominated by the Language Question fought out by Italophone and Anglophone parties.[121]
Before the Second World War, Valletta was the location of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean fleet headquarters; however, despite Winston Churchill's objections,[122] the command was moved to Alexandria, Egypt, in 1937 out of fear that it was too susceptible to air attacks from Europe.[122][123][124] During the war Malta played an important role for the Allies; being a British colony, situated close to Sicily and the Axis shipping lanes, Malta was bombarded by the Italian and German air forces. Malta was used by the British to launch attacks on the Italian Navy and had a submarine base. It was also used as a listening post, intercepting German radio messages including Enigma traffic.[125] The bravery of the Maltese people during the second siege of Malta moved King George VI to award the George Cross to Malta on a collective basis on 15 April 1942. Some historians argue that the award caused Britain to incur disproportionate losses in defending Malta, as British credibility would have suffered if Malta had surrendered, as British forces in Singapore had done.[126] A depiction of the George Cross now appears on the Flag of Malta and the country's arms.
Independence and Republic
[edit]
See also: State of Malta
Malta achieved its independence as the State of Malta on 21 September 1964 (Independence Day). Under its 1964 constitution, Malta initially retained Queen Elizabeth II as Queen of Malta and thus head of state, with a governor-general exercising executive authority on her behalf. In 1971, the Malta Labour Party led by Dom Mintoff won the general elections, resulting in Malta declaring itself a republic on 13 December 1974 (Republic Day) within the Commonwealth. A defence agreement was signed soon after independence, and after being re-negotiated in 1972, expired on 31 March 1979 (Freedom Day).[127] Upon its expiry, the British base closed and lands formerly controlled by the British were given to the Maltese government.[128]
In the aftermath of the departure of the remaining British troops in 1979, the country intensified its participation in the Non-Aligned Movement. Malta adopted a policy of neutrality in 1980.[129] In that same year, three of Malta's sites, including the capital Valletta, were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In 1989, Malta was the venue of a summit between US President George H. W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, their first face-to-face encounter, which signalled the end of the Cold War.[130] Malta International Airport was inaugurated and became fully operational on 25 March 1992, boosting the local aircraft and tourism industry. A referendum on joining the European Union was held on 8 March 2003, with 53.65% in favour.[131] Malta joined the European Union on 1 May 2004[132] and the eurozone on 1 January 2008.[133]
Politics
[edit]
Malta is a republic[34] whose parliamentary system and public administration are closely modelled on the Westminster system.
The unicameral Parliament is made up of the President of Malta and the House of Representatives (Maltese: Kamra tad-Deputati). The President of Malta, a largely ceremonial position, is appointed for a five-year term by a resolution of the House of Representatives carried by a simple majority. The House of Representatives has 65 members, elected for a five-year term in 13 five-seat electoral divisions, called distretti elettorali, with constitutional amendments that allow for mechanisms to establish strict proportionality amongst seats and votes of political parliamentary groups. Members of the House of Representatives are elected by direct universal suffrage through single transferable vote every five years, unless the House is dissolved earlier by the president either on the advice of the prime minister or through a motion of no confidence. Malta had the second-highest voter turnout in the world (and the highest for nations without mandatory voting), based on election turnout in national lower house elections from 1960 to 1995.[134] Since Malta is a republic, the head of state in Malta is the President of the Republic. The current President of the Republic is Myriam Spiteri Debono, who was elected on 27 March, 2024 by members of parliament in an indirect election.[135] The 80th article of the Constitution of Malta provides that the president appoint as prime minister "the member of the House of Representatives who, in his judgment, is best able to command the support of a majority of the members of that House".[34] Maltese politics is a two-party system dominated by the Labour Party (Maltese: Partit Laburista), a centre-left social democratic party, and the Nationalist Party (Maltese: Partit Nazzjonalista), a centre-right Christian democratic party. The Labour Party has been the governing party since 2013 and is currently led by Prime Minister Robert Abela, who has been in office since 13 January 2020. There are a number of small political parties in Malta which have no parliamentary representation.
Administrative divisions
[edit]
Malta has had a system of local government since 1993,[136] based on the European Charter of Local Self-Government. The country is divided into six regions (one of them being Gozo), with each region having its own Regional Council, serving as the intermediate level between local government and national government.[137] The regions are divided into local councils, of which there are currently 68 (54 in Malta and 14 in Gozo). The six districts (five on Malta and the sixth being Gozo) serve primarily statistical purposes.[138]
Each council is made up of a number of councillors (from 5 to 13, depending on and relative to the population they represent). A mayor and a deputy mayor are elected by and from the councillors. The executive secretary, who is appointed by the council, is the executive, administrative and financial head of the council. Councillors are elected every four years through the single transferable vote. Due to system reforms, no elections were held before 2012. Since then, elections have been held every two years for an alternating half of the councils.
Local councils are responsible for the general upkeep and embellishment of the locality (including repairs to non-arterial roads), allocation of local wardens, and refuse collection; they also carry out general administrative duties for the central government such as the collection of government rents and funds and answer government-related public inquiries. Additionally, a number of individual towns and villages in the Republic of Malta have sister cities.
Military
[edit]
Main article: Armed Forces of Malta
The objectives of the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) are to maintain a military organisation with the primary aim of defending the islands' integrity according to the defence roles as set by the government in an efficient and cost-effective manner. This is achieved by emphasising the maintenance of Malta's territorial waters and airspace integrity.[139]
The AFM also engages in combating terrorism, fighting against illicit drug trafficking, conducting anti-illegal immigrant operations and patrols, and anti-illegal fishing operations, operating search and rescue (SAR) services, and physical or electronic security and surveillance of sensitive locations. Malta's search-and-rescue area extends from east of Tunisia to west of Crete, an area of around 250,000 km2 (97,000 sq mi).[140]
As a military organisation, the AFM provides backup support to the Malta Police Force (MPF) and other government departments/agencies in situations as required in an organised, disciplined manner in the event of national emergencies (such as natural disasters) or internal security and bomb disposal.[141]
In 2020, Malta signed and ratified the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.[142][143]
Human rights
[edit]
Malta is regarded as one of the most LGBT-supportive countries in the world,[144][145] and was the first nation in the European Union to prohibit conversion therapy.[146] Malta also constitutionally bans discrimination based on disability.[147] Maltese legislation recognises both civil and canonical (ecclesiastical) marriages. Annulments by the ecclesiastical and civil courts are unrelated and are not necessarily mutually endorsed. Malta voted in favour of divorce legislation in a referendum held on 28 May 2011.[148]
In Malta, life from conception is protected, and as such abortion in Malta is illegal. It is the only European Union member state with a total ban on the procedure. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.[149] On 21 November 2022, the government led by the Labour Party proposed a bill that "introduces a new clause into the country's criminal code allowing for the termination of a pregnancy if the mother's life is at risk or if her health is in serious jeopardy".[150] As of 2023, an exception was added to allow abortion only if the mother's life is at risk.[151]
Geography
[edit]
Main article: Geography of Malta
Malta is an archipelago in the central Mediterranean (in its eastern basin), some 80 km (50 mi) from southern Italy across the Malta Channel. Only the three largest islands—Malta (Maltese: Malta), Gozo (Għawdex), and Comino (Kemmuna)—are inhabited. The islands of the archipelago lie on the Malta plateau, a shallow shelf formed from the high points of a land bridge between Sicily and North Africa that became isolated as sea levels rose after the last ice age.[152] The archipelago is located on the African tectonic plate.[153][154] Malta was considered an island of North Africa for centuries.[155]
Numerous bays along the indented coastline of the islands provide good harbours. The landscape consists of low hills with terraced fields. The highest point in Malta is Ta' Dmejrek, at 253 m (830 ft), near Dingli. Although there are some small rivers at times of high rainfall, there are no permanent rivers or lakes on Malta. However, some watercourses have fresh water running all year round at Baħrija near Ras ir-Raħeb, at l-Imtaħleb and San Martin, and at Lunzjata Valley in Gozo.
Phytogeographically, Malta belongs to the Liguro-Tyrrhenian province of the Mediterranean region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF, the territory of Malta belongs to the terrestrial ecoregion of Tyrrhenian-Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests.[156]
The following uninhabited minor islands are part of the archipelago:
Barbaġanni Rock (Gozo)
Cominotto (Kemmunett)
Dellimara Island (Marsaxlokk)
Filfla (Żurrieq)/(Siġġiewi)
Fessej Rock
Fungus Rock (Il-Ġebla tal-Ġeneral), (Gozo)
Għallis Rock (Naxxar)
Ħalfa Rock (Gozo)
Large Blue Lagoon Rocks (Comino)
Islands of St. Paul/Selmunett Island (Mellieħa)
Manoel Island, which connects to the town of Gżira, on the mainland via a bridge
Mistra Rocks (San Pawl il-Baħar)
Taċ-Ċawl Rock (Gozo)
Qawra Point/Ta' Fraben Island (San Pawl il-Baħar)
Small Blue Lagoon Rocks (Comino)
Sala Rock (Żabbar)
Xrobb l-Għaġin Rock (Marsaxlokk)
Ta' taħt il-Mazz Rock
Climate
[edit]
Main article: Climate of Malta
Malta has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa),[35][157] with mild winters and hot summers, hotter in the inland areas. Rain occurs mainly in autumn and winter, with summer being generally dry.
The average yearly temperature is around 23 °C (73 °F) during the day and 15.5 °C (59.9 °F) at night. In the coldest month – January – the typical maximum temperature ranges from 12 to 18 °C (54 to 64 °F) during the day and minimum 6 to 12 °C (43 to 54 °F) at night. In the warmest month – August – the typical maximum temperature ranges from 28 to 34 °C (82 to 93 °F) during the day and minimum 20 to 24 °C (68 to 75 °F) at night. Amongst all capitals in the continent of Europe, Valletta – the capital of Malta has the warmest winters, with average temperatures of around 15 to 16 °C (59 to 61 °F) during the day and 9 to 10 °C (48 to 50 °F) at night in the period January–February. In March and December average temperatures are around 17 °C (63 °F) during the day and 11 °C (52 °F) at night.[158] Large fluctuations in temperature are rare. Snow is very rare, although snowfalls have been recorded in the last century, the last one in 2014.[159]
The average annual sea temperature is 20 °C (68 °F), from 15–16 °C (59–61 °F) in February to 26 °C (79 °F) in August. In the 6 months – from June to November – the average sea temperature exceeds 20 °C (68 °F).[160][161][162]
The annual average relative humidity is high, averaging 75%, ranging from 65% in July (morning: 78% evening: 53%) to 80% in December (morning: 83% evening: 73%).[163]
Sunshine duration hours total around 3,000 per year, from an average 5.2 hours of sunshine duration per day in December to an average above 12 hours in July.[161][164] This is about double that of cities in the northern half of Europe,[original research?] for comparison: London – 1,461;[165] however, in winter it has up to four times more sunshine; for comparison: in December, London has 37 hours of sunshine[165] whereas Malta has above 160.
Urbanisation
[edit]
According to Eurostat, Malta is composed of two larger urban zones nominally referred to as "Valletta" (the main island of Malta) and "Gozo". The main urban area covers the entire main island, with a population of around 400,000.[168][169] The core of the urban area, the greater city of Valletta, has a population of 205,768.[170] According to the data from 2020 by Eurostat, the Functional Urban Area and metropolitan region covered the whole island and has a population of 480,134.[171][172] According to the United Nations, about 95 percent of the area of Malta is urban and the number grows every year.[20] According to ESPON and EU Commission studies, "the whole territory of Malta constitutes a single urban region".[21]
Malta, with area of 316 km2 (122 sq mi) and population of over 0.5 million, is one of the most densely populated countries worldwide. It is in some sources[22][23][24][173][174] referred to as a city-state. Sometimes Malta is listed in rankings concerning cities[175] or metropolitan areas.[176]
Flora
[edit]
Main article: Flora of Malta
The Maltese islands are home to a wide diversity of indigenous, sub-endemic and endemic plants.[177] They feature many traits typical of a Mediterranean climate, such as drought resistance. The most common indigenous trees on the islands are olive (Olea europaea), carob (Ceratonia siliqua), fig (Ficus carica), holm oak (Quericus ilex) and Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), while the most common non-native trees are eucalyptus, acacia and opuntia. Endemic plants include the national flower widnet il-baħar (Cheirolophus crassifolius), sempreviva ta' Malta (Helichrysum panormitanum subsp. melitense), żigland t' Għawdex (Hyoseris frutescens) and ġiżi ta' Malta (Matthiola incana subsp. melitensis) while sub-endemics include kromb il-baħar (Jacobaea maritima subsp. sicula) and xkattapietra (Micromeria microphylla).[178] The biodiversity of Malta is severely endangered by habitat loss, invasive species and human intervention.[179]
Economy
[edit]
Main article: Economy of Malta
Malta is classified as an advanced economy according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).[180] Malta's major resources are limestone, a favourable geographic location and a productive labour force. Malta produces only about 20 percent of its food needs, has limited fresh water supplies because of the drought in the summer, and has no domestic energy sources, aside from the potential for solar energy from its plentiful sunlight. The economy is dependent on foreign trade (serving as a freight trans-shipment point), manufacturing (especially electronics and textiles), and tourism.[181] Film production has contributed to the Maltese economy.[182]
Access to biocapacity in Malta is below the world average. In 2016, Malta had 0.6 global hectares of biocapacity per person within its territory, contrasted with a global average of 1.6 hectares per person.[184] Additionally, residents of Malta exhibited an ecological footprint of consumption of 5.8 global hectares of biocapacity per person, resulting in a sizable biocapacity deficit.
In preparation for Malta's membership in the European Union, which it joined on 1 May 2004, it privatised some state-controlled firms and liberalised markets.[185][186][187][188] Malta has a financial regulator, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), with a strong business development mindset, and the country has been successful in attracting gaming businesses, aircraft and ship registration, credit-card issuing banking licences and also fund administration. Malta has made strong headway in implementing EU Financial Services Directives including UCITs IV and Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs). As a base for alternative asset managers who must comply with new directives, Malta has attracted a number of key players including IDS, Iconic Funds, Apex Fund Services and TMF/Customs House.[189]
As of 2015, Malta did not have a property tax. Its property market, especially around the harbour area, was booming, with the prices of apartments in some towns like St Julian's, Sliema and Gzira skyrocketing.[190]
According to Eurostat data, Maltese GDP per capita stood at 88 per cent of the EU average in 2015 with €21,000.[191]
The National Development and Social Fund from the Individual Investor Programme, a citizenship by investment programme also known as the "citizenship scheme", became a significant income source for the government of Malta, adding 432,000,000 euro to the budget in 2018.[192]
Banking and finance
[edit]
The two largest commercial banks are Bank of Valletta and HSBC Bank Malta. Digital banks such as Revolut have also increased in popularity.[193] The Central Bank of Malta (Bank Ċentrali ta' Malta) has two key areas of responsibility: the formulation and implementation of monetary policy and the promotion of a sound and efficient financial system. The Maltese government entered ERM II on 4 May 2005, and adopted the euro as the country's currency on 1 January 2008.[194]
Currency
[edit]
Maltese euro coins feature the Maltese cross on €2 and €1 coins, the coat of arms of Malta on the €0.50, €0.20 and €0.10 coins, and the Mnajdra Temples on the €0.05, €0.02 and €0.01 coins.[195]
Malta has produced collectors' coins with face value ranging from 10 to 50 euros. These coins continue an existing national practice of minting of silver and gold commemorative coins. Unlike normal issues, these coins are not accepted in all the eurozone.
From its introduction in 1972 until the introduction of the Euro in 2008, the currency was the Maltese lira, which had replaced the Maltese pound. The pound replaced the Maltese scudo in 1825.
Tourism
[edit]
Main article: Tourism in Malta
Malta is a popular tourist destination, with 1.6 million tourists per year.[196] Three times more tourists visit than there are residents. Tourism infrastructure has increased dramatically over the years and a number of hotels are present on the island, although overdevelopment and the destruction of traditional housing is of growing concern. In 2019, Malta had a record year in tourism, recording over 2.1 million tourists in one single year.[197]
In recent years, Malta has advertised itself as a medical tourism destination,[198] and a number of health tourism providers are developing the industry. However, no Maltese hospital has undergone independent international healthcare accreditation. Malta is popular with British medical tourists,[199] pointing Maltese hospitals towards seeking UK-sourced accreditation, such as with the Trent Accreditation Scheme.
Tourism in Malta contributes around 11.6 percent of the country's gross domestic product.[200]
Science and technology
[edit]
Malta signed a co-operation agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) for more-intensive co-operation in ESA projects.[201] The Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) is the civil body responsible for the development of science and technology on an educational and social level. Most science students in Malta graduate from the University of Malta and are represented by S-Cubed (Science Student's Society), UESA (University Engineering Students Association) and ICTSA (University of Malta ICT Students' Association).[202][203] Malta was ranked 25th in the Global Innovation Index in 2023.[204]
Demographics
[edit]
Main article: Demographics of Malta
As of the 2021 census, Maltese-born natives make up the majority of the island with 386,280 people out of a total population of 519,562.[206] However, there are minorities, the largest of which by birthplace were: 15,082 from the United Kingdom, Italy (13,361), India (7,946), Philippines (7,784) and Serbia (5,935). Among racial origins for the non-Maltese, 58.1% of all identified as Caucasian, 22.2% Asian, 6.3% Arab, 6.0% African, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino and 2.9% more than one race.[207]
As of 2005 , 17 percent were aged 14 and under, 68 percent were within the 15–64 age bracket whilst the remaining 13 percent were 65 years and over. Malta's population density of 1,282 per square km (3,322/sq mi) is by far the highest in the EU and one of the highest in the world.
The Maltese-resident population for 2004 was estimated to make up 97.0 per cent of the total resident population.[208] All censuses since 1842 have shown a slight excess of females over males. Population growth has slowed down, from +9.5 per cent between the 1985 and 1995 censuses, to +6.9 per cent between the 1995 and 2005 censuses (a yearly average of +0.7 per cent). The birth rate stood at 3860 (a decrease of 21.8 per cent from the 1995 census) and the death rate stood at 3025. Thus, there was a natural population increase of 835 (compared to +888 for 2004, of which over a hundred were foreign residents).[209] The population's age composition is similar to the age structure prevalent in the EU. Malta's old-age-dependency-ratio rose from 17.2 percent in 1995 to 19.8 percent in 2005, reasonably lower than the EU's 24.9 percent average; 31.5 percent of the Maltese population is aged under 25 (compared to the EU's 29.1 percent); but the 50–64 age group constitutes 20.3 percent of the population, significantly higher than the EU's 17.9 percent. Malta's old-age-dependency-ratio is expected to continue rising steadily in the coming years.
In 2021, the population of the Maltese Islands stood at 519,562.[8]
The total fertility rate (TFR) as of 2016 was estimated at 1.45 children born/woman, which is below the replacement rate of 2.1.[210] In 2012, 25.8 per cent of births were to unmarried women.[211] The life expectancy in 2018 was estimated at 83.[212]
Languages
[edit]
Main article: Languages of Malta
See also: § Education
The Maltese language (Maltese: Malti) is one of the two constitutional languages of Malta and is considered the national language. The second official language is English and hence laws are enacted both in Maltese and English. However, article 74 of the Constitution states that "if there is any conflict between the Maltese and the English texts of any law, the Maltese text shall prevail."[34]
Maltese is a Semitic language descended from the now extinct Sicilian-Arabic (Siculo-Arabic) dialect (from southern Italy) that developed during the Emirate of Sicily.[213] The Maltese alphabet consists of 30 letters based on the Latin alphabet.
In 2022, Malta National Statistics Office states that 90 percent of the Maltese population has at least a basic knowledge of Maltese, 96 percent of English, 62 percent of Italian, and 20 percent of French.[33] This widespread knowledge of second languages makes Malta one of the most multilingual countries in the European Union. A study collecting public opinion on what language was "preferred" discovered that 86 percent of the population preferred Maltese, 12 percent English, and 2 percent Italian.[214] Italian television channels from Italy-based broadcasters, such as Mediaset and RAI, reach Malta and remain popular.[214][215][216]
Maltese Sign Language is used by signers in Malta.[217]
Religion
[edit]
Main article: Religion in Malta
The predominant religion in Malta is Catholicism. The second article of the Constitution of Malta establishes Catholicism as the state religion and it is also reflected in various elements of Maltese culture, although there are entrenched provisions for the freedom of religion.[34] There are more than 360 churches in Malta, Gozo, and Comino, or one church for every 1,000 residents. The parish church (Maltese: "il-parroċċa", or "il-knisja parrokkjali") is the architectural and geographic focal point of every Maltese town and village.
Malta is an Apostolic See; the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 28) tells of how St. Paul was shipwrecked on the island of "Melite", which many Bible scholars identify with Malta, an episode dated around AD 60.[219] The first Maltese saint, Saint Publius is said to have been made Malta's first bishop. Further evidence of Christian practices and beliefs during the period of Roman persecution appears in catacombs that lie beneath various sites around Malta, including St. Paul's Catacombs. There are also a number of cave churches, including the grotto at Mellieħa, which is a Shrine of the Nativity of Our Lady where, according to legend, St. Luke painted a picture of the Madonna. It has been a place of pilgrimage since the medieval period.
For centuries, the Church in Malta was subordinate to the Diocese of Palermo, except when it was under Charles of Anjou, who appointed bishops for Malta, as did – on rare occasions – the Spanish and later, the Knights. Since 1808 all bishops of Malta have been Maltese. The patron saints of Malta are Saint Paul, Saint Publius, and Saint Agatha. Although not a patron saint, St George Preca (San Ġorġ Preca) is greatly revered as the second canonised Maltese saint after St. Publius. Various Catholic religious orders are present in Malta, including the Jesuits, Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites and Little Sisters of the Poor.
There is a small minority of Eastern Orthodox Christians in Malta, of which there are 16,457, according to the 2021 census;[220] although the number may also include Oriental Orthodox Christians. There are a small number of parishes belonging to each autocephalous Church, typically one for each. There are Greek, Russian, Serbian, Romanian, and Bulgarian Orthodox parishes located around Malta.[221][222][223][224]
Most congregants of the local Protestant churches are not Maltese; their congregations draw on vacationers and British retirees living in the country. There are also a Seventh-day Adventist church in Birkirkara, and a New Apostolic Church congregation founded in 1983 in Gwardamangia.[225] There are approximately 600 Jehovah's Witnesses.[226] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is also represented.
The Jewish population of Malta reached its peak in the Middle Ages under Norman rule. In 1479, Malta and Sicily came under Aragonese rule and the Alhambra Decree of 1492 forced all Jews to leave the country. Today, there are two Jewish congregations.[225] In 2019 the Jewish community in Malta gathered around 150 persons, slightly more than the 120 (of which 80 were active) estimated in 2003, and mostly elderly. Many among the newer generations decided to settle abroad, including in England and Israel. Most contemporary Maltese Jews are Sephardi, however, an Ashkenazi prayer book is used. In 2013 the Chabad Jewish Center in Malta was founded.
There is one Muslim mosque, the Mariam Al-Batool Mosque. Of the estimated 3,000 Muslims in Malta, approximately 2,250 are foreigners, approximately 600 are naturalised citizens, and approximately 150 are native-born Maltese.[227] Zen Buddhism and the Baháʼí Faith claim some 40 members.[225]
In a survey held by Malta Today, the overwhelming majority of the Maltese population adheres to Christianity (95.2%) with Catholicism as the main denomination (93.9%); 4.5% of the population declared themselves either atheist or agnostic, one of the lowest figures in Europe.[228] According to a 2019 Eurobarometer survey, 83% of the population identified as Catholic.[229] The number of atheists has doubled from 2014 to 2018. Non-religious people have a higher risk of suffering from discrimination. In the 2015 edition of the annual Freedom of Thought Report from the International Humanist and Ethical Union, Malta was in the category of "severe discrimination". In 2016, following the abolishment of blasphemy law, Malta was shifted to the category of "systematic discrimination" (same as most EU countries).[230]
Migration
[edit]
Main articles: Immigration to Malta and Emigration from Malta
Foreign population in Malta Year Population % total 2005 12,112 3.0% 2011 20,289 4.9% 2019 98,918 21.0% 2020 119,261 23.17%
Historically a land of emigration, since the early 21st century Malta has seen a significant increase in net migration; the foreign-born population has grown nearly eightfold between 2005 and 2020. Most of the foreign community in Malta consists of active or retired British nationals and their dependents, centred on Sliema and surrounding suburbs. Other smaller foreign groups include Italians, Libyans, and Serbians, many of whom have assimilated into the Maltese nation over the decades.[231]
Malta is also home to a large number of foreign workers who migrated to the island for economic opportunity. This migration was driven predominantly in the early 21st century, when the Maltese economy was steadily booming yet the cost and quality of living on the island remained relatively stable. In recent years however the local Maltese housing index has doubled[232] pushing property and rental prices to very high and almost unaffordable levels. Consequently, some expats in Malta have seen their relative financial fortunes decline, with others relocating to other European countries altogether.
Since the late 20th century, Malta has become a transit country for migration routes from Africa towards Europe.[233] As a member of the European Union and the Schengen Agreement, Malta is bound by the Dublin Regulation to process all claims for asylum by those asylum seekers that enter EU territory for the first time in Malta.[234] However, irregular migrants who land in Malta are subject to a compulsory detention policy, being held in several camps organised by the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM), including those near Ħal Far and Ħal Safi. The compulsory detention policy has been denounced by several NGOs, and in July 2010, the European Court of Human Rights found that Malta's detention of migrants was arbitrary, lacking in adequate procedures to challenge detention, and in breach of its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.[235][236] On 8 September 2020, Amnesty International criticized Malta for "illegal tactics" in the Mediterranean, against immigrants who were attempting to cross from North Africa. The reports claimed that the government's approach might have led to avoidable deaths.[237]
In January 2014, Malta started granting citizenship for a €650,000 contribution plus investments, contingent on residence and criminal background checks.[238] This "golden passport" citizenship scheme has been criticized as a fraudulent act by the Maltese Government.[clarification needed][239] Concerns as to whether the Maltese citizenship scheme is allowing an influx of such individuals into the greater European Union have been raised by both the public as well as the European Council on multiple occasions.[240]
In the 19th century, most emigration from Malta was to North Africa and the Middle East, although rates of return migration to Malta were high.[241] In the 20th century, most emigrants went to destinations in the New World, particularly to Australia, Canada, and the United States. Post Second World War, Malta's Emigration Department would assist emigrants with the cost of their travel. Between 1948 and 1967, 30 percent of the population emigrated.[241] Between 1946 and the late-1970s, over 140,000 people left Malta on the assisted passage scheme, with 57.6% migrating to Australia, 22% to the UK, 13% to Canada and 7% to the United States.[242] Emigration dropped dramatically after the mid-1970s and has since ceased to be a social phenomenon of significance. However, since Malta joined the EU in 2004 expatriate communities emerged in a number of European countries, particularly in Belgium and Luxembourg.
Education
[edit]
Main article: Education in Malta
Primary schooling has been compulsory since 1946; secondary education up to the age of sixteen was made compulsory in 1971. The state and the Church provide education free of charge, both running a number of schools in Malta and Gozo. As of 2006 , state schools are organised into networks known as Colleges and incorporate kindergarten schools, primary and secondary schools. A number of private schools are run in Malta. St. Catherine's High School, Pembroke offers an International Foundation Course for students wishing to learn English before entering mainstream education. As of 2008 , there are two international schools, Verdala International School and QSI Malta. The state pays a portion of the teachers' salary in Church schools.[243]
Education in Malta is based on the British model. Primary school lasts six years. Pupils sit for SEC O-level examinations at the age of 16, with passes obligatory in mathematics, a minimum of one science subject, English and Maltese. Pupils may opt to continue studying at a sixth form college for two years, at the end of which students sit for the matriculation examination. Subject to their performance, students may then apply for an undergraduate degree or diploma.
The adult literacy rate is 99.5 per cent.[244]
Maltese and English are both used to teach pupils at the primary and secondary school level, and both languages are also compulsory subjects. Public schools tend to use both Maltese and English in a balanced manner. Private schools prefer to use English for teaching, as is also the case with most departments of the University of Malta; this has a limiting effect on the capacity and development of the Maltese language.[214] Most university courses are in English.[245][213] The College of Remote and Offshore Medicine based in Malta teaches exclusively in English.
Of the total number of pupils studying a first foreign language at secondary level, 51 per cent take Italian whilst 38 per cent take French. Other choices include German, Russian, Spanish, Latin, Chinese and Arabic.[214][246]
Malta is also a popular destination to study the English language, attracting over 83,000 students in 2019.[247]
Infrastructure
[edit]
Transport
[edit]
Main articles: Transport in Malta and Buses in Malta
Owing to the British colonial rule, traffic in Malta drives on the left. Car ownership in Malta is exceedingly high, considering the very small size of the islands; it is the fourth-highest in the European Union. There were 182,254 registered cars in 1990, giving an automobile density of 577/km2 (1,494/sq mi).[248] Malta has 2,254 kilometres (1,401 miles) of road, 1,972 km (1,225 mi) (87.5 per cent) of which are paved (as of December 2003).[249]
Buses (xarabank or karozza tal-linja) are the primary method of public transport, established in 1905. Malta's vintage buses operated in the Maltese islands up to 2011 and became popular tourist attractions.[250] To this day they are depicted on many Maltese advertisements and merchandise for tourists.
The bus service underwent extensive reform in July 2011. The management structure changed from having self-employed drivers driving their own vehicles to a service being offered by a single company through a public tender.[251] The public tender was won by Arriva Malta, which introduced a fleet of brand new buses, built by King Long especially for service by Arriva Malta and including a smaller fleet of articulated buses brought in from Arriva London. It also operated two smaller buses for an intra-Valletta route only and 61 nine-metre buses, which were used to ease congestion on high-density routes. Overall Arriva Malta operated 264 buses. On 1 January 2014 Arriva ceased operations in Malta due to financial difficulties, having been nationalised as Malta Public Transport.[252][253] The government chose Autobuses Urbanos de León (Alsa subsidiary) as its preferred bus operator for the country in October 2014.[254] From October 2022, the bus system is free of charge for residents of Malta.[255]
As of 2021, an underground Malta Metro is being planned, with a projected total cost of €6.2 billion.[256]
Malta has three large natural harbours on its main island:
The Grand Harbour (or Port il-Kbir), located at the eastern side of the capital city of Valletta, has been a harbour since Roman times. It has several extensive docks and wharves, as well as a cruise liner terminal. A terminal at the Grand Harbour serves ferries that connect Malta to Pozzallo & Catania in Sicily.
Marsamxett Harbour, located on the western side of Valletta, accommodates a number of yacht marinas.
Marsaxlokk Harbour (Malta Freeport), at Birżebbuġa on the south-eastern side of Malta, is the islands' main cargo terminal. Malta Freeport is the 11th busiest container ports in continent of Europe and 46th in the World with a trade volume of 2.3 million TEU's in 2008.[257]
There are also two human-made harbours that serve a passenger and car ferry service that connects Ċirkewwa Harbour on Malta and Mġarr Harbour on Gozo.
Malta International Airport (Ajruport Internazzjonali ta' Malta) is the only airport serving the Maltese islands. It is built on the land formerly occupied by the RAF Luqa air base. A heliport is also located there. The heliport in Gozo is at Xewkija. A former airfield at Ta' Qali houses a national park, stadium, the Crafts Village visitor attraction and the Malta Aviation Museum.
From 1 April 1974 to 30 March 2024, the national airline was Air Malta, which was based at Malta International Airport and operated services to 22 destinations in Europe and North Africa. The owners of Air Malta were the Government of Malta (98 percent) and private investors (2 percent).
On 31 March 2024, KM Malta Airlines took over as the national airline of Malta. All former Air Malta Airplanes and other assets were transferred to the new airline, together with the staff. KM Malta Airlines is based at Malta International Airport and operates services to 18 destinations in Europe.
In June 2019, Ryanair has invested into a fully-fledged airline subsidiary, called Malta Air, operating a low-cost model. The Government of Malta holds one share in the airline.[258]
Communications
[edit]
The mobile penetration rate in Malta exceeded 100% by the end of 2009.[259] Malta uses the GSM900, UMTS(3G) and LTE(4G) mobile phone systems, which are compatible with the rest of the European countries, Australia and New Zealand.[citation needed]
In early 2012, the government called for a national Fibre to the Home (FttH) network to be built, with a minimum broadband service being upgraded from 4 Mbit/s to 100 Mbit/s.[260]
Healthcare
[edit]
Main article: Healthcare in Malta
Malta has a long history of providing publicly funded health care. The first hospital recorded in the country was already functioning by 1372.[261] Today, Malta has both a public healthcare system, where healthcare is free at the point of delivery, and a private healthcare system.[262][263] Malta has a strong general practitioner-delivered primary care base and the public hospitals provide secondary and tertiary care. The Maltese Ministry of Health advises foreign residents to take out private medical insurance.[264]
Malta also boasts voluntary organisations such as Alpha Medical (Advanced Care), the Emergency Fire & Rescue Unit (E.F.R.U.), St John Ambulance and Red Cross Malta who provide first aid/nursing services during events involving crowds, Malta's primary hospital, opened in 2007. It has one of the largest medical buildings in Europe.
The University of Malta has a medical school and a Faculty of Health Sciences. The Medical Association of Malta represents practitioners of the medical profession. The Foundation Program followed in the UK has been introduced in Malta to stem the 'brain drain' of newly graduated physicians to the British Isles.
Culture
[edit]
Main article: Culture of Malta
The culture of Malta reflects the various cultures, that have come into contact with the Maltese Islands throughout the centuries.[265]
Music
[edit]
Main article: Music of Malta
While Maltese music today is largely Western, traditional Maltese music includes what is known as għana. This consists of background folk guitar music, while a few people, generally men, take it in turns to argue a point in a sing-song voice. Music plays an important part in Maltese culture as each locality parades its own band club, on various occasions these being multiple per locality, and function to establish the thematic musical background to the various village feasts. The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra is recognized as Malta's foremost musical institution and is notable for being called to participate in important state events.
Contemporary music in Malta spans a variety of styles and sports international classical talents such as Miriam Gauci and Joseph Calleja, as well as non-classical music bands such as Winter Moods, and Red Electric, and singers like Ira Losco, Fabrizio Faniello, Glen Vella, Kevin Borg, Kurt Calleja, Chiara Siracusa, and Thea Garrett.
Literature
[edit]
Main article: Maltese literature
Documented Maltese literature is over 200 years old. However, a recently unearthed love ballad testifies to literary activity in the local tongue from the Medieval period. Malta followed a Romantic literary tradition, culminating in the works of Dun Karm Psaila, Malta's national poet. Subsequent writers like Ruzar Briffa and Karmenu Vassallo tried to estrange themselves from the rigidity of formal themes and versification.[266]
The next generation of writers, including Karl Schembri and Immanuel Mifsud, widened the tracks further, especially in prose and poetry.[267]
Architecture
[edit]
Main article: Architecture of Malta
Maltese architecture has been influenced by many different Mediterranean cultures and British architecture over its history.[268] The first settlers on the island constructed Ġgantija, one of the oldest manmade freestanding structures in the world. The Neolithic temple builders (3800–2500 BC) endowed the numerous temples of Malta and Gozo with intricate bas-relief designs.
The Roman period introduced highly decorative mosaic floors, marble colonnades, and classical statuary, remnants of which are beautifully preserved and presented in the Roman Domus, a country villa just outside the walls of Mdina. The early Christian frescoes that decorate the catacombs beneath Malta reveal a propensity for eastern, Byzantine tastes. These tastes continued to inform the endeavours of medieval Maltese artists, but they were increasingly influenced by the Romanesque and Southern Gothic movements. Malta is currently undergoing several large-scale building projects, while areas such as the Valletta Waterfront and Tigné Point have been or are being renovated.[269]
Art
[edit]
Towards the end of the 15th century, Maltese artists, like their counterparts in Sicily, came under the influence of the School of Antonello da Messina, which introduced Renaissance ideals and concepts to the decorative arts in Malta.[270]
The artistic heritage of Malta blossomed under the Knights of St. John, who brought Italian and Flemish Mannerist painters to decorate their palaces and the churches of these islands, most notably, Matteo Perez d'Aleccio, whose works appear in the Magisterial Palace and in the Conventual Church of St. John in Valletta, and Filippo Paladini, who was active in Malta from 1590 to 1595. For many years, Mannerism continued to inform the tastes and ideals of local Maltese artists.[270]
The arrival in Malta of Caravaggio, who painted at least seven works during his 15-month stay on these islands, further revolutionised local art. Two of Caravaggio's most notable works, The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Jerome Writing, are on display in the Conventual Church of St. John. His legacy is evident in the works of local artists Giulio Cassarino and Stefano Erardi. However, the Baroque movement that followed was destined to have the most enduring impact on Maltese art and architecture. The vault paintings of the Calabrese artist Mattia Preti transformed the Conventual Church St. John into a Baroque masterpiece. Melchior Gafà emerged as one of the top Baroque sculptors of the Roman School.[271]
During the 17th and 18th century, Neapolitan and Rococo influences emerged in the works of the Italian painters Luca Giordano and Francesco Solimena, and these developments can be seen in the work of their Maltese contemporaries such as Gio Nicola Buhagiar and Francesco Zahra. The Rococo movement was greatly enhanced by the relocation to Malta of Antoine de Favray, who assumed the position of court painter to Grand Master Pinto in 1744.[272]
Neo-classicism made some inroads among local Maltese artists in the late-18th century, but this trend was reversed in the early 19th century, as the local Church authorities – perhaps in an effort to strengthen Catholic resolve against the perceived threat of Protestantism during the early days of British rule in Malta – favoured and avidly promoted the religious themes embraced by the Nazarene movement. Romanticism, tempered by the naturalism introduced to Malta by Giuseppe Calì, informed the "salon" artists of the early 20th century, including Edward and Robert Caruana Dingli.[273]
Parliament established the National School of Art in the 1920s. During the reconstruction period that followed the Second World War, the emergence of the "Modern Art Group", whose members included Josef Kalleya, George Preca, Anton Inglott, Emvin Cremona, Frank Portelli, Antoine Camilleri, Gabriel Caruana and Esprit Barthet greatly enhanced the local art scene. This group came together forming an influential pressure group known as the Modern Art Group, which played a leading role in the renewal of Maltese art. Most of Malta's modern artists have in fact studied in Art institutions in England, or on the continent, leading to a diversity of artistic expression that has remained characteristic of contemporary Maltese art. In Valletta, the National Museum of Fine Arts featured work from artists such as H. Craig Hanna.[274] In 2018 the national collection of fine arts was put on display in the new National Museum of Art, MUŻA, at Auberge d'Italie in Valletta.[275]
Cuisine
[edit]
Main articles: Maltese cuisine and List of Maltese dishes
Maltese cuisine shows strong Sicilian and Italian influences as well as influences of English, Spanish, Maghrebin and Provençal cuisines. A number of regional variations can be noted as well as seasonal variations associated with the seasonal availability of produce and Christian feasts (such as Lent, Easter and Christmas). Food has been important historically in the development of a national identity in particular the traditional fenkata (i.e., the eating of stewed or fried rabbit). Potatoes are a staple of the Maltese diet as well.[276]
A number of grapes are endemic to Malta, including Girgentina and Ġellewża. There is a strong wine industry, with significant production of wines using these native grapes, as well as locally grown grapes of other more common varietals. A number of wines have achieved Protected Designation of Origin, with wines produced from grapes cultivated in Malta and Gozo designated as "DOK" wines, that is Denominazzjoni ta' l-Oriġini Kontrollata.[277]
Customs
[edit]
Main article: Maltese folklore
A 2010 Charities Aid Foundation study found that the Maltese were the most generous people in the world, with 83% contributing to charity.[278]
Maltese folktales include various stories about mysterious creatures and supernatural events. These were most comprehensively compiled by the scholar (and pioneer in Maltese archaeology) Manwel Magri[279] in his core criticism "Ħrejjef Missirijietna" ("Fables from our Forefathers"). This collection of material inspired subsequent researchers and academics to gather traditional tales, fables and legends from all over the Archipelago.[269] While giants, witches, and dragons feature in many of the stories, some contain entirely Maltese creatures like the Kaw kaw, Il-Belliegħa and L-Imħalla among others.
Traditions
[edit]
Traditional Maltese proverbs reveal cultural importance of childbearing and fertility: "iż-żwieġ mingħajr tarbija ma fihx tgawdija" (a childless marriage cannot be a happy one). This is a belief that Malta shares with many other Mediterranean cultures. In Maltese folktales the local variant of the classic closing formula, "and they all lived happily ever after" is "u għammru u tgħammru, u spiċċat" (and they lived together, and they had children together, and the tale is finished).[280]
Rural Malta shares in common with the Mediterranean society a number of superstitions regarding fertility, menstruation, and pregnancy, including the avoidance of cemeteries leading up to childbirth, and avoiding the preparation of certain foods during menses. Pregnant women are encouraged to satisfy their food cravings, out of fear that their unborn child will bear a representational birth mark (Maltese: xewqa, literally "desire" or "craving"). Maltese and Sicilian women also share certain traditions that are believed to predict the sex of an unborn child.[citation needed]
Traditionally, Maltese newborns were baptised as promptly as possible. Traditional Maltese delicacies served at a baptismal feast include biskuttini tal-magħmudija (almond macaroons), it-torta tal-marmorata (a spicy, heart-shaped tart of chocolate-flavoured almond paste), and a liqueur known as rożolin, made with rose petals, violets, and almonds.[citation needed]
On a child's first birthday, in a tradition that still survives today, Maltese parents would organise a game known as il-quċċija, where a variety of symbolic objects would be randomly placed around the seated child. These may include a hard-boiled egg, a Bible, crucifix or rosary beads, a book, and so on. Whichever object the child shows the most interest in is said to reveal the child's path and fortunes in adulthood.[281]
Traditional Maltese weddings featured the bridal party walking in procession beneath an ornate canopy, from the home of the bride's family to the parish church, with singers trailing behind (il-ġilwa). New wives would wear the għonnella, a traditional item of Maltese clothing. Today's couples are married in churches or chapels in the village or town of their choice, usually followed by a lavish wedding reception. Occasionally, couples will try to incorporate elements of the traditional Maltese wedding in their celebration. A resurgent interest in the traditional wedding was evident in May 2007, when thousands of Maltese and tourists attended a traditional Maltese wedding in the style of the 16th century, in Żurrieq.[citation needed]
Festivals and events
[edit]
Local festivals, similar to those in Southern Italy, are commonplace in Malta and Gozo, celebrating weddings, christenings and, most prominently, saints' days. On saints' days, in the morning, the festa reaches its apex with a High Mass featuring a sermon on the life and achievements of the patron saint. In the evening, a statue of the religious patron is taken around the local streets in solemn procession, with the faithful following in prayer. The atmosphere of religious devotion is preceded by several days of celebration and revelry: band marches, fireworks, and late-night parties.
Carnival (Maltese: il-karnival ta' Malta) has had an important place on the cultural calendar after Grand Master It is held during the week leading up to Ash Wednesday, and typically includes masked balls, fancy dress and grotesque mask competitions, lavish late-night parties, a colourful, ticker-tape parade of allegorical floats presided over by King Carnival (Maltese: ir-Re tal-Karnival), marching bands and costumed revellers.[282]
Holy Week (Maltese: il-Ġimgħa Mqaddsa) starts on Palm Sunday (Ħadd il-Palm) and ends on Easter Sunday (Ħadd il-Għid).
Mnarja, or l-Imnarja (pronounced lim-nar-ya) is one of the most important dates on the Maltese cultural calendar. Officially, it is a national festival dedicated to the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Its roots can be traced back to the pagan Roman feast of Luminaria (literally, "the illumination"), when torches and bonfires lit up the early summer night of 29 June.[283] The festivities still commence today with the reading of the "bandu", an official governmental announcement, which has been read on this day in Malta since the 16th century. It is said that under the Knights, this was the one day in the year when the Maltese were allowed to hunt and eat wild rabbit, which was otherwise reserved for the hunting pleasures of the Knights. The close connection between Mnarja and rabbit stew (Maltese: "fenkata") remains strong today.[284]
Isle of MTV is a one-day music festival produced and broadcast on an annual basis by MTV. The festival has been arranged annually in Malta since 2007, with major pop artists performing each year. 2012 saw the performances of worldwide acclaimed artists Flo Rida, Nelly Furtado and Will.i.am. Over 50,000 people attended, which marked the biggest attendance so far.[285]
The Malta International Fireworks Festival has been arranged annually in the Grand Harbour of Valletta since 2003.[286]
Media
[edit]
The most widely read and financially the strongest newspapers are published by Allied Newspapers Ltd., mainly The Times of Malta (27 percent) and its Sunday edition The Sunday Times of Malta (51.6 percent).[citation needed] Due to bilingualism half of the newspapers are published in English and the other half in Maltese. The Sunday newspaper It-Torċa ("The Torch") published by a subsidiary of the General Workers' Union, is the widest Maltese language paper. Its sister paper, L-Orizzont ("The Horizon"), is the Maltese daily with the biggest circulation. There is a high number of daily or weekly newspapers—one for every 28,000 people. Advertising, sales, and subsidies are the three main methods of financing.[287]
There are nine terrestrial television channels in Malta: TVM, TVMNews+, Parliament TV, One, NET Television, Smash Television, F Living, TVMSport+ and Xejk.[288] The state and political parties subsidise most of the funding of these channels. TVM, TVMNews+, and Parliament TV are operated by Public Broadcasting Services, the national broadcaster, and members of the EBU. Media.link Communications Ltd., the owner of NET Television, and One Productions Ltd., the owner of One, are affiliated with the Nationalist and Labour parties, respectively. The rest are privately owned. The Malta Broadcasting Authority has authority to supervise all local broadcasting stations and ensurestheir compliance with legal and licence obligations as well as the preservation of due impartiality.[289]
The Malta Communications Authority reported that there were 147,896 pay TV subscriptions active at the end of 2012.[290] For reference the 2011 census counts 139,583 households in Malta.[291] Satellite reception is available to receive other European television networks.[292]
Sport
[edit]
Main article: Sport in Malta
Football (soccer) is one of the most popular sports in Malta. Other popular sports include boċċi, horse racing, gostra, regatta, water polo, clay pigeon shooting, and motorsports.[293]
In 2018 Malta hosted its first Esports tournament, 'Supernova CS:GO Malta',[294] a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament.[295] Also since 2018, Malta has become the primary location for hosting ESL Pro League.[296]
See also
[edit]
Malta portal
EU portal
Europe portal
Outline of Malta
Index of Malta-related articles
Notes
[edit]
References
[edit]
Citations
[edit]
Sources
[edit]
Cramer, John Anthony (1828). Geographical and Historical Description of Ancient Greece. Clarendon Press. pp. 45–46.
"Map of Malta and Gozo". Street Map of Malta and Gozo. Archived from the original on 16 July 2009 .
"Photos of Gozo sister island of Malta". Photos of Gozo. Archived from the original on 23 October 2008 .
"Photos of Malta". Archived from the original on 30 June 2008 .
"Malta". The World Factbook. 22 September 2021. Archived from the original on 2 April 2021 .
"Gov.mt". Government of Malta. Archived from the original on 16 May 2001 .
Omertaa, Journal for Applied Anthropology – Volume 2007/1, Thematic Issue on Malta
Antonio Lafreri map of Malta, 1565 Archived 9 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine.. Eran Laor Cartographic Collection. The National Library of Israel
Attribution
[edit]
"Malta". MSN Encarta. Archived from the original on 28 October 2009 .
Bibliography
[edit]
"1942: Malta gets George Cross for bravery". BBC "On this day". 15 April 1942. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018 .
Bowen-Jones, Howard; et al. (1962). Malta Background for Development. University of Durham. OCLC 204863.
Cassar, Carmel (2000). A Concise History of Malta. Mireva Publications. ISBN 978-1-870579-52-0.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Malta" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 507–514.
Francesco Balbi di Correggio 1568 translated Ernle Bradford (2003) [1965]. "chapter II". The Siege of Malta 1565. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-101202-5.
Carolyn Bain (2004). Malta. Lonely Planet Publication. ISBN 978-1-74059-178-2.
Charles Mifsud, The Climatological History of The Maltese Islands, Minerva 1984
Paul Williams (2009). Malta – Island Under Siege. Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-84884-012-6.
Rudolf, Uwe Jens; Berg, W. G. (2010). Historical Dictionary of Malta. Scarecrow Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-8108-5317-1.
United Nations Development Programme (2006). Human Development Report 2005 – International cooperation at a crossroads: Aid, trade and security in an unequal world. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-522146-6.
Atauz, Ayse Devrim (2008). Eight Thousand Years of Maltese Maritime History: Trade, Piracy, and Naval Warfare in the Central Mediterranean. University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-3179-8.
Hardman, William (1909). "Chapter VII – Attack and Capture of Malta by the French". A history of Malta during the period of the French and British occupations, 1798–1815. Longmans, Green & Co.
Culican, William (1992), "Phoenicia and Phoenician Colonization", The Cambridge Ancient History, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 461–546 .
Filigheddu, Paolo (2007), "Die Ortsnamen des Mittelmeerraums in der Phönizischen und Punischen Überlieferung", Ugarit-Forschungen: Internationales Jahrbuch für die Altertumskunde Syrien-Palästinas, vol. 38 2006, Munster: Ugarit Verlag, pp. 149–266 . (in German)
Further reading
[edit]
Hastings, Max (2021). Operation Pedestal: The Fleet that Battled to Malta, 1942. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 9780008364960 | ||||||
9289 | dbpedia | 2 | 40 | https://holidaysinmalta.net/valletta-malta-capital-city/ | en | Discover Valletta: A Fortified Capital City in the Mediterranean | [
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"Evgheni Bordeniuc",
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] | 2019-12-22T20:14:52+00:00 | Valletta is one of Europe's most interesting cities. Here is everything you need to know about Malta's capital city. | en | Holidays in Malta | https://holidaysinmalta.net/valletta-malta-capital-city/ | A changing Capital
Up until some ten years ago, the streets of Valletta were normally deserted after 9 pm. It sounds very unnatural for a European capital city but in the case of this city, Valletta was only considered as a place worth visiting only by day. Luckily, things have started to change. And this change came with a wave of drastic investment and a renewed interest into the arts and secrets which lie beneath the capital’s surface.
Artists from all across the globe started to invest in the Maltese capital seeking inspiration through its unique architecture and Mediterranean charisma. Streets which were before considered as desolated and abandoned were now being transformed into hotspots for cafes, bars and restaurants.
A perfect example of all this is Strait Street, a corner in the city which was infamous only due to its sinful past. The street, better known with locals as ‘Strada Stretta’, was the lane where soldiers travelling aboard ships during the wars would spend their nights in the company of local women. The place even became the source for novels and local TV dramas.
Because of this renewed interest, a Valletta which was otherwise left for the ageing local population was now seeing a lot of foreigners and Maltese from all across the island invest in the capital’s property. Whereas up until some years ago a property in Valletta was considered as a cheap and bad investment, now houses on the market in this area can go up to millions of euros. Recently the city has seen huge investment in magnificent boutique hotels, accommodations in old townhouses which were brilliantly restored to offer a unique experience. You can easily find accommodation in Valletta on Booking.com.
What really pushed Valletta into a new era was the complete restructure and modernisation of some of its most iconic buildings such as the Triton Fountain and St Georges Square. The next big investment was in a new parliament. This injection of artistic touch came with a helping hand from a world-famous artistic director Renzo Piano (architect of the Chard in London among others). All of these major attractions (which will be mentioned later on) have helped Valletta take a giant leap forward.
In 2018, Valletta was also named as the European Capital of Culture, yet another huge source of investment into this wonderful city. Today, nights in Valletta are as fun as can be. Dozens of restaurants (we mention some of the best below) fill every corner and artistic activities go on practically all year round. It has become the home of painters, poets and writers, but also the hub for modern bars and restaurants. The old meets the new. Art meets politics and palazzos meet modern apartments. Dear readers, we’d like you to meet our beloved capital, Valletta.
History
One thing which Valletta definitely manages to champion is history. The streets of Valletta have seen a lot of bloodsheds, French grandmasters, religious orders, violent conflicts and revolutions. If you are to visit this city you should equip yourself with, at least the very basics. Let’s start with the name.
Valletta is named after Grandmaster Jean Parisot de la Valette who was the head of the Knights of St John in the mid-1500s. It became Malta’s capital in 1570. The city itself was built right after the great siege of 1565, a battle of legendary proportions which saw the Knights of St John clash with the then infamous Ottoman powers. Malta left the siege victorious and historians today agree that this important point in history would have changed the faith of all of Europe.
The city was designed by military engineer Francesco Laparelli. The epicentre of the city was built on an area called Mount Sciberras. After Laparelli, Giolormo Cassar took over the structural works after spending years in Rome. He adopted the style into the Maltese capital. If you are a history enthusiast then make sure you listen to a BBC podcast called In Our Time about the Great Siege of Malta 1565. You can find it on BBC radio 4 or through Spotify.
In 1798 Malta’s capital was seized by the French. Only two years later the Maltese revolt against the French garrison and that same year the British occupied our land. By 1814, Valletta became a strategic British naval base in the Mediterranean. That is why during the Second World War, the city was heavily bombarded through air raids by the Germans and Italians.
The 7th of June is an important date in the Maltese calendar. On this date in 1919, Maltese workers were demonstrating in the streets of Valletta against the British rule and because the colonial rulers failed to help with supplies of food to the local population. The date remained marked in history because the British invaders had shot at the crowd and killed four people. This event was seen as the first step towards Maltese independence. | |||||
9289 | dbpedia | 1 | 15 | https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/capital-of-malta/ | en | Capital of Malta | [
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"GeeksforGeeks"
] | 2023-09-22T04:05:49 | A Computer Science portal for geeks. It contains well written, well thought and well explained computer science and programming articles, quizzes and practice/competitive programming/company interview Questions. | en | GeeksforGeeks | https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/capital-of-malta/ | Malta is a beautiful, small, and rich European country located in the Mediterranean Sea between Sicily and the North African Coast with its three islands: Malta, Gozo, and Comino island. It is a lightly populated country with a population of around 533,286 in 2022 (as per the latest United States data) and its currency is the Euro. Malta is one of the favorite tourist destinations and film production places due to its warm climate and eye-catching landscape. It is believed that it is the oldest country with lots of old temples, like the Megalithic temple of Malta.
The capital of Malta is Valletta, which is a small walled city, established around the 1500s by the Knights of St.John, a Roman Catholic order.
Now, let’s deeply explore “Where is Valletta Malta on a map”
Valletta is a beautiful fortified capital of Malta which is located on Mount Sceberras, which runs like a tongue dividing the bay into two harbors, Marsamxett harbor to the west and Grand Harbor to the east. On 18 March 1571, Valletta was chosen as the capital of Malta, a fortified city comprising bastions, curtains, and cavaliers with an area of 0.61 square kilometers, making it the smallest capital city of the European Union with a population of around 5730 (2016). The city was named after St Jean Parisot de la Valletta (Grand Master of the order of Saint John). Valletta is known for its 320 monuments and making it a tourist attraction spot, adding to its glory in 1980 it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city provides various high-level education courses to its students and the university of Malta is also situated here. People here on Valletta’s Island usually speak Maltese and English as their communication languages.
History of Valletta – Malta
The origin of Valletta city starts in 1524 when the Order of Saint John proposed to build a city on the Scriberras peninsula. Before that, there was only a small watchtower dedicated to the Erasmus of Formia (Saint Elmo) on the Scriberras (a family that owned land on the peninsula and later the people of Malta started using scriber as their last name) around 1488. Later, in 1552, Fort Saint Elmo was built in the place of the Aragonite watchtower. In 1565, Fort Saint put his weapons in front of the Ottomans and the Order of Saint came to protect the siege of Malta, the Grandmaster de Valletta started building a fortified city with the help of European kings and Princes and laid the first stone of foundation, which was later named as Our lady of Victories Church but his dream of making Valletta does not reach its endpoint as he died due to stroke. After the death of de Valletta, his dream was carried forward by his assistant, Girolamo Caser, and he designed the architecture of this beautiful city. In 1798, the French took over Valletta and in 1800 the British captured it by defeating the French. The city faced many ups and downs and finally, on 21 September 1964 Malta gained independence from the United Kingdom and become a free nation.
Geography
Valletta is a peninsular city and is situated between two natural harbors, the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett making it a country best for people who love both seasons, summers and winters. As none of the weather is much harsh and provides people with an amazing climate to live in.
Valletta – Climate
Valletta is the sunniest city in Europe with mild winters and warm to hot summers. Its annual temperature is 23 degrees Celsius during the day and 16 degrees Celsius at night. Tourists can enjoy the cool breeze at Baraka garden with some cocktails and mocktails.
Valletta – Transport
When it comes to Valletta, it is completely realistic to explore many places in a short period due to its controlled traffic and lanes. Malta International Airport is 8 KM from Valletta in Luqa city. During British rule, trains were started in Valletta but it was officially closed in 1931 and buses became the only mode of transportation with their centers outside the city, principal roads are completely kept pedestrian, and also in 2006, a system of park and ride was implemented, according to which people park their private vehicle in a parking lawn made by government and use an electric van to move to rest of the city. Valletta has proper traffic rules, parking areas, and pedestrian lanes.
Valletta – Economy
Valletta is not an industrial city but it is a center for commercial and administrative purposes. Valletta Malta tourism is the primary source of income in the city. Also, the city is classified to be an advanced economy and considered a high-economy country by the World Bank. It is also a member of the European Union and since 1 January 2008 has formally adopted Euro as its currency.
Valletta – Food and Drink
The city is best known for its rich taste of Italian food, which is good for enhancing your taste buds. The local street food on Strait Street is a must-try for tourists. If you are an Italian food lover, then Valetta is the place to go, as here, you are served generation-old recipes by Maltese-Italian chefs, one of the best food is peri-peri pasta accompanied with chilled beer. Valetta is known for its old wines. One can also taste traditional Maltese pastries with coffee or tea at the Caffe Codina, a famous cafe on Saint John’s Street.
Valletta – Culture
Valletta is considered the cultural capital of Europe, being the smallest city it has still kept its history alive. The city is every writer’s dream due to its amazing and breathtaking nature, architecture, history, etc. The city brings most of the cultures of Europe under one roof and gives all the travelers a fresh breath of air. Its buzzing nightlife, street entertainment, classical opera, and many other things are every tourist’s muse.
Valletta – Famous Places
Arts & Culture of Malta is very famous and talking about Valletta, it is a hub of the prominent architecture of the city. One of the most important historical monuments of Valletta is St John Co-cathedral church, which was built by great Maltese architect Garolama Cassar between 1573-1578. Now, it is a conventional church of the Hospitaller order. The church is known for its beautiful painting by Mattie premia (a famous Maltese artist) and interior. The masterpiece in the church is The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist by the Caravaggio in the Oratory. There are 8 chapels in the church and the important ones to visit are the Chapel of the Langue of Aragon and the chapel of the Langue of Italy. There are many more monuments to visit, like the Palace of the Grand Master, the National Archaeology Museum, and the Royal Opera House, built in 2013, making great use of limestone.
Baraka Gardens
It is situated on the highest point of Valetta and is full of fountains, flowery rows, and a statue of the famous figure Wilson Churchill. There are various viewpoints in the park giving a perfect view of the Grand Harbor. There is a Saluting Battery, where members of the Malta Heritage Society in traditional uniform, perform a Gum Salute every day at noon to express respect for the Maltese military. The two beautiful gardens, upper and lower Baraka Gardens, give you a break from the pebble street and you can enjoy the natural beauty and click on some beautiful pictures for your gallery.
Grandmaster’s Palace and Armony
It is a beautiful monumental place at the center of the palace square. One part is reserved for presidential use and another is open for visitors as a museum. One can see a grand painting by the Grand Master Jean de Valletta, founder of Valetta City. The monument is decorated with gilded moldings, artwork, and beautiful paintings.
National Museum of Archeology
The museum is a living example of Baroque architecture with eye-catching paintings and wooden beam ceilings at the Grand Salon. The museum is known for its prehistoric collection, including pottery, ornaments, altars, statues, and paintings. There is a room of “sleeping beauty“, where a lady is sleeping on a couch, representing an expression from centuries ago.
Casa Roca Picola
If tourists want to visit the true Maltese culture, then one must go to this place, which is the home of an aristocratic Maltese family. The place contains two dining rooms, a bedroom, a salon, and a family chapel. The rooms are beautifully decorated with ancient Maltese traditions and there is a restaurant serving traditional Silicon cuisine that is open for breakfast and lunch.
Manoel Theater
It is one of the oldest theaters in Europe. This little theatre is known for its rich heritage and perfect look from all angles. It is an oval-shaped museum where one can enjoy music concerts and operas. It is decorated with gilded box seats and velvet chairs. If you want to enjoy the music of Valetta, then experience an evening performance in this traditional Manoel Theater.
Muza
It is a fine art museum representing the artwork of Malta from the 12 to 20th centuries. The renowned work of a famous Maltese artist, Mattia Preti, is presented here, which is a Baptism of Christ painting. Tourists can also see other important artwork by Italian artists like Guido Reni.
If one wants to travel Europe then Valetta deserves a chance to visit as it is full of natural beauty with traditional monuments and from the angle of safety, it is one of the safest countries in Europe being friendly and helpful citizens. | |||||
9289 | dbpedia | 2 | 17 | https://www.readyforboardingblog.com/malta-en/malta-valletta-mdina.html | en | attractions, what to see in the capital of Malta? | [
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"Kamila Florczak",
"Paweł Florczak"
] | 2023-01-28T00:40:47+01:00 | Valletta is a city that beats other capitals in the number of monuments per square meter! In the less than one square kilometer that Malta's capital | en | https://www.readyforboarding.pl/favicon.ico | Ready for Boarding | https://www.readyforboardingblog.com/malta-en/malta-valletta-mdina.html | Valletta is a city that beats other capitals in the number of monuments per square meter! In the less than one square kilometer that Malta’s capital occupies, there are as many as 300 monuments, which is the most common information given by guidebooks and other blogs. Today we invite you on a journey through the current capital of this island nation, we will show you the highlights of Valletta.
[Aktualizacja] It’s been a while since our trip to Malta, so it’s high time for an update. We have verified all the information we wrote about earlier, expanded the descriptions and enriched the post with practical advice to make it even more useful.
Malta is a country in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily, which is a popular vacation destination for many Poles. Before leaving, someone told us that Malta “is only two streets crosswise.” However, we cannot agree with this (we confirm – there are some more roads ;) ). Compared to Mallorca and Ibiza as a party destination, it also became our destination – and it wasn’t the party nature of the island that prompted us to visit Malta.
Malta is not just one island, but an archipelago consisting of the main island of Malta and Gozo, Comino and several smaller islets. Malta’s history is very long and turbulent, as the islands were located on the main sea routes in the Mediterranean and many rulers of past times wanted to have their “base of departure” here (Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Carthaginians, British, etc.). The influence of many cultures can be seen at every turn, and the number of monuments found on the islands is also astonishing (320 monuments are in the capital alone!).
Currently, Malta is such a Little Britain – it is from the UK that most tourists are here, they drive on the left, and English is the official language here (along with Maltese).
We spent a week in Malta. It was a moderately intense week. There was some sightseeing, but there was also time for beachcombing. In this post, however, we would like to focus on Malta’s capital, one of the first choices when it comes to attractions other than relaxing on the beach.
Table of contents
Valletta – the capital of Malta
Valletta is the current capital of Malta and although it occupies less than a square kilometer there are as many as 320 monuments and the entire city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Yes, Valetta is tiny, which may surprise some, because looking at a map of Malta, one would think that the entire northeastern part is the capital of the island, however, administratively Valetta is only a part of this “agglomeration”.
And yes, right next door we have towns such as Sliema, Gżira and the most partying St Julian’s. In fact, walking along the waterfront, we don’t even know when we will suddenly find ourselves in another locality. Why are we writing about it? Because in Malta, it is not necessary to look for accommodation in the capital itself, in fact, we advise against it.
In the above-mentioned towns there are a multitude of hotels where you can spend the night, and thanks to the local public transport you will easily get both to Valetta and to the end of the island (although perhaps “easily” is a bit of an overstatement…. but about that another time). Nevertheless, an overnight stay in this area is recommended if you are mainly focused on sightseeing rather than beachcombing (unless you don’t mind rocky beaches, but there are several more interesting places to relax by the sea shore in Malta).
There are also numerous bars and restaurants in the city/district of Sliema, Gżira and St. Julian’s, and life here goes on 24 hours a day (these places even come alive after dark).
As for getting to Valletta itself, there is a bus station right at the gates of the city (Valletta City Gate) and if you are traveling by public transport around the island, this is where you will start your tour of Valletta from. It is worth remembering this place and discerning bus departures, as it is the main transfer point on the island. We, staying overnight in Sliema, often took a bus to the station to transfer here to another bus going to other corners of Malta.
Valletta itself is not a big city, quietly walkable, but nevertheless it is worth adding that many hills here and constant walking up and down can tire you out, and especially if you plan to come during the holiday season when it is really hot. Nevertheless, it is worth discovering this city unhurriedly, on foot (remember that car traffic here is only available to residents).
Valletta – attractions of Malta’s capital city
What particularly stuck out to us? What image of Valletta do we have before our eyes when we think back to Malta? First of all, the view from Sliema over the capital is dominated by the walls of Fort St Elmo and the dome of the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Carmelite Church).
However, you have to walk almost the entire city before you can reach them.
As we mentioned above, you can start your tour from where the city buses arrive. The place is very distinctive, in addition to many buses there is the Triton fountain, a tourist information center and the Gate to the city (Valletta City Gate).
Passing through this gate you enter a place where it is hard to take your eyes off the numerous monuments, although gate is a bit of a stretch – it is now simply the entrance to the city. Once you cross it, this city, inconspicuous on the map, will charm you with its buildings, architecture, history,…
Royal Theatre Square
Walking deeper into the city, after walking a short distance, the Royal Theater Square (Pjazza Teatru Rjal) appears on the right – this is an open-air theater that opened in 2013 on the site of the former Royal Opera House building using the ruins that remained after the 1942 bombing.
Today it is a venue for various events and concerts but as recently as 2006 the Opera House building was to be converted to house Parliament. This idea, however, did not meet with much support, and it was eventually decided that Parliament should be located in a brand new building right next to the theater (the City Gate was also rebuilt as part of the project).
Despite the fact that it is a new building in Valletta, the mass completely stands out from the historic buildings, it was designed so that the color scheme blends in with the surroundings. Nevertheless, in our opinion, such historic sites should be more about adapting existing buildings than erecting modern buildings on historic squares (by the way, the construction of the new Parliament headquarters cost about 90 million euros!).
St. Peter’s Cathedral. St. St. John the Baptist
Walking through the streets of Valletta your attention will surely be attracted by the large number of churches – in less than a square kilometer there are as many as 28 (it is also interesting that in Malta and Gozo there are as many as 359 churches!)[source]. The most impressive is concathedral of St. St. St. John the Baptist and we strongly encourage you to go inside, as it hides amazing interiors. The detailed decorations, the paintings, the splendor, the floor with tombstones of nearly 400 monastic knights and grand masters of the order – this is definitely one of the most beautiful temples we have seen! There is an entrance fee, but it’s definitely worth it!
Tickets: adult – 15 euros, reduced ticket – 12 euros, children under 12 enter for free.
Upper and Lower Gardens of Barrakka
The small capital city has found room for oases of greenery: the Upper and Lower Barracca Gardens are two separate gardens that offer some shade and views of the bay and the towns across the bay. Both of these places are ideal for relaxation: there are benches, fountains, and you can enjoy a cup of coffee. The Upper Garden is particularly noteworthy, because below it is a terrace with cannons, from which shots are fired (twice a day).
The gardens are visited for free.
National Archaeological Museum
Among the museums we should certainly mention the pride of Malta – the National Archaeological Museum, where on several floors you can see various exhibits presented by the periods from which they come, and the most famous of them is a sculpture: the Maltese Venus.
Tickets: adult – €5, reduced ticket – €3.5, children under 6 enter for free.
Palace of the Grand Master
Malta was ruled by the Order of St. John for more than two centuries, and Valletta is named after one of the order’s masters, Jean Parisot de la Valette. The city’s history is strongly linked to the order and there are several places where you can see the remains of the order and its history.
One of them is the Palace of the Grand Master, an imposing building where the president is currently in office (until 2015 it was the seat of Parliament). The palace was open to visitors, who could look at the courtyard, chambers, see the armory, but now it is temporarily closed (we recommend taking a virtual tour on Google Street View instead ;) )
Fort St. Elma
It’s also worth going to Fort St. Elma – It is located at the tip of the Sciberras peninsula and was built in 1552 by the Order. It played a key role when it repulsed an attack by the Ottoman Turks for as many as 28 days (it was eventually captured but the time gained allowed other points to be better prepared and reinforcements from Spain arrived in time, and the Turks were defeated).
The building houses the National War Museum (entrance is charged: adult – 10 EUR, reduced tickets – 5,50 – 7,50 EUR, children under 5 years enter for free).
Malta Experience
We also recommend going to the Malta Experience – this is a multimedia show highlighting the turbulent history of the archipelago. It is best to look here at the beginning of a tour of Malta, as it gives an interesting perspective on further discovery of the island (normal ticket – 16 EUR, reduced tickets – 6 – 11,5 EUR, children under 4 years enter for free).
What else is worth seeing in Valletta?
For example, the Siege Bell War Memorial commemorating the defense of Malta and the deaths of some 7,000 people during World War II, the war quarters (Lascaris War Rooms), the Church of Our Lady of Victory, the Pro-Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul. The Church of St. Paul and the Church of the Carmelites.
Of course, don’t limit yourself to just this list. It’s worth exploring Valletta in your own way – peeking into the various streets, admiring the characteristic galarias, or balconies, looking at the many sculptures….
Valletta – map of attractions
Below you will find a map with all the attractions of Valletta marked. Which we described for you in this post:
Mdina or Valletta?
If you’re interested in historic, historic Malta, you should also see Mdina, the former capital of Malta. Both cities are historic, although different, and in our opinion, rather than wondering which one to visit, it’s just best to make time for both.
On one side is bustling La Valletta, and on the other is quiet and peaceful Mdina. Being in high season, it was louder and bustling in Valletta, with lots of tourists winding through the streets. In Mdina, it was definitely looser and less crowded at the same time.
Personally, however, if we had to choose just one, our choice falls on Mdina – a unique city that is memorable.
Practical information
Weather in Valletta
Valletta, like the rest of Malta, is very hot in the summer, with temperatures reaching 30°C during the summer months (so from mid-June to mid-September). August is the warmest, when average temperatures are between 23°C and 32°C. Precipitation during this (holiday) period is also the lowest of the year.
The coldest time in Malta is from December to March – that’s when average temperatures in Valletta are below 18°C (the coldest month is February). The most precipitation is in December.
Data based on:
Weatherspark.com
Where to stay overnight in Malta? Accommodation in Valletta?
Where to stay overnight in Valletta? Recommended beyond ;)
As we mentioned at the beginning of the post, there are several smaller towns around that are equally well-connected to the rest of the island, and cheaper and less besieged by visitors. Unfortunately, in high season, accommodations are quite expensive (even those of a lower standard) and hard to come by. So if you have the opportunity, we recommend booking in advance.
Here are a few suggestions (we are also adding some facilities from Valletta for comparison):
Grand Hotel Excelsior
Address: Great Siege Road, FRN 1810 Valletta
Prices: from 681 PLN for a double room
Link:
https://r4b.link/booking-excelsior
Osborne Hotel
Address: 50 South Street, VLT1101 Valletta
Prices: from 756 PLN for a double room
Link:
https://r4b.link/booking-osborne
Valletta Lucente Guest House
Address: 20 St. St. Lucia’s Street, VLT 1186 Valletta
Prices: from PLN 718 for a double room (breakfast included).
Link:
https://r4b.link/booking-lucente
America House
Address: 27 Amery Street, SLM 1704 Sliema
Prices: from 427 PLN for a double room (breakfast included).
Link:
https://r4b.link/booking-amery
Pebbles Boutique Aparthotel
Address: 88-89 The Strand, SLM 1022 Sliema
Prices: from 250 PLN for a double room
Link:
https://r4b.link/booking-pebbles
Chapter 5 Hotel
Address: Mgr. Dandria 58-56 Chapter 5, XBX 1531 Taʼ Xbiex
Prices: from 240 PLN for a double room
Link:
https://r4b.link/booking-chapter
J’Me Boutique Hotel (adults only!)
Address: 43, Birkirkara road, STJ 1304 St. Julian’s
Prices: from 404 PLN for a double room (breakfast included)
Link:
https://r4b.link/booking-jme
Getting to Valletta
No matter where you spend the night on the island, getting to the capital should not cause you any problems. As we mentioned at the beginning, almost under the Gate to the City there is a public transport transfer stop – Valletta Bus Terminal (moving around the island by bus is the cheapest option).
The bus schedule is available here.
Valletta can also be reached by ferry, which runs every half hour from Sliema.
You cannot enter Malta’s capital by car, so if you are traveling in a rented car you should park it in one of the large parking lots outside Valletta.
Our opinion about Valletta
Valletta is, in our opinion, a city you must visit while in Malta. By far the most impressive was the St. Peter’s Concathedral. St. The site’s interior is a part of the St. John the Baptist Church and, above all, its interior. We recommend that you start by taking a look at the Malta Experience to learn about the history of the archipelago and to explore, with a more informed_ness, the different parts of not only Valletta, but the entire island.
Be sure to read also: Malta – some useful information.
Finally, we recommend you to view our gallery of images: | ||||
9289 | dbpedia | 3 | 20 | https://www.coe.int/en/web/interculturalcities/valletta | en | Intercultural cities programme | https://www.coe.int/o/coe-2014-theme/images/favicon.ico | https://www.coe.int/o/coe-2014-theme/images/favicon.ico | [
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] | null | [] | 2015-10-21T00:00:00 | en | https://www.coe.int/o/coe-2014-theme/images/favicon.ico | Intercultural cities programme | https://www.coe.int/en/web/interculturalcities/valletta | Valletta is the capital city of Malta. Geographically, it is located in the South Eastern Region, in the central-eastern portion of the main island of Malta. The historical city has a population of 6,444 as of March 2014,while the metropolitan area around it has a population of 393,938. Valletta is the southernmost capital of Europe.
The city’s population is around 6000 inhabitants, among which 5% are non-national residents. Further information about the composition of the nonresidents population are not available at the moment, but will soon be known due to the census and the Residence Card scheme. | |||
9289 | dbpedia | 1 | 39 | https://cod.pressbooks.pub/westernworlddailyreadingsgeography/chapter/europe-historical-geography-ii/ | en | Europe: Historical Geography II – Malta – The Western World: Daily Readings on Geography | [
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"Joel Quam",
"Scott Campbell"
] | 2020-08-31T00:00:00 | en | https://cod.pressbooks.pub/westernworlddailyreadingsgeography/chapter/europe-historical-geography-ii/ | 59 Europe: Historical Geography II – Malta
Il-mistoqsija oht il-gherf – “A question is the sister of wisdom”
Maltese Proverb
Malta is a small island country, situated in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Italy and north of Libya. Its geographic location, natural harbors, and limestone quarries made it a strategic geopolitical prize historically, especially at two key military times. Coincidentally, these same features have drawn talent scouts from film and television, resulting, among others, in the hosting of a number of scenes from the popular series “Game of Thrones.”
In considering Malta, the acronym FOE is useful. Let’s start with the letter O. O is for old. As a pair of islands, the country Malta is only 122 square miles in area, about double the size of Washington, DC. The main island Malta is 95 square miles with the island Gozo being 26 square miles (Comino is one square mile, a nature preserve). As such, the country Malta is the tenth smallest country in the world. For comparison, Tahiti = 403 sq. miles, Great Abaco (unknown by most people, until Hurricane Dorian in 2019) = 442, Mauritius = 720, Puerto Rico = 3500.
Given Malta’s size, when might we expect that it would first be peopled? What about other small islands, in comparison? Tahiti’s first settlers, Polynesians, arrived about 1000 CE; however, that is the Pacific Ocean. Great Abaco 500-800 CE and Puerto Rico 2000 BCE, but in the Atlantic Ocean. Mauritius 1500 CE in the Indian Ocean. As it is with geography, location matters. Malta’s location in the Mediterranean Sea, allowed its discovery and settlement to come much earlier than these other modestly sized islands, for Malta sits in a much smaller sea and in the midst of many of history’s early seafarers.
Though Malta was not settled as early as much larger Mediterranean island such as Cyprus, Sicily, and Sardinia, this too makes geographic sense that these large islands would be discovered and utilized before tiny Malta. However, Malta has been settled since 5900 BCE. It has been considered a strategic location, controlled at times by Mediterranean groups including the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs and later by European countries such as Great Britain and France. While these numerous peoples brought varied religions to the island, it is noteworthy that the apostle Paul, a major Christian figure, was shipwrecked on Malta around the year 60 CE. Although other points in history could have led to other religious patterns, Malta is now a largely Catholic country.
F is for Fortified. Limestone quarries abound on Malta; in fact, the islands Malta and Gozo essentially are slabs of limestone. As a relatively soft stone, limestone can be cut into blocks use as building materials. Although soft may sound weak for construction, actually limestone is prized for its strength, resistance to corrosion, durability, and non-slip and heat-resistant qualities. It is readily obvious to any visitor of Malta that nearly every human structure there is built of limestone. From ancient structures to modern urban residences, from cathedrals to fortifications, from coastal landscapes to burial catacombs, in Malta it is all limestone.
As more and more peoples came to Malta, more and more limestone was quarried. However, with human migration to Malta, there came conquests and dangers. The demand for simple shelter evolved into the need for fortified dwellings and urban areas. Thus, in the 8thcentury on Malta, limestone built the walled city now known as Mdina. At that time, it was the Phoenicians who developed this as the capital city, thus serving for nearly a thousand years. On Gozo, the walled Citadel was developed much later, beginning as a limestone castle in the 1500s.
Although there have been many peoples and many invaders arriving at Malta, two points in its military history stand out. First, in 1565 forces of the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Suleiman the Magnificent sailed in nearly two hundred ships to Malta with a large invading force. Under siege and led by the Knights Hospitaller, Malta resisted the attack. According to the Knight order’s historian, the numbers clearly favored the Ottoman forces, who greatly valued Malta’s strategic location in Islam’s quest to gain more territory in Europe.
Malta vs. Ottoman Empire in 1565
The Knights Hospitaller The Ottomans 500 Knights Hospitaller 600 Spahis (cavalry) 400 Spanish soldiers 500 Spahis from Karamania 800 Italian soldiers 6000 Janissaries 500 soldiers from the galleys (Spanish Empire) 400 adventurers from Mytiline 200 Greek and Sicilian soldiers 2500 Spahis from Rumelia 100 soldiers of Fort St. Elmo 3500 adventurers from Rumelia 100 servants of the knights 4000 "religious" servants 500 galley slaves 6000 other volunteers 3000 soldiers from the Maltese population various corsairs from Tripoli and Algiers Total: 6100 Total: 28500 from the East, 40000 in all
Although Ottoman forces earlier had taken Gozo and while Suleiman had won numerous battles elsewhere to expand the Ottoman Empire, the nearly four-month siege of Malta was unsuccessful for the invaders. The invasion though repelled by Maltese forces prompted additional use of limestone, as the new port city Valletta was founded in 1566, featuring towering limestone fortified walls.
The siege proved to be a singular turning point in the history of Malta, securing a strategic location in the defense of Europe. Malta’s cultural, economic, and military foci then never strayed from Europe, eventually extending to Malta’s entrance into the European Union in 2004 and the Eurozone in 2008. Additionally, the role of knights, prominent in Europe, gained prominence in Malta, with Europe’s Knights of St. John (the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem or the Knights Hospitaller) being headquartered there from 1530 to 1798.
Europe’s hold on Malta continued, but altered course with Napoleonic takeover of Malta in 1798, only to be quickly supplanted by British rule, starting in 1800. Malta remained a British colony until independence in 1964 with subsequent conversion to a republic in 1974.
The second key point in Malta’s military history was World War II. As a British colony, obviously, Malta fought on the side of the Allies. This siege, 1940-1942, of course involved attacks by air as well as by sea. German and Italian aircraft bombed Malta repeatedly, as Allied forces sought to withstand and to repel the attackers. Winston Churchill likened Malta to “an unsinkable aircraft carrier.” Malta’s strategic value was at its highest during the war’s campaigns in North Africa. Overall, in three years of attacks, Malta’s military and civilians were put on alert over 3000 times. In fact, Maltese and Allied forces withstood the siege and defended Malta successfully. Malta’s usefulness as a base for navy and air force was important for the overall Allied victory in the war. British King George awarded the Maltese people in general the George Cross as a recognition of heroism. This George Cross became part of Malta’s national flag.
E is for European. As a result of Malta’s victory over Ottoman invaders in 1565, Malta’s regional focus remained centered on Europe and did not turn toward the Muslim world. Subsequent rule by French and then British before eventually independence held that European perspective. One aspect of European culture in Malta is seen in language. Although the native language is Maltese, almost everyone can speak English. Two-thirds of the population can speak Italian and one-sixth French. Maltese language itself is a curious mix that reflects the island’s geographic position. Maltese is a Semitic language in the same family as Arabic, but a majority of its words have Latin derivations and it uses a modified Latin alphabet. Of the top ten countries sending tourists to Malta, the United Kingdom is number one, while the USA at number nine is the only non-European country in the top ten. Britain’s influence is seen in a variety of ways, including driving on the left side of the road.
FOE. Fortified Old European. Malta.
Cited and additional bibliography:
Balbi di Correggio, Francesco. 1965. The Siege of Malta 1565. Translated by Ernle Bradford. London: The Folio Society.
Bjankuloski06en. 2013. Physical Map of Malta. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta#/media/File:General_map_of_Malta.svg. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.
“Malta – Wikitravel.” 2016. Wikitravel.Org. 2016. https://wikitravel.org/en/Malta.
McGinty, James. 2020. “Malta.” College of DuPage. College of DuPage GIS class. Instructor Joseph Adduci. | |||||||
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] | null | [] | null | What is Valletta? Valletta is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 council areas. | null | Valletta (Maltese: il-Belt Valletta, in Maltese pronounced as /vɐlˈlɛt.tɐ/) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157.[3] As Malta’s capital city, it is a commercial centre for shopping, bars, dining, and café life. It is also the southernmost capital of Europe,[4] and at just 0.61km2, it is the European Union's smallest capital city.[5] [6]
Valletta's 16th-century buildings were constructed by the Knights Hospitaller. The city was named after Jean Parisot de Valette, who succeeded in defending the island from an Ottoman invasion during the Great Siege of Malta. The city is Baroque in character, with elements of Mannerist, Neo-Classical and Modern architecture, though the Second World War left major scars on the city, particularly the destruction of the Royal Opera House. The city was officially recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980.[7] The city has 320 monuments, all within an area of 0.55 square kilometres (0.21 sq mi), making it one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world.[7] [8] Sometimes called an "open-air museum",[9] Valletta was chosen as the European Capital of Culture in 2018. Valletta was also listed as the sunniest city in Europe in 2016.[10] [11]
The city is noted for its fortifications, consisting of bastions, curtains and cavaliers, along with the beauty of its Baroque palaces, gardens and churches.
History
See also: Sciberras Peninsula.
The peninsula was previously called Xagħret Mewwija (Mu' awiya – Meuia; named during the Arab period[12])[13] [14] or Ħal Newwija.[15] Mewwija refers to a sheltered place.[16] Some authors state that the extreme end of the peninsula was known as Xebb ir-Ras (Sheb point), of which name origins from the lighthouse on site.[17] [18] A family which surely owned land became known as Sceberras, now a Maltese surname as Sciberras.[19] At one point the entire peninsula became known as Sceberras.Recent scholarly studies have however shown that the Xeberras phrase is of Punic origin and means 'the headland' and 'the middle peninsula' as it actually is.[20]
Order of Saint John
The building of a city on the Sciberras Peninsula had been proposed by the Order of Saint John as early as 1524.[21] Back then, the only building on the peninsula was a small watchtower[22] dedicated to Erasmus of Formia (Saint Elmo), which had been built in 1488.[23]
In 1552, the Aragonite watchtower was demolished and the larger Fort Saint Elmo was built in its place.[24]
In the Great Siege of 1565, Fort Saint Elmo fell to the Ottomans, but the Order eventually won the siege with the help of Sicilian reinforcements. The victorious Grand Master, Jean de Valette, immediately set out to build a new fortified city on the Sciberras Peninsula to fortify the Order's position in Malta and bind the Knights to the island. The city took his name and was called La Valletta.[25]
The Grand Master asked the European kings and princes for help, receiving a lot of assistance due to the increased fame of the Order after their victory in the Great Siege. Pope Pius V sent his military architect, Francesco Laparelli, to design the new city, while Philip II of Spain sent substantial monetary aid. The foundation stone of the city was laid by Grand Master de Valette on 28 March 1566. He placed the first stone in what later became Our Lady of Victories Church.[26]
In his book Dell'Istoria della Sacra Religione et Illustrissima Militia di San Giovanni Gierosolimitano (English: The History of the Sacred Religion and Illustrious Militia of St John of Jerusalem), written between 1594 and 1602, Giacomo Bosio writes that when the cornerstone of Valletta was placed, a group of Maltese elders said: "Iegi zimen en fel wardia col sceber raba iesue uquie" (Which in modern Maltese reads, "Jiġi żmien li fil-Wardija [l-Għolja Sciberras] kull xiber raba' jiswa uqija", and in English, "There will come a time when every piece of land on Sciberras Hill will be worth its weight in gold").[27]
De Valette died from a stroke on 21 August 1568 at age 74 and never saw the completion of his city. Originally interred in the church of Our Lady of the Victories, his remains now rest in St. John's Co-Cathedral among the tombs of other Grand Masters of the Knights of Malta.[26]
Francesco Laparelli was the city's principal designer and his plan departed from medieval Maltese architecture, which exhibited irregular winding streets and alleys. He designed the new city on a rectangular grid plan, and without any collacchio (an area restricted for important buildings). The streets were designed to be wide and straight, beginning centrally from the City Gate and ending at Fort Saint Elmo (which was rebuilt) overlooking the Mediterranean; certain bastions were built 47m (154feet) high. His assistant was the Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar, who later oversaw the construction of the city himself after Laparelli's death in 1570.[26]
The Ufficio delle Case regulated the building of the city as a planning authority.[28]
The city of Valletta was mostly completed by the early 1570s, and it became the capital on 18 March 1571 when Grand Master Pierre de Monte moved from his seat at Fort St Angelo in Birgu to the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta.
Seven Auberges were built for the Order's Langues, and these were complete by the 1580s.[29] [30] An eighth Auberge, Auberge de Bavière, was later added in the 18th century.[31]
In Antoine de Paule's reign, it was decided to build more fortifications to protect Valletta, and these were named the Floriana Lines after the architect who designed them, Pietro Paolo Floriani of Macerata.[32] During António Manoel de Vilhena's reign, a town began to form between the walls of Valletta and the Floriana Lines, and this evolved from a suburb of Valletta to Floriana, a town in its own right.[33]
In 1634, a gunpowder factory explosion killed 22 people in Valletta.[34] In 1749, Muslim slaves plotted to kill Grandmaster Pinto and take over Valletta, but the revolt was suppressed before it even started due to their plans leaking out to the Order.[35] Later on in his reign, Pinto embellished the city with Baroque architecture, and many important buildings such as Auberge de Castille were remodeled or completely rebuilt in the new architectural style.[36]
In 1775, during the reign of Ximenes, an unsuccessful revolt known as the Rising of the Priests occurred in which Fort Saint Elmo and Saint James Cavalier were captured by rebels, but the revolt was eventually suppressed.[37]
French occupation and British rule
In 1798, the French invaded the island and expelled the Order.[38] After the Maltese rebelled, French troops continued to occupy Valletta and the surrounding harbour area, until they capitulated to the British in September 1800. In the early 19th century, the British Civil Commissioner, Henry Pigot, agreed to demolish the majority of the city's fortifications.[39] The demolition was again proposed in the 1870s and 1880s, but it was never carried out and the fortifications have survived largely intact.[21]
Eventually building projects in Valletta resumed under British rule. These projects included widening gates, demolishing and rebuilding structures, widening newer houses over the years, and installing civic projects. The Malta Railway, which linked Valletta to Mdina, was officially opened in 1883.[40] It was closed down in 1931 after buses became a popular means of transport.
In 1939, Valletta was abandoned as the headquarters of the Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet due to its proximity to Italy and the city became a flash point during the subsequent two-year long Siege of Malta.[41] German and Italian air raids throughout the Second World War caused much destruction in Valletta and the rest of the harbor area. The Royal Opera House, constructed at the city entrance in the 19th century, was one of the buildings lost to the raids.[24]
Contemporary
In 1980, the 24th Chess Olympiad took place in Valletta.[42]
The entire city of Valletta has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980, along with Megalithic Temples of Malta and the Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni.[7] On 11 November 2015, Valletta hosted the Valletta Summit on Migration in which European and African leaders discussed the European migrant crisis.[43] After that, on 27 November 2015, the city also hosted part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2015.[44]
Valletta was the European Capital of Culture in 2018.[45]
Government
Local government
The Valletta Local Council was established by the Local Councils Act of 1993, along with the other local councils of Malta.[46] The first election was held on 20 November 1993. Other elections were held in 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2013,[47] 2017.[48] The present local council was elected in 2019.[49] The local council is housed in a building in South Street.
The following people have served as Mayors of Valletta:[50]
Hector Bruno (1993–1999) (PN)
Paul Borg Olivier (1999–2008) (PN)
Alexei Dingli (2008–2019) (PN) [51]
Christian Micallef (2019) (PN) [52]
Alfred Zammit (2019–) (PL) [53]
National government
Valletta is the capital city of Malta,[54] and is the country's administrative and commercial hub.[55] The Parliament of Malta has been housed at the Parliament House near the city's entrance since 2015: it was previously housed at the Grandmaster's Palace in the city centre.[56] The latter palace still houses the Office of the President of Malta,[57] while the Auberge de Castille houses the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta. The courthouse and many government departments are also located in Valletta.[58]
Geography
The Valletta peninsula has two natural harbours, Marsamxett and the Grand Harbour.[59] The Grand Harbour is Malta's major port, with unloading quays at nearby Marsa. A cruise-liner terminal is located along the old seawall of the Valletta Waterfront that Portuguese Grandmaster Manuel Pinto da Fonseca built.[60]
Climate
See main article: article and Climate of Malta. Valletta features a Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) with very mild, wet winters and warm to hot, slightly long, dry summers, with an average annual temperature above 23°C during the day and 16°C. Valletta experiences a lack of precipitation during the summer months and most of the precipitation happens during the winter months. Winter temperatures are moderated by the surrounding sea, as a result, the city has very mild winters and a long seasonal lag. The official climate recording station in Malta is at Luqa Airport, which is a few miles inland from Valletta. Average high temperatures range from around 16°C in January to about 32°C in August, while average low temperatures range from around 10°C in January to 23°C in August.
Cityscape
The architecture of Valletta's streets and piazzas ranges from mid-16th century Baroque to Modernism. The city is the island's principal cultural center and has a unique collection of churches, palaces and museums and act as one of the city's main visitor attractions. When Benjamin Disraeli, future British Prime Minister, visited the city in 1830, he described it as "a city of palaces built by gentlemen for gentlemen," and remarked that "Valletta equals in its noble architecture, if it does not excel, any capital in Europe," and in other letters called it "comparable to Venice and Cádiz" and "full of palaces worthy of Palladio."[61] [62]
Buildings of historic importance include St John's Co-Cathedral, formerly the Conventual Church of the Knights of Malta. It has the only signed work and largest painting by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.[63] The Auberge de Castille et Leon, formerly the official seat of the Knights of Malta of the Langue of Castille, Léon and Portugal, is now the office of the Prime Minister of Malta.[58] The Grandmaster's Palace, built between 1571 and 1574 and formerly the seat of the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, used to house the Maltese Parliament, now situated in a purpose-built structure at the entrance to the city, and now houses the offices of the President of Malta.[64]
Admiralty House is a Baroque palace dating to the late 1570s. It was the official residence of the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet during the British era from the 1820s onwards. From 1974 until 2016, it was the site of the National Museum of Fine Arts.
The Manoel Theatre (Maltese: Teatru Manoel) was constructed in just ten months in 1731, by order of Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena, and is one of the oldest working theatres in Europe. The Mediterranean Conference Centre was formerly the Sacra Infermeria. Built in 1574, it was one of Europe's most renowned hospitals during the Renaissance. The fortifications of the port, built by the Knights as a magnificent series of bastions, demi-bastions, cavaliers and curtains, approximately 100m (300feet) high, all contribute to the unique architectural quality of the city.
Neighbourhoods
Valletta contains a number of unofficial neighbourhoods, including:[65]
Strada Rjali – the main thoroughfare, Triq ir-Repubblika
l-Arċipierku – an area close to the Sacra Infermeria. Its name possibly derives from archipelago since it contains a number of lanes which break up the area into many "islands" of houses, or from archi-borgo since the area is located just outside Fort Saint Elmo.[66]
il-Baviera – an area around the English Curtain, bounded by Old Bakery, Archbishop, Marsamxett and St. Sebastian Streets. It is named after Auberge de Bavière.[66]
il-Biċċerija – an area close to il-Baviera, named after the slaughterhouse which was formerly located there.[66]
il-Kamrata – an area close to the Sacra Infermeria. It is named after the Camerata, a spiritual retreat which was demolished in the 19th century and replaced by social housing.[66]
Deux Balles (Maltese: Duwi Balli) – an area close to il-Baviera. The name probably originates from the French occupation.[66]
il-Fossa – an area close to the Jews' Sally Port and Fort Saint Elmo. It is regarded as the worst maintained area of Valletta.[67]
Manderaggio (Maltese: il-Mandraġġ) – an area behind Manderaggio Curtain, bounded by St. Mark, St. Lucia, St. Patrick and Marsamxett Streets. This was meant to be a small harbour (mandracchio) but it was never completed, and a slum area developed instead. The slums were demolished in the 1950s and were rebuilt as housing estates.[66]
Economy
Eurostat estimates the labour force in 2015 for the greater Valletta area at around 91,000 people. This corresponds to a share of just under 50 percent of Malta. As in Malta as a whole, tourism is an important economic sector. The most important tourist zone is the area surrounding the Grand Harbour. For the cruise industry, after several years of planning, work began in 2002 to build the Valletta Waterfront Project, a cruise terminal, in the Grand Harbour.[68] There is also a publishing house in Valletta, Allied Newspapers Ltd., a media company. This company publishes the two market-leading newspapers, Times of Malta and The Sunday Times of Malta.
Education
The Valletta Campus of the University of Malta is situated in the Old University Building. It serves as an extension of the Msida Campus, especially offering international masters programmes.[69]
A church school, "St. Albert the Great", is also situated in Valletta. The Headmaster is Alternattiva Demokratika politician Mario Mallia.[70] [71]
Culture
Valletta was designated European Capital of Culture for 2018.[72] The year was inaugurated with an event called Erba' Pjazez (Four Squares), with shows focused in 4 plazas in the city – Triton Square, St. George's Square, St. John's Square, and Castille Square – along with other shows in other points.[73] This was followed by the unveiling of a public art installation, Kif Jgħid il-Malti (Maltese Sayings), which featured a number of Maltese language proverb figured in gypsum, in order to engage linguistic heritage.[74] [75]
Saint James Cavalier
Saint James Cavalier, originally a raised gun platform, was converted into a Centre of Creativity in the year 2000 as part of Malta's Millennium Project. It now houses a small theatre, a cinema, music rooms and art galleries. Various exhibitions are regularly held there. It has welcomed over a million visitors since opening.[76]
Music
The Valletta International Baroque Festival is held every year in January. Jazz music in Malta was introduced in the Strait Street area, frequented by Allied sailors during both World Wars.[77] Malta's Jazz Festival took place here. Strait Street is also known as The Gut. This area is undergoing a programme of regeneration. The city's dual band clubs are the "King's Own Band Club" (Maltese: L-Għaqda Mużikali King's Own) and "La Valette National Philharmonic Society" (Maltese: Is-Soċjetà Filarmonika Nazzjonali La Valette).
Carnival
Valletta is the scene of the Maltese Carnival, held in February leading up to Lent.[78] In 1823 the Valletta carnival was the scene of a human crush tragedy in which at least 110 boys perished.[79] The Maltese Carnival is held every year. It is used without carnival trucks at 2020 and 2021 due to Covid, Carnival Trucks returned in 2022.
Feasts
The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated on 16 July
Saint Paul's feast is celebrated on 10 February
Saint Dominic's feast is celebrated in Valletta on 4 August or before
The feast of Saint Augustine is celebrated on the third Sunday after Easter
The city's residents also conduct an annual procession in honour of St. Rita
In literature and the arts
The poetical illustrations (painted by T. C. Dibden, engraved by J. Tingle)[80] and (painted by Samuel Prout, engraved by J, Carter)[81] by Letitia Elizabeth Landon were both published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837. A further poem illustrates a painting of the procession in the Strada St Giovanni painted by Samuel Prout and engraved by E. Challis is in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1838.[82]
Twin towns – sister cities
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Malta.
Valletta is twinned with:[83]
Palermo, Italy
Cortona, Italy, since August the 26th, 2022
Byblos, Lebanon
Transport
Malta International Airport is from the city in the town of Luqa.
Malta's public transport system, which uses buses, operates mostly on routes to or from Valletta, with their central terminus just outside the city gate. Traffic within the city itself is restricted, with some principal roads being completely pedestrian areas. In 2006, a park and ride system was implemented in order to increase the availability of parking spaces in the city. People can leave their vehicles in a nearby Floriana car park and transfer to a van for the rest of the trip.
In 2007, a congestion pricing scheme was implemented to reduce long-term parking and traffic while promoting business in the city.[84] [85] An ANPR-based automated system takes photos of vehicles as they enter and exit the charging zone and vehicle owners are billed according to the duration of their stay.[84]
Valletta is served by a fleet of electric taxis which transport riders from 10 points in Valletta to any destination in the city.[86]
As of 2021, an underground Malta Metro is being planned, with a projected total cost of €6.2 billion,[87] centred on the Valletta urban area.
Sports
Valletta F.C. Association Football team and Futsal team
Valletta Lions RFC Rugby Football Union team
Valletta's Marsamxett Harbour a "Regatta" (Rowing) Team, which takes part in the annual traditional Regatta on Victory Day (8 September).
Valletta United W.P.C., a Water Polo Club hailing from Marsamxett side
Valletta V.C., a Volleyball club.
Marsamxett Boċċi, a ''Boċċi'' Club from Marsamxett, Valletta.
Valletta St. Paul's Boċċi, a ''Boċċi'' Club from L-Arċipierku side, Valletta.
Further reading
Melita Theologica. Bianco. Lino. 2009. Valletta: A city in history. 60. 2. University of Malta: Department of Architecture and Urban Design – Faculty for the Built Environment. 1–20. https://web.archive.org/web/20180319195031/https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/handle/123456789/15640/Valletta%20-%20A%20city%20in%20history_A5.pdf. 19 March 2018. 1012-9588. 1587122.
External links
Valletta Local Council
Valletta Living History
Valletta, Malta's capital city and UNESCO World Heritage Site
Old maps of Valletta from the Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, The National Library of Israel
Notes and References | |||||||
9289 | dbpedia | 3 | 2 | https://culture-malta.org/the-french-occupation/ | en | The French Occupation - Culture Malta | [
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On the 9 June 1798, a French fleet sailing to Egypt with over 30,000 men under Napoleon Bonaparte arrived off heavily fortified Valletta, ruled by the Knights of St John. A French Knight in Malta recorded the event in these terms: “the Maltese people saw from vantage points, the forest of masts which covered a vast expanse of sea….the sight petrified us.”
Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch refused Bonaparte’s demand that his convoy would be allowed to enter Valletta and take on supplies, upon which Bonaparte immediately ordered his fleet to bombard Valletta and landed several thousand soldiers at seven strategic sites around the island.
Most French knights commanding various strategic localities and forts deserted the Order. However, many Maltese regiments resisted bravely in spite of the confusion. At Fort Tigne, the Maltese Cacciatori regiment threw back three times the attacking French forces. At Fort San Lucian at Marsaxlokk, the Maltese garrison fought fiercely for 36 hours and the 165 men only gave up when they ran out of water and ammunition. Although Valletta was strong enough to hold out against a lengthy siege, the weakened Order failed to mount a strong resistance and once the city of Mdina fell to Bonaparte, Hompesch surrendered Malta to the French on the 12th June 1798, in exchange for estates and pensions in France for himself and his knights.
Napoleon stayed in Malta for a few days establishing a French administration, dismantling the Knights’ institutions, limiting the Bishop’s influence to purely religious matters, expelling all foreign clergy, seizing church property, protecting family rights in a Civil Code of Laws, granting free education for all and establishing freedom of press. The French abolished nobility, slavery, the feudal system and the inquisition. Slavery was abolished and all Turkish slaves were freed. All aristocratic rights and privileges were abolished.
Napoleon then sailed for Egypt, leaving a garrison of 3,053 soldiers under General Vaubois, but the Maltese turned against the French due to lack of employment after the departure of the Knights, French failure to pay salaries and pensions that were due to their Maltese sailors and others, while monies intendfor food supplies were stolen to fund the Egyptian campaign.
The Mdina Nobles and Church leaders encouraged insurrection when the French began meddling with Maltese churches and looting them of their silver. The last straw came when on September 2nd, the French ordered the auctioning of the damask of the Carmelite Church at Mdina. This was opposed by an angry crowd and rioting broke out. Colonel Masson was attacked and thrown from a balcony in nearby Rabat, dying along with some of his men while Col. Masson’s wife was only spared because she was expecting a child. The French troops took refuge behind the walls of Malta’s fortified cities, where they were blockaded by the Maltese militia. French control of Malta had lasted less than three months!
Valletta was surrounded by approximately 10,000 irregular Maltese soldiers led by Emmanuele Vitale and Canon Saverio Caruana. The Maltese were armed with 23 cannon and a small squadron of coastal gunboats. Although there were some skirmishes between the garrison and the Maltese, the fortress was too strong for the irregulars to attack.
When the French Mediterranean Fleet was destroyed at the Battle of the Nile on 1 August 1798, the British Royal Navy was able to start a blockade of Malta, assisting the Maltese rebellion against French rule. The French troops eventually ran out of food and had to eat cats and rats. Although small quantities of supplies arrived in early 1799, starvation and disease had a disastrous effect on the health and morale of the French troops.
Portugal, Great Britain and belatedly, the King of Naples and Sicily, sent ammunition and aid to the Maltese stopping French convoys to and from Malta, forcing them to surrender to larger British squadrons in hard-fought battles. These defeats and lack of regular supplies weakened the French position in Valletta and on the 4th of September 1800 after a two-year siege, General Belgrand de Vaubois surrendered his garrison, exhausted by malnutrition and typhus disease.
On the 15th of June 1802, the National Congress of the people of Malta and Gozo placed the Maltese Islands under the sovereignty of the British Crown, drawing up a Declaration of Rights in which they agreed to come “under the protection and sovereignty of the King of the free people, His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland”. The Declaration also stated that “his Majesty has no right to cede these Islands to any power…if he chooses to withdraw his protection, and abandon his sovereignty, the right of electing another sovereign, or of the governing of these Islands, belongs to us, the Maltese alone, and without control”.
By the terms of the Treaty of Amiens of 1801 Britain was to return Malta to the Order of St. John. the Napoleonic Wars with France began soon afterwards, partly due Britain’s refusal to do so. The island subsequently remained in British hands until its independence in 1964. | |||||
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This was our first visit to Malta, a country we knew little about, especially given how much there is to know! This post contains much more text that normal, as we found the rich history of Malta so fascinating.
Malta’s location in the middle of the Mediterranean has historically given it great strategic importance as a naval base, and a succession of powers, including the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Sicilians, Spanish, Knights of St. John, French, and British have ruled the islands.
Malta gained its political Independence from Britain on September 21, 1964 as an independent constitutional monarchy, with Elizabeth II as Queen of Malta and Head of State. Elizabeth II remained the head of state of Malta until the amendment of the Constitution of Malta on December 13, 1974, which abolished the monarchy and established the Republic of Malta and the office of President of Malta. Interestingly, the President of Malta must hold or have held the office of Chief Justice or other Judge of the Superior Courts.
The country has some of the world’s most ancient standing buildings (the Neolithic temples), dating to 3600 B.C. It was also a very strategic base for the Allies during World War II.
Malta became what it became because of the Knights of St. John, otherwise known as the Knights of Hospitaller, the Knights of Malta or the Order of St. John, who arrived to what is now Malta in the 1500s. We found the story fascinating; well worth a read here, or at least, watching this 3-minute video. The short version is this:
The Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem were formed long before their reign on Malta. The Order was originally established in 1085 as a community of monks responsible for looking after the sick at the Hospital of St. John in Jerusalem. They later became a military order, defending crusader territory in the Holy Lands and safeguarding the perilous routes taken by medieval pilgrims. The Knights were drawn exclusively from noble families and the Order acquired vast wealth from those it recruited.
The Knights came to Malta in 1530, having been ejected from their earlier home on Rhodes by the Turks in 1522. Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor, gave them the choice of Malta or Tripoli as a new base. Neither was to their liking, but nothing, they thought, could be worse than Tripoli.
Having chosen Malta, the Knights stayed for 268 years, transforming what they called ‘merely a rock of soft sandstone’ into a flourishing island with mighty defences and a capital city coveted by the great powers of Europe.
And one last bit of history… the Maltese falcon. In 1530, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, as King of Sicily, ceded to the Order the island of Malta. At first, the Order’s Maltese dominion, which also included the nearby islands of Gozo and Comino was considered a fief of the Kingdom of Sicily, its Grand Master a vassal. It was for this reason that an annual feudal tax was paid, though it was largely symbolic. It included, annually, a “Maltese falcon.” Thus did the Order become known as the “Order of Malta.”
Why a Maltese falcon? Maltese falcons were already very famous, in part due to the treatise on falconry written in 1241 in Latin by Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, Holy Roman Emperor (1196-1250), among which titles is King of Sicily, at a time when Malta was a fief of the Kingdom of Sicily. So, Maltese falcons had long been very desirable, and given the popularity of falconry among the royals of Europe at the time, to be gifted a Maltese falcon is a sign of honor.
Technically, the grant was given by Charles V not as King of Spain — “Spain” didn’t exist yet — but as co-King of Aragon, of which Sicily was a fiefdom, of which Malta was part of. At the time of the grant, Charles V was jointly ruling Aragon with his mother Joanna, even if she was not an active ruler. So the falcon was paid not to the King of Spain, but to the Viceroy of Sicily.
Further, Charles V didn’t “give” Malta to the Knights, he rented it to them, under feudal contract. This is why the text of the grant specified what should happen in case of succession of the grand master, who should assign the bishop of Malta (the viceroy of Sicily, not the knights), how Malta should not engage in activities against Sicily, etc.
Even today you can order a copy of the book, “The Art of Falconry”…. luckily translated in case your Latin is rusty. | |||||
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A charitable offshoot of The Rockefeller Foundation, RFCC allows social innovators, impact investors, and governments to combine their financing toward shared ventures and projects. We provide the support and core infrastructure – legal counsel, IT, Salesforce, finance, grants, contracts, donor and program management – that enables project innovators to focus on implementation and scale.
RFCC leverages The Rockefeller Foundation’s expertise and resources while collaborating with partners and investors to multiply impact. By offering an innovative way for foundations, impact investors, and governments to combine their resources, RFCC helps to transform today’s greatest challenges into collaborative solutions. | |||||
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] | null | [] | null | A comprehensive account of the Crusades, a compelling and controversial topic, whose bitter legacy resonates to this day. | en | /sites/default/files/favicon.png | https://www.historytoday.com/archive/feature/crusades-complete-history | During the last four decades the Crusades have become one of the most dynamic areas of historical enquiry, which points to an increasing curiosity to understand and interpret these extraordinary events. What persuaded people in the Christian West to want to recapture Jerusalem? What impact did the success of the First Crusade (1099) have on the Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities of the eastern Mediterranean? What was the effect of crusading on the people and institutions of western Europe? How did people record the Crusades and, finally, what is their legacy?
Academic debate moved forwards significantly during the 1980s, as discussion concerning the definition of a crusade gathered real steam. Understanding of the scope of the Crusades widened with a new recognition that crusading extended far beyond the original 11th-century expeditions to the Holy Land, both in terms of chronology and scope. That is, they took place long after the end of the Frankish hold on the East (1291) and continued down to the 16th century. With regards to their target, crusades were also called against the Muslims of the Iberian peninsula, the pagan peoples of the Baltic region, the Mongols, political opponents of the Papacy and heretics (such as the Cathars or the Hussites). An acceptance of this framework, as well as the centrality of papal authorisation for such expeditions, is generally referred to as the 'pluralist' position.
Download our special issue on the history of the Crusades
The emergence of this interpretation energised the existing field and had the effect of drawing in a far greater number of scholars. Alongside this came a growing interest in re-evaluating the motives of crusaders, with some of the existing emphases on money being downplayed and the cliché of landless younger sons out for adventure being laid to rest. Through the use of a broader range of evidence than ever before (especially charters, that is sales or loans of lands and/or rights), a stress on contemporary religious impulses as the dominant driver for, particularly the First Crusade, came through. Yet the wider world intruded on and then, in some ways, stimulated this academic debate: the horrors of 9/11 and President George W. Bush's disastrous use of the word 'crusade' to describe the 'war on terror' fed the extremists' message of hate and the notion of a longer, wider conflict between Islam and the West, dating back to the medieval period, became extremely prominent. In reality, of course, such a simplistic view is deeply flawed but it is a powerful shorthand for extremists of all persuasions (from Osama Bin Laden to Anders Breivik to ISIS) and certainly provided an impetus to study the legacy of the crusading age into the modern world, as we will see here, calling on the extensive online archive of History Today.
***
The First Crusade was called in November 1095 by Pope Urban II at the town of Clermont in central France. The pope made a proposal: 'Whoever for devotion alone, but not to gain honour or money, goes to Jerusalem to liberate the Church of God can substitute this journey for all penance.' This appeal was the combination of a number of contemporary trends along with the inspiration of Urban himself, who added particular innovations to the mix. For several decades Christians had been pushing back at Muslim lands on the edge of Europe, in the Iberian peninsula, for example, as well as in Sicily. In some instances the Church had become involved in these events through the offer of limited spiritual rewards for participants.
Urban was responsible for the spiritual well-being of his flock and the crusade presented an opportunity for the sinful knights of western Europe to cease their endless in-fighting and exploitation of the weak (lay people and churchmen alike) and to make good their violent lives. Urban saw the campaign as a chance for knights to direct their energies towards what was seen as a spiritually meritorious act, namely the recovery of the holy city of Jerusalem from Islam (the Muslims had taken Jerusalem in 637). In return for this they would, in effect, be forgiven those sins they had confessed. This, in turn, would save them from the prospect of eternal damnation in the fires of Hell, a fate repeatedly emphasised by the Church as the consequence of a sinful life. To find out more see Marcus Bull, who reveals the religious context of the campaign in his 1997 article.
Within an age of such intense religiosity the city of Jerusalem, as the place where Christ lived, walked and died, held a central role. When the aim of liberating Jerusalem was coupled to lurid (probably exaggerated) stories of the maltreatment of both the Levant's native Christians and western pilgrims, the desire for vengeance, along with the opportunity for spiritual advancement, formed a hugely potent combination. Urban would be looking after his flock and improving the spiritual condition of western Europe, too. The fact that the papacy was engaged in a mighty struggle with the German emperor, Henry IV (the Investiture Controversy), and that calling the crusade would enhance the pope's standing was an opportunity too good for Urban to miss.
A spark to this dry tinder came from another Christian force: the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Alexios I feared the advance of the Seljuk Turks towards his capital city of Constantinople. The Byzantines were Greek Orthodox Christians but, since 1054, had been in a state of schism with the Catholic Church. The launch of the crusade presented Urban with a chance to move closer to the Orthodox and to heal the rift.
The reaction to Urban's appeal was astounding and news of the expedition rippled across much of the Latin West. Thousands saw this as a new way to attain salvation and to avoid the consequences of their sinful lives. Yet aspirations of honour, adventure, financial gain and, for a very small number, land (in the event, most of the First Crusaders returned home after the expedition ended) may well have figured, too. While churchmen frowned upon worldly motives because they believed that such sinful aims would incur God's displeasure, many laymen had little difficulty in accommodating these alongside their religiosity. Thus Stephen of Blois, one of the senior men on the campaign, could write home to his wife, Adela of Blois (daughter of William the Conqueror), that he had been given valuable gifts and honours by the emperor and that he now had twice as much gold, silver and other riches as when he left the West. People of all social ranks (except kings) joined the First Crusade, although an initial rush of ill-disciplined zealots sparked an horrific outbreak of antisemitism, especially in the Rhineland, as they sought to finance their expedition by taking Jewish money and to attack a group perceived as the enemies of Christ in their own lands. These contingents, known as the 'Peoples' Crusade', caused real problems outside Constantinople, before Alexios ushered them over the Bosporus and into Asia Minor, where the Seljuk Turks destroyed them.
Led by a series of senior nobles, the main armies gathered in Constantinople during 1096. Alexios had not expected such a huge number of westerners to appear on his doorstep but saw the chance to recover land lost to the Turks. Given the crusaders' need for food and transport, the emperor held the upper hand in this relationship, although this is not to say that he was anything other than cautious in dealing with the new arrivals, particularly in the aftermath of the trouble caused by the Peoples' Crusade and the fact that the main armies included a large Norman Sicilian contingent, a group who had invaded Byzantine lands as recently as 1081. See Peter Frankopan. Most of the crusade leaders swore oaths to Alexios, promising to hand over to him lands formerly held by the Byzantines in return for supplies, guides and luxury gifts.
***
In June 1097 the crusaders and the Greeks took one of the emperor's key objectives, the formidable walled city of Nicaea, 120 miles from Constantinople, although in the aftermath of the victory some writers reported Frankish discontent at the division of booty. The crusaders moved inland, heading across the Anatolian plain. A large Turkish army attacked the troops of Bohemond of Taranto near Dorylaeum. The crusaders were marching in separate contingents and this, plus the unfamiliar tactics of swift attacks by mounted horse archers, almost saw them defeated until the arrival of forces under Raymond of Toulouse and Godfrey of Bouillon saved the day. This hard-won victory proved an invaluable lesson for the Christians and, as the expedition went on, the military cohesion of the crusader army grew and grew, making them an ever more effective force.
Over the next few months the army, under Count Baldwin of Boulogne, crossed Asia Minor with some contingents taking the Cilician towns of Tarsus and Mamistra and others, heading via Cappadocia towards the eastern Christian lands of Edessa (biblical Rohais), where the largely Armenian population welcomed the crusaders. Local political conflict meant Baldwin was able to take power himself and thus, in 1098, the first so-called Crusader State, the County of Edessa, came into being.
By this time the bulk of the army had reached Antioch, today just inside the southern Turkish border with Syria. This huge city had been a Roman settlement; to Christians it was significant as the place where saints Peter and Paul had lived and it was one of the five patriarchal seats of the Christian Church. It was also important to the Byzantines, having been a major city in their empire as recently as 1084. The site was too big to surround properly but the crusaders did their best to squeeze the place into submission. Over the winter of 1097 conditions became extremely harsh, although the arrival of a Genoese fleet in the spring of 1098 provided some useful support. The stalemate was only ended when Bohemond persuaded a local Christian to betray one of the towers and on June 3rd, 1098 the crusaders broke into the city and captured it. Their victory was not complete, however, because the citadel, towering over the site, remained in Muslim hands, a problem compounded by the news that a large Muslim relief army was approaching from Mosul. Lack of food and the loss of most of their horses (essential for the knights, of course) meant that morale was at rock bottom. Count Stephen of Blois, one of the most senior figures on the crusade, along with a few other men, had recently deserted, believing the expedition doomed. They met Emperor Alexios, who was bringing long-awaited reinforcements, and told him that the crusade was a hopeless cause. Thus, in good faith, the Greek ruler turned back. In Antioch, meanwhile, the crusaders had been inspired by the 'discovery' of a relic of the Holy Lance, the spear that had pierced Christ's side as he was on the cross. A vision told a cleric in Raymond of St Gilles' army where to dig and, sure enough, there the object was found. Some regarded this as a touch convenient and too easy a boost to the standing of the Provençal contingent, but to the masses it acted as a vital inspiration. A couple of weeks later, on June 28th, 1098, the crusaders gathered their last few hundred horses together, drew themselves into their now familiar battle lines and charged the Muslim forces. With writers reporting the aid of warrior saints in the sky, the crusaders triumphed and the citadel duly surrendered leaving them in full control of Antioch before the Muslim relief army arrived.
***
In the aftermath of victory many of the exhausted Christians succumbed to disease, including Adhémar of Le Puy, the papal legate and spiritual leader of the campaign. The senior crusaders were bitterly divided. Bohemond wanted to stay and consolidate his hold on Antioch, arguing that since Alexios had not fulfilled his side of the bargain then his oath to the Greeks was void and the conquest remained his. The bulk of the crusaders scorned this political squabbling because they wanted to reach Christ's tomb in Jerusalem and they compelled the army to head southwards. En route, they avoided major set-piece confrontations by making deals with individual towns and cities and they reached Jerusalem in June 1099. John France relates the capture of the city in his article from 1997.
Forces concentrated to the north and the south of the walled city and on July 15th, 1099 the troops of Godfrey of Bouillon managed to bring their siege towers close enough to the walls to get across. Their fellow Christians burst into the city and over the next few days the place was put to the sword in an outburst of religious cleansing and a release of tension after years on the march. A terrible massacre saw many of the Muslim and Jewish defenders of the city slaughtered, although the oft-repeated phrase of 'wading up to their knees in blood' is an exaggeration, being a line from the apocalyptic Book of Revelation (14:20) used to convey an impression of the scene rather than a real description – a physical impossibility. The crusaders gave emotional thanks for their success as they reached their goal, the tomb of Christ in the Holy Sepulchre.
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Their victory was not yet assured. The vizier of Egypt had viewed the crusaders' advance with a mixture of emotions. As the guardian of the Shi'ite caliphate in Cairo he had a profound dislike of the Sunni Muslims of Syria, but equally he did not want a new power to establish itself in the region. His forces confronted the crusaders near Ascalon in August 1099 and, in spite of their numerical inferiority, the Christians triumphed and also secured a substantial amount of booty. By this time, having achieved their aims, the vast majority of the exhausted crusaders were only too keen to return to their homes and families. Some, of course, chose to remain in the Levant, resolved to guard Christ's patrimony and to set up lordships and holdings for themselves. Fulcher of Chartres, a contemporary in the Levant, lamented that only 300 knights stayed in the kingdom of Jerusalem; a tiny number to establish a permanent hold on the land.
***
Over the next decade, however, aided by the lack of real opposition from the local Muslims and boosted by the arrival of a series of fleets from the West, the Christians began to take control of the whole coastline and to create a series of viable states. The support of the Italian trading cities of Venice, Pisa and, particularly at this early stage, Genoa, was crucial. The motives of the Italians have often been questioned but there is convincing evidence to show they were just as keen as any other contemporaries to capture Jerusalem, yet as trading centres they were determined to advance the cause of their home city, too. The writings of Caffaro of Genoa, a rare secular source from this period, show little difficulty in assimilating these motives. He went on pilgrimage to the River Jordan, attended Easter ceremonies in the Holy Sepulchre and celebrated the acquisition of riches. Italian sailors and troops helped capture the vital coastal ports (such as Acre, Caesarea and Jaffa), in return for which they were awarded generous trading privileges which, in turn, gave a vital boost to the economy as the Italians transported goods from the Muslim interior (especially spices) back to the West. Just as important was their role in bringing pilgrims to and from the Holy Land. Now that the holy places were in Christian hands, many thousands of westerners could visit the sites and, as they came under Latin control, religious communities flourished. Thus, the basic rationale behind the Crusades was fulfilled. There is a strong case for saying that the crusader states could not have been sustained were it not for the contribution of the Italians.
One interesting side-effect of the First Crusade (and a matter of immense interest to scholars today) is the unprecedented burst of historical writing that emerged after the capture of Jerusalem. This amazing episode inspired authors across the Christian West to write about these events in a way that nothing in earlier medieval history had done. No longer had they to look back to the heroes of antiquity, because their own generation had provided men of comparable renown. This was an age of rising literacy and the creation and circulation of crusade texts was a big part of this movement. Numerous histories, plus oral storytelling, often in the form of Chansons de geste, popular within the early flowerings of the chivalric age, celebrated the First Crusade. Historians have previously looked at these narratives to construct the framework of events but now many scholars are looking behind these texts to consider more deeply the reasons why they were written, the different styles of writing, the use of classical and biblical motifs, the inter-relationships and the borrowings between the texts.
Another area to receive increasing attention is the reaction of the Muslim world. It is now clear that when the First Crusade arrived the Muslims of the Near East were extremely divided, not just along the Sunni/Shi'ite fault line, but also, in the case of the former, among themselves. Robert Irwin draws attention to this in his 1997 article, as well as considering the impact of the crusade on the Muslims of the region. It was a fortunate coincidence that during the mid-1090s the death of senior leaders in the Seljuk world meant that the crusaders encountered opponents who were primarily concerned with their own political infighting rather than seeing the threat from outside. Given that the First Crusade was, self-evidently, a novel event, this was understandable. The lack of jihad spirit was also evident, as lamented by as-Sulami, a Damascene preacher whose urging of the ruling classes to pull themselves together and fulfil their religious duty was largely ignored until the time of Nur ad-Din (1146-74) and Saladin onwards.
The Frankish settlers had to fit in to the complex cultural and religious blend of the Near East. Their numbers were so few that once they had captured places they very quickly needed to adapt their behaviour from the militant holy war rhetoric of Pope Urban II to a more pragmatic stance of relative religious toleration, with truces and even occasional alliances with various Muslim neighbours. Had they oppressed the majority local population (and many Muslims and eastern Christians lived under Frankish rule), there would have been no-one to farm the lands or to tax and their economy would simply have collapsed. Recent archaeological work by the Israeli scholar Ronnie Ellenblum has done much to show that the Franks did not, as was previously believed, live solely in the cities, separated from the local populace. Local Christian communities often existed alongside them, sometimes even sharing churches.
The Frankish states of Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli and Jerusalem established themselves in the complex religious, political and cultural landscape of the Near East. One of the early rulers of Jerusalem had married into native Armenian Christian nobility and thus Queen Melisende (1131-52) had a strong interest in supporting the indigenous as well as the Latin Church. The quirks of genetics, coupled with a high mortality rate among male rulers, meant that women exerted greater power than previously supposed given the war-torn environment of the Latin East and prevailing religious attitudes towards women as weak temptresses. It still needed a strong personality to survive and, in the case of Melisende, that was certainly so, as Simon Sebag Montefiore recounts in a 2011 article, which also gives a sense of the city of Jerusalem during the 12th century, as well as some contemporary Muslim views of the Christian settlers.
The Franks were always short on manpower but were a dynamic group who developed innovative institutions, such as the Military Orders, to survive. The Orders were founded to help look after pilgrims; in the case of the Hospitallers, through healthcare; in that of the Templars, to guard visitors on the road to the River Jordan. Soon both were fully-fledged religious institutions, whose members took the monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. It proved a popular concept and donations from admiring and grateful pilgrims meant that the Military Orders developed a major role as landowners, as the custodians of castles and as the first real standing army in Christendom. They were independent of the control of the local rulers and could, at times, cause trouble for the king or squabble with one another. The Templars and Hospitallers also held huge tracts of land across western Europe, which provided income for the fighting machine in the Levant, especially the construction of the castles that became so vital to the Christian hold on the region.
***
In December 1144 Zengi, the Muslim ruler of Aleppo and Mosul, captured Edessa to mark the first major territorial setback for the Franks of the Near East. The news of this disaster prompted Pope Eugenius III to issue an appeal for the Second Crusade (1145-49). Fortified by this powerful call to live up to the deeds of their first crusading forefathers, coupled with the inspiring rhetoric of (Saint) Bernard of Clairvaux, the rulers of France and Germany took the cross to mark the start of royal involvement in the Crusades. Christian rulers in Iberia joined with the Genoese in attacking the towns of Almeria in southern Spain (1147) and Tortosa in the north-east (1148); likewise the nobles of northern Germany and the rulers of Denmark launched an expedition against the pagan Wends of the Baltic shore around Stettin. While this was no grand plan of Pope Eugenius but rather a reaction to appeals sent to him, it shows the confidence in crusading at this time. In the event, this optimism proved deeply unfounded. A group of Anglo-Norman, Flemish and Rhineland crusaders captured Lisbon in 1147 and the other Iberian campaigns were also successful but the Baltic campaign achieved virtually nothing and the most prestigious expedition of all, that to the Holy Land, was a disaster, as Jonathan Phillips explains in his 2007 article. The two armies lacked discipline, supplies and finance, and both were badly mauled by the Seljuk Turks as they crossed Asia Minor. Then, in conjunction with the Latin settlers, the crusaders laid siege to the most important Muslim city in Syria, Damascus. Yet, after only four days, fear of relief forces led by Zengi's son, Nur ad-Din, prompted an ignominious retreat. The crusaders blamed the Franks of the Near East for this failure, accusing them of accepting a pay-off to retreat. Whatever the truth in this, the defeat at Damascus certainly damaged crusade enthusiasm in the West and over the next three decades, in spite of increasingly elaborate and frantic appeals for help, there was no major crusade to the Holy Land.
To regard the Franks as entirely enfeebled would, however, be a serious error. They captured Ascalon in 1153 to complete their control of the Levantine coast, an important advance for the security of trade and pilgrim traffic in terms of reducing harassment by Muslim shipping. The following year, however, Nur ad-Din took power in Damascus to mark the first time that the cities had been joined with Aleppo under the rule of the same man during the crusader period, something that greatly increased the threat to the Franks. Nur ad-Din's considerable personal piety, his encouragement of madrasas (teaching colleges) and the composition of jihad poetry and texts extolling the virtues of Jerusalem created a bond between the religious and the ruling classes that had been conspicuously lacking since the crusaders arrived in the East. During the 1160s Nur ad-Din, acting as the champion of Sunni orthodoxy, seized control of Shi'ite Egypt, dramatically raising the strategic pressure on the Franks and at the same time enhancing the financial resources at his disposal through the fertility of the Nile Delta and the vital port of Alexandria.
This period of the history of the Latin East is related in detail by the most important historian of the age, William, Archbishop of Tyre, as Peter Edbury describes. William was an immensely educated man, who soon became embroiled in the bitter political struggles of the late 1170s and 1180s during the reign of the tragic figure of King Baldwin IV (1174-85), a youth afflicted by leprosy. The need to establish his successor provided an opportunity for rival factions to emerge and to cause the Franks to expend much of their energy on bickering with each other. That is not to say that they were unable to inflict serious damage on Nur ad-Din's ambitious successor, Saladin, who from his base in Egypt, hoped to usurp his former master's dynasty, draw the Muslim Near East together and to expel the Franks from Jerusalem. Norman Housely expertly relates this period in his 1987 article. In 1177, however, the Franks triumphed at the Battle of Montgisard, a victory that was widely reported in western Europe and did little to convince people of the settlers' very real need for help. The construction in 1178 and 1179 of the large castle of Jacob's Ford, only a day's ride from Damascus, was another aggressive gesture that required Saladin to destroy the place. Yet by 1187 the sultan had gathered a large, but fragile coalition of warriors from Egypt, Syria and Iraq that was sufficient to bring the Franks into the field and to inflict upon them a terrible defeat at Hattin on July 4th. Within months, Jerusalem fell and Saladin had recovered Islam's third most important city after Mecca and Medina, an achievement that still echoes down the centuries.
***
News of the calamitous fall of Jerusalem sparked grief and outrage in the West. Pope Urban III was said to have died of a heart attack at the news and his successor, Gregory VIII, issued an emotive crusade appeal and the rulers of Europe began to organise their forces. Frederick Barbarossa's German army successfully defeated the Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor only for the emperor to drown crossing a river in southern Turkey. Soon afterwards many of the Germans died of sickness and Saladin escaped facing this formidable enemy. The Franks in the Levant had managed to cling onto the city of Tyre and then besieged the most important port on the coast, Acre. This provided a target for western forces and it was here in the summer of 1190 that Philip Augustus and Richard the Lionheart landed. The siege had lasted almost two years and the arrival of the two western kings and their troops gave the Christians the momentum they needed. The city surrendered and Saladin's prestige was badly dented. Philip soon returned home and while Richard made two attempts to march on Jerusalem, fears as to its long-term prospects after he left meant that the holy city remained in Muslim hands. Thus the Third Crusade failed in its ultimate objective, although it did at least allow the Franks to recover a strip of lands along the coast to provide a springboard for future expeditions. For his part, Saladin had suffered a series of military setbacks but, crucially, he had held onto Jerusalem for Islam.
The pontificate of Innocent III (1198-1216) saw another phase in the expansion of crusading. Campaigns in the Baltic advanced further and the holy war in Iberia stepped forwards too. In 1195 Muslims had crushed Christian forces at the Battle of Alarcos, which, so soon after the disaster at Hattin, seemed to show God's deep displeasure with his people. By 1212, however, the rulers of Iberia managed to pull together to rout the Muslims at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa to seal a major step in the recovery of the peninsula. That said, the particular cultural, political and religious make-up of the region mean that it would be wrong, as in the Holy Land, to characterise relations between religious groups as constant warfare, a situation outlined by Robert Burns and Paul Chevedden. In southern France, meanwhile, efforts to curb the Cathar heresy had failed and, in a bid to defeat this sinister threat to the Church in its own backyard, Innocent authorised a crusade to the area. See the piece by Richard Cavendish. Catharism was a dualist faith, albeit with a few links to mainstream Christian practice, but it also had its own hierarchy and was intent upon replacing the existing elite. Years of warfare ensued as the crusaders, led by Simon de Monfort, sought to drive the Cathars out, but ultimately their roots in southern French society meant they could endure and it was only the more pervasive techniques of the Inquisition, initiated in the 1240s, that succeeded where force had failed.
The most infamous episode of the age was the Fourth Crusade (1202-04) which saw another effort to recover Jerusalem end up sacking Constantinople, the greatest Christian city in the world. Jonathan Phillips describes this episode. The reasons for this were a combination of long-standing tensions between the Latin (Catholic) Church and the Greek Orthodox; the need for the crusaders to fulfil the terms of a wildly over-optimistic contract for transportation to the Levant with the Venetians and the offer to pay this off by a claimant to the Byzantine throne. This combination of circumstances brought the crusaders to the walls of Constantinople and when their young candidate was murdered and the locals turned definitively against them they attacked and stormed the city. At first Innocent was delighted that Constantinople was under Latin authority but as he learned of the violence and looting that had accompanied the conquest he was horrified and castigated the crusaders for 'the perversion of their pilgrimage'.
One consequence of 1204 was the creation of a series of Frankish States in Greece that, over time, also needed support. Thus, in the course of the 13th century, crusades were preached against these Christians, although by 1261 Constantinople itself was back in Greek hands.
***
In spite of this series of disasters, it is interesting to see that crusading remained an attractive concept, something made manifest by the near-legendary Children's Crusade of 1212. Inspired by divine visions, two groups of young peasants (best described as youths, rather than children) gathered around Cologne and near Chartres in the belief that their purity would ensure divine approval and enable them to recover the Holy Land. The German group crossed the Alps and some reached the port of Genoa, where the harsh realities of having no money or real hope of achieving anything was made plain when they were refused passage to the East and the entire enterprise collapsed.
Thus, the early 13th century was characterised by the diversity of crusading. Holy war was proving a flexible and adaptable concept that allowed the Church to direct force against its enemies on many fronts. The rationale of crusading, as a defensive act to protect Christians, could be refined to apply specifically to the Catholic Church and thus when the papacy came into conflict with Emperor Frederick II over the control of southern Italy it eventually called a crusade against him. Frederick had already been excommunicated for failing to fulfil his promises to take part in the Fifth Crusade. This expedition had achieved the original intention of the Fourth Crusade by invading Egypt but became bogged down outside the port of Damietta before a poorly executed attempt to march on Cairo collapsed. Frederick's attempts to make good this were frustrated by genuine ill health but by this time the papacy had lost patience with him. Recovered, Frederick went to the Holy Land as, by this time, king of Jerusalem (by marriage to the heiress to the throne) where – irony of ironies – as an excommunicate, he negotiated the peaceful restoration of Jerusalem to the Christians. His diplomatic skills (he spoke Arabic), the danger posed by his considerable resources as well as the divisions in the Muslim world in the decades after Saladin's death, enabled him to accomplish this. A brief period of better relations between pope and emperor followed, but by 1245 the curia described him as a heretic and authorised the preaching of a crusade against him.
Aside from the plethora of crusading expeditions that took place over the centuries, we should also remember that the launch of such campaigns had a profound impact on the lands and people from whence they came, something covered by Christopher Tyerman. Crusading required substantial levels of financial support and this, over time, saw the emergence of national taxes to support such efforts, as well as efforts to raise money from within the Church itself. The absence of a large number of senior nobles and churchmen could affect the political balance of an area, with opportunities for women to act as regents or for unscrupulous neighbours to defy ecclesiastical legislation and to try to take the lands of absent crusaders. The death or disappearance of a crusader, be they a minor figure or an emperor, obviously carried deep personal tragedy for those they had left behind, but might also precipitate instability and change.
The previous year, Jerusalem had fallen back into Muslim hands and this was the principal prompt for what turned out to be the greatest crusade expedition of the century (known as the Seventh Crusade) led by King (later Saint) Louis IX of France. Simon Lloyd outlines Louis's crusading career. Well financed and carefully prepared and with an early victory at Damietta, this campaign appeared to be set fair only for a reckless charge by Louis's brother at the Battle of Mansourah to weaken the crusaders' forces. This, coupled with hardening Muslim resistance, brought the expedition to a halt and, starving and sick, they were forced to surrender. Louis remained in the Holy Land for a further four years – a sign of his guilt at the failure of the campaign, but also a remarkable commitment for a European monarch to be absent from his home for a total of six years – trying to bolster the defences of the Latin kingdom. By this time, with the Latins largely confined to the coastal strip the settlers relied more and more on massive fortifications and it was during the 13th century that mighty castles such as Krak des Chevaliers, Saphet and Chastel Pelerin, as well as the immense urban fortifications of Acre, took shape.
***
By this stage the political complexion of the Middle East was changing. The Mongol invaders added another dimension to the struggle as they conquered much of the Muslim world to the East; they had also briefly threatened Eastern Europe with savage incursions in 1240-41 (which also prompted a crusade appeal). Saladin's successors were displaced by the Mamluks, the former slave-soldiers, whose figurehead, the sultan Baibars, was a ferocious exponent of holy war and did much to bring the crusader states to their knees over the next two decades. James Waterson describes their advance. Bouts of in-fighting among the Frankish nobility, further complicated by the involvement of the Italian trading cities and the Military Orders served to further weaken the Latin States and finally, in 1291, the Sultan al-Ashraf smashed into the city of Acre to end the Christian hold on the Holy Land.
Some historians used to regard this as the end of the crusades but, as noted above, since the 1980s there has been a broad recognition that this was not the case, not least because of the series of plans made to try to recover the Holy Land during the 14th century. Elsewhere crusading was still a powerful idea, not least in northern Europe, where the Teutonic Knights (originally founded in the Holy Land) had transferred their interests and where they had created what was effectively an autonomous state. By the early 15th century, however, their enemies in the region were starting to Christianise anyway and thus it became impossible to justify continued conflict in terms of holy war. The success of Las Navas de Tolosa had effectively pinned the Muslims down to the very south of the Iberian peninsula, but it took until 1492 when Ferdinand and Isabella brought the full strength of the Spanish crown to bear upon Granada that the reconquest was completed. Plans to recover the Holy Land had not entirely died out and in a spirit of religious devotion, Christopher Columbus set out the same year hoping to find a route to the Indies that would enable him to reach Jerusalem from the East.
The 14th century began with high drama: the arrest and imprisonment of the Knights Templar on charges of heresy, a story related by Helen Nicholson. A combination of lax religious observance and their failure to protect the Holy Land had made them vulnerable. This uncomfortable situation, coupled with the French crown owing them huge sums of money (the Templars had emerged as a powerful banking institution) meant that the manipulative and relentless Philip IV of France could pressure Pope Clement V into suppressing the Order in 1312 and one of the great institutions of the medieval age was terminated.
Crusading within Europe itself had continued to mutate, too. The papacy had issued crusading indulgences on many occasions during its own struggles against both political enemies and against heretical groups such as the Hussites of Bohemia. The main threat to Christendom by this time, however, was from the Ottoman Turks, who, as Judith Herrin relates, captured Constantinople in 1453. Numerous efforts were made to draw together the leaders of the Latin West, but the growing power of nation states and their increasingly engrained conflicts, exemplified by the Hundred Years' War, meant that there was little appetite for the kind of Europe-wide response that had been seen in 1187, for example. Nigel Saul outlines this period of crusading history in his article.
Certain dynasties such as the dukes of Burgundy, were enthusiastic about the idea of crusading and a couple of reasonably-sized expeditions took place, although the Burgundians and the Hungarians were thrashed at Nicopolis in Bulgaria in 1396. By the middle of the 15th century the Ottomans had already twice besieged Constantinople and in 1453 Sultan Mehmet II brought forwards an immense army to achieve his aim. Last-minute appeals to the West brought insufficient help and the city fell in May. The Emperor Charles V invoked the crusading spirit in his defence of Vienna in 1529, although this struggle resembled more of an imperial fight rather than a holy war. Crusading had almost run its course; people had become increasingly cynical about the Church's sale of indulgences. The advance of the Reformation was another obvious blow to the idea, with crusading being viewed as a manipulative and money-making device of the Catholic Church. By the late 16th century the last real vestiges of the movement could be seen; the Spanish Armada of 1588 benefitted from crusade indulgences, while the Knights Hospitaller, who had first ruled Rhodes from 1306 to 1522 before making their base on Malta, inspired a remarkable victory over an Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. Jonathan Riley-Smith relates the knights' story. The Hospitallers of Malta had also survived a huge Turkish siege in 1480 and their existence served as a long-lasting relic of the original crusading conflict until Napoleon Bonaparte extinguished their rule of the island in 1798.
***
Crusading survived in the memory and the imagination of the peoples of western Europe and the Middle East. In the former, it regained profile through the romantic literature of writers such as Sir Walter Scott and, as lands in the Middle East fell to the imperialist empires of the age, the French, in particular, chose to draw links with their crusading past. The word became a shorthand for a cause with moral right, be it in a non-military context, such as a crusade against drink, or in the horrors of the First World War. General Franco's ties with the Catholic Church in Spain invoked crusading ideology in perhaps the closest modern incarnation of the idea and it remains a word in common usage today.
In the Muslim world, the memory of the Crusades faded, although did not disappear, from view and Saladin continued to be a figure held out as an exemplar of a great ruler. In the context of the 19th century, the Europeans' invocation of the past built upon this existing memory and meant that the image of hostile, aggressive westerners seeking to conquer Muslim or Arab lands became extremely potent for Islamists and Arab Nationalist leaders alike, and Saladin, as the man who recaptured Jerusalem, stands as the man to aspire to. Articles by Jonathan Phillips and Umej Bhatia cover the memory and the legacy of the crusades to bring the story down to modern times. | |||||
9289 | dbpedia | 3 | 60 | http://www.avalanchepress.com/napoleonic_malta.php | en | Avalanche Press | [
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By Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.
April 2012
When the French fleet hove to off Malta on 9 June 1798, the Knights of St. John who ruled the islands refused to grant the French harbor privileges. Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch had done next to nothing to prepare the Order's fortresses for war, and when Napoleon landed troops the next days and made ready to assault the Maltese capital the Knights quickly capitulated.
Napoleon had made the suggestion to seize Malta during the early planning stages of the expedition to Egypt, and the Directory approved and included the instruction in his formal orders issued in April. Someone leaked this instruction to Hompesch, who the French suspected of sympathy with the Austrians after spending 25 years as the Order's ambassador to the Habsburg court in Vienna. Knowing Hompesch's desire for a comfortable retirement, the Directory noted that he might turn the island over to the Austrians and give them an unwanted foothold in the central Mediterranean.
France's revolutionaries also held a serious grudge against the Knights. The Order had helped finance the attempted flight of King Louis XVI in June 1791 that ended with his capture at Varennes; when the king lost his head to the guillotine, the Order held solemn services in the cathedral but also allowed the British to recruit Maltese workers and sailors for their occupation of Toulon. The loss of the French King also deprived the order of much of its property and income, and the Knights turned to Tsar Paul I of Russia, naming him Protector of the Order in January 1797. Bonaparte's agents intercepted the correspondence and gleefully published it, embarrassing both the Order and the Tsar. Taking the island would therefore settle a political score as well as giving France a piece of vital strategic ground.
Napoleon's plan for the landing on Malta, June 1798.
To prepare the way, the French infiltrated two agents onto the island, one of them a Maltese volunteer and the other Mathius Poussielgue, the chief financial officer of Napoleon's former command, the Army of Italy. Poussielgue made no secret of his visit, spending four months drinking and dining with the Knights including his cousin, the Guardian of the Port of Valletta. On his return in March he reported the Knights disaffected and degenerate; most of them were French and several leading figures, including the Treasurer and the Commissioner of Fortifications, had strong sympathies for the French Republic. If suitably bribed the Knights would not fight, but they would defend the island if attacked.
In addition to 362 Knights (260 of them Frenchmen of dubious loyalty), the Order mustered ground forces known as the "Congregation of War." Grand Master Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc, Grand Master from 1775 until his death in July 1797, had tried to build a modern if small professional army for the Knights. Built mostly from long-service Maltese conscripts and officered by Knights and European mercenaries, the Congregation forces were modeled on the French pattern. These included a regular infantry regiment, a guard battalion, two battalions of marines (one each for sailing ships and galleys), a small cavalry regiment and a number of artillery companies. The Maltese militia provided a full-time regiment of volunteer light infantry, and 11 regiments and one battalion of very loosely organized and poorly armed militiamen. All told Maltese regular forces numbered about 7,000 including ships' crews.
The Order's Navy built its ships at the Seneglea shipyard on Malta, noted for good quality work (Maltese shipwrights were highly sought around the Mediterranean basin). Most of the fleet had been sold to the Kingdom of Naples in 1781. In 1798 the Knights had two 64-gun ships of the line, San Zacharia and San Giovanni, a 40-gun frigate named Santa Elizabetta and the 36-gun Santa Maria del Pinar. San Zacharia and Santa Maria del Pinar were approaching 40 years old and apparently suited for no more arduous duty than harbor service. There were also four war galleys on hand. None of the ships were fitted out for service, and the Knights do not appear capable of mustering a full crew for any of the larger warships had they somehow found the will.
While Rohan brought the Knights' regular forces into the 18th century, he continued the ruinous practice of former Grand Masters and spent huge sums on new fortifications. Under his watch the Knights built the modern Fort Tigne and replaced St. Lucian's Tower with the state of the art Fort Rohan. By 1798, successive Grand Masters had built up the area around Grand Harbor into a massive citadel that Napoleon estimated would require a garrison of 15,000 regulars � more than twice what the Knights could muster.
Hompesch, Rohan's successor, made few defensive preparations other than to lay in four months' worth of supplies. When the first French ships appeared on 6 June 1798, he allowed one to enter Grand Harbor for repairs. When the bulk of Napoleon's fleet appeared three days later, Hompesch refused entry, allowing only four ships to enter the harbor and take on fresh water. The Corsican general replied with a stern letter, and began landing troops as soon as night fell. The French marched on the fortifications the next morning, expecting no resistance.
The French land on Malta, 10 June 1798.
"The Maltese prepared to defend themselves," recalled Capt. Joseph-Marie Moiret of the "Invincible" 75th Demi-Brigade, "and rained down bombs, bullets and grape-shot on us. The hailstorm did not surprise or dampen the enthusiasm of our soldiers who, protected by the ships' gunboats, leapt into the fortifications and slew or took prisoner all who opposed them."
The Cacciatori Maltesi, the volunteer light infantry, did put up a fight to hold Fort Tigne against Moiret's 75th, though apparently more stoutly than the captain claimed as they drove off the first two attacks. The French suffered three killed, and by noon most resistance had ceased except at Fort Rohan, where the regular regiment held out until noon the following day. The Maltese showed much more willingness to fight than the Knuights, and two different militia regiments stood Knights up against convenient walls and shot them for cowardice under fire. Though abandoned by their officers, the Maltese refused to lay down their arms until Bonaparte promised the island's priests that there would be no effort to suppress the Roman Catholic faith.
Re-assured about their religion, the Maltese quickly turned on the hated Knights. The English consul reported that the Order's fall at first had wide popularity among the islanders, and Napoleon would be able to enlist 300 of the regulars in his own Legion Maltaise, which went with him for Egypt. While his troops deserted in droves, Hompesch called a council of war, only to have his Treasurer inform him that he would not fight against his French countrymen. Hompesch had him arrested but issued no other orders other than to send an emissary to Bonaparte offering the Order's surrender.
Negotiations went quickly, and by nightfall on the 11th a treaty was ready. The Order handed sovereignty of Malta to the French Republic, and in exchange Hompesch would receive an annual pension of 300,000 francs with much smaller pensions for the other Knights depending on their age. In addition, the French would use their good offices to obtain a principality in Germany for Hompesch, at least equivalent in size and population to Malta. Hompesch would never collect his new realm or much of his pension, and he died in French exile six years later.
During his six days on the island, Napoleon began a seeming whirlwind of activity, though most steps had been prepared in advance. Hompesch and all the politically unreliable former Knights were deported to Trieste as a useless gift to the Austrians, who Napoleon knew would feel obligated to tolerate their useless (and expensive) presence. The conqueror allowed them to take their splinter of the True Cross and hand of John the Baptist (patron saint of their order), though he made them remove it from its jewel-encrusted reliquary.
Seventeen Knights who had aided the invaders were allowed to accompany Napoleon to Egypt as honored guests; 34 other French Knights of military age were ordered to volunteer for the rank-and-file of his army. No Knights under the age of 60 would remain on the island. Napoleon issued a new constitution that made Malta a department of the French Republic, with power residing with a nine-member commission made up of eight Maltese and one French scientist. Slavery was abolished, and 2,000 Muslim slaves liberated � this proved highly unpopular with the Maltese and for their own safety the newly-freed men were enlisted in the French ships' crews. A new school system on the French model was established, with sixty boys selected for education in Paris. The Maltese militia was re-formed into two National Guard battalions on the French pattern, a new bureaucracy including a postal system and civil marriage decreed, and the number of monasteries and seminary students reduced while all non-Maltese clergy (including monks and nuns) were expelled.
All weapons, artillery and ammunition were confiscated, including 1,000 cannon and 35,000 muskets, though most of the powder proved rotten. The ships of the line San Zacharia and San Giovanni were incorporated into the French fleet as D�go and Ath�nien, but neither left Malta. Of the two frigates, the old 36-gun Santa Maria del Pinar received the new French name of Berouse, but would be broken up for firewood � a precious commodity on Malta � within a few weeks. The less aged Santa Elizabetta became the French Carthaginoise, but does not appear to have seen much more action. The French made no use of the war galleys either.
The Knights' fleet in happier days.
All churches had to yield up their gold, which ended up totaling five million francs. The French also seized a million francs worth of jewels. They took all of the silver plates and cups from the Knight's huge hospital � for centuries the Knights had served their patients only on silver, to emphasize that these people were their lords on Earth and also to fight infection � and melted these down for another million francs. The entire war chest of the Army of the Orient came to three million gold francs (stolen from the Swiss) and was expected to last for several years, so the sojourn on Malta proved extremely profitable to the Republic.
Napoleon also authorized shore leave for a portion of his soldiers and sailors. Valletta boasted a greater number of prostitutes per capita than any city in Europe � this despite the Knights' vows of celibacy � and they did a huge volume of business before the troops were ordered back aboard ship on the 14th. Napoleon left behind a garrison of 3,500 men � all the units which had not served under him in the Army of Italy � commanded by Gen. Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois.
The Maltese hated the Knights and appear to have genuinely appreciated the French for getting rid of the holy parasites, but the closing of so many monasteries greatly added to the islanders' hardships. Many destitute Maltese had depended on monastic charity for their meals, and while the new state brought them liberty, equality and brotherhood it proved rather short on providing bread. Soon the Maltese grew hungry, while at the same time Vaubois' troops continued to loot the churches and surviving monasteries and refused to pay for prostitutes' services (though continuing to demand them).
In late August, three French ships that had survived the destruction of the rest of the fleet at Aboukir Bay arrived with news of the resounding victory by Horatio Nelson's British. A few days later, Vaubois announced yet another auction of church property, leading to riots. Unrest spread and scattered French attempts to repress it with force only made things worse. By September 4th, the second day of the rebellion, several small French garrisons had been massacred, the French-controlled militia had gone over to the rebels, and Vaubois was shut up in Valletta.
A motley armed mob set up camp outside the city walls, while the French ejected most of the civilian population to avoid having to feed them and settled down to let disease and hunger work on the besiegers. The Kingdom of Naples refused Maltese requests for food, troops and weapons, and Nelson's captains resorted to hijacking Sicilian grain shipments to keep the rebels in the field. A small Portuguese squadron placed Grand Harbor under blockade and landed 500 muskets, but concrete assistance only arrived more than a year after the rebellion broke out. In December 1799 a small British brigade finally landed along with 500 British and Portuguese marines, and two months later a Neapolitan brigade joined them.
Admiral Marquise de Nisa's Portuguese squadron arrives at Malta, 19 September 1798.
British and Neapolitan reinforcements arrived throughout 1800, supplemented by a Maltese regiment raised and officered by the British. But Vaubois continued to hold out, crushing a plot by the few Maltese remaining inside the city to open the gates to the besiegers. Finally in September 1800, with their food supplies finally exhausted, the French gave up and allowed the British into Valletta. The British seized the three remaining warships of the Knights' navy. In Royal Navy service, Athenienne served for six yeas before running aground in the Sicilian Channel with the loss of 347 lives. The much older San Zacharia (D�go) was broken up to feed the fireplaces along with the frigate Santa Elizabetta (Carthaginoise).
Britain and France reached a peace accord with the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, under which Malta was to return to rule by the Order of St. John and be declared neutral. The King of Naples technically remained the island's sovereign. Though required to evacuate the island, the British reneged on the treaty and refused to give up such a fine naval base. This failure became one of several reasons for the resumption of war in 1803. The British continued to hold the island through the Napoleonic wars and recruited Maltese soldiers and sailors throughout the conflict. In 1814, the Treaty of Paris formally transferred sovereignty to the United Kingdom, which retained lordship for another 150 years.
The Variant
In our Soldier Emperor game, Malta begins all scenarios as British territory (though it probably should be a neutral country with a British control marker on it). When this variant is in use, the Russian player (only) may liberate Malta per rule 18.7 if he or she controls it and plays a Minor Country Alliance card. Malta has one fleet and a recovery number of 1. Its minor country alliance modifiers are as follows:
Britain: +1
France: 0
Prussia: �1
Austria: 0
Russia: +2
Spain: +1
Turkey: �2
You can download the new Maltese fleet here. | ||||||||
9289 | dbpedia | 1 | 79 | https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-celebrates-globalfoundries-116-billion-investment-expand-semiconductor | en | Governor Hochul Celebrates GlobalFoundries’ $11.6 Billion Investment to Expand Semiconductor Manufacturing Plant in Saratoga County | [] | [] | [] | [
""
] | null | [] | null | Governor Hochul announced that Saratoga County-based GlobalFoundries will invest more than $11.6 billion over the next 10 years to expand its existing Fab 8 semiconductor manufacturing site in New York’s Capital Region. | en | /profiles/contrib/nygov/themes/custom/nygov-theme/nygov_theme/favicon.ico | Governor Kathy Hochul | https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-celebrates-globalfoundries-116-billion-investment-expand-semiconductor | Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that Saratoga County-based GlobalFoundries will invest more than $11.6 billion over the next 10 years to expand its existing Fab 8 semiconductor manufacturing site in New York’s Capital Region. The transformative investment will allow the company to immediately expand its existing facility and then build a new, 358,000 square-foot semiconductor manufacturing facility on its campus in Malta, tripling its capacity to meet growing demand for chips, enhancing national security by expanding the United States’ chipmaking capacity, and creating more than 1,500 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs. The project builds on Governor Hochul’s successful effort to establish New York State as a global hub for semiconductor research and manufacturing, following the recent announcement of an historic $10 billion partnership to create the first publicly owned High NA EUV Lithography Center at NY CREATES’ Albany NanoTech Complex.
“New York State is becoming the best place on earth to build a business,” Governor Hochul said. “Thanks to our pro-business policies, commitment to innovation and best-in-the-nation workforce, green jobs and high-tech manufacturers are flocking to the Empire State. This $11 billion investment from GlobalFoundries is a game changer, and with the partnership of the Biden administration, New York’s congressional delegation, and all of our local stakeholders, the best is yet to come.”
Empire State Development President CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “Whether through the State’s nation-leading Green CHIPS program that prioritizes community and sustainability or our Office of Strategic Workforce Development that is providing resources to train the next generation of workers, today, New York State is taking concrete actions to reshore the semiconductor industry. Under Governor Hochul’s leadership we are paving the way for economic growth by ensuring that companies like GlobalFoundries are growing here in New York State.”
New York Power Authority President and CEO Justin E. Driscoll said, “The Power Authority has worked closely with Governor Hochul and Empire State Development to maximize the benefits of low-cost hydropower from the ReCharge NY program throughout the state. We are collaborating to support Global Foundries during its successful continued expansion in the Capital Region, launching New York State into a world leader in semiconductor manufacturing.”
GlobalFoundries is a leading manufacturer of essential semiconductors that power everyday technologies that New Yorkers rely on. The company’s chips power features like mobile secure payment, airbag deployment, critical U.S. defense systems, and streaming devices and support fast-growing sectors like the automotive, data center and infrastructure, aerospace and defense, and smart mobile industries. More than 60 percent of the market relies on the types of chips that GlobalFoundries makes.
The company’s existing Fab 8 facility in Malta is a national leader in advanced manufacturing, producing 400,000 wafers each year. To date, the company has invested more than $15 billion in Fab 8 region and currently employs 2,500 employees in the Capital Region.
An economic impact study by Regional Economic Models, Inc. estimates that the GlobalFoundries project will generate positive economic growth for the Capital Region and New York State. Over the course of 20 years of operations, REMI estimates that the project will:
Create 1,508 jobs directly with the company and thousands of indirect jobs by 2032.
Grow New York State's economy, generating an additional $1.7 billion in real (inflation adjusted) economic output, on average per year and $1.1 billion in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on average.
Provide an estimated annual average of $630 million in real disposable personal income to New York residents.
Generate an average annual increase of $50 million in state government revenue, totaling $1.05 billion over 21 years, and an average annual increase of $63 million in revenue to local governments, totaling $1.3 billion over the same timeframe.
Construction on the new facility is expected to begin in 2025 and will be pursuant to a project labor agreement with workers who will be paid federal prevailing wage rates, at a minimum.
This project is being supported with $575 million in performance-based Green CHIPS tax credits in exchange for creating 1,508 direct jobs, and completing its multi-billion-dollar investments. Additionally, the company must also meet its community benefits and sustainability requirements. GlobalFoundries will also receive a $30 million infrastructure investment from the State. The New York Power Authority—which currently provides GlobalFoundries with 15 megawatts of low-cost power from the ReCharge NY program—will consider further support for this expansion project when its Board of Trustees meets in March.
GlobalFoundries will be required to make at least $60 million in workforce training and community investments and negotiate a plan with Empire State Development that includes academic research and development projects, workforce and talent development, onsite or adjacent childcare, K-12 STEM education programming, and curriculum scholarships and tuition reimbursement. The company will also work with ESD to set a target percentage of permanent hires from targeted census tracts and historically disadvantaged populations. Empire State Development will commit to up to $15 million in spending for workforce development activities related to the project.
Additionally, GlobalFoundries will work to ensure that 30 percent of the project's eligible construction spending and 20 percent of its eligible ongoing annual operating spending is awarded to companies owned by individuals from traditionally underrepresented communities, with priority given to New York State Certified Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises and Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses. GlobalFoundries will also encourage construction contractors and subcontractors to identify candidates for hiring from disadvantaged and underrepresented populations.
To qualify for New York's Green CHIPS program, ESD and GlobalFoundries will enter into a Green CHIPS Sustainability Plan, which includes utilizing 100 percent renewable energy for electricity with potential onsite solar energy infrastructure and onsite battery storage systems. Additionally, the fabs and associated office buildings will be constructed to a minimum LEED Gold status. GlobalFoundries will also make investments in alternative and public transportation infrastructure, implement water reclamation and recycling measures, and adopt waste-reduction measures.
Governor Hochul’s Commitment to Growing New York’s Semiconductor Industry
Governor Hochul has maintained a strong commitment to building a modern economy in New York State through by growing a dynamic and innovative semiconductor industry. In 2022, the Governor signed New York’s historic Green CHIPS legislation to make New York a hub for semiconductor manufacturing, creating 21st century jobs and kick-starting economic growth while maintaining important environmental protections. As part of the FY 2024 Budget, Governor Hochul secured a $45 million investment to create the Governor’s Office of Semiconductor Expansion, Management, and Integration (GO-SEMI), which leads statewide efforts to develop the chipmaking sector. The Governor also announced a $10 billion partnership to bring the future of advanced semiconductor research to New York’s Capital region by creating the nation’s first and only publicly owned High NA EUV Lithography Center at the Albany Nanotech Complex.
GlobalFoundries’ investment adds to New York's already robust semiconductor industry which is currently home to 156 semiconductor and supply chain companies that employ over 34,000 New Yorkers. Thanks to Governor Hochul’s efforts, the industry is continuing to expand with major investments from semiconductor businesses and supply chain companies like Micron, AMD, Edwards Vacuum, and TTM Technologies to expand their presence in New York.
Semiconductors are vital to the nation's economic strength, serving as the brains of modern electronics, and enabling technologies critical to U.S. economic growth, national security, and global competitiveness. The industry directly employs over 300,000 people in the U.S. and supports more than 1.8 million additional domestic jobs. Semiconductors are a top five U.S. export, and the industry is the number one contributor to labor productivity, supporting improvements to the effectiveness and efficiency of virtually every economic sector — from farming to manufacturing. | ||||
9289 | dbpedia | 3 | 3 | https://www.africanmediamalta.com/post/2019/12/06/the-french-occupation-in-malta | en | The French occupation in Malta | [
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] | null | [
"Mathilde Tempesta"
] | 2019-12-06T00:00:00 | Among all the influences that have crossed the Maltese island over the past centuries, the brief presence of the French has left an important impact. On his way to invade Egypt, Napoleon Bonaparte had to attack and invade Malta in order to secure a victory against England, which was his primary target. On May 19, 1798, under his command, a fleet of more than 400 vessels and 50.000 men left their base of Toulon, Civitavecchia, Marseille, Ajaccio, Genova, heading to seize Egypt. The strategic posi | en | https://static.parastorage.com/client/pfavico.ico | Africa Media Malta | https://www.africanmediamalta.com/post/2019/12/06/the-french-occupation-in-malta | Among all the influences that have crossed the Maltese island over the past centuries, the brief presence of the French has left an important impact. On his way to invade Egypt, Napoleon Bonaparte had to attack and invade Malta in order to secure a victory against England, which was his primary target.
On May 19, 1798, under his command, a fleet of more than 400 vessels and 50.000 men left their base of Toulon, Civitavecchia, Marseille, Ajaccio, Genova, heading to seize Egypt. The strategic position of Malta, situated in the middle of the Mediterranean was a perfect naval base for the french military expedition.
On June 9, 1798, the French fleet was at the Valletta city gates.The island, then ruled by the Knights Hospitaller of Saint John, governed by The Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch, refused access to all the french fleet at once, who had pretended to need provisions.
Napoleon Bonaparte attacks Malta
The refusal from The Grand Master triggered Napoleon's fury who decided to bombard the island. It only took three days to the gigantic french fleet to take over Malta. The Knights Hospitaller, inferior in number capitulated. The Knights gave up Malta to the French after the taking of the city of Mdina.
The French presence in Malta was instrumental in today’s administrative system in the country. Napoleon Bonaparte settled down at Palazzo Parisio in Valletta (today the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). He only spent six days in the island, but he had time to make many changes, before he left. More than 3.000 soldiers remained in the archipelago under the orders to the General Vaubois.
French legacy
His short stay on the island was sufficient for Napoleon Bonaparte to start radical changes. Wishing to impose ideals promoted by the French Revolution, he dismantled the institutions of the Order of Saint John, he established a new administration similar to that of France. So in 1798, Malta had a constitution, the first in Maltese history.
The French abolished the Nobility, the feudal system as well as slavery. They had experienced it during the French Revolution in 1789, and were eager to end the class-system of society. This measure resulted in the liberation to all Turkish slaves.
Among other major reforms was the education system. He made it free for all, based on the will for equality within the society. Until today, education is free in Malta from primary to higher education.
Do not touch my church!
Napoleon also sought to limit the influence of the church and its representatives. Doing so, he dismantled, after years of presence on the island, the Inquisition. These radical reforms imposed on the local populations did not please the Maltese, especially those concerning the Church. In fact by attacking the church and looting its properties, the French set in motion the movement that would lead to their expulsion from the island.
The Maltese decided to expel the French from their island. But inferior in number in front of Napoleon's forces, they requested help from the British army. Three months after invading the archipelago, the French were confined into the fortifications of Valletta and the Three Cities until September 1800, when they eventually surrender to the British forces. | ||||
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] | null | [] | 2013-10-30T09:59:19+00:00 | C. Savona-Ventura The Sacra Infermeria The advent of a foreign organized militia to Malta dates to the arrival of the Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in 1530. Known for their hospitaller traditions, the Order soon established a hospital at Vittoriosa. This hospital was subsequently in 1574 transferred to a new building in… | en | Vassallo History | https://vassallohistory.wordpress.com/military-hospitals-in-malta/ | C. Savona-Ventura
The advent of a foreign organized militia to Malta dates to the arrival of the Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in 1530. Known for their hospitaller traditions, the Order soon established a hospital at Vittoriosa. This hospital was subsequently in 1574 transferred to a new building in Valletta. Rather than restricting their hospitals to members of the Order, the Sacra Infirmeria catered for the needs of all segments of the population including orphans and foundlings, and thus functioned more as a general hospital rather than a military or naval establishment.
The need of establishing a separate military hospital was felt by the French troops under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte. On the first day of the French occupation of Malta on the 12th June 1798, the French commanders established their first hospital at Mdina selectively reserved to deal with sick or injured troops [1]. The sick troops, which numbered 300, were transferred four days later to the Sacra Infirmeria at Valletta which was converted into a military hospital and renamed the Grand Hopital. The Physician-in-chief Dr. Robert who published a book in 1802 gives a full account of the Sacra Infirmeria during the French occupation. Only a few wards were considered fit to accommodate patients, while the pharmacy, the laboratory and the storerooms were inadequate. Dr. Robert carried out a number of modifications to improve sanitation, ventilation and lighting, but he condemned the Sacra Infermeria as a hospital saying “Ainsi, si l’hopital de Malte etoit si vante du temps de l’ordre, ces louanges ne peuvent tomber que sur la maniere avec laquelle il etoit administre”. The wards were cleared from all incumbent objects including pictures on the walls, the bed canopies and curtains. The Falanga, previously reserved to treat venereal patients, was modified with the provision of large windows and connected to the Great Ward to increase the number of beds available for febrile patients [2]. The administration of the hospital was entrusted to four individuals, two of whom were Maltese physicians. These were entrusted to draw up an inventory of the hospital’s holdings and also to provide the patient’s necessities. The administration proved inept at providing for the basic necessities of the patients. Within two months, the French civil Governor Regnaud de St. Jean d’Angely commented about the lack of clothing and absence of drugs in the hospital [3].
The situation deteriorated markedly after the Maltese rose against the French in September 1798, so that provisions to the hospital became seriously low. At the time of the insurrection, there were 700 patients in the hospital. In April 1799, General Vaubois commented that “Rien n’est si affreux. Les salles sont mal-propres. …. Le jardin livre a` l’hospital est de toute nullite,….”. In June 1799, Vaubois found it necessary to exhort the soldiers to come to the hospital as before, and to defend the medical staff at the hospital. He also contradicted the rumor that no drugs were to be had at the hospital. He also advised the soldiers to maintain personal hygiene by frequent baths and to safeguard their health by eating vegetables [4]. Food provisions became markedly reduced. During the first year of the blockade each patient received an average of one ounce of beef or mutton per day. This was substituted by the same quantity of horse or ass meat during the second year. Rice, beans and fish were available, but eggs were a rarity. During most of 1800 the hospital authorities had nothing to give their sick except beans [5]. With the increasing malnutrition and an increase in the number of cases of scurvy, the number of sick troops increased so that the Grand Hopital had proved inadequate to care for the number of diseased men, and other hospitals had to be improvised. By February 1799 there were 800 sick French in two hospitals. By June 1799, the hospitals were augmented to four [6]. When the French surrendered in September 1800, the sick troops who were unable to travel were transferred to Fort Manoel in charge of a French physician and surgeon, and were cared for until they were fit enough to return to France [7].
The Maltese rebels outside the fortifications, together with the British re-enforcements, similarly required the establishment of a number of hospitals to deal with the sick and injured personnel. The previously established hospitals – Santo Spirito Hospital (40 beds) and Saura Hospital (80 beds) both at Rabat – proved insufficient to cater for the medical needs of the insurgents. Churches at Rabat and Mdina were taken over for use as hospitals. These included St. Dominic Church at Rabat called the Great Hospital, St. Francis Church adjoining Santo Spirito, the Bishop’s Seminary, St. Sebastian Church and St. Agata Church. In the country, the sick inhabitants were often treated in private houses. Thus at Birkirkara, Vincenzo Borg, helped by Dr. Leopoldo Bernard, converted his house into a small hospital to care for the town’s residents which had increased by about 6000 refugees from the cities. Other sites, which served as hospitals for the inhabitants of the countryside, were St. Joseph Hospital at Zebbug and St. Gregory Church at Zejtun [8]. Temporary hospitals were also established for the British and Portuguese/Neapolitan forces aiding the Maltese. Thus a house belonging to Manuel Farrugia at Luqa is known to have served as a hospital for the 48th and 89th British Regiments. Compensation for the use of the site was only affected in 1824. Other hospitals were set in July 1800 at the Zejtun residence of the Dutch Consulate Count Agostino Formosa de Fremeaux and the Zabbar residence of Bishop Labini [9].
Following the capitulation of the French garrison in Valletta, the British troops marched into Valletta, and the military authorities took over the public buildings, including the Sacra Infermeria, for their use. The British transferred their 350 sick troops to the Sacra Infermeria, now named the General Hospital or Garrison Hospital or Station Hospital [10]. During the early decades of the nineteenth century the hospital was not given its due importance. In 1813, an English visitor deplored the changes that had reduced the hospital to “a place of comparable insignificance”. The number of patients was seldom more than thirty or forty [11]. In 1821 on the area surrounding the upper quadrangle was being used. The Great Hall had been converted into a ropewalk, where ropes were manufactured. A few years later, a considerable section of the Long Ward and a part of the basement floor ward were let to Woodhouse Marsala wine-makers [12]. The magazine ward had been converted into an apothecary store, while the former operations room was converted into a dining room for convalescents. The pharmacy with its laboratory and the medical officers quarters still occupied their old sites. In 1826 a separate ward accommodating eighty patients was appropriated for ophthalmic patients. Other parts were allowed to fall in ruins In 1830, the hospital was considered incompatible with its function because of defective ventilation. Because of the inadequacy of the hospital by modern standards, various structural modifications were undertaken throughout the second part of the nineteenth century. The Valletta General Hospital continued to be used until the opening of new Military Hospital at Mtarfa in 1920. The building was subsequently passed on to the civil government and served, until 1940 as a Police Depot. During the Second World War, the building sustained significant damage. In the post-War period, the remaining halls served several minor functions, including that of an Examinations Hall. In 1978, the Sacra Infermeria was converted into the Mediterranean Conference Center [13].
The inadequacy of the Valletta General or Station Hospital, necessitated the establishment of a number of other smaller hospitals usually situated in relationship to the various military barracks, notably at Valletta, Cottonera, St. Julians and Mtarfa. The Valletta barracks and its environs was also served by a small hospital set up in the House of the Madonna of Manresa at Floriana. This hospital was set up in the first decade of the nineteenth century in a building meant for spiritual exercises. The plans for this hospital provoked protests by the Maltese, but in spite of these remonstrations; the hospital was set up in 1811 and was still functioning in the 1830s. The hospital consisted of a range of small rooms built around two sides of a big quadrangle. Each room contained four beds so that the hospital could house a total of sixty patients, eighty in an emergency [14]. The Cottonera region was served first by a hospital housed in the Inquisitor’s Palace at Vittoriosa. This was subsequently replaced by a hospital in Fort Ricasoli where a number of high bomb-proof arcades running along the inner face of the fort were cut off from the barracks by wooden walls. These arches were subsequently divided into two floors by setting up a wooden floor. The ground floor was reserved for convalescent soldiers or other segregated patients. The upper floor was partitioned off into two wards and a surgery. This arrangement allowed for a complement of 54 beds, which could be increased to a hundred in emergencies. It was used in 1822 to shelter invalids and discharged men from regiments stationed in the Ionian Islands. The Fort Hospital ceased to function in the 1860s [15].
The medical needs of the military personnel in the Cottonera area were also served for a few years after 1832 by the Armory at Vittoriosa. This had been taken over from the British Naval Authorities after the commissioning of Bighi Naval Hospital. The establishment of the Hired Hospital consisting of two adjoining private houses a short distance away expanded the facilities of the Vittoriosa Hospital. In peacetime the Armory Hospital was capable of accommodating 120 beds which could in an emergency be increased by a further 80 to 100 beds. The building was eventually used by the Royal Engineers and later by the King’s Own Malta Regiment [16].
The Crimean War of 1854-56 served as a turning point in military medical administration. During the Crimean War Malta served as an outpost to treat wounded soldiers. The Malta Times wrote “Orders were received here from England to prepare quarters for 10,000 men. Several localities are being fitted-up; among others, the Lazzaretto and adjoining Plague Hospital, where it is said there is room for 1000 men, and the Dockyard lofts where as many men can be housed. Convents will be used if absolutely required, but not otherwise.” The first wounded soldiers arrived from the Crimea in November 1854 [17]. Following the demands made on the Maltese medical military facilities during the Crimean War, the Governor Sir William Reid in 1857, on the advice of the military medical authorities in Malta, advised the British Government that the Valletta Station Hospital was inadequate and emphasized the necessity of building a new military hospital. The British Government thus commissioned a committee “with a view to determining upon what would be the best site for such a hospital, and to report, particularly on the adequacy or otherwise of the site at St. Francis Barracks, Floriana, capable of accommodating five hundred patients”. The committee reported that the proposed site was too small and that an adequate site could only be found outside the Valletta fortifications. Another site within the walls of Valletta was proposed two years later on St. Michael’s Bastion overlooking Marsamxett Harbour, but the project was dropped because of the high cost for purchase of the privately-owned site [18].
Florence Nightingale in her book Notes on Hospitals first published in 1859 took up the proposal of a new military hospital in Malta. In the 3rd edition of her book dated 1863, Nightingale suggested that a new General Military Hospital should replace permanently the Valletta Station Hospital. The new proposed hospital was planned – on the pavilion principle for 300 beds, with the extensions differently arranged from any existing example. The site chosen as the most healthy in the garrison, are limited and the arrangement of the parts has to be conformed to the shape of the ground. But so flexible is the pavilion construction that it suits itself readily to this requirement. There will be six pavilions arranged side by side, each containing two floors of wards, and the whole connected by open arcades sufficient to afford shelter from sun and rain, but to leave ventilation perfectly free. The entire administration is detached and placed in front of the hospital. The walls on the sides towards the sun, and the roof, will be double to ensure coolness. The site chosen for the hospital was the bottom of Melita Street facing Marsamxett Harbour. The book included a design and block plans, which were prepared by the architect Mr. T.H. Wyatt at the insistence of the Malta Government, though it appears from a marginal note in the copy of Nightingale’s book held at the National Library of Malta that the plans were made in the first instance the Comptroller of Charitable Institutions Dr. F.V. Inglott and given architectural proportions by the architect Mr. Wyatt. This new hospital remained a proposal and was never built [19].
Following her return from Crimea to England in 1856, Miss Nightingale, anxious to remedy the defects in the military medical organization that the war had shown to exist, appealed to Queen Victoria asking for inquiry. Following this appeal, the British Government agreed to appoint a Royal Commission whose terms of reference were concerned not only with the Medical Department and its organization, but extended to all circumstances affecting the living conditions and the health of the soldier. One of the four sub-commissions set up was concerned with hospital improvement – Barrack and Hospital Commission on the Sanitary Condition and improvement of the Mediterranean Stations. This Commission reported in 1863 that the four military hospitals in Malta were all badly constructed and inadequate. The Valletta General Hospital was condemned unequivocally because of its unhygienic and unhealthy situation. The Commission proposed the abolition of these establishments and the building of a new general hospital of three hundred beds at Valletta and a smaller one of 136 beds for the Cottonera region. Following the Barrack and Hospital Improvement Commission report, various plans were put forward for the new hospital in the region outside Valletta. The sites proposed by the Army authorities in Malta included the Ta’ Xbiex Hill, the Ta’ Brejqex locality at Santa Venera, Mriehel, and San Gwann. None of these plans came to completion. Temporary sanitary camps were often set up to house sick troops in times of epidemics such as those set up on the glacis of Fort Manoel encamping the 100th Regiment and Floriana parade-ground encamping the 4th Regiment during the 1865 cholera epidemic [20].
In the absence of a definite decision to build a new hospital, steps were taken by the military authorities to relieve the pressure from the Valletta Hospital. In 1858 a new hospital was opened at Vilhena Palace at Mdina. This first served as an ophthalmic unit replacing the set of wards set up in 1826 at the Valletta Station Hospital. Ophthalmic problems appeared to have been very prevalent among the troops during the early decades of the nineteenth century, probably resulting from trachoma infection obtained during campaigns in Egypt at the turn of the nineteenth century (1801). The infection continued to recur and spread to units that had never been present in the campaign. In the Malta garrison there were 514 cases, and these were so severe that no fewer than 107 became totally blind, while 102 others lost the sight in one eye. Between 1816-1823, ophthalmia accounted for 1463 admissions or 7.6% of all admissions to the Military Hospitals. The hospital was subsequently converted into a convalescent home. Fever cases were also transferred to this hospital. It was noted that fever cases improved significantly on transfer to this hospital, and a scheme to extend the accommodation of 88 beds to one accommodating a General Military Hospital was considered. This scheme had to be abandoned because its grounds and environs did not afford enough space to build new wards. It was turned over to the Civil authorities in 1908 and subsequently used as a tuberculosis sanitarium. H.R.H. Duke of Connaught who was at the time High Commissioner and Commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean contributed funds to help equip it [21]. In 1860 Villa Spinola at St. Julians was adapted into a 42-bed army hospital to serve the newly opened barracks at Pembroke and by serving as a sanatorium to absorb some of the overflow from Valletta General Hospital. This hospital was named Forrest Hospital after the Principal Medical Officer of the garrison serving during that year. During the First World War it received troops suffering from venereal disease. It was closed down in 1922. Venereal disease was a constant problem with all nationalities of soldiery. The Valletta hospital was used by both the French and the British to treat venereal disease patients [22].
The repeated proposals to build a new military hospital in Malta, finally were taken up in 1873. A new hospital containing four infirmaries, each capable of receiving 32 sick men was built near Zabbar Gate. The building costs amounted to £21,000 and the hospital was considered to be “one of the best hospitals in southern Europe”. In 1882, the hospital grounds (wrongly labeled as belonging to the Naval Hospital) were illustrated in the Illustrated London News which also carried the experience of Lieutenant A.G. Blackburn of the 79th Highlanders wounded at the battle of Tel-el-Kebir who had written to the newspaper to bear testimony to the ‘unremitting care and attention which he had received at the hands of the medical staff of the hospital, to whom, under Providence, he considers he owes his life’. The engraving was based on a photograph taken by Davison of Strada Reale, Valletta. It ceased to function in 1920 and nine years later was offered on lease to house St. Edward’s College [23]. Another small fifty-bed hospital was build at St. David’s Barracks at Mtarfa was build towards the end of the nineteenth century. This served to treat the soldiers’ families, the troops continuing to receive treatment at the Cottonera Hospital. Plans to augment this hospital were initiated in 1912, and the new Mtarfa Hospital was opened in June 1920 when all the patients from other military hospitals were transferred there. This allowed the closure of many of the pre-First War military hospitals, including the Valletta Station Hospital, Forrest Hospital, and the Cottonera Hospital [24].
Chambray Hospital served the Gozo barracks. After the Maltese Islands fell under British dominion, the Chambray Fort built in 1749 was taken over by the British garrison. By 1830, the barracks also incorporated a small hospital of four wards capable of accommodating 20 men with a kitchen, surgery, etc. It rarely however was occupied with more than two or three individuals. Fort Chambray Hospital played a major role during the Crimean War when it was adapted for the admission of Crimean wounded and invalid soldiers. The modifications included the setting up of 30 very large wooden huts capable of accommodating 50 men each. There were a number of bathrooms and two mortuaries. The supplied equipment was of a superior quality. The staff was augmented to include a superintendent, officer-in-charge of supplies, a pharmacist and dispenser, four surgeons and 16 assistant surgeons. Fort Chambray opened its doors again for the reception of the sick and wounded during the Anglo-Egyptian armed conflict in 1882. During this conflict, the hospital proper consisted of a large building previously used as a barracks accommodating 150-200 patients. Various illustrations and a description of the Fort Hospital during this period were given in the Illustrated London News. The Fort again featured in the Military Medical History of Malta during the First World War since it served as an excellent Convalescent Depot, thus relieving the crowded camps in Malta. During October 1915 to March 1916, no less than 1579 men recovering from illness or injuries passed through the fort and were returned to active services. The medical staff at the time issued a record of their experiences in a journal entitled “The Fort Chambray Gazette”. The fort closed down as a Convalescent Depot in March 1916. In 1934 it was used as a mental hospital for Gozo, a function retained until 1983. This accommodated up to 200 chronic patients. The old married quarters at Fort Chambray, which stood at some distance from the Mental disease block were adapted and the necessary repairs and renovations carried out. This section of the fort named Sacred Heart Hospital was (1937-1956) used as a leprosarium with 15 gozitan patients being transferred from Malta on the 9th December 1937 [25].
In the beginning of the twentieth century (1905) the military hospitals in Malta included (1) the Valletta Military Hospital which accommodated 232 beds and also had quarters for 65 non-commissioned officers and men of the Royal Army Medical Corps. The buildings were considered ancient and not well adapted for hospital purposes according to prevalent requirements; (2) the Cottonera Hospital accommodating 156 patients in four large wards was considered a modern building of good general design, but with globigerina floors which were considered unsuitable; (3) Forrest Hospital with 31 beds which being a hired house was not designed for a hospital and was insufficient for the needs of the regional barracks so that a considerable number of patients (20-30) were treated in tents all the year round; and (4) Citta Vecchia Sanitarium with 80 beds considered to be well fitted for treating convalescent cases. The needs of the Gozo personnel were served by the Gozo Hospital that contained 15 beds and was considered satisfactory vis-à-vis its situation, construction, water supply and drainage arrangements. The average population in the various hospitals in Malta amounted to 535 individuals or about 6% of the average population in all the different barracks and hospitals in Malta [26].
During the First World War, like the Crimean War period, Malta served as a “Nurse of the Mediterranean”. From the Gallipoli campaigns 2500 officers and 55400 troops were treated in the Maltese hospitals, while from the 1917 Salonika campaigns 2600 officers and 64500 troops were treated. The years of the conflict thus required the significant augmentation of hospital beds for injured and sick troops. The number of beds in the Valletta Military Hospital were augmented from 26 beds to 340 and later to 440 beds. This augmentation was achieved by renovating disused wards and bringing the sanitary and medical facilities up to date. The Valletta Station Hospital served as a sorting base for the wounded arriving in the hospital ships prior to their being transferred to the other 30 hospitals and camps scattered over the Islands. The Valletta Hospital itself was reserved for dangerously ill cases that could not be safely moved. The principal hospitals and camps used were the commissioned Naval and Military hospitals: Bighi Naval Hospital, Valletta Hospital, Cottonera Hospital, Forrest Hospital, Mtarfa Hospital (commissioned in 1912) and Chambray Convalescent Depot. Other hospitals and hospital camps were set up including: the Hamrun Hospital, St. Andrew’s Hospital, St. George’s Hospital, St. Paul’s Hospital (close to St. Andrew’s), St. David’s Hospital and St. Patrick’s Hospital, St. John’s Hospital (in the Sliema Primary School), St. Ignatius Hospital (in the old Jesuit College in St. Julians), Tigne Hospital, St. Elmo and Baviere Hospitals in Valletta, Manoel Hospital, the Blue Sisters’ Hospital and the Ghajn Tuffieha Camp [27].
The period following the First World War, allowed for a re-organization of the military medical services on the Islands. The Mtarfa Hospital, commissioned in 1912, was opened on the 29th June 1920, even though it had been in use for some time earlier. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Military Barracks with an adjoining Military Families’s Hospital were built on Mtarfa Hill. The hospital catering only for the families of the troops housed fifty patients [28]. All the patients in the various military hospitals were transferred there and the military hospitals scattered around Malta were officially closed in the subsequent years. During the Second World War, the Mtarfa Hospital and barracks were reorganized as the 90th General Hospital and built up to accommodate a maximum of 1200 beds. An underground hospital was excavated under the military hospital. At the ends of hostilities, the 90th General Hospital was disbanded and reformed on peacetime footing as the David Bruce Military Hospital. This continued to serve the military troops, complimenting the Bighi Naval Hospital, until 1970. For the next eight years, the Mtarfa Hospital served the needs of the British military and naval personnel until its closure in 1978. The last British hospital outpost was a hospital close to the Hal Far airfield that closed with the departure of the British military and naval garrison from the Islands in 1979 [29].
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ENDNOTES
1. H.P. Scicluna, Documents relating to the French Occupation of Malta in 1798-1800. Archivum Melitense, n.d., V:p.129,142
2. Robert, Memoire sur la topographie physique et Medicale de Malte, suivi de ’histoire des maladies qui ont regne dans cette ville parmi les troupes francaise, sur la fin de l’an 6, et pendant les annes 7 et 8. P. Didotlaine: Paris, 1802, p.32-37
3. H.P. Scicluna, op. cit., p.196; B. Azzopardi, Giornale della presa di Malta e Gozo. Malta, 1864, p.42; Notes sur les Ressources de la Division de l’Armee et du Port du Malte. Dispatch by Regnaud de St. Jean d’Angely to Directoire Executif dated 12 Fructidor an 6 (29th August 1798). In: W. Hardman, A History of Malta during the period of the French and British Occupations 1798-1815. Longmans: London, 1909, p.105
4. State of the Islands of Malta and Gozo on the 12th Day of October 1798. Arch. Nat., AF III.73. In: W. Hardman, ibid, p.132; Dispatches by General Vaubois to the Commissaire Ordonateur de Terre dated 30 Germinale (19th April 1799) and 6 Messidor (24th June 1799). In: W. Hardman, 1909, ibid, p.607,612
5. Robert, 1802, op. cit., p.78
6. Intelligence from People who came out of Valetta the 23rd Febraury 1799. Brit. Mus. Add. MSS 34909, fol.282. In: W. Hardman, op. cit., p.197; Dispatch Lieutenant Vivion to Lord Nelson dated 25th June 1799. Brit. Mus. add. MSS 34940. In: W. Hardman, 1909, op. cit., p.215; Robert, 1802, ibid, p.43
7. Articles of Capitulation. C.O.R. Malta, No.1. In: W. Hardman, 1909, ibid, p.320
8. P. Cassar, Medical History of Malta. Wellcome Histroical Libr.: London, 1964, p.522; P. Cassar, Medicine in Malta in 1800-1810. Contrasts, Concepts and Personalities. St. Luke’s Hospital Gazette, 1971, 6(1):p.5; C. Testa, Maz-zewg nahat tas-Swar, Klabb Kotba Maltin: Malta, 1982, vol.3:p.509,604; A. Mifsud, Origine della sovranita` inglese su Malta. Malta, 1907, p.259
9. C. Testa, 1982, ibid , vol.3:p.525,716
10. Robert, 1802, op. cit., p.30
11. E. Blaquiere, Letters from the Mediterranean, London, 1813, vol.ii:p.297. In. P. Cassar, 1964, op. cit., p.65.
12. M. Ellul: The Sacra Infermeria since 1800: A historical survey. Maltese Medical Journal, 1989, 1(2):20-29
13. P. Cassar, 1964, op. cit., p.65-66; J. Hennen: Sketches of the Medical Topography of the Mediterranean. London, 1830, p.570-575; M. Ellul, 1989, ibid, p.28-29; P. Cassar, The Holy Infirmary of the Knights of St. John “la Sacra Infermeria”, Med. Conf. Centre, Malta, 1992, p.68-81.
14. P. Cassar, 1964, ibid, p.98-99
15. P. Cassar, 1964, ibid, p.98.
16. P. Cassar, 1964, ibid, p.96; C. Savona-Ventura, Malta and the British Navy: the medical connection during the nineteenth century. Part 1. The establishment of the Naval Hospital at Bighi. Journal Royal Naval Medical Service, 1992, 78:p.174
17. The Malta Times, February 1854
18. Palace Archives Valletta: Despatches – Reid to Labouchere 21 November 1856, Labouchere to Reid 4 May 1857, Reid to Labouchere 24 October 1857. Letter, War Office, London to Commandant Royal Engineers, Malta 2 September 1859. In: M. Ellul, 1989: op. cit.
19. F. Nightingale: Notes on Hospitals. London, 3rd ed, 1863, p.103; C. Savona-Ventura: Malta and the ‘Lady with the Lamp’. The Sunday Times [of Malta], 22 December 1991, p.30; C. Savona-Ventura: Light on the Lady with the Lamp. The Malta Independant, 4 May 1997, p.33; 11 May 1977, p.33
20. N. Cantlie: A history of the Army Medical Department. Livingstone: Edinburgh, 1974, vol 2:p.207-208; M. Ellul, 1989: op. cit., p.23-24; The Cholera at Malta: The 100th regiment encamped on the glacis of Fort Manoel. The Illustrated London News, 23 September 1865; Sanitary encampment of the troops at Malta. The Illustrated London News, 1865. In: A. Nicolas, Antique Malta: 1842-1885 A Topographical and historical catalogue of engravings and articles as depicted in the major English magazines of this eventful period. Malta, 1982
21. P. Cassar, 1964, op. cit., p.66,99,236; J. Hennen, 1909, op. cit., p.661-666; M. Ellul, 1989, ibid, p.23; A.V. Bernard, Annual Report on the Health Conditions of the Maltese Islands and on the work of the Medical and Health Department for the year 1937. Government Printing Office, Malta, 1938, p.xxxv; N. Cantlie, 1974, op. cit., vol.1 p.274
22. P. Cassar, 1964, ibid, p.99
23. P. Cassar, 1964, ibid, p.100; The Naval Hospital, Malta. The Illustrated London News, 1882. In: A. Nicolas, 1982, op. cit.
24. P. Cassar, 1964, ibid
25. P. Cassar, Fort Chambray – the medical profile. The Times [f Mallta], 29 January 1993, p.14-15; The Hospital at Gozo. Illustrated London News, 1882. In: A. Nicolas, 1982, op. cit.; A.V. Bernard, 1938, op. cit., p.lii
26. A.M. Davies. Report on the Prevalence of Mediterranean Fever amongst British troops in Malta, 1905. Reports of the Commission for the investigation of Mediterranean Fever. Harrison: London, 1906, Part IV: .121-123
27. M. Ellul, 1989, op. cit., p.25
28. M. Ellul, 1989, ibid, p.25; P. Cassar, 1964, op. cit., p.100
29. P. Cassar, 1964, ibid, p.100 | |||||
9289 | dbpedia | 1 | 80 | https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/20/travel/malta-europride-gay-lgbtq.html | en | Malta, a Tiny LGBTQ Haven, Gears Up to Host EuroPride | [
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] | null | [
"Alexander Lobrano"
] | 2023-06-20T00:00:00 | The Mediterranean island nation is gearing up to show off its history of openness, as well as its Baroque treasures, when it hosts EuroPride in September. | en | /vi-assets/static-assets/favicon-d2483f10ef688e6f89e23806b9700298.ico | https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/20/travel/malta-europride-gay-lgbtq.html | I was having a nightcap at the palmy, Art Deco Phoenicia Hotel in Valletta, Malta, when a former British naval officer struck up a chat, quickly confiding in me that he thought Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, was the handsomest man he’d ever seen. The prince and the future monarch spent the early years of their marriage in Malta, the former base of the British Mediterranean fleet, where Philip was posted to a ship.
Malta, the expat explained, had always been “very pleasant ” for gay men. “So many sailors and soldiers,” he said, sipping his drink. “This lovely little island is even better today, though, because now everything’s all out in the open and not only does no one bat an eyelash, it’s just not an issue here anymore.”
Perhaps this attitude explains why Valletta, the tiny capital of the smallest country in the European Union — five islands in the Mediterranean between Sicily and Tunisia, with a population of about 538,000 — will be hosting EuroPride this September. This annual L.G.B.T.Q. event, which began in 1992, is awarded to a different European city every year. Valletta, with only about 6,000 residents, will be the smallest host city to date.
“This celebration is an important opportunity for us to show off why Malta was rated No. 1 by the Rainbow Europe index,” said Toni Attard, the artistic director for Valletta’s EuroPride program. The index is a ranking by ILGA-Europe, a nonprofit organization that monitors the legal and social climate for L.G.B.T.Q. people in 27 E.U. countries. | |||||
9289 | dbpedia | 3 | 21 | https://www.casaellul.com/blog/la-valette/ | en | La Valette & A Brief History Of Valletta, Malta’s Capital City | [
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"Monique Zerafa"
] | 2017-09-14T07:38:49+00:00 | Valletta's magnificent architecture represents the city’s unique experiences of religion, military and commerce. Read more on the history of Valletta. | en | Casa Ellul | https://www.casaellul.com/blog/la-valette/ | Grandmaster de la Valette played a crucial role in Valletta’s history and in shaping the capital city as we know it today. From just a short visit to Valletta anyone can see that Malta’s fantastic capital city is steeped in hundreds of years of history. There are very many story-telling landmarks and monuments across the Maltese islands; but Valletta particularly is well-stocked with magnificent architecture that represents the city’s unique experiences of religion, military and commerce and is believed to be home to 320 monuments. So, how and why does Valletta look the way it does today?
Grandmaster De La Valette & The Knights Of St John
In 1566, the first foundation stone of Valletta’s bastions was laid by Grandmaster Jean Parisot de la Valette of the Knights of Malta (of the Order of St John). The reason for building the new city was to strengthen the Knights’ foothold on Malta and to create a place for respite following the Great Siege. It made sense to build in this area (formerly known as Mount Sceberras) due to the two natural harbours that were protected by a small watch tower now known as Fort St. Elmo.
Pope Pius V and King Philip II of Spain supported the creation of Valletta by drafting in Francesco Laparelli, a renowned military engineer. Laparelli designed the city’s grid of streets with steep hills and stairs to protect the city from enemy troops. Both the King and the Pope financially supported the creation of Valletta, in an effort to defend the Maltese islands from the Ottoman Empire. In addition to fortifying Malta by building Valletta, the Pope also wanted to create an architectural masterpiece. Grandmaster de la Valette was always the hero of the city however, and his legacy has been marked with a bronze statue in the square named after him: “Pjazza Jean de Valette”. He has also featured on Maltese stamps and coins; and his tomb can be found in St. John’s Co-Cathedral.
French & British Reign
In addition to St John’s Co-Cathedral, the Grandmasters Palace is at the heart of Malta’s history and the building has evolved from a mixture of different European styles throughout its change of ownership and reign. Napoleon brought Malta into French occupation in 1798 during the same period as the French Revolution. Bonaparte reformed Malta’s institutions: abolishing the Roman Catholic Church, nobility and slavery and vowed to bring equality among the citizens. After two years the Maltese wanted to take back ownership of their islands and reinstate the church, so voluntarily joined the British Empire. The British influenced the shape of Valletta during the 19th and 20th centuries, until 1964, when Malta became independent once more.
Valletta, World War II & The Regeneration Of The City
Valletta had always been a popular city for families, until its downfall in World War II when many of its beautiful buildings were bombed and destroyed. Generations of loyal civilians have helped to rebuild the city and create a new buzz about it for the 21st Century. Restaurants like ‘Rampila’ in the city walls, and the regeneration of the Grand Harbour all make the most of Valletta’s unique and historical structure, whilst helping to attract more families and tourists back to the city. The injection of €30 million into further regenerating the city as part of Valletta’s European City of Culture Status in 2018 will certainly bring Pope Pius V’s vision of a cultural masterpiece back to life. | |||||
9289 | dbpedia | 0 | 8 | https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/valletta-malta-guide-art-entertainment | en | A guide to Valletta, Malta | [
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"Alicia Miller"
] | 2024-06-03T12:00:00+00:00 | In Malta’s harbour-framed capital, a rich and evolving art scene unfolds among honeyed baroque facades, echoing the global influences that have shaped the city over the centuries. | en | Travel | https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/valletta-malta-guide-art-entertainment | “It’s an extension of God, a celebration of his beauty and perfection,” Father Charles remarks as we stand at the threshold of St John’s Co-Cathedral in central Valletta, necks craned towards the ceiling. Armies of painted angels swirl overhead, elaborate carvings festoon archways lining the nave and painstakingly detailed marble inlay covers the floor. But all this splendour pales in comparison to the gold — thick, gleaming coats of which adorn nearly every surface in dazzling maximalist fashion. “This cathedral was built by the knights, for the knights,” Father Charles continues, a smile spreading across his white-bearded face.
“And as you can see, the knights were very wealthy.” It’s impossible to speak about St John’s Co-Cathedral — or about the Maltese capital Valletta at all — without speaking about the Knights of St John. This religious and military order, founded in Jerusalem in the medieval ages, was charged with the defence of the Holy Land under papal charter. With support from Pope Clement VII, the exclusive collective, consisting solely of wealthy men from elite noble families, made Malta its new headquarters in the 16th century. It would go on to rule here for more than 250 years, building countless artistic wonders including the entire fortified city of Valletta — and its crowning glory, this cathedral.
“The knights came from noble families all across Europe and you can see each of their nations represented in different chapels along the nave,” Father Charles says as we begin to walk the glinting interior. As the cathedral’s in-house conservator, he knows each piece of artwork inside out, and has restored many of them himself. As we move, he shares stories of the paintings, their artists and the trials of upkeep (“I needed to reline the frame on this Mattia Preti painting — it took me a year!”).
In the comparatively austere French chapel he points out the restrained Nazarene-style fleur de lis motif; and in the Aragon, elaborate metallic sculptures. It quickly becomes clear that St John’s Co-Cathedral is not just a church, but a showcase of some of the finest 16th and 17th century European art and architecture, a bit like a living Louvre or Rijksmuseum. “Look at this wood; it doesn’t come from Malta, we don’t have big trees like this,” Father Charles enthuses over a ceiling beam, before adding, “The knights brought in all the best artists of the time — and all the best materials too.”
Stepping back out into the daylight after my ecclesiastical art-history lesson, winged angels and silver-plated liturgical paraphernalia still spiralling through my mind, I find I have a new-found appreciation for Valletta’s baroque downtown. Handsome honeyed facades are lined in ornate stonework, subtle cream townhouses sport painted wooden gallarija (closed balconies) and narrow cobbled streets run downhill towards the expansive Grand Harbour, its waters criss-crossed with yachts and colourful luzzu fishing boats.
As I wander through the compact grid of streets, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, I pass restaurants, gift shops and pods of tourists, as well as locals lucky enough to live among this aesthetic wealth year-round — couples walking fluffy Maltese dogs and collared priests scooting around corners into tiny churches. The old city headquarters of the knights may be extraordinarily pretty, but they’re also brimming with life.
(How to spend a day in Valetta, Malta's baroque, harbourside city.)
It wasn’t always like this, of course. When the knights began to build their capital in 1566, atop a raised peninsula on Malta’s east coast, the land — flanked by that rambling natural harbour — was almost barren. Or so it seemed. Long before the knights arrived, however, the area had been pockmarked with the imprints of much more ancient peoples.
That’s what I learn at the National Museum of Archaeology, where I head that afternoon, less than a block away from the cathedral. Simple displays in glass cabinets belie the irreplaceable treasures within: artefacts recovered from Malta’s numerous neolithic sites. Scattered across the island, some spots are thought to date to 3600 BCE — older than the Egyptian pyramids or Stonehenge.
Over millennia, travellers from across the Mediterranean came to this sun-soaked island to settle, each civilisation leaving their mark before the next succeeded. As I move from room to room in the museum, I learn about the prehistoric Sicilians who ushered in elaborate megalithic structures between 4000-2500 BCE, and the Phoenicians’ smooth pottery, precious gold amulets and purple dyed fabrics dating to around 700 BCE.
I see rudimentary miniature sculptures and stone necklaces of imported greenstone, and swirling stone carvings removed from the 5,000-year-old Tarxien Temples, whose ruins lie four miles from the museum.
Most remarkable of all is one of the smallest exhibits: a tiny clay figure entitled Sleeping Lady, discovered in the subterranean galleries of the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum — an ancient necropolis less than 15 minutes’ drive from where I stand. Lying on her side, eyes peacefully closed, she looks as if she’s just slipped into her eternal slumber, despite being carved millennia ago. As museum visitors pause in the dimly lit exhibition space to admire her gentle serenity, they can’t help but hush, as if not to wake her.
Timeless appeal
Over my next few days in the city, more of Valletta’s artistic riches slowly reveal themselves. The MUŻA National Museum of Art, in a beautiful baroque building a short walk from the National Museum of Archaeology, bursts with oil paintings, mosaics and polished wooden marquetry tables. In the historic Teatru Manoel, one of the oldest working theatres in Europe, a grand chandelier illuminates rows of gilded boxes.
Casa Rocca Piccola — a 440-year-old noble family home-cum-museum — showcases an extensive collection of visual treasures, including elaborate gold filigree and Maltese lace. There are historic knights-related oddities, too, such as a chess set minus the queens, designed specifically for the male-only order. As I enter a dining space laid with precious cutlery and ceramics, I feel almost like I’m in a residential version of St John’s Co-Cathedral, unsure how to take in the sheer amount of artistic detail in front of me.
As I continue to explore, I find that the city’s aesthetic charm is not only hidden behind closed doors. One evening, at sunset, I stand in the landscaped Upper Barrakka Gardens overlooking the harbour as toy-sized boats zigzag through the waters far below and nature paints the sky pink and orange with its own masterful palette.
It would be easy to think of Valletta as being a kind of artistic timewarp, an unchanging world of gilded wonder. And yet its artistic evolution is not complete. A new chapter begins later this year with the opening of MICAS — the Malta International Contemporary Art Space — in vast historic fortifications and ramparts just outside the city walls.
“These works address our sense of space and time, and how these can be distorted,” says British contemporary artist Conrad Shawcross, the museum’s first exhibitor, as he leads me through a small portion of the site already open to visitors. We wander along the bleached stone ramparts towards old military vaults, ducking into the squeezed spaces to see his intricate light installation, Slow Arc Within a Cube. In the darkness, metallic grid sculptures with moving bulb mechanisms throw metamorphosing shapes across the ceiling, walls and floor, appearing to change the dimensions of the space with every passing moment.
“I made this piece 10 years ago and it’s been shown in various locations around the world, but I’m delighted it’s found a permanent resting place here in Malta,” explains Conrad as we watch his light machines cast hypnotic illuminations. One of MICAS’s aims is to balance Malta’s extensive history with exciting artistic innovation — both local and global — and this blend of fort architecture and modern craftwork seems the perfect embodiment. It’s a theme explored further in Conrad’s large-scale installation on the ramparts, Beacons. Blinking against the noon sun after our time in the dim vaults, we gaze up at the series of huge colourful discs, mounted flag-like on poles. Visible from far across the harbour, they look like some kind of naval semaphoric code — and in fact, Conrad tells me, they are. Pointing to each oversized disc in turn, he spells out their succinct meaning: ‘NOW’.
On my final night in the city, I return to St John’s Co-Cathedral. The clusters of visitors have cleared out for the day, leaving the vast interiors eerily quiet. Showing my concert ticket to the guard, I’m ushered into a small oratory, where I take a seat among an intimate audience.
Lights are dimmed, a harp is played and a woman sings sweet baroque medleys by candlelight as we gaze up towards the altar, which is adorned with what is arguably Valletta’s most precious artistic treasure of all. The Beheading of St John the Baptist, an oil painting by 16th-century Italian artistic master Caravaggio, stretches more than five metres wide, a brutal and haunting scene of disimpassioned spectatorship. A prostrate St John, with his throat brutally slit, bleeds on the ground while callous onlookers support a stoney-faced executioner. The only humanity in the painting is embodied by a single, horrified woman.
The longer I stare, baroque music washing across the oratory, the more details emerge from the darkness. Caravaggio’s signature in the pool of blood — this is his only signed work — and the glint of the silver knife. It induces awe not for ornate gilding, like so much in the city, but for intimate drama. We’re a small group of strangers collectively witnessing the stirring tragedy of this painting, 400 years after the artist put brush to canvas.
It’s hard to compute all that Caravaggio’s eternal masterpiece has witnessed in its long history, or what it will see in years to come. But for me, a fleeting visitor to this place, the concert becomes a vivid living postcard of my time in Valletta. A brief but beautiful moment shared by many over the centuries. | |||||
9289 | dbpedia | 2 | 16 | https://www.petersbigadventure.com/blog/valletta-malta | en | Peter Explores The Maltese Capital: Valletta | http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5876d8d6e3df28c4d83ae377/588b939205b037cee8e7fa68/5a74795e9140b7e056146995/1716549708620/valletta-sliema-sunset-photography-21.jpg?format=1500w | http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5876d8d6e3df28c4d83ae377/588b939205b037cee8e7fa68/5a74795e9140b7e056146995/1716549708620/valletta-sliema-sunset-photography-21.jpg?format=1500w | [
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"Peter"
] | 2018-05-18T08:20:14-05:00 | I think that most people who visit Malta arrive suffering from an information deficit, because one of the first tourist attractions any local will tell you to see is a 45 minute movie explaining things. Indeed, at first glance, the Maltese capital city, Valletta, will leave you incredulous. I think | en | https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5876d8d6e3df28c4d83ae377/1485127547854-JYVVW98P68AY8KSC5OKT/favicon.ico | Peter's Big Adventure | https://www.petersbigadventure.com/blog/valletta-malta | Malta In 3 Minutes
I think that most people who visit Malta arrive suffering from an information deficit, because one of the first tourist attractions any local will tell you to see is a 45 minute movie explaining things. Indeed, at first glance, the Maltese capital city, Valletta, will leave you incredulous. I think that everybody who lives there knows that it requires some explanation. All that I kept thinking when I first arrived was "How did this place come to be and how do I know so little about it?" Well the movie answers those questions, and more. But for now, you'll just have to hear it from me!
Malta was actually settled around 5200 BCE, and ruins from this period are surprisingly well preserved, making Malta a dark-horse contender for one of the world's best destinations for prehistoric enthusiasts. Malta was also the site of Saint Paul's famous shipwreck. He spent around 3 months on this island with the Maltese, leaving behind a treasure trove of historical sites bearing his name. These are a few highlights, but the truth is that Malta has played a small role in more events than I can possible cover here.
The strategic location of these tiny islands made them eternally valuable from a geopolitical standpoint. For this reason, they have been ruled by a very long list of history's great western powers, including the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Sicilians, Spanish, Knights of St. John, French, and lastly, the British. Each of these empires left their mark on Malta, but it was the British that would ultimately pave Malta's path to becoming an independent state.
During WWII, Malta was part of the fading British Empire, and served as a giant infirmary for the Allied forces. However, when the smoke cleared, the island itself was left in a state of disrepair. These tiny islands endured heavy bombing from German and Italian forces, particularly between 1940 and 1942, during what is now known as the siege of Malta. The Maltese displayed such bravery during this time that King George IV awarded the them, collectively, the George Cross to "bear witness to a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history." That sounds nice and all, but after the war, the British sort of left the Maltese high and dry. The island was damn near destroyed and people were on the verge of starvation, but they made it through and gained independence from the British in 1962. However, the Brits didn't actually leave the island until March 31st 1979, so this is the date that is now celebrated as Malta's equivalent of Independence Day, locally referred to as "Freedom Day."
It was a rocky road, but today's Malta is doing very well. Malta is now a part of the European Union and is making a name for itself as an off-shore banking destination. It's a playground for the super-wealthy where—and this is true—you can buy citizenship for about one million dollars. And that is not only Maltese citizenship, but also citizenship for the whole EU. However, for all its slick Bond-villain appeal, Malta still retains a very strong local culture.
Did you know that Malta has its own language? While most people here also speak English, their first language is actually Maltese. And, interestingly, Maltese is a Semitic language, which means that it is closely tied to languages like Arabic, Amharic, and Hebrew, to name a few. However, it's written in a Latin alphabet and the Maltese have adopted a collection of phrases from Romance languages like French and Italian. This varied set of influences speaks volumes (pun intended) about the fascinating and diverse history of these tiny islands. Indeed, to be Maltese is quite a distinct ethnicity. These islands might look like Mediterranean vacation-land to you and I, but to many, this is and has always been home.
So let's get to 'sploring!
We flew into the capital city, Valletta, well before sunrise. Our short flight out of Tunis had left at 4:00am, which put us in Malta well before sunrise. At this ungodly hour, the airport was most vacant, but I was already relishing its cleanliness. Tunis had been sort of a nightmare for us.
We were staying in an Airbnb across the bay from Valletta in an area called Birgu. Our taxi driver dropped us off on a small road on the side of a large marina just before dawn. This was early January, so the air was crisp and cold. After about 15 minutes of wandering around, we managed to get our Airbnb host on the phone. He came to get us and showed us to the apartment we had rented. It was a big step up from our smoky hotel room in Tunis, but had one obvious pitfall: no heat! This apparently is normal in Malta because most of the year it's blazing hot, but for a couple months a year, everybody is just a little bit chilly. So why bother with heating? It's kind of like the opposite of living in Boston where you spend so much of the year bundled up that most landlords can get away with forcing you to live in a sauna for a couple months a year. All things considered, Malta in January really wasn't that bad.
So, now that I had had a chance to have a nice shower and lay down for a moment, I was ready to grab my camera and run back out in time for sunrise. And guys, I went on a photography RAMPAGE. Here's what I'm about to show you—click one to zoom down
Rampage Part 1: Birgu 🌅
Rampage Part 2: Valletta ☀️
Rampage Part 3: Sliema 🌇
We walked out our front door that first morning as the sun was rising, and walked along the marina out towards the edge of the Birgu peninsula. As we were walking, the light was changing quickly, and I couldn't believe my surroundings. On either side of the inlet that formed this marina, sand-colored walls shot up out of the oceans to form a jumbled post-medieval cityscape. It was kind of surreal to look at it. This place almost felt like an elaborate movie set. Sometimes things are so beautiful that the photographer in me gets overwhelmed and panics. We weren't going to have many more sunrises in Valletta, so I needed to make this one count. But I had no idea where I was. I had been in this country for all of 2 hours at this point. I was in danger of squandering one of my few precious sunsets!
I figured that walking towards the nose of this peninsula would be a fail-safe option, because the city of Valletta would be just across the bay. However, after 10 minutes of walking, we were confronted with Fort St. Angelo, and giant sandcastle sticking out into the ocean. The light was changing fast, so I walked onward, hoping to find some way to shimmy around the side of the fortress, and to my surprise, I actually found one. Up scraggly overhang, through an open gate, down a dirt hill, and through a hole that had been blasted through a sandy brick wall, I found myself standing on a smooth rocky outcropping, looking directly across the bay at Valletta. That could not have worked out more perfectly. Here's a map to show you where I was...
Walking Around Birgu
Sunrise looking across the bay at Valletta was gorgeous, but Birgu turned out to be a beautiful neighborhood in its own rite. Once the sun had risen sufficiently high in the sky, we took the first of what would be a few different walks through this neighborhood. The streets universally maintained their sandcastle-esque vibe, with gorgeous sandy churches rising out of the crowded cityscape at every turn.
This area around Birgu is also known as Città Vittoriosa, and surprisingly, has a much longer history than the capital city, Valletta, which sits just across the bay. Indeed, the origins of Birgu stretch well into the earliest days of the Middle Ages, when it served as the de facto capital of Malta. Up until the construction of Valletta in the 1500s, Birgu was the center of Maltese government and commerce. Today, however, despite it's enduring beauty, it sits squarely in Valletta's shadow. I am happy to have stayed on this side of the bay, because if I hadn't, I'm not sure that I would have thought to come over here.
The weather in early January was unpredictable, with storms moving in and out often. Over the course of our trip, we would often find ourselves racing to get back to our Airbnb before the rain started, with varying degrees of success. As a result, you will see a lot of pictures in the gallery below with very ominous-looking clouds. Winter is definitely the off-season in Malta, but despite scattered showers, I still had a great time here.
Landing on the docks of Valletta, you have a steep climb ahead of you. We hauled our asses up and down the winding streets and staircases at least 8 times before realizing that there is an elevator that takes people from the docks straight to the top of everything. So, learn from our mistake. If you take the ferry from Birgu, this elevator is going to be on your left.
Walking around the streets of Valletta, there is no shortage of bars, bakeries, restaurants, hotels, etc. It's lively! Despite it's aged look and feel, this is a fully functioning European capital. And we were arriving at a special time for Valletta. In 2018, Malta was selected as a "European Capital of Culture," which is an honor given each year to a city, which then must hold a week-long festival showcasing their local culture. Valletta was covered in lighting displays and lingering Christmas displays during our visit, as crews of workers rushed to get everything ready. We would not be in Malta for the actual festival, but at least we saved on cost of accommodations. Below is a gallery organized according to the time of day, so you can scroll through morning to night.
Every street corner of Valletta is weathered and worn from centuries' worth of wind and rain. There are often elaborate statues mounted at intersections, with antique streetlights suspended over the center with wires. The streets themselves are very straight and narrow. Valletta was built on a grid system for the sake of military strategy, and this means that, despite the steep climb upwards from its north and south banks, roads do not double back on themselves to ease the incline. Instead, they rocket straight downhill, with staircases built into many of the sidewalks.
In many of the vertical pictures you will see elaborate lights on display. These were being put up during our stay in Malta in preparation for the aforementioned "European Capital of Culture" celebration. Meanwhile, public workers were slowly but surely phasing out the lingering Christmas decorations, which took the form of long, green strands of tinsel with red and white wreaths hanging every so often. Here's a gallery of my favorite vertical shots of the streets in Valletta...
Church of St. Paul's Shipwreck
One place that was of particular interest to us in Valletta was the famous church commemorating St. Paul's Shipwreck. Yes, that is THE Apostle Paul, from the Bible. The story goes that, around 60 A.D., he was on a boat bound for Rome, but the ship carrying him got caught in a violent storm and sank just off the coast of Malta. Paul washed up on the shore of Malta, and was promptly bitten by a poisonous snake. To the enormous surprise of the locals, he suffered no harm from this bite. People were mystified. They knew he must be somebody special, and this was reinforced when he performed other miracles while on the Isles of Malta. He planted the seeds of the gospel here, and Malta ended up being one of the first colonies in the Roman Empire to convert to Christianity.
Here's a passage from Acts Chapter 28 describing the event:
We took the ferry from Valletta across to these apartments. The streets were crowded with people, much more so than had been the case in Valletta or Birgu. There were public squares packed with families, friends, couples, you name it. There were lots of local food options and upscale clothing stores. And also a McDonald's where we took a quite pit-stop to use the bathroom. McDonald's are everywhere, man.
Apparently, in Maltese, the world "Sliema" means "peace and comfort." This area of Malta has traditionally been known as a small fishing village, of little geopolitical importance. However, in the 1800s, the population began to grow, and it officially became a town. It's role as a commercial and residential center continues to this day, but none of those things are the reason that we wanted to come here. We came to Sliema to catch a glimpse of what I believe is the quintessential view of the city of Valletta. And we came to do it at sunset. You know how I love catching photos of these beautiful views as the light changes, right? Well, before I show you any of those photos, let me just show you a map to give you some context...
The ferry ride over here was far and away the most crowded boat we took during our whole time in Malta. It seemed that Sliema was "the place to be." The ferry station of Sliema was a good ways inland from the lookout point we were looking for, so we had to walk 10 minutes or so out to the edge of the peninsula. Here we found a nice jogging path that wrapped around the nose of Sliema. People were walking together, taking in the view, or posted up along side us, ready to watch the sunset. I kept looking back at the apartments above us thinking about what an insane view this would be to wake up to every morning.
So this view—let's see it! What follows is a series of photographs that I took, looking back at the old city of Valletta as the sun set for the night. This was early January, so the air was cool and salty, but it was still a gorgeous night. Check these out...
Beautiful, right?
This tiny Mediterranean island took me completely by surprise. It wasn't that long ago that I couldn't even place Malta on a map.
When we were first conceptualizing this trip to Malta, this is all that we were expecting our trip to entail—the immediate Valletta region—but fate had other plans for us. Through a personal connection from the hometown (Columbus, Ohio), we got hooked up with a new (local) friend, who made time to get in the car with us and drive us all around the island. We have Etienne to thank for the next couple articles on Malta, but for now, it's time to sign off!
NEXT STOP: Mdina, the Silent City
Stay tuned. | ||
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] | null | [] | 2016-06-14T14:40:21+02:00 | THE KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN
The Knights of St. John also known as The Order of Malta is one of the few Orders created in the Middle Ages and still active today. It is also the only one that is at the same time religious and sovereign. | en | //theknightsofmalta.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/KOM-fav-16px.png | The Knights of Malta | https://theknightsofmalta.com/history/ | THE KNIGHTS HOSPITALLERS
The Hospitallers probably arose as a group of individuals associated with an Amalfitan hospital in the Muristan district of Jerusalem, which was dedicated to St John the Baptist and founded around 1023 by Blessed Gerard Thom to provide care for poor, sick or injured pilgrims to the Holy Land. After the Latin Christian conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 during the First Crusade, the organisation became a religious and military order under its own Papal charter, and it was charged with the care and defence of the Holy Land. Following the conquest of the Holy Land by Islamic forces, the Order operated later from Rhodes and then later from Malta.
The Order was weakened in the Reformation, when rich commanderies of the Order in northern Germany and the Netherlands became Protestant and the Order was disestablished in England, Denmark, and elsewhere in northern Europe. The Roman Catholic order was further weakened by Napoleon’s capture of Malta in 1798 and became dispersed throughout Europe. It regained strength during the early 19th century as it redirected itself towards humanitarian and religious causes. In 1834, the Order known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), acquired new headquarters in Rome where it has remained since. In 2013, the Order has 13,500 members, 80,000 volunteers, and 25,000 mostly medical employees who operate in 120 countries across the world. This includes Muslim nations and Protestant branches of the Order who engages in similar work. Recently the Order focused on developing countries in Africa, following the introduction of austerity in the Eurozone and the United Kingdom. The Order increases their attention in Europe, establishing shelters and soup kitchens to help the homeless and those suffering from hunger.
Five contemporary, state-recognised Chivalry orders which claim inheritance to the Hospitaller tradition of the “The Sovereign Military Order of Malta”, which is the original Order. Protestant orders exist and operate in Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden.
In 623, Pope Gregory I commissioned the Ravennate Abbot Probus, who was previously Gregory’s emissary at the Lombard court, to build a hospital in Jerusalem to treat and care for Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land. In 800, Charlemagne, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, enlarged Probus’ hospital and added a library to it. In 1005, Caliph Al Hakim destroyed the hospital and three thousand other buildings in Jerusalem with the result that merchants from Amalfi and Salerno in Italy were given permission by the Caliph Ali az-Zahir of Egypt to rebuild the hospital. This was built on the site of the monastery of Saint John the Baptist, which took refuge, Christian pilgrims travelling to the holy lands.
The monastic Hospitaller order was founded following the First Crusade by the Blessed Gerard, whose role as founder was confirmed by a Papal bull of Pope Paschal II in 1113. Gerard acquired territory and revenues for his order throughout the Kingdom of Jerusalem and beyond. Under his successor, Raymond du Puy de Provence, the hospice expanded with an infirmary not far from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The Hospitallers main duty was to care for pilgrims, but the Order soon extended to providing pilgrims with protection. The Hospitallers and the Knights Templar became the most formidable military orders in the Holy Land. Frederick Barbarossa, the Holy Roman Emperor, pledged his protection to the Knights of St. John in a charter of privileges granted in 1185.
In 1187, Roger de Moulins provided his service to the sick; the first mention of military service is in the statutes of the ninth Grandmaster, Alonso of Portugal .In the latter a marked distinction is made between secular knights, externs to the Order, who served only for a time, and the professed knights, attached to the order by a perpetual vow, and who alone enjoyed the same spiritual privileges as the other religious. The order numbered three distinct classes of membership: the military brothers, the brothers infirmarians, and the brothers chaplains, to whom was entrusted the divine service.
The order came to distinguish itself in battle with the Muslims, its soldiers wearing a black surcoat with a white cross. In 1248 Pope Innocent IV (1243–54), approved a standard military dress for the Hospitallers to be worn in battle. Instead of a closed cape over their armour (which restricted their movements) they should wear a red surcoat with a white cross emblazoned on it.
Many of the more substantial Christian fortifications in the Holy Land were built by the Templars and the Hospitallers. At the height of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Hospitallers held seven great forts and 140 other estates in the area. The two largest of these, their bases of power in the Kingdom and in the Principality of Antioch, were the Krak des Chevaliers and Margat in Syria. The property of the Order was divided into priories, subdivided into bailiwicks, which in turn were divided into commandries.
As early as the late 12th century the order had begun to achieve recognition in the Kingdom of England and Duchy of Normandy. As a result, buildings such as St John’s Jerusalem and the Knights Gate, Quenington in England were built on land donated to the order by local nobility. An Irish house was established at Kilmainham, near Dublin, and the Irish Prior was usually a key figure in Irish public life.
The rising power of Islam eventually expelled the Knights from Jerusalem. After the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1291 (Jerusalem itself fell in 1187), the Knights were confined to the County of Tripoli and, when Acre was captured in 1291, the order sought refuge in the Kingdom of Cyprus. Finding themselves becoming enmeshed in Cypriot politics, their Master, Guillaume de Villaret, created a plan of acquiring their own temporal domain, selecting Rhodes to be their new home, part of the Byzantine empire. His successor, Fulkes de Villaret, executed the plan, and on 15 August 1309, after over two years of campaigning, the island of Rhodes surrendered to the knights. They also gained control of a number of neighbouring islands and the Anatolian port of Bodrum and Kastelorizo.
Pope Clement V dissolved the Hospitallers’ rival order, the Knights Templar, in 1312 with a series of papal bulls, including the Ad providam bull, which turned over much of their property to the Hospitallers. The holdings were organised into eight “tongues” (one each in Crown of Aragon, Auvergne, Castile, England, France, Germany, Italy, and Provence). Each was administered by a Prior or, if there was more than one priory in the tongue, by a Grand Prior. At Rhodes and later Malta, the resident knights of each tongue were headed by a Bailli. The English Grand Prior at the time was Philip De Thame, who acquired the estates allocated to the English tongue from 1330 to 1358. In 1334, the Knights of Rhodes defeated Andronicus and his Turkish auxiliaries. In the 14th century, there were several other battles in which they fought.
On Rhodes the Hospitallers, by then also referred to as the Knights of Rhodes, were forced to become more militarized, having to defend themselves against the Barbary pirates. They withstood two invasions in the 15th century, one by the Sultan of Egypt in 1444 and another by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II in 1480 who, after capturing Constantinople and defeating the Byzantine Empire.
In 1522, 400 ships under the command of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent delivered 100,000 men to the island. Against this force, the Knights, under Grand Master Philippe Villiers de L’Isle-Adam, had only 7,000 men-at-arms. The siege lasted six months which the surviving defeated Hospitallers were allowed to withdraw to Sicily. Despite the defeat, both Christians and Muslims seem to have regarded the conduct of Villiers de L’Isle-Adam as extremely valiant, and the Grand Master was proclaimed a Defender of the Faith by Pope Adrian VI.
After seven years of moving from place to place in Europe the Knights became established in 1530 when Charles I of Spain, and King of Sicily, gave them Malta, Gozo and the North African port of Tripoli in perpetual fiefdom in exchange for an annual fee of a single Maltese falcon , which they were to send on All Souls Day to the King’s representative, the Viceroy of Sicily, (this historical fact was used as the plot hook in Dashiell Hammett’s famous book The Maltese Falcon).
The Hospitallers continued their actions against the Muslims and especially the Barbary pirates. Although they had only a few ships they quickly drew the ire of the Ottomans, who were unhappy to see the order resettled. In 1565 Suleiman sent an invasion force of about 40,000 men to besiege the 700 knights and 8,000 Maltese soldiers.
At first the battle for the besieged was becoming desperate: dwindling daily in numbers, they were becoming too feeble to hold the long line of fortifications. The Grandmasters council suggested the abandonment of Vittoriosa and Senglea and withdrawal to Fort St. Angelo but Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette refused.
The Viceroy of Sicily at first had not sent help; A wrong decision could mean a defeat and exposing Sicily and Naples to the Ottomans. He had left his own son with La Valette, so he could hardly be indifferent to the fate of the fortress.
On 23 August came yet another grand assault and was the last serious effort, proved, by the besiegers. The Maltese with the greatest difficulty throw back the Turkish army.. The plight of the Turkish forces, however, was now desperate, with the exception of Fort St. Elmo, the fortifications were still intact. Working night and day the Maltese garrison had repaired the breaches, and the capture of Malta seemed more and more impossible for the Turks. Many of the Ottoman troops in crowded quarters had fallen ill due to lack of ,water and the heat of the summer months. Ammunition and food were beginning to run short, and the Ottoman troops were becoming increasingly dispirited by the failure of their attacks and their losses. on 23 June The death of commander Dragut, a corsair and admiral of the Ottoman fleet, was a serious blow. The Turkish commanders, Piyale Pasha and Mustafa Pasha lacked the leadership.
On 1 September they made their last effort, but the morale of the Ottoman troops had deteriorated seriously and the attack was feeble, to the great encouragement of the besieged, who now began to see hopes of deliverance. The perplexed and indecisive Ottomans heard of the arrival of Sicilian reinforcements in Mellieħa Bay. Unaware that the force was very small, they broke off the siege and left Malta on 8 September. The Great Siege of Malta may have been the last action in which a force of knights won a decisive victory.
When the Ottomans departed, the Maltese and Hospitallers had but 600 men able to bear arms. The most reliable estimate puts the number of the Ottoman army at its height losing some 40,000 men, of whom 15,000 eventually returned to Constantinople. The siege is portrayed vividly in the frescoes of Matteo Perez d’Aleccio in the Hall of St. Michael and St. George, also known as the Throne Room, in the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta; four of the original modellos, painted in oils by Perez d’Aleccio between 1576 and 1581, can be found in the Cube Room of the Queen’s House at Greenwich, London. After the siege a new city had to be built: the present capital city of Malta, named Valletta in memory of the Grand Master who had withstood the siege.
In 1607, the Grand Master of the Hospitallers was granted the status of Reichsfürst (Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, even though the Order’s territory was always south of the Holy Roman Empire). In 1630, he was awarded ecclesiastic equality with cardinals, and the unique hybrid style His Most Eminent Highness, reflecting both qualities qualifying him as a true Prince of the Church.
Following the Knights’ re-establishment on Malta, they had found themselves devoid of their initial reason for existence: assisting and joining the crusades in the Holy Land was now impossible, for reasons of military and financial strength along with geographical position. With dwindling revenues from European sponsors no longer willing to support a costly and meaningless organization, the Knights turned to policing the Mediterranean from the increased threat of piracy, most notably from the threat of the Ottoman-endorsed Barbary Corsairs operating from the North African coastline. Boosted towards the end of the 16th century by an air of invincibility following the successful defence of their island in 1565 and compounded by the Christian victory over the Ottoman fleet in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, the Knights and maltese set about protecting Christian merchant shipping to and from the Levant and freeing the captured Christian slaves who formed the basis of the Barbary corsairs’ piratical trading and navies. This became known as the ‘corso’.
Knights went beyond their call of duty by raiding Muslim ships. More and more ships were plundered, from the profits of which many Knights lived idly and luxuriously, taking local women to be their wives and enrolling in the navies of France and Spain in search of adventure, experience, and yet more money.
The knights’ changing attitudes were coupled with the effects of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation and the lack of stability from the Roman Catholic Church. All this affected the Knights strongly as the 16th and 17th centuries saw a gradual decline in the religious attitudes of many of the Christian peoples of Europe (and, concomitantly, the importance of a religious army), and thus in the Knights’ regular tributes from European nations. That the Knights, a Roman Catholic military order, pursued the readmittance of England as one of its member states — the Order there had been suppressed, along with monasteries, under King Henry VIII — upon the succession of the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I aptly demonstrates the new religious tolerance within the Order. For a time, the Order even possessed a German tongue which was part Protestant and part Roman Catholic.
The perceived moral decline that the Knights underwent over the course of this period is best highlighted by the decision of many Knights to serve in foreign navies and become “the mercenary sea-dogs of the 14th to 17th centuries”, with the French Navy proving the most popular destination. This decision went against the Knights’ cardinal reason for existence, in that by serving a European power directly they faced the very real possibility that they would be fighting against another Catholic force, as in the few Franco-Spanish naval skirmishes that occurred in this period. The biggest paradox is the fact that for many years the French remained on amicable terms with the Ottoman Empire, the Knights’ greatest and bitterest foe and purported sole purpose for existence. Paris signed many trade agreements with the Ottomans and agreed to an informal (and ultimately ineffective) cease-fire between the two states during this period. That the Knights associated themselves with the allies of their sworn enemies shows their moral ambivalence and the new commercial-minded nature of the Mediterranean in the 17th century. Serving in a foreign navy, in particular that of the French, gave the Knights the chance to serve the Church and for many, their King, to increase their chances of promotion in either their adopted navy or in Malta, to receive far better pay, to stave off their boredom with frequent cruises, to embark on the highly preferable short cruises of the French Navy over the long caravans favoured by the Maltese, and if the Knight desired, to indulge in some of the pleasures of a traditional debauched seaport. In return, the French gained and quickly assembled an experienced navy to stave off the threat of the Spanish and their Habsburg masters. The shift in attitudes of the Knights over this period is ably outlined by Paul Lacroix who states.
“Inflated with wealth, laden with privileges which gave them almost sovereign powers … the order at last became so demoralised by luxury and idleness that it forgot the aim for which it was founded, and gave itself up for the love of gain and thirst for pleasure. Its covetousness and pride soon became boundless. The Knights pretended that they were above the reach of crowned heads: they seized and pillaged without concern of the property of both infidels and Christians”.
With the Knights’ exploits growing in fame and wealth, the European states became more complacent about the Order, and more unwilling to grant money to an institution that was perceived to be earning a healthy sum on the high seas. Thus a vicious cycle occurred, increasing the raids and reducing the grants received from the nation-states of Christendom to such an extent that the balance of payments on the island had become dependent on conquest. The European powers lost interest in the Knights as they focused their intentions largely on one another during the Thirty Years War. In February 1641 a letter was sent from an unknown dignitary in the Maltese capital of Valletta to the Knights’ most trustworthy ally and benefactor, Louis XIV of France, stating the Order’s troubles.
“Italy provides us with nothing much; Bohemia and Germany hardly anything, and England and the Netherlands for a long time now nothing at all. We only have something to keep us going, Sire, in your own Kingdom and in Spain.”
It is important to note that the Maltese authorities would neglect to mention the fact that they were making a substantial profit policing the seas and seizing “infidel” ships and cargoes. The authorities on Malta immediately recognised the importance of corsairing to their economy and set about encouraging it, as despite their vows of poverty, the Knights were granted the ability to keep a portion of the ‘spoglio’, which was the prize money and cargo gained from a captured ship, along with the ability to fit out their own galleys with their new wealth.
The great controversy that surrounded the Knights’ ‘corso’ was their insistence on their policy of ‘vista’. This enabled the Order to stop and board all shipping suspected of carrying Turkish goods and confiscate the cargo to be re-sold at Valletta, along with the ship’s crew, who were by far the most valuable commodity on the ship. Naturally many nations claimed to be victims of the Knights’ over-eagerness to stop and confiscate any goods remotely connected to the Turks. In an effort to regulate the growing problem, the authorities in Malta established a judicial court, the Consiglio del Mer, where captains who felt wronged could plead their case, often successfully. The practice of issuing privateering licenses and thus state endorsement, which had been in existence for a number of years, was tightly regulated as the island’s government attempted to haul in the unscrupulous Knights and appease the European powers and limited benefactors. Yet these efforts were not all successful as the Consiglio del Mer contains numerous accounts from around the year 1700 of complaints of Maltese piracy in the region. Ultimately, the rampant over-indulgence in privateering in the Mediterranean was to be the Knights’ downfall in this particular period of their existence as they transformed from serving as the military outpost of a united Christendom to becoming another nation-state in a commercially oriented continent soon to be overtaken by the trading nations of the North Sea.
Having chosen Malta, the Knights stayed for 268 years, transforming what they called “merely a rock of soft sandstone” into a flourishing island with mighty defences and a capital city (Valletta) known as Superbissima, “Most Proud”, amongst the great powers of Europe.
In 1301, the Order was organized in seven Langues, by order of precedence: Provence, Auvergne, France, Aragon, Italy, England, and Germany. In 1462, the Langue of Aragon was divided into Castile-Portugal and Aragon-Navarre. The English Langue went into abeyance after the order’s properties were taken over by Henry VIII in 1540. In 1782, it was revived as the Anglo-Bavarian Langue, containing Bavarian and Polish priories. The structure of langues was replaced in the late 19th century by a system of national associations.
Not surprisingly, hospitals were among the first projects to be undertaken on Malta, where French soon supplanted Italian as the official language (though the native inhabitants continued to speak Maltese among themselves).[citation needed] The knights also constructed fortresses, watch towers, and naturally, churches. Its acquisition of Malta signalled the beginning of the Order’s renewed naval activity.
The building of the new Capital City of Valletta, named for Grand Master la Valette, was begun in 1566, soon becoming the home port of one of the Mediterranean’s most powerful navies. Valletta was designed by Francesco Laparelli, a military engineer, and his work was then taken up by Ġlormu Cassar. The city was completed in 1571. The island’s hospitals were enlarged. The main Hospital could accommodate 500 patients and was famous as one of the finest in the world. At the vanguard of medicine, the Hospital of Malta included Schools of Anatomy, Surgery and Pharmacy. Valletta itself was renowned as a centre of art and culture. The Church of St. John the Baptist, completed in 1577, contains works by Caravaggio and other Masters.
In Malta, the Public Library was also established in 1761. The University was founded seven years later, followed, in 1786, by a School of Mathematics and Nautical Sciences.
In 1604, each Langue was given a chapel in the conventual church of St. John and the arms of the Langue appear in the decoration on the walls and ceiling:
Even as it survived on Malta, the Order lost many of its European holdings following the rise of Protestantism. The property of the English branch was confiscated in 1540. The German Bailiwick of Brandenburg became Lutheran in 1577 but continued to pay its financial contribution to the Order until 1812, when the Protector of the Order in Prussia, King Frederick William III, turned it into an order of merit; in 1852, his son and successor as Protector, King Frederick William IV, restored the Johanniterorden to its continuing place as the chief Protestant branch of the Knights Hospitaller.
The Knights of Malta had a strong presence within the Imperial Russian Navy and the pre-revolutionary French Navy. When De Poincy was appointed governor of the French colony on St. Kitts in 1639, he was a prominent Knight of St. John and dressed his retinue with the emblems of the Order. In 1651, the Knights bought from the Compagnie des Îles de l’Amérique the islands of Sainte-Christophe, Saint Martin, and Saint Barthélemy. The Order’s presence in the Caribbean was eclipsed with De Poincy’s death in 1660. He had also bought the island of Saint Croix as his personal estate and deeded it to the Knights of St. John. In 1665, the order sold their Caribbean possessions to the French West India Company, ending the Order’s presence in that region.
The decree of the French National Assembly in 1789 abolishing feudalism in France also abolished the Order in France.
Titles of every description, as well as the dues which have been substituted for them, under whatever denomination they are known or collected, possessed by secular or regular congregations, by holders of benefices, members of corporations, as well as those devoted to the maintenance of churches, those impropriated to lay persons and those substituted for the portion congrue, are abolished.
The French Revolutionary Government seized the assets and properties of the Order in France in 1792.
The Mediterranean stronghold of Malta was captured by Napoleon in 1798 during his expedition to Egypt. Napoleon demanded from Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim that his ships be allowed to enter the port and to take on water and supplies. The Grand Master replied that only two foreign ships could be allowed to enter the port at a time. Bonaparte, aware that such a procedure would take a very long time and would leave his forces vulnerable to Admiral Nelson, Napoleon immediately ordered a cannon fusillade against the Island. The French soldiers disembarked in Malta on the morning of 11th June and attacked. After several hours of fierce fighting, the Maltese in the west side of Malta were forced to surrender. The Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim negotiated surrender to the invasion. Hompesch left Malta for Trieste on 18th June and resigned as Grand Master on 6 July 1799.
The knights were dispersed, but the order continued to exist in a diminished form and negotiated with European governments for a return to power. The Russian Emperor, Paul I, gave the largest number of knight’s shelter in St. Petersburg and boosted the Order’s recognition among the Russian Imperial Orders. The knights in St Petersburg proceeded to elect Tsar Paul as their Grand Master. Grand Master Paul I created, in addition to the Roman Catholic Grand Priory, a “Russian Grand Priory”. Paul’s election as Grand Master was, however, never ratified under Roman Catholic canon law, and he was the de facto rather than de jure Grand Master of the Order.
By the early 19th century, the order had been severely weakened by the loss of its priories throughout Europe. Only 10% of the order’s income came from traditional sources in Europe, with the remaining 90% being generated by the Russian Grand Priory until 1810. This was partly reflected in the status of the Order as Lieutenants, rather than Grand Masters where reining the Order. Later in the period 1805 to 1879, Pope Leo XIII restored a Grand Master to the order. This signalled the renewal of the order’s fortunes as a humanitarian and religious organization.
In 1834, the order settled in Rome. Hospital work, the original work of the order, once again became its main concern. The Order’s hospital and welfare activities, undertaken in World War I was on a considerable scale and were greatly intensified and expanded in World War II under the Grand Master Fra’ Ludovico Chigi Albani della Rovere (Grand Master 1931–1951).
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, better known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), is a Roman Catholic religious order and the world’s oldest surviving order of chivalry. Its sovereign status is recognised by membership in numerous international bodies and observer status at the United Nations and many others. | ||||
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] | null | [] | 2013-09-25T08:48:56+00:00 | French Blockade Batteries A Blockade Diary from Senglea Uprisings and Revolts A Debt that was never settled On 19 May 1798, a French fleet sailed from Toulon, escorting an expeditionary force of over 30,000 men under General Napoleon Bonaparte. The force was destined for Egypt, Bonaparte seeking to expand French influence in Asia and force… | en | Vassallo History | https://vassallohistory.wordpress.com/french-blockade/comment-page-1/#comments | On 19 May 1798, a French fleet sailed from Toulon, escorting an expeditionary force of over 30,000 men under General Napoleon Bonaparte. The force was destined for Egypt, Bonaparte seeking to expand French influence in Asia and force Britain to make peace in the French Revolutionary Wars, which had begun in 1792. Sailing southeast, the convoy collected additional transports from Italian ports and at 05:30 on 9 June arrived off Valletta. Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, refused Bonaparte’s demand that his entire convoy be allowed to enter Valletta and take on supplies, insisting that Malta’s neutrality meant that only two ships could enter at a time.
Capitulation of Malta to General Bonaparte
On receiving this reply, Bonaparte immediately ordered his fleet to bombard Valletta and on 11 June General Louis Baraguey d’Hilliers directed an amphibious operation in which several thousand soldiers landed at seven strategic sites around the island. The French Knights deserted the order, and the remaining Knights failed to mount a meaningful resistance. Approximately 2,000 native Maltese militia resisted for 24 hours, retreating to Valletta once the city of Mdina fell to General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois. Although Valletta was strong enough to hold out against a lengthy siege, Bonaparte negotiated a surrender with Hompesch, who agreed to turn Malta and all of its resources over to the French in exchange for estates and pensions in France for himself and his knights. Bonaparte then established a French garrison on the islands, leaving 4,000 men under Vaubois while he and the rest of the expeditionary force sailed eastwards for Alexandria on 19 June.
During his one week stay, général Buonaparte issued no fewer than 10 Orders or Ordinances embodying 98 Articles, to ensure that Malta now belonged to the French Republic. French was made the official language. The articles included the dismissal of the Order, the mandatory wearing of the tricolour cockade, the abolition of the slavery, the liberation of the buonavogli, the abolition of the University and the creation of a central school, religious freedom for the Orthodox Greeks and the Jews, compulsory schooling.
The Ordinances Napoleon issued can be grouped in four categories (see table below). His reforms were based on the principles of the French Revolution. But the French did not have enough time to put these reforms to practice.
A brand new government was composed of nine Maltese notables and the Chief French Commissary Regnaud de Saint-Jean- d’Angély. The Palace Square became place de la Liberté, and streets took the name of rue de la Félicité Publique, rue des Droits de l’Homme ou rue Napoléon Bonaparte. On 18 June, he was on board l’Orient with the treasure of the Knights worth five million francs in gold and one million in silver plates. On 19 June, the expedition set sail for Egypt, leaving général de division Vaubois, appointed Commandant en chef des Isles de Malte et du Goze, to defend the islands with 3,053 men, 5 companies of artillery and a medical unit. At first the French tried to win the support of the Catholic Church, but quickly the Maltese Church found itself nearly abolished: papal jurisdiction abolished, prohibition of the consecration of new priests under the age of thirty, and expulsion of all priests, regular clergy and nuns who were not native of Malta. Additionally, civil marriage was declared to be legal.
Maltese uprising
The Maltese were soon disgusted by their new masters. Outraged by the plundering of their churches, and faced by an unprecedented economic and financial crisis that had been precipitated by the draining of most of the cash. On 2 September, this anger erupted in a popular uprising during an auction of the Mdina Carmelite church property, and within days thousands of Maltese irregulars had driven the French garrison into Valletta. Soon the two islands were in a state of full rebellion, and the Maltese formed a National Assembly. They dispatched to a petition to King Ferdinand, their official Suzerain, in Naples, to help them in their struggle against the French. Though Ferdinand promised much, he did little, soon having enough on his own plate to worry much about his loyal Maltese subjects. Valletta was surrounded by approximately 10,000 irregular Maltese soldiers led by Emmanuele Vitale and Canon Frangisk Saverio Caruana. The Maltese were armed with 23 cannon and a small squadron of coastal gunboats. Although there was intermittent skirmishing between the garrison and the Maltese, the fortress was too strong for the irregulars to assault. On 19 September, a Portuguese squadron of four ships, Principe Réal, Rainha de Portugal, San Sebastian, and Alfonço Albuquerque, under the command of the Marquis Pinto-Guedes de Nizza Reale, appeared off Malta, and the blockade began. The squadron had been sent by St. Vincent from Cadiz to reinforce Nelson, but had arrived off Alexandria too late to take a part in the battle of the Nile.
The Portuguese ships returned to the blockade of the island in October. On 25 September 1798, a British convoy consisting of 13 battered ships under Captain Sir James Saumarez appeared off the island. Survivors of the Battle of the Nile, they were in urgent need of repair and unable to directly assist in the siege. Nevertheless, Saumarez met with representatives of the Maltese and on 25 September, sent an offer of truce to Vaubois on their behalf. Vaubois replied “Vous avez, sans doute, oublié que des Français sont dans la place. Le sort des habitans [sic] ne vous regarde pointe. Quant à votre sommation, les soldats français ne sont point habitués à ce style” (“You might have forgotten that the French hold this place. The fate of the inhabitants is none of your concern. As for your ultimatum, French soldiers are not accustomed to such a tone”). Unable to persuade the French to give in, Saumarez instead provided the Maltese forces with 1,200 muskets with which to continue the siege. Saumarez, unable to delay repairs any longer, sailed for Gibraltar at the end of the month. On 4 October, Nelson sent his orders to Alexander Ball:
You are hereby required and directed to proceed in his Majesty’s Ship Alexander, under your command, off the Island of Malta, taking with you the Ships named in the margin (Terpsichore, Bonne Citoyenne and Incendiary), whose Captains have my orders to follow your directions, and to use your endeavour to blockade the Ports of that Island, so, as to prevent any supplies getting in them for the French troops, as well as to prevent the escape of the French Ships now in that place…
From then on, the destinies of Alexander Ball and of Malta would be inextricably entangled. On 12 October, the British ships of the line HMS Alexander under Captain Alexander Ball, HMS Culloden under Captain Thomas Troubridge and HMS Colossus under Captain George Murray joined Niza’s ships off Malta, marking the formal start of the blockade. On the same day, Vaubois withdrew the last of his soldiers into the fortified new city of Valletta, accompanied by approximately 100 Maltese nationals who had joined the French forces. The garrison numbered over 3,000 men and initially at least was well supplied. In the harbour lay the ships of the line Dégo and Athénien and the frigate Carthaginoise, all of which were former ships of the Maltese Navy, as well as the newly arrived Guillaume Tell and frigates Justice and Diane, survivors of the Battle of the Nile under Rear-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, which had reached Malta at the end of September. On 24 October, the Vanguard, in company with the Minotaur (74, Captain Thomas Louis), arrived with Nelson on board. He confirmed his orders to Ball and added the Audacious and the Goliath to the blockade.
Capture of Gozo
On 24 October, after a ten day passage from Naples, Nelson joined the blockade squadron in HMS Vanguard accompanied by HMS Minotaur. On 28 October, Ball successful completed negotiations with the French garrison on the small island of Gozo, the 217 French soldiers there agreeing to surrender without a fight and transferring the island, its fortifications, 24 cannon, a large quantity of ammunition and 3,200 sacks of flour to the British. Although the island was formally claimed by King Ferdinand of Naples, it was administered by British and Maltese representatives, whose first action was to distribute the captured food supplies to the island’s 16,000 inhabitants. Malta and the surrounding islands were not self-sufficient and quickly the challenge of feeding the population became a strain on the islands’ resources, particularly with so many men under arms. Although now formally in command of the islands, King Ferdinand refused to assist with supplies, and the responsibility was left to Ball and his captains to arrange for the transport of supplies from Italy. By the end of the year, the number of Maltese troops in the field had fallen from 10,000 to 1,500, supported by 500 British and Portuguese marines from the blockade squadron. The blockade fleet, consisting of five British and four Portuguese ships, operated from St. Paul’s Bay and Marsa Sirocco (now Marsaxlokk) on the island of Malta itself.
Blockade
1799 was a frustrating year for the British and Maltese forces deployed against Malta, as efforts to secure sufficient forces to prosecute the siege were repeatedly denied. Major-General James St Clair-Erskine, commander of British Army forces in the Mediterranean, considered the on going War of the Second Coalition in Italy and the defence of Minorca to be higher priorities than Ball’s siege, while the defeated Neapolitans continued to refuse assistance. A Russian squadron under Admiral Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov briefly appeared off the island in January, but was almost immediately ordered to join the Russian and Turkish forces besieging the island of Corfu. In addition to the difficulties the Allies faced in obtaining food for the Maltese population, the French succeeded in bringing supplies through the blockade in the early part of the year: in January 1799 a schooner reached Valletta from Ancona, and in February the frigate Boudeuse evaded the blockade and entered the port with supplies from Toulon. In May, a major French expedition under Admiral Etienne Eustache Bruix entered the Western Mediterranean, forcing Nelson to recall his scattered fleet from across the region, temporarily raising the blockade of Malta. During this operation a number of French supply ships took advantage of the absence of the British squadron to enter Valletta. However, despite these occasional supply ships, the French garrison was rapidly running out of food. To conserve resources, the French forced the civilian population out of the city; the civilian population dropped from 45,000 in 1799 to 9,000 by 1800. Nelson himself took nominal command of the blockade, while Ball was made president of the Maltese National Congress. As liaison between the Maltese military and civilian commanders, he directed the distribution of supplies to the Maltese population, which was beginning to suffer from disease brought about by food shortages. He was replaced on Alexander by his first lieutenant, William Harrington. On 1 November Nelson again offered terms of surrender to Vaubois, and was again rebuffed, with the reply “Jaloux de mériter l’estime de votre nation, comme vous recherchez celle de la nôtre, nous sommes résolus défendre cette fortresse jusqu’à l’extrémité” (“Keen to deserve the esteem your nation, as you seek that of ours, we are resolved to defend this fortress until the end”). By this point, Nelson was conducting the blockade at a distance, based at the Neapolitan court in Palermo. There he indulged in gambling and social engagements, becoming closer and closer to Emma, Lady Hamilton, wife of the ambassador Sir William Hamilton. His behaviour was heavily criticised, not just by his commanding officer Vice-Admiral Lord Keith, who had recently replaced Earl St Vincent, but also by old friends such as Thomas Troubridge, who wrote to him “If you knew what your friends feel for you I am sure you would cut out all the nocturnal parties . . . I beseech your Lordship, leave off”. In December 1799, Erskine was replaced by Lieutenant-General Henry Edward Fox, who immediately redistributed 800 troops from the garrison at Messina to Malta under Brigadier-General Thomas Graham. These troops filled the gap left by the withdrawal of Portuguese forces, which had been ordered to return to Lisbon. Disease began to spread within the city as rations became scarcer. The arrival of an aviso in January 1800 with the news of the events of 18 Brumaire that made Bonaparte First Consul of France prompted a brief respite and a public statement from Vaubois that the city would never be surrendered, although conditions continued to deteriorate.
Starvation and relief
At the beginning of February 1800, the Neapolitan government, reinstated in Naples after being expelled the year before, finally agreed to participate in the siege and 1,200 troops were embarked on a squadron led by Vice-Admiral Lord Keith’s flagship HMS Queen Charlotte and landed on Malta. For a time, both Keith and Nelson remained with the blockade squadron, which consisted of six ships of the line and several British and Neapolitan frigates. On 17 February a message arrived with the squadron from the frigate HMS Success, which had been stationed off Sicily to watch for French reinforcements. Captain Shuldham Peard reported that he was shadowing a squadron of six or seven French ships sailing in the direction of Malta. These vessels were a relief squadron, sent from Toulon with extensive food supplies and 3,000 additional troops under Contre-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Perrée in Généreux, one of the ships of the line that had escaped at the Nile two years earlier. On 18 February, the convoy was sighted by lookouts on Alexander. In the ensuing chase, Success captured a French transport and attacked the much larger Généreux. Although the frigate was damaged in the exchange, Success’ second broadside mortally wounded Perrée and delayed the ship of the line long enough for HMS Foudroyant, under Lord Nelson, and HMS Northumberland to join the battle. Heavily outnumbered, Généreux surrendered. Shortly after the capture of the Généreux, Keith returned to the Italian coast in Queen Charlotte, where his flagship was lost in a fire that killed more than 700 of its crew, although Keith was ashore at the time.[28] Before departing, Keith issued strict instructions to Nelson that he was not to return to Palermo, but was to confine any shore leave in Sicily to Syracuse. Nelson ignored the order and by late March was in Palermo conducting an open love affair with Emma Hamilton. In his absence, Troubridge took over command of the blockade, delegating temporarily to Captain Manley Dixon. Dixon led the squadron on 31 March when Guillaume Tell attempted to break out on Valletta under Decrés. Spotted by the frigate HMS Penelope under Captain Henry Blackwood, Guillaume Tell was chased northwards and engaged by first Penelope and then by Dixon’s HMS Lion, driving both ships back but suffering severe damage. Eventually the arrival of the powerful Foudroyant under Captain Sir Edward Berry proved too much for Decrés, but he continued fighting for another two hours before he was forced to surrender his battered and dismasted ship; in the engagement, he lost more than 200 men killed and wounded.
Nelson’s cruise
In the aftermath of these defeats at sea, and with the food supply in Valletta dwindling, the British sent another demand for capitulation. Vaubois again refused, with the reply “Cette place est en trop bon état, et je suis moi-même trop jaloux de bien servir men payset de conserver mon honneur, por écouter vos propositions.” (“This place is in too good a situation, and I am too conscious of the service of my country and my honour, to listen to your proposals”). In reality, the situation was dire: during February, prices of basic foodstuffs stood at 16 francs for a fowl, 12 francs for a rabbit, 20 sous for an egg, 18 sous for a lettuce, 40 sous for a rat and six francs per pound for fish. For the civilian typhus patients, the only food available was a horse-flesh soup. On 23 April, Nelson departed Palermo in Foudroyant, with both Sir William and Emma Hamilton on board as his guests. The party visited Syracuse and then travelled on to Valletta, where Berry took Foudroyant so close to the harbour that the ship came under fire from the French batteries. No hits were scored, but Nelson was furious that Emma had been taken into danger and immediately ordered Berry to withdraw. His anger was exacerbated by Emma’s refusal to retire from the quarterdeck during the brief exchange.[34] From there, Foudroyant anchored at Marsa Sirocco, where Nelson and Emma lived together openly and were hosted by Troubridge and Graham. Sir William Hamilton, a prominent antiquarian as well as a diplomat, spent his time exploring the island. By early June, Nelson and his party had returned to Palermo, the beginning of a lengthy overland journey across Europe to Britain. Nelson also detached Foudroyant and Alexander from the blockade, again in defiance of Keith’s explicit orders, to assist the Neapolitan royal family in their passage to Livorno. Enraged at Nelson’s disobedience, Keith publicly remarked that “Lady Hamilton has had command of the fleet long enough”. In May, Troubridge returned to Britain and was replaced in command by Captain George Martin, while Graham was superseded by Major-General Henry Pigot.
Surrender
The British blockade continued to prevent French efforts to resupply Valletta during the early summer of 1800, and by August the situation was desperate: no horses or pack animals, dogs, cats, fowls or rabbits still lived within the city, the cisterns had been emptied and even firewood was in short supply. So desperate was the need for wood that the frigate Boudeuse, trapped by the blockade, was broken up for fuel by the beleaguered garrison. With defeat now inevitable, Vaubois gave orders that the frigates Diane and Justice were to attempt a breakout for Toulon, the frigates given minimal crews of approximately 115 men each. On 24 August, when the wind was favourable and the night dark enough to obscure their movements, the frigates put to sea. Almost immediately, lookouts on HMS Success sighted them and Captain Peard gave chase, followed by HMS Genereux and Northumberland. Diane under Captain Solen was too slow and Peard soon overhauled the under strength French ship, which surrendered after a brief exchange of shot. The frigate later became HMS Niobe. Justice, under Captain Jean Villeneuve, was faster however and outran its pursuers, eventually making Toulon, the only ship from Malta to do so during the siege. On 3 September, with his men dying of starvation and disease at the rate of more than 100 a day, Vaubois called a council of his officers at which they unanimously decided to surrender. The next day, envoys were sent to the British and in the afternoon General Pigot and Captain Martin signed the agreed terms with Vaubois and Villeneuve. The Maltese were excluded from negotiations entirely, although their commander, Alexander Ball, subsequently became the first Governor of Malta. The terms of the surrender were absolute: the island, its dependencies, fortifications and military supplies were all turned over to British control. This included the ships of the line Athenien and Dégo and the frigate Carthagénaise, although only Athenien was of sufficient standard to be incorporated into the Royal Navy, becoming HMS Athenienne. The other ships were broken up in their berths. Two merchant ships and a variety of smaller warships also were taken. The capture of Malta returned control of the central Mediterranean to Britain and was an important step in the invasion and liberation of Egypt from French rule in 1801. An essential condition of the Treaty of Amiens in the same year, which brought an end to the French Revolutionary War, was that the British leave Malta. Russian Tsar Alexander I had a long standing claim to the island as titular head of the Knights of St. John, and demanded that it be turned over to Russian control before agreeing any alliance with Britain. Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger flatly refused, and the Napoleonic Wars with France began soon afterwards, in part due to the failure of Britain to comply with this clause of the treaty. The island subsequently remained in British hands until its independence in 1964.
PERSONALITIES DURING THE FRENCH BLOCKADE
Dr Charles J. Boffa
Cavaliere Vincenzo Borg
Cavaliere Vincenzo borg (Braret) was one of the leading merchants of the time and hailed from Birkirkara. He as a popular figure and was describedby his contemporaries and in a British despatch as a man of much drive and energy. When the uprising commenced, he was chosen by the inhabitants of Birkirkara and Mosta as their leader. He took charge and organised the largest battalion of Maltese volunteer troops from his area and tackled problems head on.
He had a fairly good educational background by the standards of those times and was generous with the workers who worked for him in his business before the uprising commenced.
He had an intense desire to rid Malta of the French. This desire and his courage in a difficult situation led to an impressive performance. Although he could not be described as a very tough man, he had plenty of stamina and his qualities of leadership were obvious. He contributed a lot to the defeat of the French. Two years later he clashed with Captain Ball. However in later years he was created CMG Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George.
Canon Frangesco Caruana
Canon Frangesko Caruana had previously been a member of the French Commission of Government, but realized that the French were abusing their their powers in various ways, were harming the church’s jurisdiction and religion and that this should be stopped.
He was well known for his pastoral work, good sermons, will power and high sense of duty towards his country. He played a very important part against the French.
According to Captain Ball, he was very able and intelligent, but at times tended to assume too much power and ignore his deputies. While the insurgents had elected Notary Emanuele Vitale as general in command of the troops and village battalions, the people of Zebbug and Siggiewi refused at first to recognise him as such and considered Canon Caruana as their leader. Vincenzo Borg intervened and emphasised that unity was vital. Harmony was restored in due course.
Mgr Caruana had a high academic background and was appointed Rector of he University after the French left Malta. He was appointed Bishop of Malta thirty years later.
Notary Emanuele Vitale
The other outstanding leader was a very competent professional man – Notary Emanuele Vitale who was involved in activities against the French from the beginning of the Uprising.
He took a keen interest in the public sector and being a legal man, understood fully the radical changes which the French had introduced. He had a strong following at Rabat, Mdina, Dingli, Attard and Qormi.
It takes dedication, hard work and natural born talent to rise and be titled as General during a period of hostilities. An intelligent man, he managed resources effectively, including time and skills. He was a man of action and worked tirelessly for what he felt convinced to be the best interests of the Maltese; employing his skills to keep up the morale of his troops, especially in the beginning when they were short of muskets, guns and adequate rations.
Because of his sustained efforts and his being regularly in the field with his men, he had to give up nearly all his professional work as notary. Previous to the insurrection, sometimes he used to go hunting with friends and could shoot well.
Notary Vitale was appointed Governor of Gozo on 20th August 1801.
Dun Mikiel Xerri
As Professor of philosophy at the Seminary and of Mathematics at the University, Dun Mikiel Xerri was one of the foremost academics of his times. He was a gifted speaker and had a good rapport with Maltese at various levels and with students. He was well known for his exemplary life. He had an inner strength, imperturability, resolution and inspired his colleagues and others with a quiet confidence.
He lost his good life aged 60 for his ideals. He was promised a free pardon if he would reveal the names of others who were involved in the plot to infiltrate into Valletta and overthrow the French. “I am here to answer for my actions … and not to be the spy of my countrymen … I am guilty oand ready to die”.
He faced death unflinchingly.
“A man is as great as his love of his country, faith and courage.”
Brigadier General Thomas Graham
One of Captain Ball’s first initiatives during early 1799 was to request Colonel Graham then in Messina in command of the British garrison who were to strengthen the defence with other Sicilian and Italian troops, to transfer his to Malta. This was done in due course and he integrated his troops with Maltese ones along the defence lines and took overall command.
Who was Thomas Graham? He had a distinguished career in the British army had served in previous campaigns, gaining a lot of experience under battle conditions and man management. “He was tall, of a goodly presence and muscular frame and capable of great fatigue. He tended to discuss problems with both Maltese and British officers and when visiting troops on duty made it a point to say words of encouragement and appreciation. His easy and cultivated manners, his kindly disposition, his high sense of integrity and honour rendered him popular wherever he went”.
He served with the Austrian army in Italy in 1796-7 and escaped from Mantna when besieged by the French. He helped Sir Charles Stuart to win Minorca.
The rank of Brigadier General held good only during his service in Malta. In 1837, together with Vice Admiral Sir G. Martin, Sir T. Graham was invested GCMG by the King, mainly for services which had been rendered in Malta.
Guglielmo Lorenzi
Captain Guglielmo Lorenzi was a Russian corsair who had settled in Malta since he was a young man. Earlier in his career, he had been given the honorary title of Colonel in recognition of his performance while commanding some ships during a previous war between Russia and Turkey. He was living at Valletta, was well off and generous with poor people and the elderly. He was the top leader who planned to overthrow the French administration in Valletta and some secret meetings were held at his summer residence at Pieta’.
He was a hardened warrior and courageous, he had spent many years of his life at sea and taken part in sea battles. Although 64 years of age, he knew no fear.
There is a parallel with Dun Mikiel Xerri in his attitude before the military tribunal after being arrested. Like Dun Mikiel, he refused to betray his Maltese accomplices, There is no doubt that there were other Maltese who were involved and were not caught. If Lorenzi and Xerri had divulged names, others would have been condemned to death.
Before being shot, Captain Lorenzi prayed and wanted Roman Catholic rites. Before the firing squad, Lorenzi remained calm and did not show any fear or perturbance. It is likely that he was buried in the cemetery at St. Publius, Ploriana, with others who were executed.
Luca Azzopardo
Luca Azzopardo, a hawker who used to sell agricultural produce and other items, was involved in the planned uprising. He was a good marksman and an energetic person. When the French started arresting those people supporting Mikiel and Lorenzi, somehow he managed to avoid capture and later escaped to countryside.
Two others who managed to avoid capture were Paolo Greco and Xmun Gili. It is surmised that they swam at night from Valletta to Kordin.
Gejtano Balzan
In 1797, Gejtano Balzan was a senior official who managed the Cotton division in the Customs Department and part-time commanding officer of the Siggiewi militia. He was a very capable and influential person who led by word and example. Soon after the insurrection began, he was deeply involved in the campaign and participated in actual fighting. Besides, he also served as the administrative-cashier at the San Guzepp army camp. He was awarded the Silver Medal.
Between 1800 and 1814, he continued serving as a captain in the Militia and in 1814, he was appointed the senior police officer of the area of Siggiewi – Imqabba and Qrendi.
Mattew Bonavia
Mattew Bonavia had been trained and had wide experience in civil engineering and also management as he had served as clerk-of-works with leading architects of his times, under the Order of St. John. He seems to have socialised, probably because his expertise, among higher circles and was well known among skilled workers,
He opposed the French occupation and was imprisoned at Tigne from where he managed to escape with a colleague and gave service on land with the British forces.
He accompanied Canon Francesco Caruana and other representatives of the Maltese, and acted as an interpreter aboard Nelson’s flagship off Malta when the Maltese sought the assistance of Great Britain and pressed him to take action.
He took an active part in what was going on and got on well with the workers and troops he commanded. Apparently, Bonavia made a very good impression on senior British and Neapolitan officers as he was entrusted with the construction of some defence works – one of these being a ditch on the landward side of San Lucjan Tower in Marsaxlokk. Furthermore he was placed in charge of parties
Maltese workers entrusted with the unloading of stores from British warships and craft at Marsaxlokk. His valuable service is mentioned in one of the British dispatches.
At least on two occasions, General Graham and Captain Ball sought his opinion and services. He was awarded the medal for meritorious services and a commendation. Captain Ball offered to recommend him for a commission as a regular army officer. After the French were defeated, Mattew Bonavia was attached to the Royal Engineers’ department and was involved in various activities. He served with distinction as adjutant to the company of Maltese sappers, miners and tradesmen until he retired in 1814.
Pietru Buttigieg
Pietru Buttigieg, a notary by Profession joined the protesting Maltese from his village of Zebbug, which had a population of approximately 4300, but which later increased by about another 700 refugees from Valletta and the Three Cities. By word and example, Dottore Buttigieg together with Canon F. Caruana – one of his closest friends, encouraged the peasants and villagers to join the village battalion and began at once to help in the organization and future of the men under arms. The village battalion increased in numbers and efficiency with a total of nearly 500.
These included a substantial number who had previously served in the Militia and Cacciatori and included four officers, 15 sergeants and 15 corporals with previous military experience.
Notary Buttigieg was a man of scholarship, intelligence and a born leader. He took an active part and put in an appearance often at the defence posts to attend to the needs of the men. Because of his activities, he disrupted his professional practise and even helped financially in the war effort.
Although he was not a military officer, he was physically present, during the planned attack on part of the Cottonera lines, with a large party of Zebbugin and many others from other villages, hidden at Fgura in the fields where the Tal-Karmnu chapel once stood and in Wied Blandun. From here they had to synchronise their advance towards the Ghajn Dwieli area, where the climb was due to be attempted, approximately 130 metres to the North of the present Ghajn Dwieli tunnel.
The assault did not turn out well and was a failure. Dr. Buttigieg retreated with the rest when the French concentrated their fire as well as on Wied Blandun, the inlet at Bormla, Fgura and Tal Borg.
Although as village representative on the National Congress, he exercised discipline, if anyone was in difficult straits he was there to help altruistically.
Michele Cachia
Michele Cachia – military and civil engineer, was chosen by the inhabitants of Zejtun as their leader. During the times of the Order of St. John, he was active on a part-time basis, in the militia as a senior officer and adjutant of the village battalion. In 1787 he spent a few months in Rome and Naples to broaden his expertise in architecture. He was involved in various dangerous activities against the French.
He was the mastermind with a few others who organised a system of sending messages by means of coloured flags and banners which were hung on the Zejtun church and other vantage points such as at San Lucjan – Marsaxlokk, the Ghaxaq and Luqa churches, Zabbar , etc.
When Brigadier General Graham set up his headquarters at Palazzo d’Aurel at Gudja, Michele Cachia who knew the terrain of the landscape well, was asked by Graham and other senior officers to give them advice. He also supervised the construction of the batteries at Tal Borg and Kordin. Michele combined expertise and tireless energy,
Michele Cachia is mentioned in a dispatch from the civil commissioner Charles Cameron. “He was involved in the construction of all the batteries and contributed money towards the expense of the war. He is famed for his wisdom in counsel. His integrity and talents have acquired him a great reputation and the entire confidenvce of the people of every description”. Michele Cachia was one of the Maltese who proceeded to England to present a petition to the British Foreign Office in December 1801. Some information about each personality was passed on to London. He was awarded the Gold Medal for highly meritorious services and a special commendation by General Graham. The house with some structural alterations where Mikiel Cachia resided in Zejtun is now known as Juventutis Domus.
Michele Cachia served in the public service during Sir Alexander Ball’s admistration and supervised the construction of the beautiful gardens of the Luogotenenti of the Casals.
Captain Aniello Cafiero
Captain Aniello Cafiero – While the leaders planned their strategies, they had behind them the support of many. Captain Cafiero possessed an intense spirit to play his part at risk to his life. There is information on Malta at the Archivio di Stato di Napoli, Sezione Esteri. Among other things, there is mention of a claim submitted by an Italian Neapolitan officer after being invalided because of serious health reasons while in Malta; disciplinary measures taken against two soldiers for insubbordination. (1789); and reference to the 2,100 troops sent to Malta under General G.B. Fardella, by King Ferdinand.
Captain Cafiero – a Neapolitan was the captain of a small ship who previous to the French occupation, earned his living by carrying cargoes between Sicily, Naples and Malta. He had settled in Malta years earlier where he lived with his family in Senglea (Strada Due Porte) . He was a respected and popular figure, partly because he was generous with neighbours and the poor.
Captain Cafiero knew Lorenzi. He agreed to be involved in the planned fighting and had hidden 55 muskets, several daggers and ammunition in his ship and also a quantity of gunpowder in the cellar of his residence at Senglea. He was to lead his men and another group from Cottonera and assault St. Angelo, overpower the guards, take it over and raise the Neapolitan flag. After the plot of the Valletta uprising was uncovered, Cafiero and his crew were arrested, put under investigation procedures and imprisoned in the cells at St. Angelo. When things turned out contrary to the hopes of many, his wife emptied the containers with gunpowder in the sewage pipes. Meanwhile, Cafiero waited and prayed – he could have faced a firings quad. He managed to escape to the countryside.
At the end of hostilities, Cafiero submitted a request (supported in writing by some Maltese) to the King of Naples, to be reimbursed for the expenses he incurred for the weapons and gunpowder which he had bought, meant to be used against the
French. (Archivio di Napoli, fasc. 2806).
Lieut. Colonel Teodor Cardona
Lieutenant-Colonel Teodor Cardona was the commanding officer of a Neapolitan regiment that was sent to Malta to participate in the blockade of the French. It is likely that he was born in Corfu of Maltese parentage. As a young man he was commissioned as an ensign, and later served at various officer levels. He had extensive battle experience. He had even served in campaigns, against the
French.
Teodor Cardona was a well mannered, respectable officer. Appearances may be illusory – he was tough and brave. For some time after he arrived in Malta with his regiment, he wished to be appointed commandant of all the Maltese troops. In fact Judge Guzeppi Kalcidon Debono had written a letter (26 Oct 1798) to Canon Frangesco Caruana, that Teodor Cardona had informed him that he wished to be appointed senior commandant.This could have possibly led to a crisis in command and various Maltese leaders refused to comply.
Throughout the blockade, he helped the Maltese in various ways, including the training of gunners and infantry tactics. Oblivious to tiredness, he often worked himself to the limit and discussed matters with his Maltese counterparts. He was assisted by a young Lieutenant, Bascal Gauci.
Lieut. Colonel Cardona was an ardent supporter of the Maltese cause and his services (and also the 2,100 Neapolitan soldiers under the overall command of Colonel Fardella) contributed immensely to the final French surrender.
Philippo Castagna
Philippo Castagna, Luogotenente of the two cities of Burmola and Senglea. “A man of an excellent public character and popular with the inhabitants. He distinguished himself at the siege of Valletta and in the National Congress, by his courage, moderation and wisdom. He took Gozo from the French with a handful of troops. He is warmly attached to His Majesty’s Government”. (British report)
P. Castagna was an erudite scholar. In 1805, he was involved in establishing the Monte di Pieta, where people went to pawn their gold and silver, under certain conditions.
Indri Cilia
Indri Cilia, an officer in the Birkirkara battalion, under Vincenzo Borg, was one of the leaders, who had been waiting for two days in the store-rooms at Marsamxett to commence the operation of the 12th January 1799. Remaining quietly hidden in the dark storerooms must have been hell. When surprised by the French troops who had come over from Fort Manoel to investigate after suspecting that something unusual was happening at Marsamxett, several were killed, others tried to escape and drowned, others surrendered while others escaped.
I have not managed to find what happened to this brave leader. It seems that he was not among those shot by the French and to the best of my knowledge not even among those listed dead in the parish records of that year.
Dr. Felic Cutajar
Dr Felic Cutajar, a mature learned lawyer supported the Maltese insurrection from the start and also took part when a large number of Maltese from different strata assembled at the Banca Ciuratale in Mdina to decide on a line of action.
A professional man of integrity, he was also a good linguist; he knew French and Italian well and also had a fair working knowledge of English – which was not common among Maltese at that time. He was Vincenzo Borg’s secretary for a num ber of months. When Captain Ball needed a secretary, he was an obvious choice.
He had an excellent rapport with Ball, Vincenzo Borg and Canon Frangesco Caruana. Dr Cutajar’s name is synonymous with Ball’s drafting of certain pronouncements, legal and administrative work. At times he served as laison between Ball and other eminent Maltese leaders.
He was so competent and trusted by Captain Ball that after the French left, he was kept on in a senior legal and administrative capacity. He was highly commended for his services, both when serving as Captain Ball’s secretary and later on as Pro-Secretary of the administration, and deputy head of the civil service. (equivalent to Administrative secretary).
Dr. Cutajar wrote ‘Il-Breve Storia della venuta dei Francesi nell’Isola di Malta e loro modo di governarla‘. As he was an eyewitness of the happenings of those years, his account is invaluable.
Guzeppi Damato
Guzeppi Damato, previous to the French occupation, was a senior non-commissioned officer in the Regiment of Malta. He was what one may describe as a typical army man – full of zeal and initiative and an ardent supporter of the plan. He was condemned to death and shot.
Santu Formosa
I have not managed to find enough details about Santu Formosa, who led the armed men from his village of Zurrieq, where he was a gentleman of some’ influence. He took a leading part during the first period of hostilities and continued to show sustained resource during later operations against the French. He carried out the duties of an officer and must have been a man of sound character and energy.
Chev. Ganni Gafa
Chev. Ganni Gafa: Although this notable citizen was fairly well off, he took an active part during the period of hostilities, instead of remaining comfortably at home. In 1798, the population of Gharghur was approximately 1000, mostly farmers, who elected him as their representative on the National Congress.
Ganni Gafa was also an exemplary cleric. As a point of interest to readers, it is relevant to mention that at that time there were many clerics in Malta and Gozo.
Although some did in due course become priests, many others did not. In their everyday life, they lived as normal citizens but were usually involved and participated in church activities and religious services. A substantial number helped those less fortunate in the community. During certain church activities, they wore a habit nearly similar to that of priests. The posts of clerics were abolished by the Church authorities about a century later.
From the beginning of the uprising, Ganni Gafa showed unremitting commitment both in the National Congress and in encouraging the formation of a company of about 180 men, several of whom had previous experience in the militia.
Besides collecting some money from the locals and in kind – agricultural produce for those under arms, he contributed himself for their everyday needs, to supplement their meagre pay and rations. At Gharghur, the battery of Vendomn with six guns had been set up by the Knights in 1701 and the Tower of St. Mark with two guns in 1607. Some of these guns were moved to new sites to strengthen the defence lines in the San Gwann area.
Gafa supported Vincenzo Borg throughout and combined competence with considerable drive. During this difficult period and when the British administration took over, he broadened his range of civic activities for the good of all.
Chev. Ganni Gafa had a high reputation and was appointed to the then prestigious post of Lieutenant of Gharghur with local administrative powers, in which he served until 1813.
Stanislaw Gatt
Stanislaw Gatt – At that time the village doctor, the parish priest, the pharmacist, the area inspector or sergeant of police and some merchants were the ‘elite’ or influential persons of the area. Furthermore the pharmacist, because many of the medicines in use were hand made from local herbs, was knowledgeable in some aspects of medicine and also in administering first-aid to the injured. Stanislaw Gatt was well known and very capable in his profession.
He took a keen interest in public affairs and was elected to represent the people of Qormi in the National Congress. He was an erudite individual and at one time he used to give practical tuition to some aspiring to take up the profession of pharmacy. He helped the poor, by often dispensing medicines without receiving payment or just charging them the bare minimum to cover his expenses.
During the critical period when food was very scarce, he emphasized to those under arms and the people in general, not to discard the leaves of some vegetables, such as carrots, cauliflower and potatoes but to eat them. Vitamins were not known as such at that time, but from practical experience he attached a lot of importance to fresh green vegetables for health reasons. He was perfectly right. (Mr. Guze’ Cardona, M.A. had mentioned S. Gatt, among others, in his lecture ‘Professionals of the Past’).
Stanislaw Gatt, with no previous military background, led a large detachment from Qormi and occupied in the initial stages of the insurrection, Jesuit Hill (east of Qormi) and also blocked the road which from Marsa goes up to Kordin and Pawla. In this daring initiative, his detachment included many who had previiously served in the Militia and also two officers from the Qormi district. Beditt Sciluna and Salvu Galdes. Gatt’s house in St. Catherine Street is preserved.
Grand Master Ferdinand Yon Hompesch
Ferdinand Von Hompesch who was of German origin was elected Grandmaster at the age of 53, in 1797. His long stay in Malta, since he was 12, as a page of Grand Master Pinto and his ability to speak fairly good Maltese. added to popularity with the Maltese, especially villagers and workers. Before being elected Grand Master, he resided in a 18th century palace, ‘Palazzo Hompesch’ which was situated in Old Bakery Street, Valletta. Unfortunately this was one of the many buildings destroyed by bombing in April 1942.
He was a Grand Master of winning manners and did not lose any opportunity to be present in towns and villages during feast celebrations. He was very charitable and used to throw coins (although his financial situation was not good at all – in fact he owed money) to the crowds greeting and cheering him. The granting of a title of Citta’ after requests were made was another way of showing respect. During his short term (1797-1798) Zabbar was raised to the status of Citta Hompesch, Zejtun – Citta Beland and Siggiewi – Citta Ferdinand.
To give an example, Hompesch attended the celebrations on the occasion of the feast of the Annunciation held at Tarxien in May 1797, where he was received with enthusiasm. In the parish records, Esiti Veneranda Lampada 1798, f 55, there is mention of payment for a caleche which the parish priest ordered to take him to Valletta to invite Hompesch and also the cost of a bouquet of flowers (payment in scudi) which was presented to him at Tarxien.
Grand Master Hompesch is often blamed for the dishonerable capitulation, but one must consider the fact that his authority had been undermined by many French Knights in various sectors. He was at the mercy of factors beyond his control. However looking at this period with the benefit of hindsight and reading references to him, he was not a tough person and not given to warrior rhetoric.
Mgr. Vincenzo Labini
Mgr. Vincenzo Labini, a Sicilian who had occupied various senior posts in the Church set-up in Sicily took over as Bishop of Malta and Gozo on the 19th June 1780. He was pious and energetic and visited the parishes fairly often and did not limit these to specified times of the year:
He encouraged the clergy to utilise when possible, part of the money given in aid of religious services for the souls departed to aid the poor, when poverty was rampant – a sensible idea.
Another wish of his was that the canopy used during processions over the Blessed Sacrament should as much as possible be carried by members of the clergy and not by laymen. Furthermore he encouraged more teaching on religion, visits to the Blessed Sacrament and the Via Sagra (Way of the Cross).
During the French period, the pressure and mental strain must have been great.
During the heavy fighting at Bormla, it was probably Labini’s personality and exhortations which persuaded the large number of angry insurgents to put down their arms and avoid more bloodshed. During his term as Bishop he consecrated various new churches and chapels.
Antonio Mallia
Antonio Mallia (a Gozitan gentleman). From the beginning of the uprising he was actively engaged in resistance to the French occupation and encouraged other Gozitans to do likewise, risking his own life in the process. He was popular among the Gozitans because of his affable character, charitabale disposition and his interest in the future of Gozo.
Sir Charles Cameron noted “He is the Lieutenant-Governor and first Provost of Gozo and zealously attached to the British Government”.
Chevalier Mallia rendered important services to the Gozitans during critical times. He was awarded the Gold Medal.
Count Salvatore Manduca
Salvatore Manduca, 3rd Count of Montalto, was the son of Francesco Manduca, and Domitilla Fiott De Noto. He married Donna Elena Portughes and died in Notabile on 12 November 1800. He was the father of (Count Sir) Vincenzo Manduca.
Count Salvatore Manduca, a gentleman of culture played a prominent role in the confused period following the collapse of the Order of St John and the arrival of the French.
He was one of the delegates who together with Bishop Labini, accepted the inevitable entry of Bonaparte’s forces into Mdina ‘provided that the religion of the people, their liberty and their property be respected and the safety of the public institutions guaranteed’. It was soon clear that this was not to be and after an initial period agitating for the return of the Order, he threw himself wholeheartedly into the insurrection against the French and worked for the support and protection of Nelson and the British. He was elected a Representative of the People and together with Marquis de Piro and Count Theuma Castelletti continued to play a prominent part in the events of that period, until his death in November 1800.
Don Pietro Mallia
Magister Theologiae in the Public College, a priest with a high academic ground and lecturer who represented Hal Ghaxaq on the National Congress. A man of pure reputation, enjoying confidence, and is much attached to His Majesty’s Government, as are many of the Maltese priests and Monastic Orders”.
Paolo Muscat
Paolo Muscat – served for several years in the militia, both under the Knights and during the period of hostilities, when he served as sergeant, Lieutenant and Captain. He certainly possessed a solid foundation of character and the determination to accomplish his missions, irrespective of the risk these entailed. During an attack on the Samra Battery he was wounded but luckily he recovered from a flesh wound and continued to take an active part, a few months later. For a period he served as an instructor. He won the medal for meritorious services and a Commendation. At times, he tended to be rather strict.
When the French attacked the Samra Battery, he ordered half of his detachment to hide behind rubble walls and trees at Msida and started retreating with a pre-arranged plan – as soon as he had reached a spot further on, the troops behind the rubble walls had to venture out and attack the French from the rear. Meanwhile half the detachment he was leading turned round and the French found themselves between two fires, they were thrashed leaving behind them several dead and wounded. This shows that temporary Captain Muscat, according to a British mention in a dispatch had “a real knowledge of tactics and movement which are the basis of a good leader’s plan”.
A. Peralta
I was not able to find data on all the Maltese citizens or officers who led by word and deed, or who contributed towards the final victory. There must have been other unsung heroes.
Lieutenant (temporary captain) A. Peralta, who had served under the Knights in the regiment Cacciatori Maltese had requested the French to continue serving in the army. It appears that he was accepted, but later on was so disappointed with the laws being enacted, that he had second thoughts. He was involved with the plans being formulated by Captain Lorenzi and was among those shot.
Xandru Pisano
Xandru Pisano, a carpenter from Cospicua who previously had also served as an armed leading seaman on the Order’s galleys, had hidden in a small dirty stable close to the bastions – (for a considerable time the number of French sentine inadequate), a number of muskets, swords and iron bars. He had planned to lead a group of persons from Bormla – where there was a lot of antagonism against the French – if the Maltese had managed to climb up the bastions in the area not far from the Ghajn Dwieli area and join in the attack. As fate would have it, the assault failed so the part he meant to be involved in, did not materialise.
Major-General Henry Pigott
Major-General Henry Pigott served in Malta as Civil Commissioner during 1801. He arrived in Malta with 1,500 British troops only a month and a half before the French surrendered and was given overall command of the British and Neapolitan troops. At that late stage, he was perhaps not well acquainted with the vital part played by the Maltaese in the struggle and what the Maltese had gone
through.
Pigott was unfair in not allowing a Maltese leader to sign the capitulation with the rest. Pigott was intransigent when the Capitulation was signed and notwithstanding Captain’s Ball’s clear wishes, he did not allow him to sign as Head of the Maltese. Pigott should not have yielded to the insistence of Vaubois; because cut off from all outside assistance, having exhausted all their provisions and with hundreds of troops sick, the French had no alternative but to surrender.
In 1801, Major-General Pigott, following instructions from London, issued the following official order: “His Eminence the Bishop of Malta is to receive from all guards, honour due to a Brigadier-General. When after World War I, this rank was abolished, the Archbishop of Malta was classified from the point of military status, as a Major-General.
In 1837 H. Pigott was invested GCMG.
Mattew Pulis
Mattew Pulis – With the exception of Dun Mikiel Xerri and Captain Guglielmo Lorenzi, he bore a mantle of responsibility perhaps greater than any of his compatriots in Valletta in the plot to overthrow the French garrison. There could be no doubt that he was for a long time on a knife-edge of risk. Mattew’s brother Filippu was also involved in the Valletta plan.
Mattew Pulis resided in Valletta and had been carrying out his duties regularly under the Knights, at the Ramo Quarantena (quarantine branch), mostly at the Lazaretto as Sotto-Ispettore di Sanita e Purfumatore. From a normal life Mattew and his son were plunged into a real life adventure which was dangerous and bizarre, as well as one of the most extraordinary to have befallen a law abiding citizen of his times. He had a special French pass which entitled him to travel by boat between the Lazaretto and Valletta and enter and leave the capital on work related with his duties. This meant that he was in a unique position to pass on secret letters
and communications from Maltese leaders in the countryside to Valletta and vice-versa, such as from Canon Caruana and Emanuele Vitale to Dun Mikiel Xerri and Captain Lorenzi. How he did this is not clear, but there are indications that when necessary, he took letters with him from Valletta to the Lazaretto and his brave son at that time a teenager somehow, (possibly by swimming or while fishing) passed on the letters to another Maltese, probably at Pieta or Msida.
Mattew Pulis must have had plenty of guts. The staff and men working with and under his direction had trust in him. It required no great genius to carry letters. What did require brilliance was the game of bluff on which Mattew Pulis and his son deliberately and at great risk embarked. He was among those shot by the French when the Valletta plot was uncovered.
Don Emanuel Riccard
Don Emanuel Riccard, was first a Capuchin, but as his health suffered because of the rigour of the Order, he became a priest. “He is a man in whom Governor Alexander Ball puts much confidence; he is very zealous in our cause and in that of his country. Sir Charles Cameron concluded this brief about him, that he is a respectable man and speaks French”. Don Riccard was a scholarly person and for some years was a teacher.
Agostino Said
Agostino Said was elected by the inhabitants of Zabbar as their representative. He was popular and had abundant resources of energy, intelligence and determination. According to Mgr. G. Zarb who had researched about some past Zabbar personalities, Agostino Said hid these qualities behind a rather modest appearance and down to earth approach. Said owned a few fields and had served for a period in the Militia. Although there is some doubt about this, he was probably employed in a clerical capacity under the Knights. He had an upright character and had a fairly good educational background, because the locals went to him for advice. He started working when he was 16, was trusted and helped in church activities.
As village representative he was ipso facto the head of the local battalion and the ‘Gente di Guardia’. Although I think that he was involved in some fighting or related aspects, I have not managed to find any documentary evidence to support this. Mgr. G. Zarb had told me that there was another W. Said (probably Wistin Said) who had been active with the armed peasants and who was also a police constable or corporal. The Zabbar battalion which consisted of 250 men was commanded by four officers. Emanuel Lia, Guzeppi Cachia, Klement Elul and Guzeppi Ellul.
Guzeppi Scicluna
Guzeppi Scicluna – Soon after the insurrection commenced, the men of Luqa chose the Rev. Guzeppe Grima as head of the Luqa battalion. However, Guzeppi Scicluna emerged as the de facto spokesman and active leader of the battalion, for which he was well suited.
He possessed mental vigour and a resolve to overcome obstacles.He enjoyed the confidence of the people, the clergy and the principal Maltese leaders. He had an interesting background. Although not young in years, he had plenty of stamina. He had served for about 34 years first as a sergeant and for 24 years as a “sottotenent’ ub Lieutenant). As commandant of the Maltese troops, E. Vitale appointed him Captain.
He was involved at first in active defence and eventually to an ethos of the offensive both at Kordin and during the unsuccessful Cottonera attack. With other Maltese officers, he had formulated part of the plan to the climb-up of the bastion at Bormla. He managed to borrow about 15 iron helmets which were used many years earlier by soldiers of the Knights, and he had suggested their use by some of the Maltese climbing up, as a protection. (although these could have restricted their movement and agility). He was awarded the meritorious service medal.
Marquis Mario Testaferrata
Marquis Mario Testaferrata – (one of the leading families in the Island). “He has been distinguished for his prudent though manly conduct in the various trying situations he was placed in since the invasion of the French. He was so well thought of by all parties that he was appointed one of those who drew up the capitulations to the French. He has shown great attachment to his Majesty’s Government. As to his talents, he is a man of sound judgment and is well informed with respect to the ancient privileges, as well as the present state of the Island”.
Gan Indri Trevisan
Gan Indri Trevisan, a supremely brave young man aged only 17112 from Zebbug, fought against the French garrison of Mdina with the Maltese led by Emanuele Vitale, where he was wounded in his arm. On the 6th September 1798, leading a detachment of Maltese troops and peasants he broke into an ammunition store, situated near Kordin and after overpowering the French guards they carried away 78 barrels of gunpowder, 40 boxes of cartridges and some firearms. In this activity he was slightly wounded again.
He was going to be involved in the planned attack on Valletta, as an officer leading a company of Maltese. He served both at the Samra area, at Marsa and at Kordin during different periods, where he was hero-worshipped by the men he commanded.
He exposed himself repeatedly to danger and during the attack on the Cottonera lines, he was wounded in the head, but thanks to his healthy physique, he survived again. As a young officer aged 18 to 20, he bore an incredible burden of responsibility and his strong powers of resilience made him recover rather quickly.
He was rewarded with the gold medal. In later year she served as an officer with the British army in Calabria and was caught prisoner when the French captured Capri, from where he managed to escape. During the plague of 1813, he was the controller of the ships which arrived in the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett. In 1846, his son Dr Ganaton Trevisan applied to serve as a magistrate in Gozo.
General C.H.B. De Vaubois
General Claude Henri Belgrand De Vaubois was one of the best cadets while at the military academy and was commissioned in the Royal Artillery in 1770. After the French revolution, the army was disorganised and needed good officers.Vaubois was one of them. Vaubois’ career ran nearly parallel to that of Napoleon. When Napoleon was a recruit, Vaubois was his senior. When Napopleon was promoted to Lieut. Colonel in 1793, Vaubois’ had just been promoted General De Brigade. Later on, Napoleon’s genius and success at Toulon impressed the French Directorate and he was promoted to General De Brigade. In the same year, Vaubois distinguished himself with his impressive stand at the Siege of Lyons.
When General Vaubois was appointed commander-in-chief of the French garrison in Malta, he was 50 years old. Although in general, he was considered an affable person, he possessed a strong personality and excelled as an administrator. For a long time, he refused to admit defeat, even when he saw his dreams crumbling. Leading and controlling a garrison craving for food and a high proportion sick due to malnutrition and other factors, was a feat in itself and a credit also to the French officers and troops who for a very long period did not mutiny or ask for surrender.
In his book ‘History of Italy under Napoleon’, Botta writes (translation) “Glorious, certainly was Lord Nelson, but not without glory was its defender, for neither greater courage nor greater fortitude, nor greater ingenuity could have been displayed by Vaubois” .,. “Deserted by all, he struggled for two years and at least overcome not by force of arms, but by that dreadful scourge, famine, which always takes from man, the strength and often the will to resist”.
The strict blockade by sea established by, first the Portuguese ships and later by the English, destroyed all hopes of success in the repeated attempts (onlv a few ships managed to get through) made to revictual the French garraison.
When Vaubois returned to France he was welcomed as a hero and in 1808 he was honoured with the title of Count of the Empire. He died in 1839, at the venerable age of 91.
Girolmu Vella
Girolmu Vella – It is an accepted fact that efficiency depends a lot on aptitude, training, enthusiasm and mental vigour. Girolmu Vella proved to be an effective, brave combat commander. He had served as a soldier and sergeant in the Maltese regiment under the Knights.When the uprising started he was off duty helping his cousin in a bakery at Qormi. He joined voluntarily the Maltese under arms.
Vella had been a very efficient sergeant and among the best marksmen. Furthermore the fact that he used to be entrusted with the part-time training of recruits, shows that he was among the elite N.C.O’s. Emanuele Vitale selected him to be among his circle of staff with the duties of an officer, and captain of a com pany of Maltese volunteers. He served as such with merit and was awarded the medal for meritorious services. Later he was also commissioned in the Maltese Light Infantry.
Captain S. Vella
Captain S. Vella had been serving as an officer in a regiment under the Knights, was an ardent supporter of the Maltese cause from the start of the insurrection. He and another officer Indri Cilia trained a number of armed Maltese who had planned to infiltrate into Valletta and was hidden with many others in the store rooms at Marsamxett, when unexpectedly French troops rushed on them and opened fire.
Captain Vella was among those who were taken unawares and caught prisoner. However he had a very good army record and was a brave officer. That breeze at night carried straws of disaster. Although he was a regular army officer, when arrested, there lurked the hazard of ending before a firing squad.
After being repeatedly interrogated by a military tribunal, the unexpected happened. There were two versions of what happened – Although condemned to death, the sentence was never implemented. One version was that he insisted that as a regular army officer, and on active service, according to the rules of war, it was against the rules to shoot a prisoner. The second version was that he managed to get his release and fled to the country through the assistance of Captain Olivier – President of the French Military Commission.
Captain Vella later continued to serve as a regular officer, in Maltese Regiments, the last Regiment being the Royal Malta Fencibles, up to 1823.
Dr Nerik Xerri
Dr Nerik Xerri who had shown great interest in medicine since he was young, left Malta and qualified with merit as a doctor at the University of Salerno. After he returned to Malta, he worked indefatiguably among his countrymen. He was popular and the inhabitants of Kirkop elected him as their representative on the National Congress.
He was a very able doctor and administrator. He frequently visited defence posts and camps of the Maltese and attended to their needs, and for a short period also those of British troops, when two British medical officers were sick. Of all the 400 British marines serving in Malta all but 178 were incapacitated by fever at some time or other. A large number of British and Neapolitan Troops
was likewise affected, When the attack on the Cottonera lines started, he together with another doctor, Francesco Caruana accompanied the Maltese troops that were due to advance, if the scaling of the bastio had ucceeded. For his valuable services, he was awarded the Gold Medal and larer a pecial commendation by Captain Ball.
In 1800, Captain Ball appointed him Captain of Ports and served as such until 1806, when he became a member of the staff of the Universita. In the meantime he retained the then prestigious title of Lieutenant of Kirkop between 1801-1804.
During the terrible outbreak of plague of 1813-1814, he served with distinction as Commissioner of Health. Later, he served as the personal physician of the Pasha of Tripoli for a number of years and died in Malta in 1841.
Mgr Saverio Cassar
Studied in Rome. Cassar graduated doctor of Divinity and was ordained priest in Rome on 30 March 1771 by the Patriarch of Alexandria, Francesco Mattei. Cassar was nominated archpriest of the Gozo Matrice directly by Pope Clement XIV on 20 April 1773. He was created Provicar of Gozo on 1 January 1775, chosen head of Government and Superintendent of all the island of Gozo on 18 September 1798.
Soon after the rising against the French on 2 September 1798, the Gozitans decided to coordinate their effort and formed a provisional local government made up of nine well known people with Atchpriest Cassar as head of government and inspector general.
He was a born leader with a dynamic personality, a steely will power, and an awe inspiring bearing – characteristics which made him the only arbiter of life in Gozo. Cassar organised the Dejma and obtained weapons and foodstuffs from foreign leaders. He collected money to pay the troops under his command and even arrested pro French partisans, including three canons.
He met Nelson and discussed the terms of capitualtion of the French which took place on 28 October 1798. Thus Gozo was liberated and became an independent entity.
As governor-genral and governing head for the king of Naples, Cassar organised the administration, reopened the law courts, elected new jurats, opened a custom house and even wanted to make Gozo an autonomoys diocese.
He was responsible for internal affairs and foreign policy. However, the Maltese congress disapproved of these actions and he British replaced him by Emmanuele Vitale as governor of Gozo.
Luogotenenti Di Governo
This is a list of Maltese citizens who (with many others) had given valuable services and were among the first in 1801 and after to be appointed to the then prestigious post of Lieutenant of their town or village. This was not a military appointment. The post carried with it certain administrative powers and responsibilities, such as those of an executive police officer empowered to arrest criminals and thieves and with the authority of a magistrate who could deal with minor offences where the fine did not exceed 25 skudi. They were also entrusted with some local administrative work and distributing Government relief to the very poor.
Those appointed were men of the strictest integrity who had proved themselves, were able to deal with local needs and serve as laison with the administration of the Government in Valletta. | |||||
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Malta has been inhabited since 5900 BC.[1][2] The first inhabitants were farmers; their agricultural methods degraded the soil until the islands became uninhabitable. The islands were repopulated around 3850 BC by a civilization that at its peak built the Megalithic Temples, which today are among the oldest surviving buildings in the world. Their civilization collapsed in around 2350 BC; the islands were repopulated by Bronze Age warriors soon afterwards.
Malta's prehistory ends in around 700 BC, when the islands were colonized by the Phoenicians. They ruled the islands until they fell in 218 BC to the Roman Republic. The island was acquired by the Eastern Romans or Byzantines in the 6th century AD, who were expelled by Aghlabids following a siege in 870 AD. Malta may have been sparsely populated for a few centuries until being repopulated by Arabs in the 11th century. The islands were invaded by the Norman County of Sicily in 1091, and a gradual Christianization of the islands followed. At this point, the islands became part of the Kingdom of Sicily and were dominated by successive feudal rulers, including the Swabians, the Aragonese, and eventually the Spanish. The islands were given to the Order of St. John in 1530, which ruled them as a vassal state of Sicily. In 1565, the Ottoman Empire attempted to take the islands in the Great Siege of Malta, but the invasion was repelled. The Order continued to rule Malta for over two centuries, and this period was characterized by a flourishing of the arts and architecture and an overall improvement in the social order [citation needed]. The Order was expelled after the French First Republic invaded the islands in 1798, marking the beginning of the French occupation of Malta.
After a few months of French rule, the Maltese rebelled and the French were expelled in 1800. Malta became a British protectorate, becoming a de facto colony in 1813. The islands became an important naval base for the British, serving as the headquarters of the Mediterranean Fleet. During the last quarter of the 19th century, there were advancements in technology and finance. In subsequent years, the Anglo-Egyptian Bank was established in 1882 and the Malta Railway began operating in 1883. In 1921, London granted self-government to Malta. This resulted in the establishment of a bicameral parliament consisting of a Senate (which was later eliminated in 1949) and an elected Legislative Assembly. The Crown Colony of Malta was self-governing in 1921–1933, 1947–1958, and 1962–1964.
During World War II British forces in Malta were heavily attacked by Italian and German air power, but the British held firm. In 1942 the island was awarded the George Cross, which today appears on Malta's flag and coat of arms.
In 1964 Malta became an independent Commonwealth realm known as the State of Malta, and in 1974 it became a republic while remaining in the Commonwealth. Since 2004 the country has been a member state of the European Union.
Geology
[edit]
Malta stands on an underwater ridge that extends from North Africa to Sicily. At some time in the distant past, Malta was submerged, as shown by marine fossils embedded in rock in the highest points of Malta. As the ridge was pushed up and the Strait of Gibraltar closed through tectonic activity, the sea level was lower, and Malta was on a bridge of dry land that extended between the two continents, surrounded by large lakes. Some caverns in Malta have revealed bones of elephants, hippopotamuses, and other large animals now found in Africa, while others have revealed animals native to Europe.
Neolithic (5900 BC–3850 BC)
[edit]
Further information: Cardium pottery culture
While until recently, it was believed that Malta's first inhabitants arrived in the islands in 5700 BC, it has now been established that this occurred around 5900 BC, as is evidenced by studies of ancient soils.[2][1] These first Neolithic people have generally been assumed to have arrived from Sicily (about 80 kilometres or 50 miles north),[citation needed] but DNA analysis shows that they originated from different parts of the Mediterranean, including both Europe and Africa.[2]
They were mainly farming and fishing communities, with some evidence of hunting activities. They apparently lived in caves and open dwellings. During the centuries that followed there is evidence of further contacts with other cultures, which left their influence on the local communities, evidenced by their pottery designs and colours.[citation needed] The farming methods degraded the soil; at the same time prolonged drought set in, and the islands became too dry to sustain agricultural practices. This occurred partly due to climate change and drought, and the islands were uninhabited for about a millennium.[2]
Research carried out as part of the FRAGSUS project, comprising analysis of soil cores from valleys, which contained ancient pollen and animal evidence from past environments, revealed that "climate change fluctuations made Malta uninhabitable in some periods of prehistory. There was a substantial break of around 1,000 years between the first settlers and the next group who settled permanently on the Maltese islands and eventually built the megalithic temples."[2]
Temple period (3850 BC–2350 BC)
[edit]
Main article: Megalithic Temples of Malta
A second wave of colonization arrived from Sicily in around 3850 BC.[2] Prof. Caroline Malone has said: "Given the restricted land space of Malta, it is remarkable that the second colonisation survived for 1,500 years. This sort of settlement stability is unheard of in Europe and is impressive in terms of how they were able to live on an ever-degrading land for such a period of time."[2]
One of the most notable periods of Malta's history is the temple period, starting around 3600 BC. The Ġgantija Temple in Gozo is one of the oldest free-standing buildings in the world. The name of the complex stems from the Maltese word ġgant, which reflects the magnitude of the temple's size. Many of the temples are in the form of five semicircular rooms connected at the centre. It has been suggested that these might have represented the head, arms, and legs of a deity, since one of the commonest kinds of statue found in these temples comprises obese human figures, popularly termed "fat ladies" despite their ambiguity of gender, and often considered to represent fertility.[citation needed]
The civilization which built the temples lasted for about 1,500 years until about 2350 BC, at which point the culture seems to have disappeared. There is speculation about what might have happened and whether they were completely wiped out or assimilated,[citation needed] but it is thought that the collapse occurred due to climate conditions and drought.[2]
Prof. Malone has stated: "We can learn a lot from the mistakes made by the first Maltese. The lack of water, coupled with the destruction of soil that takes centuries to form, can cause the failure of a civilisation. The second group of inhabitants to Malta in 3850–2350 BC managed their resources adequately and harnessed soil and food for over 1,500 years. It was only when climate conditions and drought became so extreme that they failed."[2]
Between 2600 and 2400 BC. e. on the island of Malta there was a huge infant mortality - about 50%.[3]
Bronze Age (2350 BC–700 BC)
[edit]
After the Temple period came the Bronze Age. From this period there are remains of a number of settlements and villages, as well as dolmens — altar-like structures made out of very large slabs of stone. They are claimed to belong to a population certainly different from that which built the previous megalithic temples.
It is presumed the population arrived from Sicily because of the similarity to the constructions found in the largest island of the Mediterranean sea.[4]
One surviving menhir, which was used to build temples, still stands at Kirkop; it is one of the few still in good condition.
Among the most interesting and mysterious remnants of this era are the so-called cart ruts as they can be seen at a place on Malta called Misraħ Għar il-Kbir (informally known as Clapham Junction). These are pairs of parallel channels cut into the surface of the rock, and extending for considerable distances, often in an exactly straight line. Their exact use is unknown. One suggestion is that beasts of burden used to pull carts along, and these channels would guide the carts and prevent the animals from straying. The society that built these structures eventually died out or at any rate disappeared.[citation needed]
Between 1400 BC and 1200 BC there was a Mycaenaean influence on the Malta, which is evidenced by presence of Mycaenaean artefacts.[5]
Antiquity
[edit]
Phoenicians and Carthage
[edit]
Phoenicians—possibly from Tyre—began to colonize the islands around the early 8th century BC[citation needed][dubious – discuss], using it as an outpost from which they expanded sea exploration and trade in the Mediterranean. They called the principal island Ann (Phoenician: 𐤀𐤍𐤍, ʾNN). Necropolises have been found at Rabat on Malta and Rabat on Gozo, suggesting the main settlements were at present-day Mdina on Malta and Cittadella on Gozo.[9] The former settlement was also known as Ann, suggesting it served as the colony's seat of government. The principal port, meanwhile, was at Cospicua on the Grand Harbor. Known simply as Maleth (𐤌𐤋𐤈, MLṬ, "The Port"), it was probably the namesake of the Greeks' and Romans' names for the entire island.
The Maltese Islands fell under the hegemony of Carthage around the middle of 6th century BC,[citation needed] along with most other Phoenician colonies in the western Mediterranean. By the late 4th century BC, Malta had become a trading post linking southern Italy and Sicily to Tripolitania. This resulted in the introduction of Hellenistic features in architecture and pottery. It is not known if Malta was settled like a traditional Greek apoikia, so some support that Malta was never a Greek colony.[10] Hellenistic architectural features can be seen in the Punic temple at Tas-Silġ and a tower in Żurrieq. The Greek language also began to be used in Malta, as shown in the bilingual Phoenician and Greek inscriptions found on the Cippi of Melqart. In the 18th century, French scholar Jean-Jacques Barthélemy deciphered the extinct Phoenician alphabet using the inscriptions on these cippi.[9]
In 255 BC, the Romans raided Malta during the First Punic War, devastating much of the island.[9]
Roman rule
[edit]
According to Latin historian Livy, the Maltese Islands passed into the hands of the Romans at the start of the Second Punic War in the year 218 BC. Livy reports the commander of the Punic garrison on the Island surrendered without resistance to Tiberius Sempronius Longus, one of the two consuls for that year, who was on his way to North Africa. The archipelago—known to the Romans as Melita or Melite—became part of the province of Sicily, but by the 1st century it had its own local senate and people's assembly. By this time, both Malta and Gozo minted distinctive coins based on Roman weight measurements.[11]
Serving as the administrative hub of the islands, Mdina also became known as Melita. Its size grew to its maximum extent, occupying the entire area of present-day Mdina and large parts of Rabat, extending to what is now St Paul's Church. Remains show that the city was surrounded by thick defensive walls and was also protected by a protective ditch that ran along the same line of St Rita Street, which was built directly above it. Remains hint that a religious centre with a number of temples was built on the highest part of the promontory. The remains of one impressive residence known as the Domus Romana have been excavated, revealing well-preserved Pompeian style mosaics. This domus seems to have been the residence of a rich Roman aristocrat, and it is believed to have been built in the 1st century BC and abandoned in the 2nd century AD.[12]
The islands prospered under Roman rule, and were eventually distinguished as a Municipium and a Foederata Civitas. Many Roman antiquities still exist, testifying to the close link between the Maltese inhabitants and Sicily.[14] Throughout the period of Roman rule, Latin became Malta's official language, and Roman religion was introduced in the islands. Despite this, the local Punic-Hellenistic culture and language is thought to have survived until at least the 1st century AD.[11]
In AD 60, the Acts of the Apostles records that Saint Paul was shipwrecked on an island named Melite, which many Bible scholars and Maltese conflate with Malta; there is a tradition that the shipwreck took place on the shores of the aptly named "St. Paul's Bay". In Acts 28, Saint Paul is welcomed by the islanders who build him a fire. As Paul is gathering wood for the fire, a poisonous viper in the wood is driven out by the heat and bites Paul. Paul is unaffected by the bite, leading the people of Malta to believe he is a god. This assumption allows Paul the opportunity to introduce the Gospel to the island.
Malta remained part of the Roman Empire until the early 6th century.[11] The Vandals and later the Ostrogoths might have briefly occupied the islands in the 5th century,[15] but there is no archaeological evidence to support this.[16]
Middle Ages
[edit]
Byzantine rule
[edit]
Main article: Byzantine Malta
In 533, Byzantine general Belisarius may have landed at Malta while on his way from Sicily to North Africa, and by 535, the islands were integrated into the Byzantine province of Sicily. During the Byzantine period, the main settlements remained the city of Melite on mainland Malta and the Citadel on Gozo, while Marsaxlokk, Marsaskala, Marsa and Xlendi are believed to have served as harbours. The relatively high quantity of Byzantine ceramics found in Malta suggests that the island might have had an important strategic role within the empire from the 6th to 8th centuries.[17]
From the late 7th century onward, the Mediterranean was being threatened by Muslim expansion. At this point, the Byzantines probably improved the defences of Malta, as can be seen by defensive walls built around the basilica at Tas-Silġ around the 8th century. The Byzantines might have also built the retrenchment which reduced Melite to one-third of its original size.[18]
Arab period
[edit]
In 870 AD, Malta was occupied by Muslims from North Africa. According to Al-Himyarī, Aghlabids led by Halaf al-Hādim besieged the Byzantine city of Melite, which was ruled by governor Amros (probably Ambrosios). Al-Hādim was killed in the fighting, and Sawāda Ibn Muḥammad was sent from Sicily to continue the siege following his death. The duration of the siege is unknown, but it probably lasted for some weeks or months. After Melite fell to the invaders, the inhabitants were massacred, the city was destroyed and its churches were looted. Marble from Melite's churches was used to build the castle of Sousse.[19] According to Al-Himyarī, Malta remained almost uninhabited until it was resettled in around 1048 or 1049 by a Muslim community and their slaves, who rebuilt the city of Melite as Medina, making it "a finer place than it was before". However, archaeological evidence suggests that Melite/Medina was already a thriving Muslim settlement by the beginning of the 11th century, so Al-Himyarī's account might be unreliable.[20] In 1053–54, the Byzantines besieged Medina but they were repelled by its defenders.[19] Although their rule was relatively short, the Arabs left a significant impact on Malta. In addition to their language, Siculo-Arabic, cotton, oranges and lemons and many new techniques in irrigation were introduced. Some of these, like the noria (waterwheel), are still used, unchanged, today. Many place names in Malta date to this period.
A long historiographic controversy loomed over Medieval Muslim Malta. According to the "Christian continuity thesis", spearheaded by Giovanni Francesco Abela and still most present in popular narratives, the Maltese population continuously inhabited the islands from the early Christian Era up to today, and a Christian community persisted even during Muslim times. This was contested in the 1970s by the medieval historian Godfrey Wettinger, who claimed that nothing indicated the continuity of Christianity from the late 9th to the 11th century on the Maltese Islands – the Maltese must have integrated into the new Arab Islamic society. The Christian continuity thesis had a revival in 2010 following the publication of Tristia ex Melitogaudo by Stanley Fiorini, Horatio Vella and Joseph Brincat, who challenged Wettinger's interpretation based on a line of a Byzantine poem (which later appeared to have been mistranslated). Wettinger subsequently reaffirmed his thesis, based on sources from the Arab historians and geographers Al Baqri, Al-Himyarī, Ibn Hauqal, Qazwini, who all seemed to be in agreement that "the island of Malta remained after that a ruin without inhabitants" – thus ruling out any continuity whatsoever between the Maltese prior to 870 and after. This is also consistent with Joseph Brincat’s finding of no further substrata beyond Arabic in the Maltese language, a very rare occurrence which may only be explained by a drastic lapse between one period and the following. To the contrary, the few Byzantine words in Maltese language can be traced to the 400 Rhodians coming with the knights in 1530, as well as to the influx of Greek rite Christians from Sicily.[21]
Norman Kingdom of Sicily rule
[edit]
Malta returned to Christian rule with the Norman conquest. It was, with Noto on the southern tip of Sicily, the last Arab stronghold in the region to be retaken by the resurgent Christians.[22] In 1091, Count Roger I of Sicily, invaded Malta and turned the island's Muslim rulers into his vassals. In 1127, his son Roger II of Sicily fully established Norman rule in Malta, paving the way for the islands' Christianization.[23]
Malta was part of the Kingdom of Sicily for nearly 440 years. During this period, Malta was sold and resold to various feudal lords and barons and was dominated successively by the rulers of Swabia, Anjou,[24] the Crown of Aragon, the Crown of Castile and Spain. Eventually, the Crown of Aragon, which then ruled Malta, joined with Castile in 1479, and Malta became part of the Spanish Empire.[25] Meanwhile, Malta's administration fell in the hands of local nobility who formed a governing body called the Università.
The islands remained largely Muslim-inhabited long after the end of Arab rule. The Arab administration was also kept in place[26] and Muslims were allowed to practise their religion freely until the 13th century.[27] Muslims continued to demographically and economically dominate Malta for at least another 150 years after the Christian conquest.[28][a]
In 1122, Malta experienced a Muslim uprising and in 1127 Roger II of Sicily reconquered the islands.[29]
Even in 1175, Burchard, bishop of Strasbourg, an envoy of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, had the impression, based upon his brief visit to Malta, that it was exclusively or mainly inhabited by Muslims.[30][31]
In 1192, Tancred of Sicily appointed Margaritus of Brindisi the first Count of Malta, perhaps for his unexpected success in capturing Empress Constance contender to the throne. Between 1194 and 1530, the Kingdom of Sicily ruled the Maltese islands and a process of full latinisation started in Malta. The conquest of the Normans would lead to the gradual Romanization and Latinization and subsequent firm establishment of Roman Catholicism in Malta, after previous Islamic domination.[32][33]
In 1224, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, sent an expedition against Malta to establish royal control and prevent its Muslim population from helping a Muslim rebellion in the Kingdom of Sicily.[34]
After the Norman conquest, the population of the Maltese islands kept growing mainly through immigration from the north (Sicily and Italy), with the exile to Malta of the entire male population of the town of Celano (Italy) in 1223, the stationing of a Norman and Sicilian garrison on Malta in 1240 and the settlement in Malta of noble families from Sicily between 1372 and 1450. As a consequence of this, Capelli et al. found in 2005 that "the contemporary males of Malta most likely originated from Southern Italy, including Sicily and up to Calabria."[35]
According to a report in 1240 or 1241 by Gililberto Abbate, who was the royal governor of Frederick II of Sicily during the Genoese Period of the County of Malta,[36] in that year the islands of Malta and Gozo had 836 Muslim families, 250 Christian families and 33 Jewish families.[37]
Around 1249, some Maltese Muslims were sent to the Italian colony of Lucera, established for Sicilian Muslims.[b] For some historians, including Godfrey Wettinger, who follow on this Ibn Khaldun, this event marked the end of Islam in Malta. According to Wettinger, "there is no doubt that by the beginning of Angevin times [i.e. shortly after 1249] no professed Muslim Maltese remained either as free persons or even as serfs on the island."[38][c] The Maltese language nevertheless survived – an indication that either a large number of Christians already spoke Maltese, or that many Muslims converted and remained behind.
In 1266, Malta was turned over in fiefdom to Charles of Anjou, brother of France's King Louis IX, who retained it in ownership until 1283. Eventually, during Charles's rule religious coexistence became precarious in Malta, since he had a genuine intolerance of religions other than Roman Catholicism.[28] However, Malta's links with Africa would still remain strong until the beginning of Aragonese and Spanish rule in 1283, following the War of the Sicilian Vespers.[28]: 31
In September 1429, Hafsid Saracens attempted to capture Malta but were repelled by the Maltese. The invaders pillaged the countryside and took about 3,000 inhabitants as slaves.[39]
By the end of the 15th century, all Maltese Muslims would be forced to convert to Christianity and had to find ways to disguise their previous identities by Latinizing or adopting new surnames.[28][d]
Hospitaller rule (1530–1798)
[edit]
Main article: Hospitaller Malta
Malta was ruled by the Order of Saint John as a vassal state of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1530 to 1798.
Early years
[edit]
In the early 16th century, the Ottoman Empire started spreading over the region, reaching South East Europe. The Spanish king Charles V feared that if Rome fell to the Turks, it would be the end of Christian Europe. In 1522, Suleiman I drove the Knights Hospitaller of St. John out of Rhodes. They dispersed to their commanderies in Europe. Wanting to protect Rome from invasion from the south, in 1530, Charles V handed over the island to these knights.
For the next 275 years, the "Knights of Malta" made the island their domain and made the Italian language official. They built towns, palaces, churches, gardens, and fortifications, they embellished the island with numerous works of art, and enhanced cultural heritage.
The order of the Knights of St. John was originally established to set up outposts along the route to the Holy Land, to assist pilgrims going in either direction. Owing to the many confrontations that took place, one of their main tasks was to provide medical assistance, and even today the eight-pointed cross is still in wide use in ambulances and first aid organisations. In return for the many lives they saved, the Order received many newly conquered territories that had to be defended. Together with the need to defend the pilgrims in their care, this gave rise to the strong military wing of the knights. Over time, the Order became strong and rich. From hospitallers first and military second, these priorities reversed. Since much of the territory they covered was around the Mediterranean region, they became notable seamen.
From Malta the knights resumed their seaborne attacks of Ottoman shipping, and before long the Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent ordered a final attack on the Order. By this time the Knights had occupied the city of Birgu, which had excellent harbours to house their fleet. Birgu was one of the two major urban places at that time, the other most urban place being Mdina the old capital city of Malta. The defences around Birgu were enhanced and new fortifications built on the other point where now there is Senglea. A small fort was built at the tip of the peninsula where the city of Valletta now stands and was named Fort Saint Elmo.
Great Siege
[edit]
Main article: Great Siege of Malta
On 18 May 1565, Suleiman the Magnificent laid siege to Malta. By the time the Ottoman fleet arrived the Knights were as ready as they could be. First, the Ottomans attacked the newly built fort of St. Elmo and after a whole month of fighting the fort was in rubble and the soldiers kept fighting until they were wiped out. After this the Turks started attacking Birgu and the fortifications at Senglea but to no gain.
After a protracted siege ended on 8 September of the same year, which became known in history as Great Siege of Malta, the Ottoman Empire conceded defeat as the approaching winter storms threatened to prevent them from leaving. The Ottoman Empire had expected an easy victory within weeks. They had 40,000 men arrayed against the Knights' 9,000, most of them Maltese soldiers and simple citizens bearing arms. Their loss of thousands of men was very demoralising. The Ottomans made no further attempts to conquer Malta and the Sultan died in the next year.
After the siege
[edit]
The year after, the Order started work on a new city with fortifications like no other, on the Sciberras Peninsula which the Ottomans had used as a base during the siege. It was named Valletta after Jean Parisot de Valette, the Grand Master who had seen the Order through its victory. Since the Ottoman Empire never attacked again, the fortifications were never put to the test, and today remain one of the best-preserved fortifications of this period.
Unlike other rulers of the island, the Order of St. John did not have a "home country" outside the island. The island became their home, so they invested in it more heavily than any other power. Besides, its members came from noble families, and the Order had amassed considerable fortunes due to its services to those en route to the Holy Land. The architectural and artistic remains of this period remain among the greatest of Malta's history, especially in their "prize jewel" — the city of Valletta.
However, as their main raison d'être had ceased to exist, the Order's glory days were over. In the last three decades of the eighteenth century, the Order experienced a steady decline. This was a result of a number of factors, including the bankruptcy that was a result of some lavish rule of the last Grand Masters, which drained the finances of the Order. Due to this, the Order also became unpopular with the Maltese.
Indeed, in 1775, a revolt known as the Rising of the Priests occurred. Rebels managed to capture Fort St Elmo and Saint James Cavalier, but the revolt was suppressed and some of the leaders were executed while others were imprisoned or exiled.[40]
French occupation (1798–1800)
[edit]
Over the years, the power of the knights declined; their reign ended in 1798 when Napoleon Bonaparte's expeditionary fleet stopped off there en route to his Egyptian expedition. Napoleon asked for safe harbour to resupply his ships, and when they refused to supply him with water, Napoleon Bonaparte sent a division to scale the hills of Valletta. Grand Master Hompesch capitulated on 11 June. The following day a treaty was signed by which the order handed over sovereignty of the island of Malta to the French Republic. In return the French Republic agreed to "employ all its credit at the congress of Rastatt to procure a principality for the Grand Master, equivalent to the one he gives up".[41]
During his very short stay (six days), Napoleon accomplished quite a number of reforms, notably the creation of a new administration with a Government Commission, the creation of twelve municipalities, the setting up of a public finance administration, the abolition of all feudal rights and privileges, the abolition of slavery and the granting of freedom to all Turkish slaves (2000 in all). On the judicial level, a family code was framed and twelve judges were nominated. Public education was organised along principles laid down by Bonaparte himself, providing for primary and secondary education. Fifteen primary schools were founded and the university was replaced by an ’Ecole centrale’ in which there were eight chairs, all very scientific in outlook: notably, arithmetic and stereometry, algebra and stereotomy, geometry and astronomy, mechanics and physics, navigation, chemistry, etc.[42]
He then sailed for Egypt leaving a substantial garrison in Malta. Since the Order had also been growing unpopular with the local Maltese, the latter initially viewed the French with optimism. This illusion did not last long. Within months the French were closing convents and seizing church treasures, most notably the sword of Jean de Valette which has since been returned to Malta in 2017, after a century in Paris, and for many years exhibited at the Louvre, in Paris. The Maltese people rebelled, and the French garrison of General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois retreated into Valletta. After several failed attempts by the locals to retake Valletta, the British were asked for their assistance. Rear Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson decided on a total blockade in 1799. The French garrison surrendered in 1800.
Malta in the British Empire (1800–1964)
[edit]
Main articles: Malta Protectorate and Crown Colony of Malta
British Malta in the 19th and early 20th centuries
[edit]
In 1800, Malta voluntarily became part of the British Empire as a protectorate. Under the terms of the 1802 Treaty of Amiens with France, Britain was supposed to evacuate the island, but failed to keep this obligation – one of several mutual cases of non-adherence to the treaty, which eventually led to its collapse and the resumption of war between the two countries.
Although initially the island was not given much importance, its excellent harbours became a prized asset for the British, especially after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. The island became a military and naval fortress, the headquarters of the British Mediterranean fleet.
Home rule was refused to the Maltese until 1921 although a partly elected legislative council was created as early as 1849 (the first Council of Government under British rule had been held in 1835), and the locals sometimes suffered considerable poverty.[43] This was due to the island being overpopulated and largely dependent on British military expenditure which varied with the demands of war. Throughout the 19th century, the British administration instituted several liberal constitutional reforms[44] which were generally resisted by the Church and the Maltese elite who preferred to cling to their feudal privileges.[45] Political organisations, like the Nationalist Party, were created or had as one of their aims, the protection of the Italian language in Malta.
In 1813 Malta was granted the Bathurst Constitution; in 1814 it was declared free of the plague, while the 1815 Congress of Vienna reaffirmed the British rule under the 1814 Treaty of Paris. In 1819, the local Italian-speaking Università was dissolved.
The year 1828 saw the revocation of the right of sanctuary, following the Vatican Church-State proclamation. Three years later, the See of Malta was made independent of the See of Palermo. In 1839, press censorship was abolished, and the construction of St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral began.
Following the 1846 Carnival riots, in 1849 a Council of Government with elected members under British rule was set up. In 1870 a referendum was held on ecclesiastics serving on Council of Government, and in 1881 an Executive Council under British rule was created; in 1887, the Council of Government was entrusted with "dual control" under British rule. A backlash came in 1903, with the return to the 1849 form of Council of Government under British rule.
The last quarter of the century saw technical and financial progress in line with the Belle Époque: The following years saw the foundation of the Anglo-Egyptian Bank (1882) and the beginning of operation of the Malta Railway (1883); the first definitive postage stamps were issued in 1885, and in 1904 tram service began. In 1886 Surgeon Major David Bruce discovered the microbe causing the Malta Fever, and in 1905 Themistocles Zammit discovered the fever's sources. Finally, in 1912, Dun Karm Psaila wrote his first poem in Maltese.
Between 1915 and 1918, during World War I, Malta became known as the Nurse of the Mediterranean due to the large number of wounded soldiers who were accommodated in Malta.[46]
Malta in the Interwar period
[edit]
Main article: Italian irredentism in Malta
In 1919, the Sette Giugno (7 June) riots over the excessive price of bread led to greater autonomy for the locals during the 1920s. After Filippo Sciberras had convened a National Assembly, in 1921 self-government was granted under British rule. Malta obtained a bicameral parliament with a Senate (later abolished in 1949) and an elected Legislative Assembly. Joseph Howard was named Prime Minister. In 1923 the Innu Malti was played for the first time in public, and the same year Francisco Buhagiar became Prime Minister, followed in 1924 by Sir Ugo Pasquale Mifsud and in 1927 by Sir Gerald Strickland.
The 1930s saw a period of instability in the relations between the Maltese political elite, the Maltese Catholic church, and the British authorities; the 1921 Constitution was suspended twice. First in 1930–1932, when British authorities assumed that a free and fair election would not be possible following a clash between the governing Constitutional Party and the Church[47][48] and the latter's subsequent imposition of mortal sin on voters of the party and its allies, thus making a free and fair election impossible. Again, in 1933 the Constitution was withdrawn over the Government's budgetary vote for the teaching of Italian in elementary schools, after just 13 months of a Nationalist administration.[49] Malta thus reverted to the Crown Colony status it held in 1813.
Before the arrival of the British, the official language since 1530 (and the one of the handful of educated elite) had been Italian, but this was downgraded by the increased use of English. In 1934 Maltese was declared an official language, which brought the number up to three. Two years later, the Letters Patent of the 1936 constitution declared that Maltese and English were the only official languages, thereby legally settling the long-standing 'Language Question' that had dominated Maltese politics for over half a century. In 1934, only about 15% of the population could speak Italian fluently.[50] This meant that out of 58,000 males qualified by age to be jurors, only 767 could qualify by language, as only Italian had until then been used in the courts.[50]
In 1936 the Constitution was revised to provide for the nomination of members to Executive Council under British rule (similar to the 1835 constitution) and in 1939 to provide again for a partly elected Council of Government under British rule.
British Malta during the Second World War
[edit]
Further information: Operation Herkules
Before World War II, Valletta was the location of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet's headquarters. However, despite Winston Churchill's objections,[52] the command was moved to Alexandria, Egypt, in April 1937 fearing it was too susceptible to air attacks from Europe.[52][53][54][page needed] At the time of the Italian declaration of war (10 June 1940), Malta had a garrison of less than four thousand soldiers and about five weeks of food supplies for the population of about three hundred thousand. In addition, Malta's air defences consisted of about forty-two anti-aircraft guns (thirty-four "heavy" and eight "light") and four Gloster Gladiators, for which three pilots were available.
Being a British colony, situated close to Sicily and the Axis shipping lanes, Malta was bombarded by the Italian and German air forces. Malta was used by the British to launch attacks on the Italian navy and had a submarine base. It was also used as a listening post, reading German radio messages including Enigma traffic.[55]
The first air raids against Malta occurred on 11 June 1940; there were six attacks that day. The island's biplanes ability to defend the island was limited due to the Luqa Airfield being unfinished;[how?] however, the airfield was ready by the seventh attack. Initially, the Italians would fly at about 5,500 m, then they dropped down to three thousand metres (in order to improve the accuracy of their bomb-aiming). Journalist Mabel Strickland spoke of the Italian bombing efforts as such: "The Italians decided they didn't like [the Gladiators and AA guns], so they dropped their bombs twenty miles off Malta and went back."[56] Despite these words, the accuracy of Italian bombers improved after repeated attempts, causing a great deal of devastation to both military and civilian infrastructure in Malta. However, these raids proved ineffective to the Axis siege efforts, as any damage incurred was eventually repaired before a new wave of bombers could launch bombing runs over the islands.[57]
By the end of August, the Gladiators were reinforced by twelve Hawker Hurricanes which had arrived via HMS Argus.[56] During the first five months of combat, the island's aircraft destroyed or damaged about thirty-seven Italian aircraft, while suffering even greater losses than the Italians. Italian fighter pilot Francisco Cavalera observed, "Malta was really a big problem for us—very well-defended.".[56] Nevertheless, the Italian bombing campaign was causing serious damage to the island's infrastructure and the ability of the Royal Navy to operate effectively in the Mediterranean.[57](pp 60–67)
On Malta, 330 people had been killed and 297 were seriously wounded from the war's inception until December 1941. In January 1941, the German X. Fliegerkorps arrived in Sicily as the Afrika Korps arrived in Libya. Over the next four months 820 people were killed and 915 seriously wounded.[58]
On 15 April 1942, King George VI awarded the George Cross (the highest civilian award for gallantry) "to the island fortress of Malta — its people and defenders".[56] Franklin D. Roosevelt arrived on 8 December 1943, and presented a United States Presidential Citation to the people of Malta on behalf of the people of United States. He presented the scroll on 8 December but dated it 7 December for symbolic reasons. In part it read: "Under repeated fire from the skies, Malta stood alone and unafraid in the centre of the sea, one tiny bright flame in the darkness – a beacon of hope for the clearer days which have come."[59] (The complete citation now stands on a plaque on the wall of the Grand Master's Palace on Republic Street, in the town square of Valletta.[60])
In 1942, a convoy code-named Operation Pedestal was sent to relieve Malta. Five ships, including the tanker SS Ohio, managed to arrive in the Grand Harbour, with enough supplies for Malta to survive. In the following year Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill visited Malta. George VI also arrived in Grand Harbour for a visit.
During the Second World War, Ugo Mifsud and George Borg Olivier were the only remaining Nationalist members of parliament of Malta. Mifsud fainted after delivering a very passionate defence against the deportation to concentration camps in Uganda of Enrico Mizzi and 49 other Italian Maltese accused of pro-Italian political activities. He died a few days later.
In 1943, the Allies coordinated the invasion of Sicily from the Lascaris War Rooms in Valletta. Following the Armistice of Cassibile later in 1943, a large part of the Italian Navy surrendered to the British in Malta.
The Malta Conference was held in 1945, in which Churchill and Roosevelt met prior to the Yalta Conference with Joseph Stalin.
The 1946 National Assembly resulted in a new constitution in 1947. This restored Malta's self-government, with Paul Boffa as Prime Minister. On 5 September 1947, universal suffrage for women in Malta was granted. That year, Agatha Barbara was the first woman elected as a Maltese Member of Parliament.
From home rule to independence
[edit]
After the Second World War, the islands achieved self-rule, with the Malta Labour Party (MLP) of Dom Mintoff seeking either full integration with the UK or else "self-determination" (independence) and the Partit Nazzjonalista (PN) of George Borg Olivier favouring independence, with the same "dominion status" that Canada, Australia and New Zealand enjoyed.
The 1953 Coronation incident (where, initially, no invitation was sent for a Maltese delegation to attend the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II), temporarily united Maltese politicians. After the MLP's electoral victory in 1955, in December Round Table Talks were held in London, on the future of Malta, namely the Integration proposal put forward by Mintoff. It was attended by the new Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, Borg Olivier, and other Maltese politicians, along with the British Colonial Secretary, Alan Lennox-Boyd. The British government agreed to offer the islands their own representation in British Parliament, with three seats in the House of Commons, with the Home Office taking over responsibility for Maltese affairs from the Colonial Office.[61] Under the proposals, the Maltese Parliament would retain authority over all affairs except defence, foreign policy, and taxation. The Maltese were also to have social and economic parity with the UK, to be guaranteed by the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) the islands' main source of employment.
A UK integration referendum was held on 11 and 12 February 1956, in which 77.02% of voters were in favour of the proposal,[62] but owing to a boycott by the Nationalist Party and the Church, only 59.1% of the electorate voted, thereby rendering the result inconclusive.[63]
There were also concerns expressed by British MPs that the representation of Malta at Westminster would set a precedent for other colonies, and influence the outcome of general elections.[61]
In addition, the decreasing strategic importance of Malta to the Royal Navy meant that the British government was increasingly reluctant to maintain the naval dockyards. Following a decision by the Admiralty to dismiss 40 workers at the dockyard, Mintoff declared that "representatives of the Maltese people in Parliament declare that they are no longer bound by agreements and obligations toward the British government" (the 1958 Caravaggio incident). In response, the Colonial Secretary sent a cable to Mintoff, stating that he had "recklessly hazarded" the whole integration plan.[64]
Under protest, Dom Mintoff resigned as Prime Minister along with all the MLP deputies on 21 April 1958. Georgio Borg Olivier was offered to form an alternative government by Governor Laycock but refused. This led to the Governor declaring a state of emergency thus suspending the constitution and Malta was placed under direct colonial administration from London. The MLP had now fully abandoned support for integration (when Mintoff's demands for financial guarantees were not accepted) and now advocated full independence from Britain. In 1959, an Interim Constitution provided for an Executive Council under British rule.
While France had implemented a similar policy in its colonies, some of which became overseas departments, the status offered to Malta from Britain constituted a unique exception. Malta was the only British colony where integration with the UK was seriously considered, and subsequent British governments have ruled out integration for remaining overseas territories, such as Gibraltar.[65]
From 1959 Malta's British governor started to pursue a plan of economic development based on promoting tourism and tax competition, offering very low tax rates on pensions, royalties and dividends to attract British (referred to as ‘sixpenny settlers’) and former colonial pensioners. Malta saw a large influx of Britons from Rhodesia after 1967.[66]
In 1961, the Blood Commission provided for a new constitution allowing for a measure of self-government and recognising the "State" of Malta. Giorgio Borg Olivier became Prime Minister the following year, when the Stolper report was delivered.
Independent Malta (since 1964)
[edit]
Nationalist governments (1964–1971)
[edit]
United Kingdom legislation
Malta Independence Act 1964Act of ParliamentLong titleAn Act to make provision for, and in connection with, the attainment by Malta of fully responsible status within the Commonwealth.Citation1964 c. 86DatesRoyal assent31 July 1964Other legislationAmended byBritish Nationality Act 1981
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enactedText of the Malta Independence Act 1964 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
Following the passage of the Malta Independence Act 1964 (c. 86) by the British Parliament and the approval of a new Maltese constitution by 54.5% of voters in a referendum, the State of Malta (Maltese: Stat ta’ Malta) was formed on 21 September 1964 as an independent constitutional monarchy, with Elizabeth II as Queen of Malta and head of state. The date continues to be celebrated annually as Independence Day (Maltese: Jum l-Indipendenza), a national holiday in Malta. On 1 December 1964, Malta was admitted to the United Nations.
In the first two post-independence electoral rounds, in 1962 and 1966 the Nationalist Party emerged as the largest party, gaining a majority of the Parliamentary seats. In these years, relations with Italy were of the utmost importance to secure independence and establish linkages with continental Europe. Malta signed four cooperation agreements with Italy in 1967, during a visit of Aldo Moro to the island.
In 1965 Malta joined the Council of Europe, and in 1970, Malta signed an Association Treaty with the European Economic Community.
Labour governments (1971–1987)
[edit]
The elections of 1971 saw the Labour Party (MLP) under Dom Mintoff win by just over 4,000 votes. The Labour government immediately set out to re-negotiate the post-Independence military and financial agreements with the United Kingdom. The government also undertook nationalization programmes and the expansion of the public sector and the welfare state. Employment laws were updated with gender equality being introduced in salary pay. Concerning civil law, civil marriage was introduced and homosexuality and adultery were decriminalised (1973); capital punishment for murder was abolished in 1971. The following year, Malta entered into a Military Base Agreement with the United Kingdom and other NATO countries, after mediation by Italy's Aldo Moro.
Through a package of constitutional reforms, Malta became a republic on 13 December 1974, with the last Governor-General, Sir Anthony Mamo, as its first President. The Ġieħ ir-Repubblika Act, promulgated the following year, abolished all titles of nobility in Malta and mandated that they cease to be recognised.[67]
The Party was confirmed in office in the 1976 elections. Between 1976 and 1981 Malta went through difficult times and the Labour government demanded that the Maltese tighten their belts in order to overcome the difficulties Malta was facing. There were shortages of essential items; water and electricity supplies were systematically suspended for two or three days a week. Political tensions increased, notably on Black Monday, when following an attempted assassination of the Prime Minister, the premises of the Times of Malta were burned and the house of the Leader of Opposition was attacked.
The end of British presence and shaky relations with Libya and Italy
[edit]
Main articles: Libya–Malta relations and Italy-Malta relations
On 1 April 1979 the last British forces left the island after the end of the economic pact to stabilise the Maltese economy. This is celebrated as Freedom Day (Jum Il-Ħelsien) on 31 March. Celebrations start with a ceremony in Floriana near the War Memorial. A popular event on this memorable day is the traditional regatta. The regatta is held at the Grand Harbour and the teams taking part in it give it their best shot to win the much coveted aggregate Regatta Shield.
Under Mintoff's premiership, Malta began establishing close cultural and economic ties with Muammar Gaddafi's Libya,[68] as well as diplomatic and military ties with North Korea.[69][70]
During the Mintoff years, Libya had loaned several million dollars to Malta to make up for the loss of rental income which followed the closure of British military bases in Malta.[68] These closer ties with Libya meant a dramatic new (but short-lived) development in Maltese foreign policy: Western media reported that Malta appeared to be turning its back on NATO, the UK, and Europe generally.[71] History books were published that began to spread the idea of a disconnection between the Italian and Catholic populations, and instead tried to promote the theory of closer cultural and ethnic ties with North Africa. This new development was noted by Boissevain in 1991: "The Labour government broke off relations with NATO and sought links with the Arab world. After 900 years of being linked to Europe, Malta began to look southward. Muslims, still remembered in folklore for savage pirate attacks, were redefined as blood brothers".[72]
Malta and Libya had entered into a Friendship and Cooperation Treaty, in response to repeated overtures by Gaddafi for a closer, more formal union between the two countries[when?]; and, for a brief period, Arabic had become a compulsory subject in Maltese secondary schools.[73][74] In 1984 the Mariam Al-Batool Mosque was officially opened by Muammar Gaddafi in Malta, two years after its completion.
In 1980 an oil rig of the Italian company Saipem commissioned by Texaco to drill on behalf of the Maltese government 68 nautical miles south-east of Malta had to stop operations after being threatened by a Libyan gunboat. Both Malta and Libya claimed economic rights to the area and this incident raised tensions. The matter was referred to the International Court of Justice in 1982 but the court's ruling in 1985 dealt only with the delineation of a small part of the contested territory.[75][76]
In 1980, Malta signed a neutrality agreement with Italy, under which Malta agreed not to enter into any alliance and Italy agreed to guarantee Malta's neutrality.[77] Malta's relations with Italy have been described as "generally excellent".[78]
Constitutional crisis in the 1980s
[edit]
The 1981 general elections saw the Nationalist Party (NP) gaining an absolute majority of votes, yet the Labour winning the majority of parliamentary seats under the Single Transferable Vote and Mintoff remained Prime Minister, leading to a political crisis. The Nationalists, now led by Eddie Fenech Adami, refused to accept the electoral result and also refused to take their seats in Parliament for the first years of the legislature, mounting a campaign demanding that Parliament should reflect the democratic will of the people. Despite this, the Labour government remained in power for the full five-year term. Mintoff resigned as Prime Minister and Party leader and appointed Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici as his successor in 1984.
The Mifsud Bonnici years were characterised by political tensions and violence. After a five-year debate, Fenech Adami, through the intervention of Dom Mintoff, reached an agreement with Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici to improve the constitution. Constitutional amendments were made voted and made effective in January 1987 which guaranteed that the party with an absolute majority of votes would be given a majority of parliamentary seats in order to govern. This paved the way for the return of the Nationalist Party to government later that year.
The accession process to the European Union (1987–2004)
[edit]
The general elections that followed in 1987 saw the Nationalist Party achieve such a majority of votes. The new Nationalist administration of Edward Fenech Adami sought to improve Malta's ties with Western Europe and the United States. The Nationalist Party advocated Malta's membership in the European Union presenting an application on 16 July 1990. This became a divisive issue, with Labour opposing membership.
A wide-ranging programme of liberalisation and public investments meant the confirmation in office of the Nationalists with a larger majority in the 1992 elections. In 1993, local councils were re-established in Malta.
General elections were held in Malta on 26 October 1996; although Labour received the most votes, the Nationalists won the most seats. The 1987 constitutional amendments had to be used for the second time, and the Labour Party was awarded an additional four seats to ensure they had a majority in Parliament. Malta's EU application was subsequently frozen. A split in the Labour Party in 1998, between the PM Sant and the former PM Mintoff (died in 2012) resulted in the government losing the majority. Notwithstanding the President of the Republic's preference for a negotiated solution, all attempts proved futile, and he had no other option but to accept Sant and his government's resignation and a call for early elections.
On being returned to office in the 1998 elections with a wide 13,000 vote margin, the Nationalist Party reactivated the EU membership application. Malta was formally accepted as a candidate country at the Helsinki European Council of December 1999.[79] In 2000, capital punishment was abolished also from the military code of Malta.
EU accession negotiations were concluded late in 2002 and a referendum on membership in 2003 saw 90.86% casting a valid vote of which 53.65% were "yes" votes. Labour stated that it would not be bound by this result were it returned to power in the following general election that year.[80] In the circumstances, elections were called and the Nationalist Party, led by Prime minister Fenech Adami, won another mandate,[81] In April 2004, Eddie Fenech Adami was sworn in as President of Malta. Lawrence Gonzi succeeded him as Prime Minister and the leader of the Nationalist Party.[82] The accession treaty was signed and ratified and Malta joined the EU on 1 May 2004.[83] A consensus on membership was subsequently achieved with Labour saying it would respect this result. Joe Borg was appointed as first Maltese European commissioner in the first Barroso Commission.[84]
Malta in the European Union (2004–present)
[edit]
Malta's accession to the European Union in 2004 had important implications for the state's foreign policy. Notably, Malta was required to withdraw from the Non-Aligned Movement of which the state had been an active member since 1971.[85]
In the context of EU membership, Malta joined the Eurozone on 1 January 2008;[86] the 2008 election confirmed Gonzi in the premiership,[87] while in 2009 George Abela became President of Malta.[88]
On 28 May 2011, the Maltese voted 'yes' in the consultative divorce referendum.[89] At that time, Malta was one of only three countries in the world, along with the Philippines and the Vatican City, in which divorce was not permitted. As a consequence of the referendum outcome, a law allowing divorce under certain conditions was enacted in the same year.[90]
Following a corruption scandal John Dalli had to resign and was replaced by Tonio Borg as Maltese commissioner in 2012.[91] A snap election was called for March 2013 after the Gonzi government lost the Parliamentary majority. The Nationalist Party lost the election after having governed Malta more than 15 years since 1987 (except for a period from 1996 to 1998).[92] Labour Party leader Joseph Muscat was elected as Prime Minister.[93][94]
In April 2019, the parliament elected George Vella as the 10th President of the Republic of Malta to succeed Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca.[95]
On 16 October 2017, Maltese journalist and anti-corruption activist Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated in a car bomb near her residence in Bidnija.[96] Her murder caused an uproar of criticism for the Labour government and the judicial system on the islands. Following evidence of implication between Joseph Muscat's close circle and the arrest of Yorgen Fenech, a long series of protests on the islands and international criticism precipitated the 2019–2020 political crisis. This resulted in the resignation of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Minister Konrad Mizzi, and Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Keith Schembri.[97] An internal election on 11 January 2020 within the Maltese Labour party elected Robert Abela, son of former president George Abela, as party leader, and Prime Minister of Malta.[98][99]
Malta became the first country in the European Union to legalize recreational use of cannabis on 14 December 2021.[100]
In March 2022, the ruling Labour party, led by Prime Minister Robert Abela, won its third successive election. It gained even bigger victory than in 2013 and in 2017.[101]
See also
[edit]
Culture of Malta
History of the Jews in Malta
List of heads of state of Malta
Malta Summit
Norman-Arab-Byzantine culture
Operation Pedestal
Timeline of Maltese history
Notes
[edit]
References
[edit]
Citations
[edit]
Bibliography
[edit]
"Malta Elections Data".
"Study reveals how Malta looked 20,000 years ago". Malta Star. 3 January 2013. | ||||||
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"Clazz - An Orcadian Abroad"
] | 2022-04-24T00:00:00 | Before we visited Malta, I knew virtually nothing of its capital, Valletta. One of the smallest capital cities in Europe, Valletta looks surprisingly imposing from the outside, St Paul's Cathedral towering high above the surrounding buildings to dominate the skyline, yet once inside the city walls, it doesn't need much time to explore. In fact,… | en | An Orcadian Abroad | https://anorcadianabroad.com/2022/04/24/doors-balconies-valletta-malta-enchanting-capital/ | Before we visited Malta, I knew virtually nothing of its capital, Valletta.
One of the smallest capital cities in Europe, Valletta looks surprisingly imposing from the outside, St Paul’s Cathedral towering high above the surrounding buildings to dominate the skyline, yet once inside the city walls, it doesn’t need much time to explore.
In fact, I didn’t have much on my agenda at all for Valletta, and was content with one simple plan: take photos of as many balconies and doors as possible.
We also ventured into St John’s Co-Cathedral, so really this post will be split into three distinct but simple “sections”: balconies, doors and… err, skeleton murals! More on that soon.
I’ve already talked about our stressful arrival into the city, as we decided to visit the day after the election results. We had even been told to avoid Valletta until at least the following day, but I figured it would be interesting to see the city during some celebrations, especially as it’s unlike anything I’ve seen before for politics. I just wish people were as passionate about it here in the UK!
And so it was, after a cancelled ferry from Sliema and the subsequent chaos of everyone waiting for the next five buses that didn’t come and then all turned up at once, that we finally made it to Valletta amid smoke, horns and flags.
After a quick bite to eat next to the striking Triton fountain, it was time to head through the city gate and into the old city.
It was actually quieter inside the city than it had been outside – less horns, for one thing! It was clear, though, with the barriers lining Republic Street, that we had missed a parade.
We set off for a wander around some (or most…) of the side streets, and I instantly loved the character of it, history seeping out of every wall and into the street.
Valletta’s layout is interesting in that it has a very geometric block street layout, like many cities in the US. This sets it apart from a lot of European cities, which makes it feel quite unique considering how historic it also feels.
Balconies In Valletta
The one thing that instantly struck me was the balconies. These are known as gallarija in Maltese, and there’s more than just meets the eye – the balconies are so embedded in the culture now that there is a law to protect them, and owners of the properties must take measures to preserve them.
I took an indeterminable amount of photos of the balconies around Valletta, and there’s only so much I can really say about them, so here’s a load.
Want to read more about Malta? I’ve got our full five day Malta itinerary right here!
St John’s Co-Cathedral
Taking a break from balconies, we headed into St John’s Co-Cathedral.
It’s called a “co-cathedral” because it shares a seat with St Paul’s Cathedral in Mdina – apparently there are hundreds of co-cathedrals in Europe, but this is the first one I’ve come across that actually refers to itself as such in its name.
At 15€ to get in, it’s not cheap and I did consider whether it was worth it. Being that I’ve been into countless cathedrals around Europe, some of them being my favourite buildings in the world and for much cheaper, I’m not sure I would have necessarily paid out for another one.
In fact, I had only decided to go in for one silly reason, which made me weigh up the novelty value too.
So it was with amazement that I have to say St John’s is one of the most spectacular cathedrals I’ve ever set foot in!
As with my experience of Valletta as a whole, pictures seem to say 1,000 words, and there’s not much for me to even say.
Fun fact: I’m not the only Scottish fan. Sir Walter Scott described it as a “magnificent church, the most striking interior [he had] ever seen”!
We spent a lot longer than expected in the cathedral, taking it all in.
I had more pressing matters than just the fantastic gold and the statues and paintings and the ceilings, though: I had some silly skeleton murals to find!
This really is a look-all-around kind of place, because as well as the mesmerising ceiling, the floor of the cathedral is COVERED in murals, marking tombs.
…featuring absolutely ridiculous, brilliant, cartoonish skeletons!
This was, I am ashamed to say, my main reason for going in, after I read about these on Atlas Obscura! I found way more than I even expected to.
And to think I could have missed one of the most stunning buildings ever!
The funny thing? It doesn’t even look that impressive from the outside, as cathedrals go.
From the (co-)cathedral, we took another wander to find somewhere for a cup of tea, and stumbled across the best street in the whole of Valletta.
St Lucia’s Street
Valletta is so tiny that you’re bound to find this street anyway – but just in case, make sure to look out for it.
At the bottom, you’ll find the Church of St Lucy, but the biggest attraction is these picturesque restaurants on the steps down to it – and all the doors. Oh, the doors. Just you wait.
Instead of going to one of the restaurants, we’d just passed a café with a curious name, and we obviously had to stop…
Yep, I actually found a place with Scotland in the name! Ha. And of course I inadvertently captured some balconies in the photo of the sign, because it’s seemingly impossible not to.
With full view of the gorgeous street below, we lingered here for a while watching some kids race from the café to the bollards. The brother, a couple of years older than his sister, kept winning and hugged her when she got upset. Then she brushed herself off and ran down the hill again.
And once I’d finished my tea, it was time to take a thousand more photos.
Doors of Valletta
I don’t know about you, but I am a sucker for a good door. I don’t seem to be alone in that either, after a Twitter post I made recently:
In fact, I may have taken even more photos of doors than balconies, certainly across the trip to Malta as a whole!
Here’s a mere handful of the ones in Valletta.
Add in a few from Mdina and Gozo, and you can imagine I’ve got myself a pretty hefty collection! (Just wait until I go to Zanzibar – Stone Town is actually FAMOUS for its amazing doors! God help me!)
And I wasn’t wrong – if you love doors too, you’ll want to check out my Zanzibar photo post: The Doors Of Stone Town, Zanzibar
When you’ve got this many picturesque doors and balconies in one place, how about what is possibly my favourite photo of both?
After a quiet few minutes pondering what to do next in the square across from the Grandmaster’s Palace, we decided to head to a cute place we’d passed that also happened to be a rock bar – right up our street.
…of COURSE, we had mainly noticed it because of the photogenic façade.
Nevertheless, we found ourselves in a tiny, pokey bar, where we planned to have a drink or two while contemplating where to go for dinner, and ended up having so much fun that we stayed for pizza and patter until gone 9pm!
We got chatting to a lovely middle-aged English couple, starting off with trying to identify obscure ’80s rock songs before sharing our life stories with each other, and I’ve decided that’s who we’re going to be when we’re older. Fun-loving, hanging out in rock bars and having interesting conversations with everyone. A simple dream.
Eventually though, it was time to head back, and I found myself wishing we were staying in Valletta.
Because obviously I needed more time to take even more photos.
One thing I hadn’t researched at all was a trip to the three cities across the water from Valletta – Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua. They seem like they’re probably Valletta in miniature, and can be reached in a mere five minutes on a ferry, or even a traditional Maltese luzzu boat. In hindsight, this would have been a great addition to our day, especially when we couldn’t get the ferry to Valletta as planned, but the last thing we wanted to do was rush around doing as much as we could.
Apart from that? There’s the fort, and the Barrakka Gardens (upper and lower). There’s the Grandmaster’s Palace, which is closed to visitors at the moment. And there are a couple of museums that we could have visited.
Honestly, though? I loved that we had a relaxed day in Valletta without doing much. It’s the perfect place to just drink it all in and wander with a camera in hand.
I really enjoyed the city – it’s got so much character in every building, balcony and door, and every single street enticed me to walk down it, which is, after all, a rare thing to find.
I’m curious – what’s your favourite “small capital city” you’ve been to?! | |||||
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"Matthew Camilleri"
] | 2021-05-02T08:25:20.404000+00:00 | The ancient citadel of Mdina is undoubtedly one of Malta’s gems: no visitor to Malta should miss the chance of taking a stroll through its narrow, winding alleyways to admire the city’s elegant palazzos and churches, and the spectacular panorama offered from its high bastion walls. | en | Colour my Travel | https://www.colourmytravel.com/post/highlights-from-malta-s-old-capital-city | The ancient citadel of Mdina is undoubtedly one of Malta’s gems: located in the central part of the island on high ground, its magnificent cathedral and imposing fortifications dominate the skyline. No visitor to Malta should miss the chance of taking a stroll through its narrow, winding alleyways - an experience that seems to transport you back in time - to admire Mdina’s elegant palazzos and churches, and the spectacular panorama offered from its high bastion walls.
Inhabited since the Bronze Age, the site on which Mdina is built was chosen for its strategic location. For centuries, it evolved as the main settlement on the island, as the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and many others took turns ruling Malta. By the medieval period, Mdina was the home of the island’s nobility, the Bishop’s seat, and a citadel protecting the island’s inhabitants from frequent pirate incursions. Although Valletta’s construction in the 1560s lessened Mdina’s importance, a strong earthquake in 1693 led to major reconstruction and a revival of the city. Since then, Mdina has changed very little and is today a fantastic melting pot of the numerous foreign influences that have over time been beautifully welded together: a city with plenty of hidden details and anecdotes.
1. Mdina Gate
Rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693 to the designs of the French architect Charles François de Mondion, the appearance of Mdina’s main gate reflects the glorious Baroque era of the time, with beautifully sculpted decorations and motifs reflecting the power and generosity of Grand Master Antonio Manoel de Vilhena, who commissioned it as part of a massive rebuilding programme. Vilhena definitely left his mark, with various references to his coat-of-arms displayed all around the area, including on either side of the stone bridge. An elaborate trophy-of-arms and a marble inscription commemorating the gate’s inauguration in 1724 complete the picture.
The gate we see today was actually moved by Mondion a few metres to the left of its original location. In the medieval period, one would enter the city by passing through no less than three successive gates, all separated from each other by a courtyard. While this provided additional security in the case of an attack, the system was simplified when the whole space was demolished to make way for the construction of Vilhena Palace, with the new singular gate being moved a short distance away. To the right-hand side of the present gate, the outline of the medieval blocked entrance is still clearly visible.
A quick look back upon entering the city reveals another series of interesting carvings on the inside of the structure. Directly above the doorway, a stone relief portrays a scene from the 1429 siege, when a large force of Tunisian Saracens was held at bay by the local militia, following a fierce three-day battle that resulted in heavy losses among the local population. Another sculpture is that depicting St. Paul flanked by St. Publius and St. Agatha. Today, the Mdina Gate is one of the most photographed landmarks in Malta and even appeared in the popular television series Game of Thrones as the entrance to the fictional city of King’s Landing.
2. Vilhena Palace
Upon entering Mdina, the first major landmark is Vilhena Palace - another project commissioned as part of the city’s revival following the 1693 earthquake. Estimated at 7.4 on the Richter scale, the earthquake’s epicentre was located off the eastern coast of Sicily. It was the most powerful earthquake in Italian history, destroying whole settlements and causing the deaths of up to 60,000 people. Despite no recorded casualties in Malta, numerous buildings suffered structural damage, resulting in collapse or the need to demolish them due to structural concerns. Mdina was particularly affected.
After Vilhena became Grand Master in 1722, he commissioned a number of major projects around the Maltese islands, including the development of a new suburb just outside Valletta, eventually named Floriana, as well as the building of Fort Manoel and the Manoel Theatre. Probably his most significant project, however, was the revival of Mdina, which was to lead to the introduction of Baroque architecture into the medieval city. Built on the site of an earlier structure, Vilhena Palace became the Grand Master’s summer residence.
During the British era, however, the building mostly served as a hospital, starting from the 1837 cholera outbreak. In 1860, it was converted into a sanatorium by the British military, and after a brief closure, it was once more reopened in 1909 by King Edward VII, to treat tuberculosis patients. Named after Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn - who had donated medical equipment - the Connaught Hospital remained operational until the 1950s, before being transformed into the National Museum of Natural History in 1973.
3. Corte Capitanale & Herald’s Loggia
Vilhena Palace is linked to the Corte Capitanale, which was built simultaneously. Consisting of the criminal and civil courts, this was the oldest court of justice in Malta, with jurisdiction over the areas outside the harbour cities. Its direct physical connection to Vilhena Palace was a symbolic message that the courts were under the jurisdiction of the Order of St. John, but despite this, the Corte Capitanale had its own entrance and façade, located around the corner, facing what is now the Xara Palace hotel.
The balcony above the building’s main door is flanked by two allegorical figures representing Mercy and Justice, which together with the Latin inscription Legibus et Armis reflect the building’s former role. The courthouse incorporates within it some underground prison cells, which would have held those awaiting trial, as well as condemned criminals awaiting execution on nearby Saqqajja Hill: Pjazza Forok in nearby Rabat is thus named because it was the site where hangings used to take place. The Corte Capitanale was abolished in 1813 by British Governor Sir Thomas Maitland, as part of his reform of the justice system. The building today serves as the seat of the Mdina Local Council.
The aforementioned building is also connected to another curious structure in the form of a three-arched loggia. This structure, which predates the courthouse, was constructed in the 17th century and was once used by town criers to read out the latest laws, rules and regulations that were passed by the city’s municipal council - the Mdina Università. This place is still referred to as the Herald’s Loggia.
4. St. Peter's Church and Monastery
One of the more mysterious buildings in Mdina is the Benedictine monastery for cloistered nuns dedicated to St. Peter. This place is the perfect embodiment of the term ‘Silent City’ which is often bestowed on Mdina. Dating back to the 15th century, when the Benedictine community was first established here, the building still performs its original role. It is said that in the past, when rules were very stringent, no male was ever allowed to enter the convent’s walls, except perhaps those rendering essential services, while the nuns who joined never saw the outside world again, even being buried in the crypt of the adjoining church after their death. Theirs was a life of pious and strict devotion.
The church dedicated to St. Peter and St. Benedict was referenced by Bishop Cubelles in a report from 1555, but the present structure is the result of renovations that took place in the following century. Despite the relatively simple exterior, the inside of the church is richly decorated, with the titular painting by Mattia Preti depicting the Madonna and Child with St. Peter, St. Benedict and St. Scholastica. Other paintings are attributed to the Maltese 18th-century painter Francesco Zahra. Undoubtedly the most prized possession, however, is an urn containing the remains of one of the convent’s previous abbesses.
Born in Naples in 1806 to a wealthy Maltese baron and an Italian mother, Maria Teresa Pisani endured a very unhappy childhood: her father was an alcoholic, which led to serious marital problems, and the young Maria Teresa was entrusted to the care of her paternal grandmother, who passed away when the girl was only ten. Maria Teresa was thus sent to a Neapolitan boarding school, but after her father became involved in a political uprising, he was deported back to Malta, with his wife and daughter following soon after. It was then that Maria Teresa decided to become a nun, renouncing her wealth, and preferring instead to lead a quiet, religious life, dedicated to helping the poor. Upon joining the cloistered nunnery of Mdina - her home for the remaining 25 years of her life - she took the name Maria Adeodata. She died in 1855, aged 48, and was buried in the crypt of the monastery. Sister Adeodata was admired by all who knew her for her spirituality and pious life, and many regarded her as a saint. A strong devotion towards her soon developed and people claimed to have been miraculously healed through her intercession. Although her case was brought to the attention of the Vatican in the 1890s, it was not until 2001 that she was finally beatified by Pope John Paul II, and now awaits canonization. Her feast is celebrated every 25th of February.
5. Milestone in St. Paul’s Square
One of the more inconspicuous features in Mdina is the old British milestone found in St. Paul’s Square, which belongs to a series of such landmarks that had at one point become common features of the Maltese rural and urban landscape. Carved out of local coralline limestone, they served to indicate the distance in miles between their position and Valletta.
Although this particular example - like the majority of surviving ones - has had all of the important information chiselled away, this was not the result of vandalism but was deliberately done during World War Two. Early in the war, Nazi Germany had demonstrated the efficacy of airborne troops, particularly during the invasion of the Low Countries. In May 1941, another large-scale assault by German airborne forces led to the fall of Crete. The British were convinced that Malta would be next, and thus no time was wasted in introducing measures to deter such an invasion. All road signs and milestones were defaced, in the hope that any newly-landed paratroopers would find it difficult to orientate themselves. Although the Axis powers did plan to invade Malta using both airborne and seaborne troops, the plans were eventually discarded. As for the few surviving milestones today, they are mostly defaced, although a few extremely rare examples did survive intact.
The milestone is not the only British feature in this square: at the opposite end, there is an old red telephone booth, as well as a post box with the Royal cypher of King Edward VII. Though seemingly out of place in a city like Mdina, in truth they are the perfect example of the odd but rich mixture of foreign influences that make up this fascinating city.
6. The Malta Railway
Another relatively inconspicuous feature is the hole-in-the-wall entrance found along Magazine Street. Although created much later than the two original gates of Mdina, this too has an interesting story behind it, having been specifically created in the late 19th century to facilitate access to the nearby train station that was then in operation.
The Malta Railway was the first means of mechanised mass transportation on the island. Known locally as 'il-vapur tal-art', it was intended to shorten the time of travel between Valletta and Mdina. The line was opened on 28th February 1883, when the first train left Valletta. The journey, which by horse-drawn carriage normally took around three hours, was significantly reduced to around 30 minutes.
Sadly, the company that operated the railway soon went bankrupt, but the network was reopened after being acquired by the government, which led to improvements and an extension of the line through an underground tunnel beneath Mdina to service the military barracks at Mtarfa. The former Museum Station is still visible from the opening in the Mdina bastions, just a short distance away from the city, although it is now a restaurant. After all, the Malta Railway stopped operating in 1931. Today, one of the few reminders that it ever existed is this opening in Mdina’s walls, which perhaps also serves as the link between the ancient city and the modern world outside it. | |||||
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] | null | en | L-Università ta' Malta | null | Positioned at the crossroads between Europe and Africa, the Maltese Islands boast a history and culture which reflect its geographical characteristic. After being subjected to foreign rule for centuries, Malta is now a free independent Republic island-state, member of the European Union since 2004. The official languages in Malta are Maltese and English. A complex derivative of Semitic and Romance languages, Maltese is a very particular language, having an Arabic sound but using Latin characters.
The particular language of the Maltese people is one of the numerous witnesses to Maltaâs turbulent narrative, which started around 7,000 years ago with a prehistoric community settling on our shores from nearby Sicily. With the arrival of the Phoenicians, Malta unveiled its historic period. Centuries of foreign dominion have left there imprint on the development of a rich history, influenced by the Ancient Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Spanish, French, Italian and British.
The capital city, Valletta, is considered the Baroque capital par excellence. Built in the 1560s by the Knights of St John to serve as the headquarters of the Order, Valletta is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and will be European Capital of Culture in 2018.
The Maltese climate is typically Mediterranean. Winters are mild and summers very hot. The lack of rain during the summer months results into very dry land, which limits agricultural activity. With a population of around 421,000, the Maltese people have developed an incredible flexibility and resourcefulness, adapting themselves to changing economic circumstances and developing a strong tourism industry.
Malta offers the perfect atmosphere for any event, be it a large-scale conference or an exclusive study-trip. The diverse facets that the archipelago offers, along with the hospitable nature of the Maltese people, ensure peace of mind to the organiser and an unforgettable experience for the participants. | ||||||
9289 | dbpedia | 3 | 83 | https://whoswho.mt/en/mediterranean-conference-centre-a-hospital-turned-conference-venue-at-the-tip-of-the-valletta-peninsula | en | conference venue at the tip of the Valletta peninsula | https://whoswho.mt/loadimage/A6063824-7447-4069-A13B-6B6144928969 | https://whoswho.mt/loadimage/A6063824-7447-4069-A13B-6B6144928969 | [
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] | null | [] | null | From acting as a hospital for the Knights, to holding mass events such as the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, the previously named Sacra Infermeria has evolved significantly over the years | en | ../assets/img/fav/apple-icon-57x57.png | https://whoswho.mt/en/mediterranean-conference-centre-a-hospital-turned-conference-venue-at-the-tip-of-the-valletta-peninsula | Valletta’s long and elaborate history as Malta’s capital makes it a captivating city for any tourist visiting the Maltese Islands. Aside from its architectural beauty, each building in Valletta has a story to tell, some more than others.
While the city centre is usually bursting with tourists, the lower part of the capital is relatively quieter, despite housing historical marvels such as Fort Saint Elmo, the Lower Barrakka Gardens, Evans Building – set to become a hotel – and most notably, the Mediterranean Conference Centre (MCC).
The centre, which has housed various events and conferences over the years, offers an area of 8,000 square metres, boasting multiple spaces such as Republic Hall, La Valette Hall, seating 1,400 and 900 respectively, together with smaller ones suited for receptions and more modest conferences and seminars. Today, the MCC caters for corporate events, weddings, theatre productions and conferences.
Built in the 16th century by the Knights of St John, believed to have been developed under the guidance of Maltese Architect Girolamo Cassar, the building was originally known as the Sacra Infermeria, meaning Holy Infirmary. Originally, it was meant to receive Maltese and foreign patients, together with providing lodging for pilgrims heading to the Holy Land, and also housed two pharmacies.
Under Grand Master Raphael Cotoner’s reign, as well as his successor’s, Nicolas Cotoner, the infirmary was extensively enlarged, with more wards being added, and the 'Old Ward' also being extended. The latter’s reign also saw the establishment of a School of Anatomy and Surgery, where a dissection room was also built, yet was later on moved to the site of the graveyard outside the infirmary.
There were other works on the building under the Order, with a quadrangle, the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, a laboratory, and a pharmacy all being constructed.
The building also underwent significant changes during the French occupation, such as improved ventilation, sanitation, and lighting. Once the British took over, it became a hospital to accommodate the wounded British soldiers being brought in by ship, particularly because of its strategic location overlooking the harbour. It was heavily used during the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, and the First World War, leading to Malta being dubbed the “Nurse of the Mediterranean”.
Afterwards, it became the headquarters of the Malta Police Force in between the two World Wars, and was partially destroyed after it took four direct bomb hits in the Second World War.
The building was restored on multiple occasions over the course of the 20th century, yet full restoration took place between 1978 and 1979, after which the current centre was inaugurated. The MCC was given international recognition through the “Europa Nostra” award, granted for the blending of fine old architecture with modern technology.
Over the years, it has housed many conferences, meetings and events, ranging from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2015, to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest of 2016.
The MCC’s original main hall was once the largest hall in Europe with a length of 145m, and also features a monumental staircase designed in form of flight, going down against a wall that then turns midway opposite the other side of the wall. The building’s corridors and underground halls feature vaulted ceilings that take the shape of a cross.
Pierre Fenech, CEO of the MCC, last year said year that the building’s selling point is its “uniqueness”, together with the service it provides.
When taking into account the considerable number of tourists that flock to Valletta’s centre on a daily basis, the lower area of the capital is significantly quieter, and arguably even more indicative of the Malta of old. This makes the MCC, with all its architectural glory, together with its surrounding area, truly a hidden gem for anyone visiting Valletta. | |||
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] | 2020-10-05T09:00:00-07:00 | Valletta, the capital city of Malta, was constructed by Knights and built on a hilltop, filled with 16th-century baroque palaces, gardens, and churches. Here are the top things to do in the city of Valletta. | en | As Seen By Me - Blog | https://angelamobilemakeup.com/asseenbyme/things-to-do-in-valletta/ | Valletta the capital city of Malta is filled with 16th-century baroque palaces, gardens, and churches which were constructed by the Knights Hospitaller. Built on a hilltop, the streets can be reasonably steep and many still contain the original stone steps, built to help the Knights in their heavy armor ascend the hill. While you’ll certainly get a workout exploring the city, the views from almost everywhere are breathtaking. Below I’ve included the top things to do in Valletta, but if you’re also wondering where on the island you should stay, take a look at this post.
EXPLORE THE COLORFUL STREETS OF VALLETTA
The way the sun’s warm glow reflects off of Malta’s cream-colored stone buildings is truly beautiful. Walking the streets of Valletta you’ll find that just when you thought you spotted the most beautiful colored door or Bougainvillea-covered building, there’s another just a few steps ahead even more beautiful. Be sure to spend some time walking down the small residential streets admiring the brightly colored exteriors.
learn about malta's history
Malta has a long history since it was first inhabited in 5900 BC and later colonized by the Phoenicians, Romans, and the French. Malta was also sparsely populated for a few centuries until being repopulated by the Arabs in the 11th century. This is reflected in the Maltese language which sounds and looks very similar to Arabic. Valletta is where you’ll find most of Malta’s museums so if you’re looking to delve a little deeper into its history, here are a few options.
The Malta Experience is an audio-visual show that tells the dramatic story of the islands’ 7000-year history. Educational, informative, and entertaining, the show runs through the turbulent history of a small island nation that has overcome almost unimaginable odds to survive and prosper. You can read reviews and more here.
Casa Rocca Piccola is a 16th-century palace and home of the noble Maltese family de Piro. You can read reviews here.
Fort St Elmo was originally intended as a war machine, the fort was built in a strategic location to face and hold back the menacing Ottoman attacks. This dominating position now offers unobstructed panoramic views of the harbors and the surrounding towns and villages. The fort also hosts the National War Museum which houses a superb collection of artifacts that go back to prehistoric times. Below are photos from my visit, you can also read reviews here.
Malta 5D is a new generation theater where you feel the emotions of the movie. In a short time, you will explore the Maltese history and culture, magnified with 3D film, moving seats, water spray, air blasts, and leg ticklers. reviews here.
NATIONAL WAR MUSEUM
FORST ST ELMO
The fort was built by the Knights in 1552 in just four months to guard the harbors on either side of the Sceberras Peninsula and bore the brunt of Turkish arms during 1565’s Great Siege. After restoration, the fort reopened in 2015, and now contains the National War Museum, which covers Malta’s wartime history including the Great Siege and the country’s ordeal during WWII. The museum showcases audiovisual displays, bringing history to life and illustrating aspects of war such as the struggle to get supplies through to the islands under German bombardment.
things to see and do
Upper Barrakka Gardens & The Saluting Battery: The Barrakka Gardens is a small public garden that offers a panoramic view of the Grand Harbour and its surrounding fortified towns. It also holds what is perhaps the oldest saluting battery still in operation anywhere in the world. For almost 500 years, its guns protected the harbor against naval assault. The passage of time is marked twice daily with gunfire at 12 noon and 4pm. You can secure your view from directly behind the canons with an entrance fee of €3 which includes a guided tour and audio guide. The tour and audio guide sounds worth it for the price however I think the best views are from above the canons at the Upper Barrakka Gardens which does not require an entrance fee. Saluting Battery reviews here and Upper Barrakka Gardens reviews here.
St. John’s Co-Cathedral is a Roman Catholic co-cathedral that retained its title as conventual church of the order until the Knights left Malta with the French occupation in 1798. During my time in Malta, I heard from many people that this is one cathedral you can’t miss during your time in Valletta, read reviews here
Siege Bell War Memorial is perched above the Grand Harbour its bell is a simple monument symbolizing the people who fought and died for Malta during the Second World War. It was built in 1992 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of when Malta received the George Cross for the display of bravery and valor shown during the attacks on the island from 1940-42. The bell is located right beside the Lower Barakka Gardens and offers picturesque views of the Grand Harbour and is perfect for photos.
Grand Masters Palace was one of the first buildings to be built in Valletta in 1571. The Grandmaster Palazzo has always hosted the government in Malta, first the Knights, then under the British, it served as the Governor’s Palace, and now it hosts the President’s office as well as the House of Representatives. read reviews here
Old Theatre Street is where the Grand Master Palace and National Museum connect with an arched walkway/bridge, it’s beautiful. You can view it best from Merchants St. between Archbishop St. and St. Lucia’s St.
where to eat and drink
You must try a traditional dish at Nenu The Artisan Baker, one of Valletta’s most recognizable restaurants. Ftira is a special Maltese bread typically used for ‘sandwiches’ but at Nenu they make a flatbread version with a variety of toppings called Ftajjar. I went with the “Ta’ Nenu” which is topped with sundried tomatoes, black olives, grated peppered Maltese cheeselet, onions, Maltese sausages, capers, thyme, and sesame seeds. The staff is friendly so if you’re Vegetarian they’ll happily leave off the sausage.
If you prefer meat or your palette is a bit more adventurous, their menu offers options such as oven-braised pork belly, fried rabbit, rabbit ravioli, calf’s liver, and horse meat stew. If you’re taken aback by those options, stick with the Ftajjar it’s tasty, just be sure to leave room in your belly since the waitress will bring out traditional pieces of bread, like ‘Hobza Maltija’ a rustic bead along with sauces for dipping, before your dish arrives.
After dinner, I struck up a conversation with one of the employees who offered me a seat at the bar and poured me a cup of traditional Maltese coffee that was simmering on the stove over low heat. It typically includes ingredients like chicory, ground cloves, anise seed, and orange zest and is certainly an acquired taste. After a sip or two, he invited me to the kitchen and shared a brief history of the restaurant along with their ovens that are over 100 years old and have been at this location since before World War II. While they tried their best to restore both ovens only one of them functions and it’s this oven that they use to bake all of their traditional Ftajjar, the other sits beside it as a reminder of the restaurant’s history.
AUTHENTIC MALTESE FOOD
NENU THE ARTISAN BAKER
website | review
NIGHTLIFE
THE BRIDGE BAR
facebook | reviews
Situated a few steps from a bridge and with cushion lined stairs; the vibe is both cozy and intimate. Order a drink, grab a seat on one of the stairs, and enjoy a live jazz band every Friday night.
more malta posts
to help you plan your trip
Where to stay in Malta + How to get around
A complete guide to visiting Malta! The differences between each city, where to book your accommodations, and how to easily get around the island.
READ MORE HERE
How to spend an afternoon in Mdina – The “Silent City” of Malta
Mdina is a fortified city in the Northern Region of Malta and is best known as the filming location for the hit series Game of Thrones. Nicknamed "The Silent City" Mdina is confined within walls and has a population of just under 300.
READ MORE HERE
The best way to visit the Blue Lagoon and Gozo
The Blue Lagoon is located off the island of Comino and has some of the most magical turquoise waters and rugged cliffs you've ever seen. This guide explains the best way to visit while avoiding the crowds of tourists.
READ MORE HERE
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] | 2016-05-04T00:00:00 | The tiny capital of Malta, Valletta, is Europe's smallest though one of the richest in history, filled with grand palaces, baroque churches, and culture. | en | Flying Fourchette | https://www.flyingfourchette.com/2016/05/04/valletta-grand-tiny-capital-malta/ | Floating between Sicily and the North African coast, the archipelago of Malta quickly had me fooled by superlatives far from reality. While it features prominently on all of the world’s ‘smallest destinations lists’, the tiny islands pack such a vast amount of historic sites and beauties within their limited surface, thanks to a succession of rulers spanning thousands of years, that I can’t imagine anyone not underestimating the time it takes to truly explore the nation. I for one thought a long 3-day weekend would suffice though I was barely able to scratch the surface. What you’ll see in this post and the next is just a fragment of Malta’s glorious variety and should be the base to plan a much more fitted 10-days vacation…
On the largest island (Malta) you ‘ll find the tiny capital of Valletta, Europe’s smallest with its 1km by 600m size. Don’t let that fool you as you could easily spend a week here and still miss some of the major sights.
This is a splendid view from Valletta looking at the Three Cities across the Grand Harbour, none of which I had time to check out!
Everyone enters Valletta through the main city gates where you’ll find the bus station (a great way to get around the island) and right after you’ll be greeted by the unmissable new Parliament building designed by Renzo Piano and inaugurated last year. The two massive stone blocks, balanced on slender columns to give the building a sense of lightness, sure are a sign of modern times and a stark contrast to pretty much everything around it.
Right next door is the Royal Opera House or rather what remains of it. All over Malta are vestiges and reminders of the devastating destruction the island endured during WWII due to its strategic location in the Mediterranean.
Instinctively you’ll find yourself following the main street straight ahead, called Republic, which will bring you right into the center of Valletta (in under 10 minutes, no more!), passing by some of the most famous sites. St John’s Co-Cathedral was unfortunately closed in preparation for a religious celebration so we had to content ourselves with its stern facade, trying not to think that we were missing the dazzling interior as well as a famous Caravaggio painting…
That day was the Feast of St Joseph and it’s a real treat to be here during one of the numerous festas, Malta being the most Catholic country in all of Europe.
We watched the many processions from sidewalk cafes, snacking on traditional Easter cakes and lent biscuits at Kantina Cafe.
Further north you’ll find Valletta’s oldest and most popular cafe, Caffe Cordina. A real icon of the city, its terrace in the middle of Victoria Square is the best people-watching spot around.
Right across you’ll find St George’s Square, Valletta’s largest and most prominent square which also acts as the true ‘city center’ and is where inhabitants still gather today to celebrate public events and the likes.
Facing the square is the imposing Grand Master’s Palace which has always been the seat of Government of the Maltese islands since the new city was built in 1565 (today it is the President’s office and seat of the Maltese Parliament).
It’s worth visiting the handsome grounds and palace which was for over two hundred years the residence of the Grand Master, supreme head of the Order of the Knights of St John.
The Supreme Council Hall is the grandest room with glittering chandeliers and a magnificent frieze all around depicting the great siege of 1565.
My favorite part though had to be walking along the lavishly decorated Corridors of the Knights lined with portraits of the Grand Masters.
Before leaving the palace, the Armoury located in the former stables is a must for any fans of medieval weaponry and military hardware as more than 5,000 pieces are on display.
Two blocks ahead, la Casa Rocca Piccola is another chance to step back in time and learn loads about Malta’s notable past, the casa being the only private palazzo open to the public in Valletta. This beautiful palace is still the home of the noble Maltese de Piro family and guided tours every hour will let you peek into about a dozen out of the 50 rooms it contains.
Through the vast collection of rare and finely crafted furniture, curiosities, paintings and photographs, you get a unique insight into the customs and traditions of the Maltese nobility over the last 400 years.
Grand staircase and winter dining room
The Sala Grande is the tallest room in the house and contains some very important paintings as well as a great example of a portable chapel, hidden within the large black lacquer bureau against the wall.
My vote goes to the art nouveau Summer Dining Room with its giant windows overlooking a secluded garden. The dinner parties I would throw in there…
The table has been laid out with silver, china and Maltese lace with the tablemats showing the family’s embroidered coat of arms.
One side of the room is dominated by a marble statue of the goddess Diana and the other by a large gilt Maltese mirror for an all-around dazzling effect.
In the garden you’ll find a staircase leading down to the underground tunnels and bomb shelters that became sadly necessary during WWII. It is said that there are more streets under Valletta than on the surface though most of the passages have been blocked off today for safety reasons.
Back outside, it’s time to leave Republic behind and start meandering around the sloping and charming side streets.
There’s so much to look at on every facade from the old balconies to the decaying signs and doors.
The red phone booths are a tell-tale sign of the British legacy on the island, as are the pubs and Maltese’s love for tea.
As you make your way down towards the water, you’ll encounter boats, storage rooms and old market stalls catering to the local fishermen.
A beautiful example of Valletta’s harbour conservation and revitalization is The Harbour Club, a fantastic restaurant and bar converted from 17th-century boathouses. It has a superb terrace and wonderful harbour views, perfect for a long alfresco lunch, sunset drinks, or dinner under the stars.
You’ll get prime views of the famous Maltese Falcon, one of the largest privately owned luxury sailing yachts in the world at 289ft long.
You’ll feast on impeccably prepared local dishes with a focus on seafood as you watch the busy boat traffic passing by and will surely find yourself lingering for much longer than you originally planned.
Steamed fillet of Sea bass with organic black quinoa and warm prawn bisque dressing
Pappardelle with fresh prawns, light prawn bisque, mangetout, soft herbs
Make your way back up for an even better view of the Grand Harbour by entering the Upper Barrakka Gardens. Valletta has a number of very scenic gardens, all with stunning views, to provide some peace and tranquility amidst the busy city, and this one is by far the best of them all.
Built on top of a bastion on the highest point of the city, it used to be a private garden of the Knights and is now one of Valletta’s most breathtaking spots.
You can literally spend hours admiring the panoramic view of the Three Cities across with the Saluting Battery down below, where a cannon once fired salutes to visiting naval vessels.
At the gardens exit you won’t be able to miss the imposing Auberge de Castille, one of the finest architectural works in Malta. Built in the 1570s to house knights of the Order of St John from the ‘Castille langue’, it was their hostel where they would live, host visitors and pilgrims from their home country and engage in social activities.
Some more baroque beauty can be seen right next door on the church of St. Catherine of Italy.
Pay your respect to the new city’s founder at Pjazza Jean De Valette which features a statue of the Grand Master. The Order’s hero and most illustrious leader fought and successfully repulsed the Turks during the Great Siege of 1565 after which he commissioned the construction of the new city of Valletta.
The Hastings Gardens on the west side gives you a glimpse of the ‘other’ harbour Marsamxett, the towns of Sliema, Msida and Manoel island (yes, more things I haven’t had time to explore!).
When in such a devoted catholic city, regardless of your own religious affiliation, it’s impossible to not be impressed by the myriad of statues adorning almost every street corners, the crosses graciously draped in the middle of a staircase…
…and the multitude of gorgeous churches that seem to call you in. Of course you should go in as many as you can as they’ll all be stunning with an insanely decorated interior.
When it’s time for a break, the great thing with such a small city is that your hotel is never really far. We checked into the charming Trabuxu Boutique Living, a 400-year-old palazzo converted into a fun and contemporary boutique hotel. The small courtyard with its bright ceramic tables and crystal chandelier won me over and is where we’d take their delicious breakfast every day.
There are only nine rooms, all completely different, and we loved our Napoleon themed refuge with its opulent interior, a nod to the great man’s love for art, fashion and travel.
One last garden to end the day, this one a lot quieter but no less scenic, the Lower Barrakka Gardens. You get a better view here over the Breakwater entrance to the Grand Harbour.
At its northern end you’ll also get your first sight of the Siege Bell Memorial, a neoclassical temple containing a huge bronze bell which chimes everyday at noon. It was erected in 1992 to commemorate the 7,000 service personnel and civilians who lost their lives in the Siege of Malta during World War II.
Dinner options abound, but if you’re looking for a great local experience I’d strongly suggest you hit Legligin first. The rustic wine bar tucked in a cellar below street level is a low-key and fantastic way to get introduced to Maltese traditional cuisine.
Cozy up in the small room and let the chef/owner show you Maltese food the way his mom used to make with a selection of nine-or-so meze, accompanied by tasty local wines.
You’ll discover traditional starters like arjoli (tapenade of sun-dried tomatoes, capers, olives and anchovies), local goats’ cheese, sausage, cured pork, etc.
Fish and meat dishes will follow in succession amounting to a pretty big quantity of food despite being called ‘meze’ and costing a mere 25 euros for the whole thing! It’s hard to beat such value and hard to find such a fun atmosphere, with a guitarist arriving mid-meal to add to the vibe.
The meal ends with the owner’s handmade chocolates and we ordered a glass of their own limoncello… fantastic way to spend the night!
For something a bit more upscale but equally local and scrumptious, I highly recommend you visit Michael’s at the Civil Service Sports Club. Chef Michael Cauchi is well-known among the locals as a prodigy in fish cuisine and gave us a memorable last meal in Valletta we’ll be talking about for a while.
While the room does feel like a gentlemen’s club, the warm service with frequent apparition and greetings by Michael himself tells you you’re in a true family restaurant. The sophisticated comfort food served here comes with a gentle price tag and I could feel we were surrounded by regulars which is always a very good sign!
Spaghetti Bottarga with garlic, chili, spring onion and herb crumb
Fresh fish of the day, grilled
And here is the theatrical behind my main dish of Smoked Swordfish with basil pesto, sweetcorn puree and pickled grapes…incredible!
Ricotta cheesecake with berries
Tarte tatin
And if you’re lucky (like we were), you might get the chance to see a magnificent performance at the Teatru Manoel, one of the oldest working theaters in Europe.
The baroque interior is a gem with wonderful acoustic and well worth the ticket price.
Throwing a bit of culture is a favorite way to mix with the locals. Even though I didn’t get to spend nearly as much time as I would have liked in Valletta, I feel she gave quite a memorable performance, one I look forward to revisit… | |||||
9289 | dbpedia | 0 | 4 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Malta/Modern-history | en | Malta - Mediterranean, British Rule, Independence | [
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"Salvino Busuttil",
"Lino Briguglio"
] | 1999-07-26T00:00:00+00:00 | Malta - Mediterranean, British Rule, Independence: In 1798 French army officer Napoleon Bonaparte (later Napoleon I) captured the island, but the French presence was short-lived. By the middle of 1800 British troops that had been called in to assist the Maltese had arrived. The French held out for three months before they surrendered the island to the British. The Treaty of Amiens returned the island to the Knights in 1802. The Maltese protested and acknowledged Great Britain’s sovereignty, subject to certain conditions incorporated in a Declaration of Rights. The constitutional change was ratified by the Treaties of Paris (1814–15). Maltese claims for local autonomy were dismissed | en | /favicon.png | Encyclopedia Britannica | https://www.britannica.com/place/Malta/Modern-history | In 1798 French army officer Napoleon Bonaparte (later Napoleon I) captured the island, but the French presence was short-lived. By the middle of 1800 British troops that had been called in to assist the Maltese had arrived. The French held out for three months before they surrendered the island to the British. The Treaty of Amiens returned the island to the Knights in 1802. The Maltese protested and acknowledged Great Britain’s sovereignty, subject to certain conditions incorporated in a Declaration of Rights. The constitutional change was ratified by the Treaties of Paris (1814–15).
Maltese claims for local autonomy were dismissed by Britain, but they never abated. Malta’s political status under Britain underwent a series of vicissitudes in which constitutions were successively granted, suspended, and revoked. British exploitation of Malta’s military facilities dominated the local economy, and the dockyard became the colony’s economic mainstay.
The island flourished during the Crimean War (1853–56) and was favourably affected by the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Self-government was granted in 1921 on a dyarchical basis whereby Britain retained control of foreign and military affairs, while a newly created Maltese legislature was responsible for local issues. This agreement was withdrawn in 1933, mostly as a result of Maltese resistance to the imposition of English in lieu of Italian as Malta’s official language. As such, Malta reverted to a strictly colonial regime in which full power rested in the hands of the governor. During World War II (1939–45) the island underwent intense and prolonged bombing by the Axis Powers but did not surrender. The heroism of the Maltese people was recognized when the island as a whole was awarded the George Cross, Britain’s highest civilian decoration. Self-government was granted in 1947, revoked in 1959, and then restored in 1962. Malta finally achieved independence on September 21, 1964, becoming a member of the Commonwealth and subsequently a member of the Council of Europe. Malta became a republic on December 13, 1974.
Salvino Busuttil
The immediate pre- and postindependence period was marked by a hardening polarization between Malta’s two major political parties. From 1962 to 1971, Malta was governed by the Nationalist Party (Partit Nazzjonalista; PN), which pursued a policy of firm alignment with the West. In 1971, however, the Malta Labour Party (Partit Laburista; MLP) came to power, embracing a policy of nonalignment and aggressively asserting Malta’s sovereignty. The MLP formed a special friendship with China and Libya and negotiated an agreement that led to the total withdrawal of British forces from Malta by 1979. The closure of the British base was celebrated by the Maltese government as the arrival of “real” independence.
The PN returned to power in 1987 and sought full membership in the European Economic Community (later succeeded by the European Union [EU]). But when the MLP took the reins again in 1996, the party froze Malta’s application for membership in the EU. The MLP’s time in office was short-lived, however, because Prime Minister Alfred Sant called for new elections in 1998 (three years ahead of schedule) after having lost support from his own party. The PN was returned to office in 1998; it reactivated the application for accession to the EU and ushered in major social and economic changes in pursuit of that goal. After considerable political wrangling between the PN and the MLP, Maltese voters in a 2003 referendum chose to join the EU, of which Malta became a member on May 1, 2004. Malta adopted the euro as its currency on January 1, 2008. The PN was again returned to power in 2008, winning the general elections over the MLP by a small margin of votes.
Lino Briguglio
In May 2011 Maltese voters approved a referendum recommending the legalization of divorce. Until then Malta had been the only EU country, and one of only a few countries worldwide, without a divorce law. Legislation permitting divorce was passed by the parliament in June and put into effect in October.
In 2013 the MLP, now known as the Labour Party after the name was changed in 2008, was returned to power with a relatively large majority and broadly adopted the same policies as the PN. The Labour Party did, however, take a more progressive position on social issues; 2014 saw passage of a bill legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples in spite of strong opposition from the Roman Catholic Church.
In 2016 the leak of the Panama Papers revealed that two of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s cabinet ministers, including his chief of staff, owned offshore companies in Panama. Daphne Caruana Galizia, a journalist who had been investigating the Panama Papers, claimed that Muscat’s wife also owned an offshore company the following year. Amid the fallout and calls for his resignation, Muscat called snap elections in 2017. He campaigned on a booming economy with low unemployment, rapid GDP growth, and a budget surplus and promised additional economic benefits and civil liberties. When elections were held in June, he was returned to the premiership with the Labour Party enjoying an absolute majority in parliament.
Months later Caruana Galizia was murdered. An investigation was launched, and in November 2019 police arrested and interrogated Yorgen Fenech, a businessman close to Muscat’s chief of staff, in connection to the murder. Muscat’s chief of staff was also questioned. Protesters demanded Muscat’s resignation, and he announced on November 30 that he would resign after a new Labour Party leader could be selected. On January 12, 2020, Robert Abela, the son of a former president, was elected leader of the party, and he was sworn in as prime minister the following day. Although Labour under Abela’s leadership oversaw some government reform, the remainder of the parliamentary term focused primarily on navigating the health and economic crises brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022 the Labour Party handily won another majority in parliament. | ||||
9289 | dbpedia | 1 | 34 | https://www.historyextra.com/period/general-history/malta-history-key-moments/ | en | Seven key moments in the history of Malta | [
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] | 2023-03-20T12:47:02+00:00 | Once traded for a falcon and collectively awarded the George Cross, the history of Malta is full of fascinating stories | en | HistoryExtra | https://www.historyextra.com/period/general-history/malta-history-key-moments/ | It has witnessed wars and strife, vanishing cultures, and the possible shipwrecking of a saint. It was traded for a bird of prey, became a pilgrimage hotspot on the sea route to the Holy Land, and witnessed the creation of one of the first planned cities in Europe. It served as a sanctuary for the exiled Mehmed VI after the dissolution of the Ottoman empire and was lauded as the ‘Nurse of the Mediterranean’ for its part in treating soldiers injured at Gallipoli during the First World War.
Malta’s past is chequered and complex. Here are seven key moments that have shaped the islands, and the world around them.
1
The disappearance of the temple builders – 2500 BC
Temple culture bloomed in Malta around 3600 BC. More than a millennium before the construction of the great pyramid of Giza or the raising of the trilithons of Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, the ‘temple people’ built the first of a string of megalithic marvels that can be counted among the oldest free-standing structures in the world.
Today, six of these complexes spread across Malta and Gozo – Ġgantija, Ħaġar Qim, Mnajdra, Ta' Ħaġrat, Skorba and Tarxien – are counted as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Their purpose remains clouded, though collectively they point to the people of the period having a ritualistic culture, with one tantalising clue being the prevalence of statuettes colloquially described as ‘fat ladies’, which may have served as idols of fertility.
Of more obvious purpose is the seventh UNESCO World Heritage site from this period, the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum – not a temple, but a tomb. Hewn out of the soft limestone rock, this underground necropolis held the remains of an estimated 7,000 people when it was excavated in the 20th century.
But in 2500 BC, the temple builders died out and disappeared, leaving these grand structures as their testament. Historians have struggled to determine why this people suddenly vanished from Malta: drought, famine, epidemic and outside aggression have all been put forward as potential reasons for their abrupt end, with no conclusive evidence pointing towards any.
2
Rome ousts Carthage – 218 BC
Developing from a Phoenician colony, the city-state and then empire of Carthage ruled over Malta for almost 250 years before losing it to their greatest rival: the Romans.
Malta escaped unscathed during the First Punic War (264-241 BC) – as these clashes between and Rome and Carthage would become known. The islands were raided and occupied during the first months of the Second Punic War (218–201 BC); the Roman historian Livy records that the local garrison surrendered without a fight.
By the time Rome had finally annihilated its hated foe at the end of the Third Punic War (149–146 BC), Malta had been a Roman territory for more than 70 years.
Read more | How Hannibal beat the Alps but couldn't beat Rome
The change in overlordship ushered in a new age of prosperity that lasted until the Roman empire’s fracture into east and west in the fourth century AD. The Romans designated Malta a municipium, or free town, incorporating it within the province of Sicilia but otherwise leaving the islands to their own devices, and in time they became a major producer of olive oil.
Maleth, the old Phoenician colony that pre-dated the Carthaginians, became Melite after a period of rapid expansion (and reinforcement, in the form of thick walls and defensive ditches). It is here you can find the Domvs Romana, or Roman House, and its almost entirely intact mosaics.
3
The shipwreck of St Paul – AD 60
When Christianity came to Malta in the first century AD, it was no mere missionary who arrived – but an apostle himself. Or at least, that is how this story goes.
The Bible describes how St Paul is shipwrecked en route to standing trial in Rome. Some translations say he washed ashore at an island called Melite. This is oft assumed to be a conflation for Malta, rather than the town of Melite. Other translations of the Bible identify this place as Malta directly. On arriving, Paul is bitten by a viper, miraculously survives its venom, and is received by the Roman governor, Publius – who will later become Malta’s first bishop and, later still, its first saint.
Read more | 7 controversial saints in history
The apostle’s influence, apocryphal or not, can be seen on the landscape and is now a part of the islands’ national mythos. The place where his ship was wrecked is known as St Paul’s Island, where you’ll find a statue to the saint. The island itself sits within St Paul’s Bay. The cave in which Paul is said to have spent three months is known as St Paul’s Grotto, and counts Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis among its visitors.
When, on 11 January 1693, the church in Mdina (as Melite was known by this time) was destroyed in what remains Malta’s worst ever earthquake, the newly reconstructed one was named for St Paul. Fitting, as it is said to stand on the very spot where Publius received the apostle some 1,600 years earlier.
4
The Arab conquest – from AD 870
Arabic caliphates held power in Malta from the closing of the ninth century until the end of the 11th, wresting control from the Byzantine empire.
The arrival of the Arabs was to leave an indelible mark on the islands, bringing changes to cuisine, music and architecture. They introduced cotton and citrus fruits as crops, and brought irrigation techniques that are still in use today.
But perhaps the most lasting influence was on language. Present-day Maltese is a direct derivative of the Siculo-Arabic that was spoken across Muslim-ruled Sicily at that time, and it remains the only Semitic language written in a Latin alphabet, though it is now peppered with loan words from Italian, English and elsewhere. Likewise many place names (Mdina, Rabat, Marsa and Xagħra, to name a few) are derived from this tongue, as are a number of common family names.
Read more | Digital revolution: the evolution of Hindu-Arabic numerals
The endurance of this linguistic legacy may have its roots in the Norman conquest of Malta under Count Roger I of Sicily that began in 1091. Approximately 150 years later, in 1249, Arab historian Ibn Hadlun records that all Muslims were expelled from Malta – yet somehow their language survived. It has been suggested that many renounced their religion rather than leave, embracing Christianity, and in doing so kept their language alive.
5
The Great Siege of Malta – 1565
In 1530, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain Charles V gifted Malta to Knights Hospitaller, formally the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, a brotherhood of military monks formed to care for sick pilgrims in the Holy Land. All he asked for was a token annual tribute of a Maltese falcon – a real bird of prey, not the priceless and entirely fictitious MacGuffin made famous by the 1941 film of the same name.
The Hospitallers had come to Charles asking for a new home, after being forced out of their stronghold of Rhodes by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent’s expanding Ottoman empire. Having established themselves on Malta, the Hospitallers carried on largely as they had before: interfering with Suleiman’s shipping. It was little wonder that his army came knocking.
Read more | Divided they fell: how war, revolution and sectarianism led to the end of the Ottoman empire
An armada of around 200 ships carrying 40,000 Ottoman soldiers descended on Malta on 18 May 1565, the beginning of almost four months of offensives and counteroffensives that can be counted among the hardest-fought of the era. At one point, in a bid to encourage the local people to surrender, the Ottomans fixed the decapitated bodies of the dead to crucifixes and sent them floating across the harbour. The Hospitallers retorted by firing cannons loaded with decapitated Turkish heads back at them.
What broke the deadlock was the arrival of Spanish reinforcements from Sicily on 7 September. In a dreadful oversight, Sulieman ordered his men to face the new arrivals in open battle. Met by experienced and fresh troops, the Ottomans buckled, with thousands cut down as they retreated to their ships.
In was a turning point for the Hospitallers, now hailed as the saviours of Europe, a bulwark against the Ottoman menace. Fearing a future invasion, they began to build a new stronghold named after their grandmaster, Jean Parisot de Valette. It would become Valletta, the current Maltese capital.
6
The French Occupation – 1798-1800
Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Malta in June 1798 as a pit-stop on his way to Egypt, the French taking control of the islands within a day and after little resistance. Many Hospitallers at this time were of French heritage themselves and were simply unwilling to fight their countrymen.
The French occupation would last for two years, but Napoleon himself would only spend six days on Malta, leaving behind a garrison of 4,000 men. He marked the end of Hospitaller rule with a set of radical political and administrative reforms – including the dismantling of feudal structures and the abolition of slavery – but his mistake was to allow his men to loot churches and help themselves to Maltese treasures.
Public anger reached its tipping point at an auction of church property in September 1798. Within days, a 10,000-strong Maltese militia was at the gates of Valletta, trapping the French inside. With no way to breach the walls, they entreated Britain to come to their aid, and so Malta was blockaded once more, with the British finally gaining control of the islands in 1800.
Read more | Napoleon: the rise and fall of a dictator
This was the beginning of a long period of British rule in Malta. Though the 1802 Treaty of Amiens required the islands to be returned to the Hospitallers, Britain quietly ignored this stipulation – Malta’s strategic location was too valuable to lose in the midst of the Napoleonic Wars. The Knights of St John would never regain it: Malta would formally be confirmed as a British crown colony with the 1814 Treaty of Paris.
As for the church treasure, a great desal was taken by Napoleon himself, stashed on his flagship L’Orient – and was subsequently sunk by Admiral Horatio Nelson at the battle of the Nile.
7
Fortress Malta – 1940–1942
In 1942, King George VI awarded the George Cross – the highest British honour awarded for non-military gallantry – to Malta in its entirety, for withstanding a two-year siege during the Second World War.
Though it was neglected in the run up to the conflict, Malta’s eventual importance to Britain cannot be overstated. The ancestral home to the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean Fleet was, in Winston Churchill’s words, as “an unsinkable aircraft carrier” ideally placed to frustrate Axis ambitions in northern Africa and chip away at shipping convoys carrying vital supplies to Libya.
Read more | 8 of Churchill’s greatest speeches
Germany and Italy recognised this too. Between June 1940 and November 1942, the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica bombarded the archipelago relentlessly, with one sustained attack that lasted 154 days and nights seeing 6,700 tonnes of bombs land on the islands. By the summer of 1942, the situation was desperate: people were having to turn to curtains for clothes and tyres to resole their shoes, disease was spreading, and the risk of starvation was imminent. With fuel reserves dwindling, offensive operations had ground to a halt.
The British response was Operation Pedestal, a supply run of epic proportions. Fourteen merchant vessels ran the gauntlet of sniping submarines and aerial assaults, accompanied by three aircraft carriers, two battleships, seven light cruisers and 32 destroyers, among others.
Only five of the merchant ships made it to harbour, but the presence of the tanker SS Ohio among them – limping into port lashed between two destroyers – turned this into a strategic victory, its vital cargo allowing Malta to be used as launch point for attacks on Axis shipping once more.
Malta would go on to serve as the launch point of Operation Husky, the July 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. In a reversal of its role in 1565, it was no longer a bastion to protect Rome, but one from which to subdue it. | |||||
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] | null | [] | 2016-12-04T00:00:00 | What to see and do in the captivating Mediterranean city of Valletta, Malta. | en | Travels with Tricia | https://triciaannemitchell.com/2016/12/04/things-to-do-in-valletta-malta-attractions-hotels-guide/ | Malta’s capital, Valletta, is a grande dame undergoing rapid change. With more than 300 monuments crammed into the city’s small peninsular borders, Valletta has one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world. This means that there are lots of things to do in Valletta, whether you’re an architecture aficionado, military-history buff or passionate wanderer eager to see a city reawakening from a long slumber.
Shawn and I called Valletta home for one year. We lived on Strada Stretta, which was once one of the city’s most infamous streets. It’s a narrow lane that used to form part of Valletta’s red-light district—a magnet for sailors.
When we first learned we’d be moving to Malta for Shawn’s studies, we thought we might develop island fever by spending so much time in a tiny island nation. Surprisingly though, there was so much to experience in and out of Valletta that our weekend calendar was consistently filled with activities. We left at the end of 2016.
A decade before actually moving to Valletta, I also played tourist in the capital city, making it my home base for a long-weekend visit. Back in 2006, Valletta was eerily quiet. Half of the city’s buildings were boarded up and abandoned. Accommodation in Valletta was so scarce that I literally had to sleep in a spacious maid’s closet for one night, until a proper room became available. Coincidentally, ten years later, my future in-laws would choose to stay at a boutique hotel located just across the street from the same guesthouse in which I stayed as a solo female traveler in 2006. It’s funny how life comes full circle like that.
As a solo traveler on a four-day adventure, I loved exploring Valletta’s streets and their characteristic golden-limestone buildings, radiant wooden balconies, and vintage storefronts. Fast-forward a decade and Shawn and I were elated to have that impressive architecture, history, and culture just outside our doorstep for an entire year.
Drawing upon my experience as a visitor and one-year resident of Malta, I’ve created this guide to Valletta. It highlights some of the Maltese capital’s top sites, plus a smattering of lesser-visited ones.
Along with overviews of Valletta’s gardens, museums, churches, and palaces, I’ve thrown in generic logistical details to help with issues about transportation, groceries, and accommodation. I’ve also included a few photo-taking spots and a personalized map to help you plan your visit.
Valletta’s History
The Knights of Malta (also known as the Knights of the Order of St. John, or the Knights Hospitaller) started building Valletta in 1566, following the Great Siege of 1565. After this legendary fight against the Ottoman Turks, the Knights wanted to construct a fortified stronghold to protect against future attacks.
A Pope sent Italian architect Francesco Laparelli to Malta to oversee Valletta’s construction. Laparelli, who had once been Michelangelo’s assistant, designed Valletta in a grid-pattern fashion. Massive bastions, moats, and narrow streets were created, all with the intent of making the new city of Valletta easier to defend. An added advantage of the city’s grid pattern was that Valletta’s high walls helped shade streets on sizzling summer days, while ushering in refreshing sea breezes. Having lived on one of the city’s streets for a year, I can attest that this is still a good form of natural air conditioning.
The Knights of Malta remained in power until Napoleon seized the island in 1798. The French occupation was short-lived, only lasting about two years. Shortly thereafter, Malta became part of the British Empire. The country ended its colonial relationship with the United Kingdom in the 1960s.
Since 1980, Valletta has been a UNESCO World Heritage city. It was also the 2018 European Capital of Culture. This designation was instrumental in fostering Valletta’s economic rebirth.
Architecture: Baroque to British Flair
From stately baroque buildings and classic old storefronts to ornate brass door knockers, devotional statues, and enclosed wooden balconies, Valletta’s narrow streets are full of character. Historians are unsure when the first of the distinctive balconies (gallariji) appeared on the island’s buildings. The suspicion is that this architectural feature made its debut on Valletta’s Grandmaster’s Palace, and then other homeowners simply followed suit.
Since Malta was a British colony from 1813-1964, you’ll see remnants of that chapter of history in the form of cherry-red phone booths, rounded mail boxes, and the grand Victoria Gate. The city’s Catholic influence is equally evident in the devotional saint’s statues which rest in corner niches throughout the city. Some even have a donation slot built into the wall below the figure.
Finally, though it’s not as common in Valletta as it is in Maltese villages, you’ll notice a few name plates adorning the front of buildings. These little signs bear the name of the home given to it by its residents. Common house names honor religious figures or meld a husband’s and wife’s first names. (Shawn and I resisted the urge to dub our apartment ‘Trishawn’!)
More –
The Doors of Valletta (my blog post collage)
The Door Knockers of Valletta (my blog post collage)
Contents of This Guide:
General Information
Festivals and Holidays
Hotels & Apartments
Groceries
Long-Term Accommodation
Maltese Newspapers
Pharmacies
Post Offices
Restaurants
Safety
Souvenirs
Tourist Information Offices
Transportation
Valletta Map
Additional Links and Resources
Churches
St. John’s Co-Cathedral
St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral
The Carmelite Church
Our Lady of Victories Church
Gardens
Hastings Gardens
Lower Barrakka Gardens
Upper Barrakka Gardens
Landmarks
Auberge de Castille
City Gate
De Valette Square
Former Victory Kitchen
Nelson’s Hook
Parliament
Saluting Battery
Siege Bell War Memorial
Queen Victoria Statue and Victoria Gate
Museums
Fort St. Elmo and the National War Museum
Fortifications Interpretation Centre
Grandmaster’s Palace: State Rooms & Palace Armoury
Lascaris War Rooms
National Library of Malta
National Museum of Archaeology
National Museum of Fine Arts
Sacra Infermeria (The Knights’ Hospital)
Entertainment & Theaters
Manoel Theatre
Pjazza Teatru Rjal
St. James Cavalier (Malta’s National Centre for Creativity)
Strada Stretta
Misc.
Walking Circuit Around the Exterior of Valletta’s Fortifications
Watch: Scenes from Valletta
De Valette Square
The year 2016 marked 450 years since Valletta’s foundation stone was laid by the city’s namesake, Jean Parisot de Valette. Having led the Knights of Malta to victory during the Great Siege of 1565 (as a 70-something warrior!), Grandmaster de Valette was seen as a heroic figure within the order.
Not long after their arrival on the island of Malta, the Knights had contemplated building a city on the then-barren Sciberras Peninsula. First came Fort St. Elmo, and later the fortified city of Valletta that we know today, both designed to help defend the island against attack.
Though the Knights officially took chastity vows, it’s interesting that de Valette himself is said to have covertly fathered at least two children: a son that would be ‘legitimized’ by the King of France, and a daughter that was tragically murdered by her husband.
Since he died in 1568, de Valette did not live to see Valletta’s completion. His ornate sarcophagus is located in St. John’s Co-Cathedral.
St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral
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The Carmelite Church
Two buildings punctuate Valletta’s skyline: the enormous dome of the Carmelite Church, and the pointy steeple of St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral.
Malta is overwhelmingly Roman-Catholic but St. Paul’s stands as a remnant of Malta’s British colonial past. Groundbreaking for the neo-classical structure began in 1839, at the request of a visiting queen who lamented that there was no place of worship for Anglican parishioners. Originally, the Auberge d’Allemagne (quarters for the German branch of the Knights of Malta) stood here.
Surprisingly, the Carmelite Church was not constructed until the 20th century. The original structure was built in the 16th century, but because it was decimated during World War II bombings, it was reconstructed during the 1950s to 1980s.
Photo tip: Splendid places to photograph the Valletta skyline at sunset are either from the promenade in the city of Sliema (a short ferry ride across the Marsamxett Harbour from Valletta) or from this Valletta parking lot on St. Michael’s Bastion (map here). Both vantage points will allow you to capture these iconic buildings in your photograph. During our year in Valletta, we often strolled past this spot just before sunset, watching the neighborhood children play soccer in a nearby parking lot, as a scrappy Chihuhua ran about.
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Carmelite Church (official website) & Carmelite Church (Facebook page)
St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral (official website)
Our Lady of Victories Church
This dainty church is Valletta’s oldest building, and is best known for being the first resting place of Grandmaster de Valette. After the colossal St. John’s Co-Cathedral was built, his remains were transferred from Our Lady of Victories to St. John’s.
The Grandmaster himself is said to have financed Our Lady of Victories Church, which was designed to express gratitude for the Knights’ victory over the Ottoman Turks in 1565.
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Admission free.
Our Lady of Victories Church (Wikipedia)
Our Lady of Victories Church (National Trust of Malta – Din l-Art Ħelwa)
Saluting Battery
Each day, without fail, visitors cram themselves onto the terrace of the Upper Barrakka Gardens, for the twelve o’clock cannon salute in the Saluting Battery below. To escape the garden’s crowds at midday, you can enter the Saluting Battery just below the gardens, which has the same commanding perspective over the Grand Harbour. (Note: the Upper Barrakka Gardens are free to enter, while the Saluting Battery has a small admission fee.)
The Knights built the Saluting Battery in the 1500s, near the site of a battery earlier established by the Ottomans during the Great Siege of 1565. This 16th-century map shows the Ottoman’s battery as it would’ve looked then.
Gun salutes have historically been fired here to commemorate anniversaries and religious feast days, to welcome dignitaries, and to help ships with their time-keeping.
Photo tip: If you stroll along the walls facing Valletta’s Grand Harbour, you will find a bounty of photo-snapping spots. St. Barbara’s Bastions (map here) offer some of the nicest panoramas of the Grand Harbour and the Three Cities, and this area generally has less crowds than the Upper Barrakka Gardens. The Lower Barrakka Gardens also have commanding views across the Grand Harbour.
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Saluting Battery (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
City Gate
Adorning a wall in our Valletta apartment was a turn-of-the century photograph of one of Valletta’s former city gates. At the time, the entrance was dressed in bunting and a huge ‘welcome’ sign. Since the black and white image hung over our kitchen sink, I looked at it whenever I did dishes, and analyzed the faces of the people frozen in time. Most of the passersby were dressed in black, with some wearing formal, big hats. Others wore the attire of laborers. What the two groups shared was a curiosity of the camera, which would have been a novel contraption at the time.
In the past 450 years, there have been five different versions of gates installed on this spot, each doing its part to help secure Valletta’s primary entrance. This most recent rendition was designed by celebrated Italian architect Renzo Piano (of London Shard fame), and inaugurated in 2015. Because of its minimalist design, the City Gate, as well as Piano’s adjacent Parliament building, remain controversial additions to this largely baroque city.
If you’d like to see what’s thought to be the gate’s original wooden drawbridge, you can find it at the Fortifications Interpretation Center (listed below).
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The evolution of Valletta’s City Gates, from 1566 to the present (Wikipedia)
Parliament
Malta’s Parliament Building was controversially unveiled in 2015, receiving mixed reviews. Some lauded its contemporary design and how it incorporates the island’s traditional limestone, while others thought its abstract look was incompatible with Valletta’s baroque buildings. For a time, there was even concern that UNESCO might strip Valletta of its World Heritage Site status because of this addition. To this day, some displeased locals describe it as a ‘cheese grater’ on stilts. As you walk past the Parliament, note the fossilized remains in the limestone under your feet.
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Parliament of Malta (official website)
Fortifications Interpretation Centre
Housed in a 16th-century era building that was once a warehouse for the Knights, the Fortifications Interpretation Center describes itself as part museum, and part resource center. If you’re remotely interested in military architecture, or simply want to better understand Valletta’s prominent fortifications, then the Centre is a worthwhile stop. It’s just a two-minute walk from the Valletta – Sliema Ferry.
One of the star attractions in the museum is a segment of a drawbridge that’s believed to date back to around 1645. Much of the weathered wood has been chipped off or devoured by woodworms. However, it still helps to paint a picture of what life in Valletta was like during times of insecurity.
Another exhibit displays a sampling of tools that would’ve been used by laborers to quarry and shape Malta’s rugged limestone into uniform blocks. In another wing, informational boards highlight how fortifications around the world have evolved over the millennia.
Other exhibits that help illustrate the island’s extensive fortifications include: models of Valletta, Malta’s coastal watchtowers, the medieval city of Mdina, and the Gozo Citadel. Shawn and I easily whiled away about two hours here.
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Admission free.
Fortifications Interpretation Centre (official website) lists opening hours.
Walking Circuit Around the Exterior of Valletta’s Fortifications
While it is common for visitors to traipse along the top of Valletta’s fortifications, not as many tourists realize that it’s possible to explore them around the outside too. Shawn discovered this walking circuit while scouting out jogging spots. This route soon became one of our favorite early-evening walks.
Starting from the Valletta – Sliema Ferry and ending at the Sacra Infermeria, or vice versa, the walk takes you past the Breakwater, a cluster of boat houses, fishing spots, and WWII-era sites.
The war-related structures are the most notable sites and include a Boom Defence, lookout towers, and bomb shelters. The cave-like bomb shelters were carved by Valletta residents to offer refuge during the air raids of 1940 to 1942. The shelters have since been transformed for more peaceful purposes, and are now utilized as spaces to house boats, tools, and picnic furniture. Owing to the number of men that we saw flocking to them on a routine basis, Shawn and I joked that they are Malta’s version of a ‘man cave.’
Please wear sensible footwear and tread carefully as parts of this walk take you over uneven rock and metal bridges. In other words, this area is blissfully devoid of hordes of tourists, and there’s not a paved sidewalk. This is a prime spot to enjoy a picnic too! I’ve created a walking route map here.
Auberge de Castille
Now the office of Malta’s Prime Minister, this stately building housed one branch of the Knights of St. John during the 16th to 18th centuries. Back then, clusters of knights were tasked with defending specific parts of the island of Malta. The knights were grouped together into eight different langues, administrative groups based upon the knights’ respective languages and cultures. Langue is a French word meaning ‘language’ or ‘tongue’.
Knights from the langue of Castile, León and Portugal were housed here, and when Malta was part of the British Empire, the Auberge de Castille housed British armed forces. The structure survived World War II bombings.
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Not open to visitors.
Upper Barrakka Gardens
A lovely place to get your bearings upon arriving in Valletta, the Upper Barrakka Gardens offer commanding views of the Grand Harbour and the Three Cities of Birgu, Senglea, and Cospicua. Birgu actually pre-dates Valletta, and is well worth a visit!
The park’s arches date back to the 17th century, and the gardens were once a recreation spot for the Italian branch of the Knights.
Bench real estate is often coveted, but there is a café inside as well. Because the garden was so often inundated with people, Shawn and I often flocked to quieter Valletta gardens (see below).
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Admission free.
Upper Barrakka Gardens listing (Malta Tourism official website)
Upper Barrakka Gardens (Wikipedia)
Lower Barrakka Gardens
When I visited Malta for the first time in 2006, I distinctly remember strolling through the Lower Barrakka Gardens, taking in the extraordinary views of Valletta’s Grand Harbour. I found it rather romantic, and wished that I could’ve been sharing the spot with my special someone, whom I hadn’t yet met. Fast forward to the autumn of 2015 and beyond, and that ‘special someone’ and I had moved to Malta!
Not long after relocating to Valletta, Shawn and I went to the Lower Barrakka Gardens to partake in a picnic. As we feasted and watched vessels of all sizes go by, I recounted tales to Shawn from my solo travel days in Malta. Not much had changed in the Lower Barrakka Gardens in the past ten years. The so-called ‘temple folly’ in the neo-classical style was still there, as were olive trees with twisted trunks. They were just a bit more mature.
The Lower Barrakka’s well-manicured lanes are great to explore any time of day, but there’s something especially nice about them at night. I’ll never forget the late-summer evening when Shawn and I watched an Old World vessel lift its elegant white sails and glide past the garden’s rampart walls. It felt like a scene from another age.
Note that during the summer months, you might find the Lower Barrakka Gardens closed to the public, as they are a popular spot for wedding receptions and private parties.
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Admission free.
Hastings Gardens
The Hastings Gardens were one of our favorite spots for jogging, walking, or just taking in a splendid sunset. Shawn and I would occasionally bring a coffee or homemade banana bread to Hastings, climb onto a wide section of the mighty fortifications, and watch the world go by on land and on sea.
The gardens take their name from Lord Hastings, who was a Governor of Malta during the 1820s. Built atop Valletta’s formidable bastions, Hastings Gardens are shaded by olive and oleander trees. The park provides a bit of reprieve from the cacophony of honking horns in Valletta, and it offers a silhouetted view of the town of Mdina.
Like the Lower Barrakka Gardens, during the height of summer you might occasionally find Hastings closed to the public, as it’s a popular site for wedding receptions, private parties and community events. Teenagers also flock there with their significant others, so don’t be surprised if you turn a corner and see them locking lips. On such a densely-populated island, there just aren’t many places to go to find privacy!
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Admission free.
Strada Stretta
When elderly Maltese residents heard that Shawn and I lived on Strada Stretta (also known as Strait Street or Triq-id-Dejqa) they usually responded with a hushed “Oh!” Sometimes they smirked, other times they were embarrassed to relay the infamous street’s history to us.
Decades ago, Strada Stretta was the playground of visiting sailors who referred to the narrow alley as ‘The Gut‘. Because Strada Stretta was packed with bars, brothels and lively music halls – offering wine, women and song – many Maltese told me that they were once mortified at the thought of even walking anywhere near it. One woman remarked how embarrassed she was that her father’s law practice was situated there. Another Valletta resident took a more sentimental approach, relaying that her sister met her American husband-to-be on the narrow street.
After the British military’s departure from Malta, and several decades of neglect, Strada Stretta is having a more G-rated renaissance today. A popular television show of the same name has hit Maltese television airwaves. And on the once notorious street itself, restaurants offering everything from tapas to Maltese fare have cropped up. They are nestled alongside wine bars, offices, and abandoned buildings waiting to be restored. The street’s dining and drinking establishments regularly play host to fun (mostly free) musical performances, which are organized by the Strada Stretta Concept.
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Strada Stretta Concept (Facebook page features events taking place on Strait Street / Strada Stretta. During our time in Valletta, we enjoyed classical performances, an evening celebrating French vocalist Edith Piaf, gypsy jazz music, even a saxophonist accompanied by an opera singer.)
St. James Cavalier
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Malta’s National Centre for Creativity
St. James Cavalier epitomizes the concept of adaptive reuse. The structure was built in the 16th century as a cavalier, but in the hundreds of years since then, it’s been a gun platform, a social spot for British officers, and even a printing press. Today, the austere building – its sole embellishment is a coat of arms – is Malta’s National Centre for Creativity. Inside there is a cinema, theater and multi-purpose halls. Visit the website below to learn about the facility’s upcoming events.
If you’re really into military history, Valletta’s other cavalier (St. John’s Cavalier) is practically identical and situated parallel to this one. It’s now the Embassy of the Order of St. John, the descendants of the Knights who originally built it.
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Malta’s National Centre for Creativity – Spazju Kreattiv (official website)
Grandmaster’s Palace
State Rooms & Palace Armoury
Ever since its construction in the 1560s, this Valletta landmark has served as Malta’s seat of government. Originally built as a lavish palace for the Knight’s grandmasters, the building later served as the official residence for British colonial governors. Until 2015, it was the meeting place for Malta’s Parliament, and today, it’s the Office of the President of Malta.
Inside, there are two sections of interest: the lavish State Rooms and the Palace Armoury. The State Rooms are renowned for the Parisian tapestries dressing the walls of the Tapestry Room. This area was under construction during our visit, so I didn’t get to see the flora and fauna depicted on the tapestries. Still, I enjoyed overlooking the verdant courtyard, and exploring the building’s sun-drenched corridors, with their ornate ceilings and marble floors. We’d lived in Malta for a few months by the time we visited the palace, so it was fun trying to pick out the island’s various landmarks depicted in the paintings.
The Palace Armoury is located in another wing of the building in what was formerly the palace stables. The Knights’ extensive arsenal of arms and armor was moved to the palace in 1604, and while some of the collection has since been ‘depleted’ (between 1798-1800, Malta was occupied by Napoleon’s troops and some looting took place), the armory is still said to have one of the world’s largest collections of arms and armor. As I walked past the large glass cases holding instruments of war, I couldn’t help but notice how everything from breastplates to canons were intricately decorated. The objects were simultaneously beautiful and evil.
Just in front of the Grandmaster’s Palace, on St. George’s Square, concerts, annual holiday parades, and commemorative events are held, such as the 1942 awarding of the George Cross to the people of Malta. If you like pomp and circumstance, the Changing of the Guard Ceremony takes place here the last Friday of each month.
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Palace State Rooms (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
Palace Armory (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
Changing of the Guards (Malta Tourism official website)
Fort St. Elmo and the National War Museum
I often associate Fort St. Elmo with the sweet, but feral felines that call the granaries on the landward side of the structure home. Today, benevolent locals leave mounds of food for the cats on the lids of these 17th-century contraptions. This seems fitting – especially considering that these subterranean pits would have once sheltered a precious supply of grain for the island’s residents. Since Malta was so dependent on food imports centuries ago (it still is!) and because sieges were an ongoing threat, long-term storage options were absolutely essential.
Fort St. Elmo itself was built in 1552 by the Knights of Malta, designed to protect both the Grand Harbour and the Marsamxett Harbour, which together flank the Valletta Peninsula. While impressive in its own right, the star-shaped Fort St. Elmo was and still is dwarfed by the more formidable Fort St. Angelo, located across the Grand Harbour from Valletta in the Three Cities.
During the Great Siege of 1565, when the Knights and the Ottoman army engaged in heavy battle, Fort St. Elmo held out for 28 days – much longer than expected. Though the Ottomans eventually took the smaller St. Elmo at great costs, leader Mustafa Pasha, turned in the direction of Fort St. Angelo and reportedly said, “If so small a son has cost so dear, what price shall we have to pay for so large a father?” A few weeks later, the deflated Ottoman army left Malta.
After the Great Siege, St. Elmo continued to serve various purposes, including serving as a prison during the French occupation (1798-1800) and as a strategic defensive point for the British during bombardments by the Italian Air Force in World War II.
Today, it’s possible to explore select sections of St. Elmo. The compound also houses Malta’s National Military Museum, which focuses on World War I and World War II-era collections, and includes the George Cross. This coveted award was given to the people of Malta for their bravery during World War II. The next time you see the red and white Maltese flag, make note of the George Cross in the upper-left corner.
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Fort St. Elmo | National War Museum (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
Siege Bell War Memorial
The Siege Bell Memorial overlooks Valletta’s breakwater, the Grand Harbour, and the open sea toward Sicily. It is also the perfect place to catch a magnificent Valletta sunrise. It honors the 7,000 people who lost their lives during the 1940-1943 Siege of Malta. During those three years, tiny Malta was bombed relentlessly by Axis powers Italy and Germany. In just two months of 1942, more bombs were dropped on Malta than on London and Dresden during the course of the war. Those statistics are especially dramatic given the country’s small size — about 27 km long by 15 km wide. Thankfully, the area around the Siege Bell is a more peaceful place today, with hobbyist drones replacing combat aircraft, and cruise ships, ferries and private yachts plying the water.
Photo tip: A brilliant spot to capture the sun rising over the Mediterranean (map here).
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Admission free.
Lascaris War Rooms
Situated about 40 meters (120 ft) under Valletta’s Saluting Battery (see above), these underground rooms and tunnels once served as the War Headquarters for the British during World War II. They were opened in 1940.
Top secret during its time, the Lascaris War Rooms housed radar equipment, encryption machines, and rooms for coordinating artillery fire. This allowed the military staff working within to transmit and receive clandestine communications. General Eisenhower used the subterranean complex to oversee the Invasion of Sicily.
During our visit, a dedicated volunteer guide enthusiastically shared the details of his recent meeting with a Maltese woman, now in her nineties and living abroad, who worked in the complex during the 1940s. The woman returned to Malta to see the rooms where she once covertly worked. She shared tales of not even being able to tell her family members about her true place of employment. She also relayed more lighthearted tidbits about trying to look attractive, so that she might be able to catch the eye of one of the foreign officers working there.
Even after World War II drew to a close, the Lascaris War Rooms continued to be used, most notably during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Cold War.
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Lascaris War Rooms (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
Panoramic tour of the Lascaris War Rooms
Lascaris War Rooms (Wikipedia)
National Museum of Archaeology
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Auberge de Provence
If you’ve explored some of Malta’s temples and wish to complement your visit, or if you didn’t have enough time for the temples but still wish to absorb a little archaeological heritage, then The National Museum of Archaeology is a fantastic stop.
Located on Republic Street, the museum is housed in what was once the Auberge de Provence (residence for the Knights from Provence). There are sections devoted to Malta’s Temple Builders, Bronze Age people, and Phoenician period.
I found the Sleeping Lady figurine, which was sculpted by the so-called Temple Builders, to be fascinating. Though miniature in size, it’s incredible that the statue survived for thousands of years inside the depths of the Hypogeum. So many mysteries exist about this chapter of Malta’s history, and I couldn’t help but wonder who the Sleeping Lady was modeled after, and what she represented? Peaceful sleep? Death?
Aside from this enigmatic figure and the architectural fragments taken from Malta’s temples, my other favorite display was the one devoted to the seafaring Phoenicians. The sarcophagus and description of how the Phoenicians made their noble purple dye by painstakingly extracting it from a seashell, were especially intriguing.
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National Museum of Archaeology (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
Google Arts & Culture, a platform which aims to “democratize access to culture” offers a wonderful virtual reality tour of the museum too.
National Museum of Fine Arts
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Auberge d’Italie
As I was researching this guide, the country’s Museum of Fine Arts was being moved to the Auberge d’Italie building, which once housed the Italian branch of the Knights. The new location for the National Museum of Fine Arts is said to be three times as large as the former museum. It’s projected to be open to the public by 2018.
If the museum is still undergoing development during your visit, the ornate exterior of the Auberge d’Italie, (particularly the crest and bust toward the top of the building), is worth a quick peek.
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National Museum of Fine Art (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
Pjazza-Teatru-Rjal
From 1866 to 1942, Valletta’s elegant Royal Opera House graced the corner of Republic and South Streets. Sadly, the grand building was mostly leveled during a World War II bombing raid, as this vintage photograph shows. For decades, the site lay in ruins, with only the terrace and parts of the ornate columns remaining. After the war, government leaders couldn’t decide what to do with the site. Indeed, when I first visited Valletta in 2006, the plot of land appeared completely neglected, a bit like long-forgotten Roman ruins.
By 2013, the remnants of the opera house had been transformed into the open-air theater called Pjazza Teatru Rjal that you can see today. Like the sleek City Gate and Parliament, the site is another project designed by architect Renzo Piano. The Teatru Rjal now holds concerts, dance performances and film screenings.
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Teatru Rjal (official website)
St. John’s Co-Cathedral
Built by the Knights in the 1570s, the interior of St. John’s Co-Cathedral dazzles with its baroque opulence. St. John’s inlaid marble floor, comprised of the tombstones of prominent knights, is especially stunning. When we attended a Christmas concert there, the invitation asked that ladies refrain from wearing high heels, so that the precious floor could be protected. When you see the intricately-crafted tombs, you’ll understand why.
A plethora of rich sculptures and paintings cover practically every square inch of the cathedral, making your eye unsure where to rest. The most famous of the paintings is The Beheading of Saint John, painted by Caravaggio. The Italian artist is said to have committed a murder and then escaped to Malta with the intent of producing a painting in exchange for a pardon. He even became a Knight of Malta for a brief spell.
St. John’s Cathedral has eight chapels, one for each of the langues (linguistic groups) that existed during the time of the Knights. See the Auberge de Castille listing above for more information about the various langues. And, if you’re eager to scout out the Knights’ auberge buildings in Valletta and in Birgu (their first base) this list should be helpful.
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St. John’s Co-Cathedral (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
Manoel Theatre
From the outside, the Manoel Theatre looks stately, but not much different from Valletta’s other baroque-style limestone buildings. Step through its main entrance and into the theater though, and this 285-year-old structure is dazzling – bringing to mind a terraced wedding cake.
One of Europe’s oldest working theaters, ‘the Manoel’ was built in 1731 by the Portuguese Grand Master of the Order of St. John, and inaugurated in 1732. In the past, some of the Knights of Malta even performed there. While the venue does not hold performances year-round due to sweltering summer temperatures, it regularly offers behind-the-scenes tours. We enjoyed peeking at the theater’s colossal collection of costumes, while simulating the sounds of rain, wind and thunder using the museum’s 19th century ‘sound machines.‘
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Putting Malta in the Limelight: Valletta’s Manoel Theatre (my blog post)
Manoel Theatre (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
Sacra Infermeria
The Knights’ Hospital
The Knights of Malta are famous for driving away the Ottoman Turks during the Great Siege of 1565. However, what’s less known about the order is its legacy of medical care. When the Knights built La Sacra Infermeria in 1574, it was one of the most advanced medical facilities of its time. The hospital remained open through World War I and into the 1920s, helping Malta earn its title, ‘The Nurse of the Mediterranean.’
The Knights Hospitallers exhibit features models of what the hospital’s wards would have once looked like, and outlines the Knights’ revolutionary medical practices, including the antibacterial use of silver for food service. The farther below ground you venture here, you’ll find shelters used during bombing raids in World War II, and see gloomy subterranean cells where patients with mental conditions were housed. Visually, the most impressive part of the facility is the former ward, which is 155 meters long (roughly 500 feet), and once the largest in Europe. Since the building now functions as a conference center and concert hall, this section unfortunately may not always be open to visitors.
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Sacra Infermeria / Mediterranean Conference Center (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
Malta Experience website You can purchase combination tickets to this audio-visual show and the Sacra Infermeria, or go into the Sacra Infermeria building itself to buy a ticket only for that site. I’ve never seen the Malta Experience show, as Shawn and I only purchased Sacra Infermeria tickets.
National Library of Malta
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Republic Square
Certainly worth a peek if you are a bibliophile, the National Library of Malta exudes old world charm. In its atmospheric Reading Room, shelves of centuries-old books line the walls from hip to ceiling level. Many of these books and valuables were left to the library by Knights upon their death.
The elegant 18th century-structure, popularly known as the Bibliotheca, is situated on Republic Square, near the outdoor dining area of the opulent Caffe Cordina. It’s the last of the official structures built by the Knights, and for those interested in conducting research on either the Knights of Malta, or Maltese culture and history, there’s a good chance you’ll find the collections fascinating.
If you visit, be sure to bring a passport or other form of identification, as an ID is needed to obtain an entry badge. Photography is not allowed inside the Reading Room.
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Admission free.
National Library of Malta (official website)
National Library of Malta (Wikipedia)
Queen Victoria Statue and Victoria Gate
Having been part of the British Empire for 151 years, Malta still flashes relics from its colonial past. One of the most prominent is the stately Victoria Gate, which faces Valletta’s Grand Harbour side. Constructed in the 1880s, the Victoria Gate replaced its 16th-century predecessor, the Del Monte Gate. We saw crackling oil paintings of the old Del Monte Gate at Valletta’s Museum of Fine Arts and thought it was neat that a marina had sprung up around it, creating a bustling area. It looks like there was once a fountain and fish market nearby there too. Nowadays, the Victoria Gate is a popular place for placid stray cats that lounge under the limestone structure.
The Queen Victoria statue is in front of the National Library on Republic Square. She usually has a flock of pigeons vying for the limited seating space around her crown. Her likeness was inaugurated in 1891.
Nelson’s Hook
Believed to have been installed into a building’s exterior wall by the Knights, this iron hook on St. John’s Street is often overlooked by passersby. Though it has no signs alerting visitors of its significance, the unassuming hook is believed to have first been used to help hoist St. John’s Co-Cathedral’s gargantuan bells in the 1740s. A few decades later, it might have helped facilitate public punishment – propping up a pillory.
Lord Nelson, the curious hook’s namesake, was said to have squeezed his body through the hook after being dared. This supposedly happened in 1803, and thereafter the tale of Nelson’s flexible feat spread. A legend developed in the British Navy that a promotion could be achieved if a service-member succeeded in wiggling his body through the hook, as demonstrated in this vintage picture. Find the hook on this map.
Former Victory Kitchen
During World War II, Malta had more than 40 Victory Kitchens – places from which war-weary families could get food. Back then, families were issued meal vouchers, entitling them to food items like goat’s meat, tomato sauce and beans.
In the early 2000s, a Victory Kitchen sign was unearthed during restoration on this Valletta building. You can find the sign on the Melita Street side of the Clark’s shoe store building. This is right near the intersection with Merchants Street (map here).
General Resources:
Valletta Waterfront | Cruise Port
Technically in the neighboring town of Floriana, the Valletta Waterfront is the port of entry for visitors arriving by cruise ship. From here, you can access the city by taxi, via the Upper Barrakka Lift (elevator), or on foot.
While the restaurants, bars and shops here mostly cater to visitors, this spot still is historical. In the 1700s, the Knights – along with visiting merchants – used to unload their goods here.
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Valletta Waterfront (official website)
Tourist Information Offices
There are two tourist offices in Valletta – one on Melita Street (in central Valletta) and another on the Valletta Waterfront. See the Malta Tourism Authority website for opening hours and contact information.
Transportation
Valletta is known for its steep, San Francisco-esque streets and abundance of steps. While this makes for a picturesque atmosphere, it can also make getting around on foot challenging for someone with limited mobility. In this section, I’ve included information about alternatives to walking: horse-drawn cabs, electric taxis, and a trackless tourist train.
And, if you’re using Valletta as a hub for exploring spots elsewhere on the island, I’ve included links to Valletta’s bus schedule and bus card options, plus ferries to Sliema and the Three Cities.
Taxis – Here is a link to taxi fares from the airport to Valletta and other Maltese destinations. Also, this government page offers guidance on how much taxi fares should cost. We regularly used the bus to get around the islands of Gozo and Malta. However, when we needed an early-morning taxi to the airport from Valletta, we used eCABS. We were impressed with the customer service we received, and the pre-arranged fare was the best I found too.
Bus Travel – Valletta does have a circular bus, which might be useful for getting around Valletta if you have limited mobility or cargo to carry. If you’ll be exploring Malta for a few days or more, you’ll probably want to pick up a multi-use bus card. Depending upon how many days you’re staying, this will likely save you money, and it’ll make bus drivers happy too, since you won’t need to make a cash transaction. Journeys completed within two hours should count as one fare, so save your receipt if you choose to pay with cash. If you’re living in Malta for a longer amount of time, you’re eligible to apply for a residential Tallinja card, which offers even lower fares. Whatever card you choose, use this Journey Planner to map out your excursions. Keep in mind that short distances can be deceiving when it comes to travel times throughout the island! The island is densely populated, and it can take an hour just to go a few kilometers. This is especially true during rush hour, or if there’s just been a heavy storm. (When we first got to Malta in 2015, flooded roads meant that it took us about 2.5 hours to travel just 10 kilometers by bus!)
Sliema Ferry – It takes about 5 minutes to travel from Valletta’s Marsamxett Harbour to the city of Sliema by ferry. This is considerably faster and more scenic than taking a bus! See the Valletta Ferry Services website for a timetable and fares.
Three Cities Ferry | Dgħajsa– The journey time from Valletta to Vittoriosa (known locally as Birgu) is roughly 5-10 minutes. Alternatively, you can travel by dgħajsa, Malta’s version of a gondola. Dgħajsa drivers congregate near Valletta’s Three Cities ferry point. Like its Sliema Ferry counterpart, a ferry or a dgħajsa is a quicker and more enjoyable way to travel from city to city than by bus. Visit the Valletta Ferry Services website for a timetable and fares. As for dgħajsas, on one of our crossings by dgħajsa, Shawn and I met ‘Captain Bruce’ who pilots the Pici. He can be reached by mobile at 99 93 33 77. Alternatively, you can schedule a dgħajsa through this website. (I have no experience with this website.)
Electric Taxi (Smart Cabs) – A fleet of electric taxis exists in Valletta. I’ve never ridden them, but here are pricing and booking details.
Horse-Drawn Cabs – If you’d like to explore Valletta’s perimeter by horse-drawn carriage (karozzin), you can find horse drivers offering their services near Valletta’s City Gate (near the Bus Terminal), as well as near the entrance to Fort St. Elmo. I’ve never done this before, but as you would anywhere in the world, be sure to confirm the price in advance. There are actually signs posted at the pick-up spots, noting the established prices. As of 2016, it was €35 for the first 30 minutes. This is the price per trip, not per passenger. Also, use your own judgment about whether you think the horse is well-cared for.
Tourist Train – Like the horse-drawn cabs, I haven’t had the occasion to ride the tourist train, but I often saw it snake through central Valletta. It might be fun for kids, or practical for those with limited mobility.
Hotels & Apartments
When I first visited Valletta in 2006, short-term lodging options were few and far between. However now, there are lots of properties to choose from.
During my first trip, I stayed at the Casa Asti (affiliate link), a charming guesthouse that’s run by sweet Annie and her family. Nearly 15 years have passed, but the Casa Asti is still welcoming travelers today. (One reader recently wrote me to say that she and her mother had a wonderful stay there!) The Casa Asti is located in the heart of Valletta, making it easy to walk to Malta’s bus station in about 5 minutes. Casa Asti’s address is: 18 Saint Ursula Street.
In recent years, more and more boutique hotels and self-catering apartments have appeared on the scene in Valletta, some occupying pretty old palazzi. Since we lived in Valletta, we never had the need to stay elsewhere in the city. Nevertheless, the following Valletta boutique hotels piqued my curiosity because they look like they offer a stylish blend of old and new:
Casa Ellul
Trabuxu Boutique Living
10 Strait Street
Airbnb is also an option for finding accommodation in Valletta. (If you’re new to Airbnb and sign up using this link, we both get $25 in travel credit. Some readers have mentioned that Airbnb modifies the promotion from time to time, so the figure might be a bit more or less.)
Since Valletta is compact, chances are that you’ll find yourself in a convenient spot wherever you choose to stay on the peninsula. Valletta hosts the island’s main bus terminal, so staying there makes day-trips to sites elsewhere on the island convenient. Even if you’re visiting for a long-weekend or city break, you can see from this guide that there are lots of things to keep you busy in Valletta itself.
While I wholeheartedly recommend staying in Valletta, it might not be a good fit for you if you’re planning to spend most of your time at the beach.
Likewise, some people might find Valletta to be too noisy. At times, we encountered significant noise in Valletta: honking horns, a rambunctious family next door, construction drilling between midnight and 4 a.m. Living on Strada Stretta, where there are wine bars, we expected to hear live acoustic guitar or perhaps the chatter of guests emanating from the wine bars and cafés. But we weren’t prepared for the invasive noise. In short, check to see that your Valletta accommodations have sound-proof windows. Or, be prepared to embrace life in a lively capital city.
Long-Term Accommodation
As for longer-term accommodation, it can be challenging finding a Valletta apartment to rent on a long-term basis. This is because owners prefer short lets (higher profit margins for them), plus only a fraction of the city’s buildings have been restored. The rest of the buildings are derelict, with many undergoing refurbishment. When we moved to Malta in September 2015, I found these practices to be helpful for finding an apartment for a long let:
Work with several real estate agents at a time, and be persistent! At the height of our apartment search, I was calling or emailing about 7 agents on a daily basis to see if any new properties had appeared in their database since our last conversation. Though we had hoped to avoid paying a realtor’s commission, in the end working with an agent was the only way we could find an apartment. As commission, we paid half of one month’s rent; our landlord paid the other half of that commission.
If you can, partner with an agent who specializes in properties in Valletta or the Three Cities. If you are set on living in Valletta, clearly communicate this to your agent. Persistence pays off.
Join accommodation-themed groups on Facebook and publicize that you’re looking to rent in Valletta.
Distribute your phone number to locals within Valletta. At one point, I even went into shops and restaurants to strike up conversations with employees, inquiring if they knew of anyone with a vacant apartment. I got a few leads this way.
If you’re looking for a long-let during the winter months, you might have better luck than someone searching during the summer. Otherwise, keep in mind that many apartment owners are eager to rent their properties on a shorter-term basis, especially during the prime tourist season.
The Valletta 2018 European Capital of Culture designation created a flurry of interest in the city, sparking a ‘seller’s market’. When we were offered a handful of Valletta apartment viewings, we encountered high-pressure sales. Often, a realtor scheduled several clients at once, injecting a feeling of competition.
We paid €675 monthly rent for an 11-month contract. We had a 1-bedroom apartment, with a combined kitchen/living room. Electricity was approximately €65 a month, and water was about €20 a month. Internet was €30 a month for a 30 Mbps speed.
Groceries & Bakeries
Valletta has a fair number of ‘mom & pop’ grocery markets, making shopping for bottled water and essential nibbles rather convenient if you’re staying in the capital. Some cater to locals, while others target tourists.
Though I like supporting smaller establishments, Shawn and I did most of our grocery shopping outside of Valletta, at Lidl or Pavi supermarkets in the town of Qormi. We did this for several reasons. For one, we tended to do a week’s worth of shopping at a time. Also, larger grocery stores outside of the capital have a greater selection, including gluten-free products. I still occasionally popped into Valletta’s small shops when I needed a last-minute ingredient, or to restock our fruit and veggie basket.
In Valletta, I took a liking to a tiny grocery store named Fresh Direct run by Valletta resident, Tanja, who was happy to share details about Maltese life with me. You can find Tanja’s shop at 143, Old Bakery Street, or via the shop’s website.
If you can, go there on a Saturday (before the afternoon closure), and mingle with some of the Valletta locals. I met 83-year-old Richie, a former cabaret performer, who might even have been a drag queen in the 1950s. The ladies at the grocery store told me that Richie can still dance, and that he was quite handsome during his performing days. I also had a chance meeting with a cosmopolitan Maltese diplomat at the grocery store. He was sporting a straw hat – perhaps from his years spent in South America. He seemed thrilled to share historical tidbits about the island. Other down-to-earth locals there were always eager to tell me what Valletta life was like back in the day too. They lamented that it was much better years ago, because there were less people and things felt more private.
However crowded it is, the shopping experience at Tanja’s felt authentic, with people yelling over the counter in a boisterous fashion. They were quick to tell me that they were passionately discussing issues – not fighting!
When I was first writing this guide, Valletta was in the midst of restoring its 19th-century covered market building on Merchant’s Street. In 2018, the Valletta Food Market (Is-Suq Tal-Belt) was officially reopened. This ‘new’ market features eateries and food stalls. Shawn and I peeked inside this atmospheric market before the restoration began, and liked the look of the wrought ironwork. We were happy to learn that the structure would be having a renaissance, after many years of neglect. However, some locals I chatted with back in 2016 expressed regret that it would “not be the same” experience that they once had buying fresh fish, fruit, and vegetables.
Late during our time in Valletta (lucky for Shawn who is addicted to bread!), we discovered Borg Bakery, an authentic bakery frequented by Valletta locals. You can get ftira and Ħobż Malti there, ranging from 25 to 75 Euro cents for a bread bun or sliced loaf of sourdough, respectively. Find the Borg Bakery at 76, Triq San Nikola. It’s at the tip of the peninsula, heading toward Fort St. Elmo.
For sweet treats I found some lovely cannoli (kannoli) at the kiosk near the City Gate entrance. It’s the first stand on the left if you’re facing the City Gate. It’s a dangerous neighborhood for those with a sweet tooth, because it’s situated next to the celebrated imqaret (date treat) stand. Being gluten-free, I didn’t get to try the kannoli or the imqarets, but Shawn and our Maltese friends gave the cannoli great reviews.
Restaurants
As for restaurants, our Valletta picks follow. If you’re a gluten-free eater, as I am, rest assured that several restaurants offer gluten-free pasta options. If you ask, some might even bring out gluten-free bread to accompany your meal.
Wherever you choose, do consider making reservations – especially on weekends and holidays. Also note that many establishments are closed on Mondays.
La Mère (now called TukTuk) – Hands-down, this was our Valletta favorite! Perhaps one reason I liked this restaurant so much is because eating there reminded me of our time exploring India. Couple that nostalgia with a delightful menu of Indian, Arabian and Mediterranean-inspired dishes, kind staff, and a cozy interior, and you have a winning combination. All of the waiters I encountered understood what gluten is, and were able to recommend dishes accordingly. I loved the spicy curries!
D’Office Bistro – Friendly staff, pleasant Mediterranean-style food, complimentary gluten-free bread, and an awareness of what is and is not gluten-free, made this centrally-located restaurant a nice pick. It’s just around the corner from the Grandmaster’s Palace.
Rampila Restaurant – Tucked into Valletta’s fortifications overlooking the City Gate entrance, the setting is what makes this restaurant special! Stepping inside, you might be tempted to dine under the attractive limestone-arched ceiling, but if you can, reserve a table outside on the terrace for lovely views. After dinner, it’s fun to pop into Rampila’s wine bar for a drink. Its walls are studded with wine from around the world, and through the floor’s glass panel, you can spy the old wine cellar below.
Pharmacies
Pharmacies are located throughout Valletta’s main thoroughfare, Republic Street, and on some side streets. Our go-to place for drugstore needs was the Empire Pharmacy, which has a shop on Melita Street and Old Theatre Street. Karen, who works there, was always very helpful and kind.
Post Offices
Valletta’s most convenient post office is situated just across the street from the Auberge de Castille. For other locations and opening hours, visit MaltaPost’s website.
Safety
Crime-wise, Shawn and I never felt unsafe in Valletta. There are occasionally reports about pickpockets in Valletta’s (and Malta’s) most touristic areas. Open grates with drop-offs, low fortification walls, gargantuan piles of dog droppings and wreckless drivers disregarding signs and speed limits probably pose the biggest hazards. I can’t emphasize the poor driving enough, as drivers often do not stop at stop signs or designated pedestrian crosswalks. Unfortunately, news articles about pedestrians and bicyclists being hit in Malta are all too common.
Consult your country’s foreign affairs site for specifics. Here are Malta-specific travel pages for Americans, Brits, Canadians, Australians, and New Zealanders.
Souvenirs
If you’re looking to take home an ink drawing, mug, or set of notecards capturing the essence of Malta’s colorful doors, floor tiles and street scenes, check out the work of local artist Stephanie Borg, whom we met while on a Maltese olive-oil tasting ecotour. Note that her shop is in Rabat (near popular Mdina), not Valletta.
A good gift for ladies who appreciate handmade jewelry is a piece of sterling silver filigree. When my beloved Croatian handcrafted filigree earrings needed a polishing, I sought out The Silversmith’s Shop (on Republic Street). They had stunning bracelets, necklaces and pendants there, and I enjoyed talking to the son whose father started the business. A traditional Maltese symbol would be the Maltese Cross, but there are loads of options. I also popped into other filigree jewelry stores to peek at their work, and one shop-owner confessed that many of their pieces are no longer produced in Malta. Be sure to inquire about where the jewelry is made, if that’s important to you.
The National Museum of Archaeology Gift Shop features items inspired by Malta’s Temple Builders. I thought the shop’s limestone candle holder, featuring the prehistoric people’s trademark swirl design, was neat, but I couldn’t add more weight to our luggage.
If your country allows you to import honey, it could be fitting to bring home a jar as a souvenir because Malta has been known for its remarkable honey since ancient times. Speculation exists that the name Malta even evolved from names given to it thousands of years ago. Numerous stores in Valletta sell honey, but scrutinize your purchase carefully, as fakes are reputed to exist. The best way to determine authenticity is to purchase directly from the beekeeper. Two Maltese beekeepers we met live outside of Valletta, but perhaps you can meet up with them elsewhere on the island. We visited the apiary of beekeeper Michael Muscat (find his contact details and the story of our visit here) and we also crossed paths with beekeeper Ray Sciberras at several community events.
Festivals and Holidays
The Maltese excel at celebrations and fanfare! From a film festival to a baroque music festival, a plethora of special events take place in Valletta year-round. I suggest that you consult the Malta Tourism Authority’s What’s On calendar to see what’s happening during your visit.
What follows, however, are just a handful of Valletta’s most popular festivities. These dates change, so check them before your visit.
Feast Days:
St Paul’s Shipwreck – 10 February
St Augustine – 11 May
Our Lady of Mount Carmel – 16 July
St Dominic – 3 August
Carnival
Easter
Christmas & New Year’s
Notte Bianca
Wine Festivals (Delicata and Marsovin)
Maltese Newspapers
If you want to keep abreast of happenings in Malta before or during your visit, peruse the country’s online newspapers:
The Times of Malta
The Malta Independent
Malta Today
From Maltese apps to a weather forecast website, here are more links to help you plan your stay in Malta:
Valletta 2018 European Capital of Culture
Visit Malta (official tourism website)
City of Valletta website and City of Valletta Facebook page
Malta Yellow Pages
Malta 7-Day Forecast
Malta Apps (recommendations from the Malta Tourism Authority)
Do you need more trip-planning ideas? From an island hopping sailing excursion, to ecotours in Malta’s greener corners, this index highlights all my posts from Malta.
Where in the World?
Photography & text © Tricia A. Mitchell. All Rights Reserved.
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Have you visited Valletta, or do you call Malta home? What are some of your favorite spots in Malta’s capital city? | |||||
9289 | dbpedia | 0 | 42 | https://thecapitalvallettahotel.com/tracing-the-rich-history-of-malta/ | en | Tracing the Rich History of Malta | [
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] | 2023-08-04T03:29:45+00:00 | Learn Malta's rich past that holds tales of prehistoric temples, heroic knights, military importance, and a unique blend of cultures. | en | The Capital Boutique Hotel | https://thecapitalvallettahotel.com/tracing-the-rich-history-of-malta/ | Dive into the mesmerizing depth of Malta’s history, a small archipelago with an incredibly rich past that holds tales of prehistoric temples, heroic knights, strategic military importance, and a unique blend of cultures. The influence of various civilizations over thousands of years has left Malta with an enviable historical legacy, making it a veritable open-air museum. Let’s embark on this historical journey.
1. Prehistoric Times
Malta’s history dates back to around 5200 BC with the arrival of settlers from the island of Sicily. These settlers left a lasting impact, establishing a unique prehistoric culture. The most outstanding legacy from this period are the Megalithic Temples. Sites like Ġgantija, Hagar Qim, and Mnajdra, among others, are considered the oldest free-standing structures in the world, predating Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids.
2. Phoenicians, Romans, and Byzantines
The Phoenicians, an ancient maritime trading culture, arrived in Malta around 800 BC. They made the islands an essential stop on their expansive trade routes. The Romans later annexed Malta in 218 BC, followed by the Byzantines in 535 AD. During these eras, Malta prospered, and many artifacts, including the Roman Villa (Domvs Romana) in Rabat, bear testament to these times.
3. Arab Influence
In 870 AD, the Arabs conquered Malta, leaving a substantial influence, particularly on the Maltese language, which is of Semitic origin. They introduced new irrigation methods, contributing to the flourishing of agriculture, and constructed the Mdina, the then capital of Malta.
4. The Knights of St. John
One of the most significant chapters in Maltese history opened in 1530 when the islands were given to the Sovereign Military Order of St. John. The Knights of St. John made Malta their home, enhancing its strategic importance and fortifying it against the Ottoman Turks. The Great Siege of 1565, when Malta heroically resisted a four-month siege by the Ottomans, is one of the pivotal moments in the island’s history. Post-siege, the knights built the city of Valletta, named after Grand Master Jean de Vallette.
5. French Occupation and British Rule
Napoleon Bonaparte took Malta from the Knights in 1798 during his expedition to Egypt. The French rule was short-lived, and following a two-year rebellion by the Maltese, the British took control of Malta in 1800. Malta’s strategic location made it an essential naval base for the British during the World War periods. The bravery of the Maltese people during the intensive bombing of World War II earned the entire island the George Cross, which is now displayed on the national flag.
6. Independence and Beyond
Malta gained independence from Britain in 1964 and became a Republic ten years later. Since 2004, Malta has been a part of the European Union and in 2008 adopted the Euro as its currency.
Malta’s fascinating history is a tapestry woven with threads from different eras and cultures, each leaving its unique imprint. Today, Malta stands proud, a historical jewel in the heart of the Mediterranean, a testimony to human resilience, and a melting pot of cultures. A visit to Malta offers an immersive, enriching walk through the corridors of time, a journey that promises to be as enduring as the history of this remarkable archipelago. | |||||
9289 | dbpedia | 3 | 17 | https://kids.kiddle.co/Fortifications_of_Valletta | en | Fortifications of Valletta facts for kids | [
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] | null | [] | null | Learn Fortifications of Valletta facts for kids | en | /images/wk/favicon-16x16.png | https://kids.kiddle.co/Fortifications_of_Valletta | The fortifications of Valletta (Maltese: Is-Swar tal-Belt Valletta) are a series of defensive walls and other fortifications which surround Valletta, the capital city of Malta. The first fortification to be built was Fort Saint Elmo in 1552, but the fortifications of the city proper began to be built in 1566 when it was founded by Grand Master Jean de Valette. Modifications were made throughout the following centuries, with the last major addition being Fort Lascaris which was completed in 1856. Most of the fortifications remain largely intact today.
The city of Valletta, along with Nicosia in Cyprus, was considered to be a practical example of an ideal city of the Renaissance, and this was due to its fortifications as well as the urban life within the city. The fortifications were well known throughout Europe by the 17th century, and might have influenced the designs of part of the Fortress of Luxembourg. In an 1878 book, Valletta was described as "one of the best fortified [cities] in the world." Valletta's fortifications are the most important of the fortifications of Malta, and today they form part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
History
Background
The construction of a fortified city on the Sciberras Peninsula was first proposed in 1524, when the Order of St. John sent a commission to inspect the Maltese Islands. Back then, the only fortification on the peninsula was a militia watchtower built by the Aragonese in 1488. The tower was strengthened in 1533, but the proposed city was not built since the Order focused on building the fortifications of Birgu, which had become their base.
In 1551, an Ottoman force briefly attacked Malta, and then sacked Gozo and captured Tripoli, and as a result, the Order set up a commission to improve the island's fortifications. In 1552, the Aragonese watchtower was demolished and Fort Saint Elmo was built in its place. The fort played a significant role in the Great Siege of Malta of 1565. It eventually fell after a month of fierce fighting (in which the Ottoman general Dragut was killed). The knights held out in Birgu and Senglea until a relief force arrived, and the siege was lifted.
Construction
After the Order emerged victorious from the siege, it received financial support from Europe, which was used to construct the new capital city on the Sciberras Peninsula. The Italian engineer Francesco Laparelli was sent by the Pope to design the city's fortifications, which were designed along the Italian bastioned system. Laparelli's original design consisted of a bastioned enceinte, with nine cavaliers and a ditch. The city was to be designed along a grid plan, and was to include a naval arsenal and a Manderaggio (a harbour for small ships).
The city's first stone was laid by Grand Master Jean de Valette on 28 March 1566, and the new city was called Valletta in his honour. The city walls were among the first structures to be built within the city, and were largely complete by the 1570s. Some changes were made to the design while the city was being constructed, and only two cavaliers were constructed, while the arsenal and Manderaggio were never built. Fort St. Elmo, which had been severely damaged in the 1565 siege, was also rebuilt and integrated in the city walls.
The city of Valletta officially became the capital city of Malta and the seat of the Order on 18 March 1571, although it was still unfinished. By the end of the 16th century, Valletta was the largest settlement in Malta.
Improvements and modifications
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Valletta's fortifications were strengthened with the construction of various outworks, consisting of four counterguards along the land front, as well as a covertway and a glacis. The northern end of the peninsula, including Fort St. Elmo, was also enclosed in a bastioned enceinte (known as the Carafa Enceinte) in the late 1680s to prevent a landing from the sea.
Despite the modifications, it was realized that the walls of Valletta were not strong enough to withstand a long siege. In 1635, construction of the Floriana Lines commenced, enclosing Valletta's land front. The Floriana Lines were also modified until the 18th century. Later on, the suburb of Floriana developed in the area between the Floriana Lines and the Valletta Land Front, and it is now a town in its own right.
The flanks of the city were further protected in the 17th and 18th century, with the construction of the Santa Margherita Lines, Cottonera Lines and Fort Ricasoli on the Grand Harbour side, and Fort Manoel and Fort Tigné on the Marsamxett side. Further proposals, including construction of fortifications on Corradino and Ta' Xbiex, were also made but were never implemented.
French occupation and British rule
The fortifications of Valletta first saw use during the French invasion of Malta on 9 June 1798. The Order capitulated only three days later on 12 June, and Valletta and its fortifications were handed over to the French. Upon viewing the fortifications, Napoleon reportedly remarked "I am very glad that they opened the gate for us."
A couple of months after the beginning of the French occupation, the Maltese people rebelled against the French and blockaded them in the Harbour area with British, Neapolitan and Portuguese support. The French managed to hold out in Valletta until September 1800, when General Vaubois capitulated to the British, who took control of the islands.
Various modifications were made to Valletta's fortifications during British rule. The most significant of these was the construction of Fort Lascaris between 1854 and 1856. Other alterations included the addition of batteries and concrete gun emplacements, changes to parapets and their embrasures, and the construction of gunpowder magazines. All three original Hospitaller gateways to Valletta were demolished, and two of them were replaced by larger gates.
The British proposed the demolition of the fortifications a number of times in the 19th century. The first proposal was made by Major-General Henry Pigot at the beginning of the century. In 1853, a proposal was made to demolish Saint James Cavalier to make way for a military hospital. In 1855, Sir John Lysaght Pennefather proposed the construction of a citadel on the high ground of the Sciberras peninsula, on the site of the Valletta Land Front and the surrounding area. In 1872, the demolition of the city's outworks was proposed, while the demolition of the entire land front was suggested in 1882. Eventually, the fortifications were left largely intact, and the only part that was demolished was St. Madeleine's Lunette, which was located near the entrance to the city (on the site now occupied by the Triton Fountain).
The fortifications were eventually decommissioned between the late 19th or early 20th centuries. Some parts, such as Fort St. Elmo, Fort Lascaris and the Saluting Battery, remained in use until after World War II, with Fort St. Elmo being decommissioned in 1972. The fortifications were included on the Antiquities List of 1925.
In the 1960s, the 19th century Porta Reale was demolished to make way for a modern City Gate.
Present day
The first plans to restore the fortifications of Valletta, along with those of Birgu, Mdina and the Cittadella, were made in 2006. Restoration started in 2010, with the project being described as "the biggest in a century". Squatters were evicted from public lands around the fortifications. The upper part of Fort Saint Elmo has been restored, while its lower parts have been cleaned up. The Chapel of St. Roche on St. Michael's Counterguard, which was bombed in World War II, was rebuilt in 2014 as part of the restoration.
In 2011, the City Gate which had been built in the 1960s was demolished, and a new City Gate was completed in 2014.
Layout
Land front
The Valletta Land Front is the large bastioned enceinte enclosing the landward approach to the city. It consists of the following:
St. Michael's Bastion, also known as Spencer's Bastion – a demi-bastion on the western extremity of the land front. Two windmills were built on it in 1674, but they were demolished in the 19th century. The bastion now forms part of Hastings Gardens.
St. John's Curtain – the curtain wall linking St. Michael's and St. John's Bastions. It now forms part of Hastings Gardens.
St. John's Bastion – a large obtuse-angled bastion with a reconstructed echaugette at its salient angle. It now forms part of Hastings Gardens.
St. John's Cavalier – a pentagonal cavalier overlooking St. John's Bastion. It is now the embassy of the SMOM to Malta.
Porta Reale Curtain, also known as St. James Curtain – the curtain wall linking St. John's and St. James Bastions. The city's main gate is located within the curtain wall. The gate was rebuilt five times, with the present one being constructed between 2011 and 2014 to a design by Renzo Piano.
St. James Bastion – a large obtuse-angled bastion with an echaugette at its salient angle. Its thick parapets with embrasures have been dismantled. The bastion is occupied by the Central Bank of Malta and a car park.
St. James Cavalier – a pentagonal cavalier overlooking St. James Bastion. It is now a cultural centre.
Castile Curtain – the curtain wall linking St. James and St. Peter & Paul Bastions. Its parapet has been largely dismantled to make way for the road leading from Floriana to Valletta.
St. Peter and St. Paul Bastion – a two-tiered corner bastion on the eastern extremity of the land front. The upper part is now the Upper Barrakka Gardens, while the lower part contains the Saluting Battery. The 19th-century Fort Lascaris is located below the bastion.
The entire land front is surrounded by a deep ditch. Remains of a flanking battery within the ditch were unearthed in 2012.
The bastions are further protected by the following outworks:
St. Michael's Counterguard – a three-tiered counterguard built in 1640 near St. Michael's Bastion. Its lower tier contains an echaugette at its salient angle, and a small chapel dedicated to St. Roche. The chapel was destroyed in World War II, but was rebuilt in 2014.
St. John's Counterguard – a pentagonal counterguard built in 1640 near St. John's Bastion. Its salient angle contains an echaugette, and it also contains a gunpowder magazine. It is currently used as a football ground.
St. Madeleine's Lunette – a lunette that protected Porta Reale Curtain and the entrance to the city. It was dismantled in the 19th century, and its site is now occupied by the Triton Fountain.
St. James Counterguard – a pentagonal counterguard built in 1640 near St. James Bastion. Its salient angle contains an echaugette, and it also contains a gunpowder magazine. Its central platform houses the Central Bank of Malta annex.
St. Peter and St. Paul Counterguard – a two-tiered counterguard built in 1640 near St. Peter and St. Paul Bastion. Its salient angle contains an echaugette, and it also contains a gunpowder magazine and a concrete observation platform.
The outworks were surrounded by an advanced ditch, but only a part of it remains since most of it was filled in with rubble.
Marsamxett enceinte
The enceinte along the side facing Marsamxett Harbour starts from St. Michael's Bastion of the Valletta Land Front, and ends at St. Gregory's Bastion of Fort St. Elmo. It consists of the following:
St. Andrew Tenaille – a small tenaille beneath St. Michael's Bastion.
St. Andrew's Bastion – an asymmetrical pentagonal bastion. It is two-tiered, with its lower part originally containing the Marsamxett Gate, which was demolished in the early 20th century. A small faussebraye is located beneath the bastion. Ponsonby's Column was built on the bastion in 1838, but it was destroyed by lightning in 1864.
Manderaggio Curtain – the curtain wall linking St. Andrew's and San Salvatore Bastions. It was originally divided into two parts, to allow ships to enter the Manderaggio, but the breach was walled up when work on the Manderaggio was abandoned.
San Salvatore Bastion – a flat-faced artillery platform. Various World War II air raid shelters were dug within the bastion.
German Curtain – a small curtain wall north of San Salvatore Bastion. Air raid shelters were also dug within its walls. It is sometimes referred to as a bastion.
St. Sebastian Curtain – a small curtain wall north of the Germain Curtain. Air raid shelters were also dug within its walls. It is sometimes referred to as a bastion.
English Curtain – a long curtain wall near St. Elmo Bay, overlooked by Auberge de Bavière. It contains the Jews' Sally Port and a number of air raid shelters. A reconstructed echaugette is located between the English and French Curtains.
French Curtain – a long curtain wall near St. Elmo Bay, linked to Fort Saint Elmo.
Grand Harbour enceinte
The enceinte along the side facing the Grand Harbour starts from St. Peter and St. Paul Bastion of the Valletta Land Front, and ends at St. Ubaldesca Curtain of Fort St. Elmo. It consists of the following:
Fort Lascaris, also known as Lascaris Battery or Lascaris Bastion – a casemated battery near St. Peter & St. Paul Bastion, built by the British between 1854 and 1856. The Lascaris War Rooms are located nearby.
Marina Curtain, also known as Liesse Curtain – curtain wall linking St. Peter & St. Paul and St. Barbara Bastions. It originally contained Del Monte Gate, which was demolished and replaced by Victoria Gate in the 19th century.
St. Barbara Bastion – a flat-faced bastion with a low parapet. An echaugette is located at the bastion's south corner.
St. Lucia Curtain – curtain wall linking St. Barbara and St. Christopher Bastions.
St. Christopher Bastion – a two-tiered pentagonal bastion, today breached to make way for the Valletta ring road. The upper part contains the Lower Barrakka Gardens, while the lower part contains the Siege Bell War Memorial and the Monument to the Unknown Soldier. A low battery was built near the bastion in the 1680s, but most of it was dismantled to make way for the ring road.
St. Lazarus Curtain – curtain wall linking St. Christopher and St. Lazarus Bastions.
St. Lazarus Bastion – a flat-faced bastion containing several British gun emplacements and a magazine.
Fort Saint Elmo
Fort Saint Elmo is the oldest part of the city walls, and it commands the entrance to both the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett. The fort and the surrounding area consists of the following:
Upper St. Elmo – the original star fort, consisting of two demi-bastions, two flanks and two faces, a parade ground, barracks and a large cavalier.
Vendôme Bastion – a bastion built in 1614 linking the French Curtain to Fort St. Elmo, containing an echaugette. After being surrounded by the Carafa Enceinte, it was converted into a magazine, and later an armoury. The bastion is now part of the National War Museum.
Carafa Enceinte – the bastioned enceinte built around the fort after 1687. It consists of the following bastions:
St. Gregory Bastion – an asymmetrical bastion with a long left face. It was altered by the British to house QF 6 pounder 10 cwt guns.
St. Gregory Curtain – a curtain wall linking St. Gregory and Conception Bastions. It contains various British gun emplacements.
Conception Bastion, also known as Ball's Bastion – a small pentagonal bastion, containing a number of gun emplacements, magazines, and gun crew accommodation. Sir Alexander Ball was buried in the salient of the bastion.
Sta. Scholastica Curtain – curtain wall linking Conception and St. John Bastions. It contains a gun emplacement for a RML 12.5 inch 38 ton gun, as well as other British modifications.
St. John Bastion, also known as Abercrombie's Bastion – a large asymmetrical bastion at St. Elmo Point, the tip of the Sciberras Peninsula. The bastion contains several British gun emplacements and magazines.
St. Ubaldesca Curtain, also known as Abercrombie's Curtain – a long curtain wall linking St. John and St. Lazarus Bastions. It contains a number of British gun emplacements.
Some barrack blocks are located in the area between Upper St. Elmo and the Carafa Enceinte.
See also | |||||
9289 | dbpedia | 0 | 15 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Malta | en | Malta | History, Language, Map, People, & Points of Interest | [
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] | 1999-07-26T00:00:00+00:00 | Malta, island country located in the central Mediterranean Sea with close historical and cultural connections to both Europe and North Africa. Malta is about 58 miles (93 km) south of Sicily and 180 miles (290 km) from either Libya or Tunisia. The island achieved independence from British rule in 1964. | en | /favicon.png | Encyclopedia Britannica | https://www.britannica.com/place/Malta | Malta
Top Questions
How many islands make up Malta?
Malta comprises five islands—Malta (the largest), Gozo, Comino, and the uninhabited islets of Kemmunett (Comminotto) and Filfla.
What kind of climate does Malta have?
Malta typically has a Mediterranean climate with hot dry summers, warm and sporadically wet autumns, and short cool winters with adequate rainfall. The annual mean temperature is in the mid-60s Fahrenheit (about 19 degrees Celsius), and monthly averages range from the mid-50s to the mid-80s Fahrenheit (about 12 to 29 degrees Celsius).
What languages are spoken in Malta?
Maltese and English are the official languages of Malta. Maltese resulted from the fusion of North African Arabic and a Sicilian dialect of Italian and is the only Semitic language officially written in Latin script. English is a medium of instruction in schools. Italian is understood by a sizable portion of the population.
Does Malta have an official religion?
The official religion of Malta is Roman Catholicism, but there is full freedom of religious belief. More than nine-tenths of Maltese are Roman Catholic; however, only about three-fifths of these practice their faith. Small numbers of Maltese are adherents of other Christian denominations or of Islam.
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Malta, island country located in the central Mediterranean Sea. A small but strategically important group of islands, the archipelago has through its long and turbulent history played a vital role in the struggles of a succession of powers for domination of the Mediterranean and in the interplay between emerging Europe and the older cultures of Africa and the Middle East. As a result, Maltese society has been molded by centuries of foreign rule by various powers, including the Phoenicians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Sicilians, Swabians, Aragonese, Hospitallers, French, and British.
Audio File: National anthem of Malta
Head Of Government:
Prime Minister: Robert Abela
Population:
(2024 est.) 550,100
Currency Exchange Rate:
1 USD equals 0.937 euro
Head Of State:
President: Myriam Spiteri Debono
The island of Malta specifically played a vital strategic role in World War II as a base for the Allied Powers. It was heavily bombarded by German and Italian aircraft, and by the end of the war Malta was devastated. In 1942 the island of Malta was presented with the George Cross, a British award for great gallantry, in recognition of the wartime bravery of the Maltese people. After the war, the movement for self-governance became stronger. The country of Malta became independent from Britain and joined the Commonwealth in 1964 and was declared a republic on December 13, 1974. It was admitted to the European Union (EU) in 2004. A European atmosphere predominates in Malta as a result of close association with the Continent, particularly with southern Europe. The Maltese are renowned for their warmth, hospitality, and generosity to strangers, a trait that was noted in the Acts of the Apostles, with respect to the experience of St. Paul, the Apostle, who was said to have been shipwrecked off Malta in 60 ce.
Roman Catholicism is a major influence on Maltese culture. Various traditions have evolved around religious celebrations, notably those honouring the patron saints of towns and villages. The eight-pointed, or Maltese, cross, adopted by the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem in 1126, is commonly linked with Malta’s identity and is printed on the country’s euro coin. Valletta is the capital city.
Land
The country comprises five islands—Malta (the largest), Gozo, Comino, and the uninhabited islets of Kemmunett (Comminotto) and Filfla—lying some 58 miles (93 km) south of Sicily, 180 miles (290 km) north of Libya, and about 180 miles (290 km) east of Tunisia, at the eastern end of the constricted portion of the Mediterranean Sea separating Italy from the African coast.
Relief
Britannica Quiz
Which Country Is Larger By Area? Quiz
The islands of Malta are dominated by limestone formations, and much of their coastlines consist of steep or vertical limestone cliffs indented by bays, inlets, and coves. They lie on the submerged Malta-Hyblean Platform, a wide undersea shelf bridge that connects the Ragusa Platform of southern Sicily with the Tripolitana Platform of southern Libya.
The main physical characteristic of the island of Malta is a well-defined escarpment that bisects it along the Victoria Lines Fault running along the whole breadth of the island from Point ir-Raħeb near Fomm ir-Riħ Bay to the coast northeast of Għargħur at Madliena Fort. The highest areas are coralline limestone uplands that constitute a triangular plateau; Ta’ Żuta, which rises to 830 feet (253 metres) in the southwest, is the highest point. The uplands are separated from the surrounding areas by blue clay slopes, while an undercliff area is found where the coralline plateau has fallen and forms a subordinate surface between the sea and the original shore. The total shoreline of Malta is about 136 miles (219 km).
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In northern Malta the escarpment is occasionally abrupt and broken by deep embayments. To the south, however, the plateau gradually descends from about 600 to 830 feet (180 to 250 metres) into undulating areas of globigerina (derived from marine protozoa) limestone less than 300 feet (90 metres) in elevation. The western area is characterized by deeply incised valleys and undercliff areas, while to the east there are several valley systems that descend to the central plains.
The west coast of Malta presents a high, bold, and generally harbourless face. On the east, however, a tongue of high ground known as Mount Sceberras, on which the capital city, Valletta, is built, separates Marsamxett Harbour and Grand Harbour. Because of tectonic activity, Malta has been tilted in a northerly direction, producing cliffs of up to about 800 feet (250 metres) high on the south and southwestern coasts, while slopes descend to low cliffs and rocky shores on the northern and eastern coasts.
The landscape of the island of Gozo is characterized by broken upper coralline mesas, with the highest point being Ta’ Dbiegi Hill (636 feet [194 metres]). Gozo has a gentle easterly dip, so the lower coralline limestone, which forms high cliffs on the west coast, declines to below sea level but reappears on the east coast at Qala Point. Semicircular bays have formed on coastal cliffs where sinkholes have been invaded by the sea. The rounded bays at Xlendi and Dwejra on the west coast of Gozo originated as underground caverns with roofs that have collapsed.
Drainage
The island of Malta possesses favourable conditions for the percolation and underground storage of water. The impermeable blue clays provide two distinct water tables between the limestone formations—the perched and the mean sea-level aquifer. The principal source for the public supply of water has for several centuries been the main sea-level water table. The absence of permanent streams or lakes and a considerable runoff into the sea, however, have made water supply a problem, which has been addressed with an intensive reverse-osmosis desalination program. About half of Malta’s daily water needs are supplied by desalination plants throughout the islands.
Soils
Mainly young or immature and thin, Maltese soils generally lack humus, and a high carbonate content gives them alkaline properties. Human settlement and construction developments have altered the distribution and composition of soils. The Fertile Soil (Preservation) Act of 1973 requires that, when soils are removed from construction sites, they be taken to agricultural areas, and level stretches in quarries are often covered with carted soil. | ||||
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] | null | [] | 2023-11-03T23:33:50+00:00 | Valletta, Malta is an awe-inspiring city that is a must visit on any Mediterranean cruise. The city is a cultural hub for Baroque art, museums, and historic | en | 2024 Dave Koz Cruise | https://davekozcruise.com/2024/valletta-malta/ | Valletta, Malta is an awe-inspiring city that is a must visit on any Mediterranean cruise. The city is a cultural hub for Baroque art, museums, and historic sites, surrounded by the year-round temperate sun of the Mediterranean Sea. Valletta is the perfect place to relax and unwind, while also being intellectually stimulating. In 2018, the EU named Valletta a “European Capital of Culture,” a well-deserved recognition of its rich heritage.
Despite there being more than a day’s worth of activities, the historic downtown is easily walkable, allowing you to get a sense of Valletta’s elegance in a short time. One of the must-visit sites is the St. John’s Co-Cathedral, an intricate structure built between 1572-1577 that still maintains its elaborate Baroque architecture. For breathtaking views of the Mediterranean Sea, take a walk along the Grand Harbor. There you can also find outdoor cafes and wine bars where you can enjoy some refreshments. Another great option is to take a ferry to the island of Gozo, where you can enjoy hiking, swimming, and sunbathing along the area’s striking red-sand beaches.
If you’re looking for great places to eat and drink near the Valletta cruise port, you’re in luck. Valletta is home to some of the best restaurants and bars in Malta. Below are some of the top food and drink spots to explore.
If you want to relax and enjoy a glass of wine in cozy surroundings, Legligin is the perfect place for you. The bar is known for its unmatched wine selection and ever-changing menu. It offers a wide range of dishes, including octopus and steamed mussels.
For a quick lunch with an Italian twist, Piadina Caffe is a must-visit. Although seating is limited, the restaurant offers a quick turnaround time. You can also take your food to go and enjoy it while admiring St. John’s Co-Cathedral.
Zero Sei Trattoria offers no-frills Italian food. It’s a great place to try classic dishes like carbonara, cacio e pepe, and veal. The restaurant aims to bring a taste of Rome to Malta.
If you’re looking for a romantic bar to enjoy wine and cocktails, The Rootz Bar is the place to be. Although it doesn’t offer a full dinner menu, the bar has a variety of cheese and charcuterie boards to satisfy your appetite.
Finally, Noni is perfect for a fancy night out. The restaurant is known for revitalizing classic Mediterranean dishes in exciting new ways. You’ll find plenty of creativity on the menu, including local rabbit with roasted garlic puree, slow-cooked octopus tagine, and chocolate and orange mousse.
Valletta, the capital city of Malta, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for its government, music, and public art. Despite its small population of under 7,000 residents, Valletta boasts of a rich history that attracts visitors from all over the world. The city was founded in 1566 by the Knights of Malta, who introduced a new grid plan that still stands today. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, Valletta witnessed numerous occupations by the Ottomans, French, and British, each leaving their unique mark on the city’s culture.
Unfortunately, Valletta also suffered significant damage during World War II from German and Italian air attacks, which destroyed several buildings, including the Royal Opera House. Nevertheless, the city’s architecture still exudes its heavy Baroque influence, and today, Malta is a major art destination, boasting of numerous museums, including the National Museum of Fine Arts. Every January, the city celebrates the annual Valletta International Baroque Festival, which attracts music lovers from around the globe.
During your visit to Valletta, Malta, you can explore an array of charming boutiques in the city center which are mostly owned and operated by families. The stores offer a wide variety of products including leather, gold and silver jewelry, and souvenirs for tourists. However, do note that most of the shops remain closed on Sundays. Moreover, lace is one of the most popular goods in Malta and you can easily find them in the local shops. If you are looking for shopping centers and malls, you may have to travel a bit further from the city center and plan your trip by bus or car accordingly.
When traveling to Valletta, Malta, it’s important to note that the primary currency used is the Euro. To easily access cash during your trip, there are numerous ATMs located throughout the city for your convenience. In terms of tipping, it’s customary to leave anywhere between 5-10% at restaurants, bars, and hotels. If a service charge is already included in your bill, it’s not necessary to leave an additional tip. When taking a guided tour, it’s encouraged to tip 10% for their service, and for porters or bellhops, it’s best practice to tip one or two euros per bag. For taxi rides, rounding up to the nearest euro is sufficient, but if your driver provides you with recommendations, it’s thoughtful to tip a little more. Valletta is a wonderful destination, and following these tipping customs will ensure a positive experience for both you and the locals. | |||||
9289 | dbpedia | 3 | 40 | https://amateurtraveler.com/malta-landmarks/ | en | Malta Landmarks and the History Behind Them | [
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Visitors to Malta can witness firsthand the remnants of the island’s prehistoric civilizations, the grandiose fortresses built by the Hospitaller Knights, and the architectural and cultural influences left behind by the numerous civilizations that have occupied the island over the centuries.
Table of contents: (Hide)
Neolithic Era in Malta
The neolithic landmarks on Malta date from 5000 BC to 2200 BC. This era is marked by the construction of numerous temples and other structures that continue to fascinate archaeologists and visitors alike. The neolithic temples of Malta are some of the oldest freestanding stone structures in the world, predating the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt and Stonehenge. 4 of the 5 UNESCO sites on Malta date back to this period.
It is thought that the temples were used for religious practices and that Malta’s prehistoric civilizations believed them to be sacred. They are sometimes intricately decorated with carvings and patterns, adding even more to their mystique. Little is known of the temple builders themselves. After the apparent collapse of the temple builders civilization around 2350 BC, the island was repopulated with more invaders from the Bronze Age.
I would recommend 4 sites for people interested in this era of Malta’s history: the Tarxien Temples, the necropolis of Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, the dual-site of Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra, and the temple of Ġgantija on Gozo.
Tarxien Temples
The Tarxien Temples are the easiest of the megalithic temples to visit for most tourists to Malta. They are located only 25 minutes by bus from the main Valetta Bus station or less if you travel by rental car or ride share. They are a wonderful example of architecture from the temple period. These temples were discovered in 1913 by local farmers and were later restored to showcase the work of the prehistoric people who built them. The temples have been dated back to around 3150 BC.
The Tarxien Temples consist of three distinct but attached structures, with the largest being the Central Temple. It is believed that animal sacrifices took place here. Stone balls were discovered at Tarxien and it is thought that the temple builders used these like ball bearers under the heavy stones to move them more easily.
Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum (UNESCO)
The Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is a unique and remarkable underground structure located within easy walking distance from the Tarxien Temples. Dating back to around 3600 BCE, this Neolithic subterranean complex is one of the world’s oldest prehistoric burial sites. Carved into the soft limestone bedrock, the Hypogeum comprises a series of interconnecting chambers, halls, and passages, showcasing the advanced engineering and architectural skills of its ancient creators.
One clue that Malta’s megalithic temples had roofed structures is that the people who carved the Hypogeum recreated the stone ring structure in their designs. You can see that the roofs would have been one stone ring set on top of another, each with a smaller and smaller diameter.
The Hypogeum’s purpose is believed to be multifaceted, serving as a sanctuary, ritual site, and necropolis. The Hypogeum stands out for its intricate carvings, including the famous “Sleeping Lady,” a gracefully depicted female figurine. Due to its historical significance, the Hypogeum has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, attracting archaeologists, historians, and tourists alike, who marvel at its mysterious origins and the insight it provides into Malta’s prehistoric past.
Visitors to the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum embark on a guided tour that provides a fascinating glimpse into the lives and beliefs of the ancient Maltese people. The site’s acoustic properties are particularly noteworthy, with some chambers producing unique reverberations and echoes that are thought to have held ceremonial significance. Due to the delicate nature of the underground environment and the need for preservation, access to the Hypogeum is limited, and a controlled number of visitors are allowed each day. This precautionary measure ensures the protection of the site and its delicate carvings. This does make it the most difficult of the sites to visit. You will need to make a reservation to visit weeks or months in advance.
You will not be able to bring your camera or cell phone into Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum but will leave them in a locker before accessing the site.
Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra (UNSECO)
Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra are two megalithic temple complexes located together on the southern coast of the island of Malta, both of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These prehistoric structures, built during the Neolithic period (3600-2500 BCE), represent some of the world’s oldest free-standing stone architecture and are essential components of Malta’s rich archaeological heritage.
Ħaġar Qim (3600–3200 BC) is a megalithic complex that includes a series of impressive limestone structures. The main temple is a massive building, constructed using large limestone blocks. The site’s design reflects a sophisticated understanding of astronomy, with its orientation aligned to the solstices. For those with mobility issues, Ħaġar Qim will be easier to visit than Mnajdra.
Mnajdra is located a short walk down the hill from Ħaġar Qim. It consists of three interconnected temples: the Upper (3600-3200 BC), Middle (3150 – 2500 BC), and Lower temples. Like Ħaġar Qim, Mnajdra showcases the advanced architectural and engineering skills of its ancient builders. The temples are characterized by their well-preserved megalithic walls, altars, and intricate carvings. Mnajdra’s unique feature is its solar alignments, where sunlight penetrates specific apertures during the equinoxes, marking significant celestial events in the Neolithic calendar. This alignment suggests a connection between the temples and the observation of solar phenomena, emphasizing the spiritual and astronomical significance of these structures.
Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra share a common visitor center and admission price and it is my favorite of the visitor centers at Malta’s neolithic sites. It has information about the construction, discovery, and study of these two sites.
I reached Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra by bus, but visiting the southwest part of the island would be easier if you had a rental car.
Read more about transportation: Getting Around in Malta: A Guide to Transportation Options
Ġgantija Temples (UNESCO)
The Ġgantija Temples, situated on the island of Gozo in Malta, are among the most significant and well-preserved megalithic temple complexes in the world. Constructed during the Neolithic period, around 3600 to 3200 BCE, the Ġgantija Temples are also recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name “Ġgantija” is derived from the Maltese word “ġgant,” meaning giant, likely referring to the massive size of the stones used in the construction.
The temple complex consists of two main structures, Ġgantija North and Ġgantija South, both enclosed by a common boundary wall. The temples are constructed using enormous limestone blocks, some of which weigh over fifty tons. The megaliths are carefully arranged to form three-apsed structures, with a central corridor flanked by chambers. The purpose of these temples remains speculative, but they are believed to have served as religious and ritualistic centers, possibly dedicated to a fertility cult.
The Ġgantija Temples were a big reason why I wanted to visit the island of Gozo but I thought the other 3 temple sites mentioned above were more spectacular architecturally. I thought the most interesting part of the temple complex was the small museum with artifacts that were found when the temple was excavated, including carvings left by the mysterious temple builders from more than 5,000 years ago.
Phoenician / Carthaginian Era in Malta
The Phoenicians established settlements on the islands in the 8th century BCE, including the ancient city of Maleth (modern-day Mdina). This is about 100 years after the Phoenicians founded the city of Carthage in Northern Africa. Malta was captured by the Romans in 218 BC during the 2nd Punic War between Rome and Carthage.
Today, visitors can witness the Phoenician / Carthaginian influence in Malta by exploring several archaeological sites, including the Phoenician temple at Tas-Silġ and a Carthaginian pit tomb on the Xemxija Heritage Trail. Also some of the earliest tombs in Rebat date back to the Carthaginian era.
Roman Era in Malta
The Roman Empire’s influence on Malta during the Roman Era was immense. Visitors can experience a glimpse of Malta’s Roman past by exploring the well-preserved Roman ruins scattered throughout the island.
During the Roman Era Christianity came to Malta as told in chapter 28 of the book of Acts in the Bible, the evangelist St. Paul was shipwrecked in Malta. Tradition says this event occurred on the rocky island known as St Paul’s Islands in Saint Paul’s Bay which is about 9 miles northwest of Valetta.
The city of Melite was an important center for trade and commerce, and the Roman Republic established it as a municipality in 96 BC. It lies under the current cities of Rabat and Mdina. Two sites in Rebat where you can access that era are the Roman Villa and St Paul’s Catacombs.
Roman Villa – Rebat
The Domvs Romana, also known as the Roman Villa, is a well-preserved Roman townhouse that dates back to the 1st century BCE. It was accidentally discovered in 1881 when workers were digging a well. The villa is believed to have belonged to a wealthy Roman family and is characterized by its well-preserved mosaic floors, depicting intricate geometric patterns and mythological scenes. The site includes several rooms and courtyards.
St Paul’s Catacombs – Rebat
St. Paul’s Catacombs, located in Rabat, Malta, is a significant archaeological site dating back to the Roman period. These catacombs are a complex network of underground burial chambers and passages that served as a cemetery for early Christians. The site is associated with St. Paul, who local tradition says is to have taken refuge in a cave in Rabat (St. Paul’s Grotto ) during his stay in Malta.
The catacombs are believed to have been in use between the 4th and 9th centuries AD and provide valuable insights into the religious practices, burial customs, and art of the early Christian community in Malta. The complex includes various chambers with frescoes, carvings, and numerous tombs, showcasing the evolving styles of burial over the centuries.
Turing the Catacombs is facilitated by a wonderful audio guide that explains the use of this subterranean necropolis including the custom of people eating ceremonial dinners near the grave of their departed loved ones. It is an extensive site and only the most ardent history buffs, of which I am not apparently one, will want to visit every individual site.
Byzantine Era
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the Visigoths in the 400s, the Eastern Roman Empire (commonly known as the Byzantines) conquered the island in the Gothic War (535–554) and returned Roman rule to the island. Little remains from this period. You can see the foundation of the Byzantine Basilica at Tas-Silġ.
Arab Era
In 870, Muslim invaders from the Abbasid Caliph in what is now eastern Algeria, Tunisia, and western Libra captured Malta from the Byzantines. They made their capital in Mdina and gave it the name it has today. The Maltese language is heavily influenced by Arabic. One-third of the Maltese vocabulary derives from Arabic. It is the only Semitic language that is routinely written in the Latin alphabet.
The fortifications of Mdina date to the Arab Era. St Paul’s Cathedral in Mdina was converted to a mosque during this period.
One lasting impact of the Arab Era is the distinct balconies of the buildings in Malta’s older cities which were influenced by the Arab muxrabija which is a balcony with an ornate wooden screen that allows cool air but privacy for the residents.
Norman / Holy Roman Empire / France
An Army from Roger I from the nearby Norman Kingdom of Sicily raided Malta in 1091 and captured Mdina. The Normans returned in 1127 under Roger’s son King Roger II and started the re-Christianization of Malta. The Norman rule in Malta lasted from 1127 until 1194.
According to tradition, the origin of the Maltese national flag is attributed to the Norman Count Roger. During a conflict with the Arabs, the story goes that he tore his red and white checkered flag in half and presented one portion to the Maltese men-at-arms who fought alongside him in battle.
The Kingdom of Sicily fell in 1194 to the Swabians (House of Hohenstaufen) and Malta became a neglected part of the Holy Roman Empire.
In 1266, Charles of Anjou, the brother of King Louis IX of France, was granted control of Malta as a fiefdom.
Aragonese / Spanish Era
During the wonderfully named War of the Sicilian Vespers in 1283, the Aragonese successfully captured Malta, marking the commencement of Spanish rule.
The oldest part of the walls of the Citadella of Victoria on the Island of Gozo date from the Aragonese Era.
Hospitaller Era in Malta
The Hospitaller Knights, also known as the Knights of Malta or the Knights of St. John, came to Malta in the 16th century. The order was originally established in the 11th century in Jerusalem to provide medical care and protection to Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land. Over time, the order evolved into a military order with a focus on defending Christendom.
In 1523, the Knights were forced to surrender their last stronghold on the Island of Rhodes to the Ottoman Turks and Suleiman The Magnificent, prompting the Knights to search for a new base. In 1530, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V granted the Knights the islands of Malta and Gozo. The Hospitallers saw Malta as a strategic location in the central Mediterranean, allowing them to control sea routes and serve as a bulwark against Ottoman expansion.
Great Siege of Malta
The Knights of Malta successfully defended the island against an Ottoman siege in 1565, known as the Great Siege of Malta. The two main locations for the Knights in 1565 were the forts of St Elmo (a smaller version than the current fort) which is now at the seaward side of the city of Valetta and the fortress and St Angelo. The Ottomans took the smaller fortress of St Elmo but it took 4 weeks of hard fighting as the knights and other members of the fort fought nearly to the last man. This precious time gave the knights, soldiers, and citizens defending St Angelo time to improve their defenses.
1,500 had died defending St Elmo but the Ottomans had lost 6,000 men in the process. As spring turned into summer they also started to lose thousands of soldiers to disease. Eventually, with reinforcements coming for the Knights from Sicily, the Ottomans ran out of time and men. Their original army numbered in the range of 35,000–40,000, but they lost around 25,000 from the fighting and disease before they gave up their attack.
The hard-fought victory was a significant event in the struggle between the Christian and Ottoman forces for control of the Mediterranean and even more significant for the island of Malta. Today, Fort St Elmo serves as a museum with a particularly good exhibit about The Great Seige of Malta and Malta in World War II.
Valetta
The city of Valetta was built after the victory during the Great Siege of Malta. The city is one massive fortress in case the Ottomans were to decide to make a return engagement to Malta. The city is named after Jean Parisot de Valette who was the leader of the Knights of St John during the Great Siege. The best way to appreciate the fortifications of Valetta, and I think the beauty of the city, is from the traditional harbor cruise.
The Co-Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Valetta
The best way to see the wealth of the Knights of St John in the days after the siege is to visit the Co-Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Valetta. This amazing church is rather plain on the outside, but the inside is over-the-top ornate.
The knights of St John came from a variety of countries and a variety of languages. They were organized into a number of “langue” from the Italian for tongue or language:
the Langue of Auvergne
the Langue of France
the Langue of Provence
the Langue of Aragon
the Langue of Italy
the Langue of Germany (including all of the Holy Roman Empire as well as Scandinavia, Hungary and Poland)
the Langue of England (including Scotland and Ireland) (disbanded after the English Protestant Reformation)
the Langue of Castille, Léon and Portugal
The chapels are each dedicated to one of these different groups. I recommend a tour guide for the tour of the cathedral who can point out these distinctions. I touted the co-cathedral with Isabell who is an independent guide arranged by the local Tourism Board (email her at paulsant at vol.net.mt).
There are also two original works by the artist Caravaggio in the church including the Beheading of St. John the Baptist’.
Each of the langues of the knights had an “Auberge” where the knights lived in community. 5 of the original 8 buildings still survive and have been repurposed as municipal buildings.
French Occupation
The French occupation of Malta occurred in 1798 when Napoleon Bonaparte seized control of the island from the Knights of St. John. The occupation led to administrative reforms and the establishment of the Republic of Malta. However, discontent among the Maltese, fueled by heavy taxes and anti-religious policies, led to a popular uprising. With British assistance, the Maltese successfully rebelled in 1800, and Malta came under British control, marking the end of the French occupation. Victory Day on September 8th commemorates the Maltese uprising.
British Colonial Era
The British colonial era in Malta lasted for over 150 years, during which the island became an important naval base and a hub for international trade. The British implemented significant social and economic reforms, such as the introduction of a modern legal system and the establishment of new industries. Moreover, the British left a lasting legacy in Malta’s architectural landscape, with iconic buildings such as the Royal Opera House and the Valletta Waterfront.
The British influence can still be seen in things like red telephone boxes, fluent English, and an unnatural love for mushy peas.
Siege of Malta
During World War II, Malta played a strategic role in the Mediterranean, and its location made it a target for Axis bombing campaigns. The Axis powers, the Germans and Italians, sought to neutralize Malta because of its strategic importance as a naval and air base. The intense and sustained bombing of Malta, especially in 1940-1942, is often referred to as the Siege of Malta.
The bombing campaign against Malta began in earnest in 1940, with the Axis forces aiming to incapacitate the island’s defenses and render it unusable as a British military base. The British and Maltese people endured relentless air raids, and the island became one of the most heavily bombed places during the war.
During World War II, in 1942, King George VI awarded the George Cross to Malta in recognition of the extraordinary bravery and endurance displayed by the Maltese people and military personnel during the intense Axis bombardment and siege of the island. The George Cross, the highest civil decoration in the United Kingdom, was incorporated into Malta’s flag, symbolizing the collective bravery and sacrifice of the Maltese during the war.
If you want to connect with this part of Malta’s history you can take the Underground Valetta tour. During the constant bombardment, the residents of the city went underground. They expanded tunnels under the city of Valetta into housing for 20,000 people. If you don’t get claustrophobic, this is an interesting tour but it is limited so book well in advance. The tour concludes with an audio-visual presentation in an ancient cistern.
Again, the Military Museum at Fort St Elmo does a great job of covering this time period.
Malta’s Independence
After decades of colonial rule, Malta gained its independence from Britain in 1964. The country became a republic in 1974, and since then has developed into a modern European nation while preserving its rich cultural heritage. The independence of Malta marked the end of a long journey, during which the Maltese people struggled for self-determination and recognition.
Where to Stay in Malta
Hotel rating cost Seaview Hotel – Adults Only 16 Plus 9.1 $ Book Now Talbot & Bons Bed & Breakfast 9.0 $ Book Now Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Malta Golden Sands 9.0 $$ Book Now
Conclusion
From the mysterious temples of Neolithic Malta to the grandiose fortresses of the Hospitaller Knights, Malta’s fascinating past is visible throughout the island. The remnants of Malta’s prehistoric civilizations, the Phoenician and Carthaginian influence, the Roman governance and way of life, the Byzantine, Arab, Norman, and Aragonese rule, the French occupation, the British colonial era, and Malta’s journey towards independence and the birth of the Maltese Republic all provide valuable insights into the island’s history.
During my visit to Malta, the Tourism Board sponsored my visit to Underground Malta, Valetta, and Mdina. For that, they have my thanks. | ||||||
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] | null | [] | 2016-12-04T00:00:00 | What to see and do in the captivating Mediterranean city of Valletta, Malta. | en | Travels with Tricia | https://triciaannemitchell.com/2016/12/04/things-to-do-in-valletta-malta-attractions-hotels-guide/ | Malta’s capital, Valletta, is a grande dame undergoing rapid change. With more than 300 monuments crammed into the city’s small peninsular borders, Valletta has one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world. This means that there are lots of things to do in Valletta, whether you’re an architecture aficionado, military-history buff or passionate wanderer eager to see a city reawakening from a long slumber.
Shawn and I called Valletta home for one year. We lived on Strada Stretta, which was once one of the city’s most infamous streets. It’s a narrow lane that used to form part of Valletta’s red-light district—a magnet for sailors.
When we first learned we’d be moving to Malta for Shawn’s studies, we thought we might develop island fever by spending so much time in a tiny island nation. Surprisingly though, there was so much to experience in and out of Valletta that our weekend calendar was consistently filled with activities. We left at the end of 2016.
A decade before actually moving to Valletta, I also played tourist in the capital city, making it my home base for a long-weekend visit. Back in 2006, Valletta was eerily quiet. Half of the city’s buildings were boarded up and abandoned. Accommodation in Valletta was so scarce that I literally had to sleep in a spacious maid’s closet for one night, until a proper room became available. Coincidentally, ten years later, my future in-laws would choose to stay at a boutique hotel located just across the street from the same guesthouse in which I stayed as a solo female traveler in 2006. It’s funny how life comes full circle like that.
As a solo traveler on a four-day adventure, I loved exploring Valletta’s streets and their characteristic golden-limestone buildings, radiant wooden balconies, and vintage storefronts. Fast-forward a decade and Shawn and I were elated to have that impressive architecture, history, and culture just outside our doorstep for an entire year.
Drawing upon my experience as a visitor and one-year resident of Malta, I’ve created this guide to Valletta. It highlights some of the Maltese capital’s top sites, plus a smattering of lesser-visited ones.
Along with overviews of Valletta’s gardens, museums, churches, and palaces, I’ve thrown in generic logistical details to help with issues about transportation, groceries, and accommodation. I’ve also included a few photo-taking spots and a personalized map to help you plan your visit.
Valletta’s History
The Knights of Malta (also known as the Knights of the Order of St. John, or the Knights Hospitaller) started building Valletta in 1566, following the Great Siege of 1565. After this legendary fight against the Ottoman Turks, the Knights wanted to construct a fortified stronghold to protect against future attacks.
A Pope sent Italian architect Francesco Laparelli to Malta to oversee Valletta’s construction. Laparelli, who had once been Michelangelo’s assistant, designed Valletta in a grid-pattern fashion. Massive bastions, moats, and narrow streets were created, all with the intent of making the new city of Valletta easier to defend. An added advantage of the city’s grid pattern was that Valletta’s high walls helped shade streets on sizzling summer days, while ushering in refreshing sea breezes. Having lived on one of the city’s streets for a year, I can attest that this is still a good form of natural air conditioning.
The Knights of Malta remained in power until Napoleon seized the island in 1798. The French occupation was short-lived, only lasting about two years. Shortly thereafter, Malta became part of the British Empire. The country ended its colonial relationship with the United Kingdom in the 1960s.
Since 1980, Valletta has been a UNESCO World Heritage city. It was also the 2018 European Capital of Culture. This designation was instrumental in fostering Valletta’s economic rebirth.
Architecture: Baroque to British Flair
From stately baroque buildings and classic old storefronts to ornate brass door knockers, devotional statues, and enclosed wooden balconies, Valletta’s narrow streets are full of character. Historians are unsure when the first of the distinctive balconies (gallariji) appeared on the island’s buildings. The suspicion is that this architectural feature made its debut on Valletta’s Grandmaster’s Palace, and then other homeowners simply followed suit.
Since Malta was a British colony from 1813-1964, you’ll see remnants of that chapter of history in the form of cherry-red phone booths, rounded mail boxes, and the grand Victoria Gate. The city’s Catholic influence is equally evident in the devotional saint’s statues which rest in corner niches throughout the city. Some even have a donation slot built into the wall below the figure.
Finally, though it’s not as common in Valletta as it is in Maltese villages, you’ll notice a few name plates adorning the front of buildings. These little signs bear the name of the home given to it by its residents. Common house names honor religious figures or meld a husband’s and wife’s first names. (Shawn and I resisted the urge to dub our apartment ‘Trishawn’!)
More –
The Doors of Valletta (my blog post collage)
The Door Knockers of Valletta (my blog post collage)
Contents of This Guide:
General Information
Festivals and Holidays
Hotels & Apartments
Groceries
Long-Term Accommodation
Maltese Newspapers
Pharmacies
Post Offices
Restaurants
Safety
Souvenirs
Tourist Information Offices
Transportation
Valletta Map
Additional Links and Resources
Churches
St. John’s Co-Cathedral
St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral
The Carmelite Church
Our Lady of Victories Church
Gardens
Hastings Gardens
Lower Barrakka Gardens
Upper Barrakka Gardens
Landmarks
Auberge de Castille
City Gate
De Valette Square
Former Victory Kitchen
Nelson’s Hook
Parliament
Saluting Battery
Siege Bell War Memorial
Queen Victoria Statue and Victoria Gate
Museums
Fort St. Elmo and the National War Museum
Fortifications Interpretation Centre
Grandmaster’s Palace: State Rooms & Palace Armoury
Lascaris War Rooms
National Library of Malta
National Museum of Archaeology
National Museum of Fine Arts
Sacra Infermeria (The Knights’ Hospital)
Entertainment & Theaters
Manoel Theatre
Pjazza Teatru Rjal
St. James Cavalier (Malta’s National Centre for Creativity)
Strada Stretta
Misc.
Walking Circuit Around the Exterior of Valletta’s Fortifications
Watch: Scenes from Valletta
De Valette Square
The year 2016 marked 450 years since Valletta’s foundation stone was laid by the city’s namesake, Jean Parisot de Valette. Having led the Knights of Malta to victory during the Great Siege of 1565 (as a 70-something warrior!), Grandmaster de Valette was seen as a heroic figure within the order.
Not long after their arrival on the island of Malta, the Knights had contemplated building a city on the then-barren Sciberras Peninsula. First came Fort St. Elmo, and later the fortified city of Valletta that we know today, both designed to help defend the island against attack.
Though the Knights officially took chastity vows, it’s interesting that de Valette himself is said to have covertly fathered at least two children: a son that would be ‘legitimized’ by the King of France, and a daughter that was tragically murdered by her husband.
Since he died in 1568, de Valette did not live to see Valletta’s completion. His ornate sarcophagus is located in St. John’s Co-Cathedral.
St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral
&
The Carmelite Church
Two buildings punctuate Valletta’s skyline: the enormous dome of the Carmelite Church, and the pointy steeple of St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral.
Malta is overwhelmingly Roman-Catholic but St. Paul’s stands as a remnant of Malta’s British colonial past. Groundbreaking for the neo-classical structure began in 1839, at the request of a visiting queen who lamented that there was no place of worship for Anglican parishioners. Originally, the Auberge d’Allemagne (quarters for the German branch of the Knights of Malta) stood here.
Surprisingly, the Carmelite Church was not constructed until the 20th century. The original structure was built in the 16th century, but because it was decimated during World War II bombings, it was reconstructed during the 1950s to 1980s.
Photo tip: Splendid places to photograph the Valletta skyline at sunset are either from the promenade in the city of Sliema (a short ferry ride across the Marsamxett Harbour from Valletta) or from this Valletta parking lot on St. Michael’s Bastion (map here). Both vantage points will allow you to capture these iconic buildings in your photograph. During our year in Valletta, we often strolled past this spot just before sunset, watching the neighborhood children play soccer in a nearby parking lot, as a scrappy Chihuhua ran about.
More –
Carmelite Church (official website) & Carmelite Church (Facebook page)
St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral (official website)
Our Lady of Victories Church
This dainty church is Valletta’s oldest building, and is best known for being the first resting place of Grandmaster de Valette. After the colossal St. John’s Co-Cathedral was built, his remains were transferred from Our Lady of Victories to St. John’s.
The Grandmaster himself is said to have financed Our Lady of Victories Church, which was designed to express gratitude for the Knights’ victory over the Ottoman Turks in 1565.
More –
Admission free.
Our Lady of Victories Church (Wikipedia)
Our Lady of Victories Church (National Trust of Malta – Din l-Art Ħelwa)
Saluting Battery
Each day, without fail, visitors cram themselves onto the terrace of the Upper Barrakka Gardens, for the twelve o’clock cannon salute in the Saluting Battery below. To escape the garden’s crowds at midday, you can enter the Saluting Battery just below the gardens, which has the same commanding perspective over the Grand Harbour. (Note: the Upper Barrakka Gardens are free to enter, while the Saluting Battery has a small admission fee.)
The Knights built the Saluting Battery in the 1500s, near the site of a battery earlier established by the Ottomans during the Great Siege of 1565. This 16th-century map shows the Ottoman’s battery as it would’ve looked then.
Gun salutes have historically been fired here to commemorate anniversaries and religious feast days, to welcome dignitaries, and to help ships with their time-keeping.
Photo tip: If you stroll along the walls facing Valletta’s Grand Harbour, you will find a bounty of photo-snapping spots. St. Barbara’s Bastions (map here) offer some of the nicest panoramas of the Grand Harbour and the Three Cities, and this area generally has less crowds than the Upper Barrakka Gardens. The Lower Barrakka Gardens also have commanding views across the Grand Harbour.
More –
Saluting Battery (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
City Gate
Adorning a wall in our Valletta apartment was a turn-of-the century photograph of one of Valletta’s former city gates. At the time, the entrance was dressed in bunting and a huge ‘welcome’ sign. Since the black and white image hung over our kitchen sink, I looked at it whenever I did dishes, and analyzed the faces of the people frozen in time. Most of the passersby were dressed in black, with some wearing formal, big hats. Others wore the attire of laborers. What the two groups shared was a curiosity of the camera, which would have been a novel contraption at the time.
In the past 450 years, there have been five different versions of gates installed on this spot, each doing its part to help secure Valletta’s primary entrance. This most recent rendition was designed by celebrated Italian architect Renzo Piano (of London Shard fame), and inaugurated in 2015. Because of its minimalist design, the City Gate, as well as Piano’s adjacent Parliament building, remain controversial additions to this largely baroque city.
If you’d like to see what’s thought to be the gate’s original wooden drawbridge, you can find it at the Fortifications Interpretation Center (listed below).
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The evolution of Valletta’s City Gates, from 1566 to the present (Wikipedia)
Parliament
Malta’s Parliament Building was controversially unveiled in 2015, receiving mixed reviews. Some lauded its contemporary design and how it incorporates the island’s traditional limestone, while others thought its abstract look was incompatible with Valletta’s baroque buildings. For a time, there was even concern that UNESCO might strip Valletta of its World Heritage Site status because of this addition. To this day, some displeased locals describe it as a ‘cheese grater’ on stilts. As you walk past the Parliament, note the fossilized remains in the limestone under your feet.
More –
Parliament of Malta (official website)
Fortifications Interpretation Centre
Housed in a 16th-century era building that was once a warehouse for the Knights, the Fortifications Interpretation Center describes itself as part museum, and part resource center. If you’re remotely interested in military architecture, or simply want to better understand Valletta’s prominent fortifications, then the Centre is a worthwhile stop. It’s just a two-minute walk from the Valletta – Sliema Ferry.
One of the star attractions in the museum is a segment of a drawbridge that’s believed to date back to around 1645. Much of the weathered wood has been chipped off or devoured by woodworms. However, it still helps to paint a picture of what life in Valletta was like during times of insecurity.
Another exhibit displays a sampling of tools that would’ve been used by laborers to quarry and shape Malta’s rugged limestone into uniform blocks. In another wing, informational boards highlight how fortifications around the world have evolved over the millennia.
Other exhibits that help illustrate the island’s extensive fortifications include: models of Valletta, Malta’s coastal watchtowers, the medieval city of Mdina, and the Gozo Citadel. Shawn and I easily whiled away about two hours here.
More –
Admission free.
Fortifications Interpretation Centre (official website) lists opening hours.
Walking Circuit Around the Exterior of Valletta’s Fortifications
While it is common for visitors to traipse along the top of Valletta’s fortifications, not as many tourists realize that it’s possible to explore them around the outside too. Shawn discovered this walking circuit while scouting out jogging spots. This route soon became one of our favorite early-evening walks.
Starting from the Valletta – Sliema Ferry and ending at the Sacra Infermeria, or vice versa, the walk takes you past the Breakwater, a cluster of boat houses, fishing spots, and WWII-era sites.
The war-related structures are the most notable sites and include a Boom Defence, lookout towers, and bomb shelters. The cave-like bomb shelters were carved by Valletta residents to offer refuge during the air raids of 1940 to 1942. The shelters have since been transformed for more peaceful purposes, and are now utilized as spaces to house boats, tools, and picnic furniture. Owing to the number of men that we saw flocking to them on a routine basis, Shawn and I joked that they are Malta’s version of a ‘man cave.’
Please wear sensible footwear and tread carefully as parts of this walk take you over uneven rock and metal bridges. In other words, this area is blissfully devoid of hordes of tourists, and there’s not a paved sidewalk. This is a prime spot to enjoy a picnic too! I’ve created a walking route map here.
Auberge de Castille
Now the office of Malta’s Prime Minister, this stately building housed one branch of the Knights of St. John during the 16th to 18th centuries. Back then, clusters of knights were tasked with defending specific parts of the island of Malta. The knights were grouped together into eight different langues, administrative groups based upon the knights’ respective languages and cultures. Langue is a French word meaning ‘language’ or ‘tongue’.
Knights from the langue of Castile, León and Portugal were housed here, and when Malta was part of the British Empire, the Auberge de Castille housed British armed forces. The structure survived World War II bombings.
More –
Not open to visitors.
Upper Barrakka Gardens
A lovely place to get your bearings upon arriving in Valletta, the Upper Barrakka Gardens offer commanding views of the Grand Harbour and the Three Cities of Birgu, Senglea, and Cospicua. Birgu actually pre-dates Valletta, and is well worth a visit!
The park’s arches date back to the 17th century, and the gardens were once a recreation spot for the Italian branch of the Knights.
Bench real estate is often coveted, but there is a café inside as well. Because the garden was so often inundated with people, Shawn and I often flocked to quieter Valletta gardens (see below).
More –
Admission free.
Upper Barrakka Gardens listing (Malta Tourism official website)
Upper Barrakka Gardens (Wikipedia)
Lower Barrakka Gardens
When I visited Malta for the first time in 2006, I distinctly remember strolling through the Lower Barrakka Gardens, taking in the extraordinary views of Valletta’s Grand Harbour. I found it rather romantic, and wished that I could’ve been sharing the spot with my special someone, whom I hadn’t yet met. Fast forward to the autumn of 2015 and beyond, and that ‘special someone’ and I had moved to Malta!
Not long after relocating to Valletta, Shawn and I went to the Lower Barrakka Gardens to partake in a picnic. As we feasted and watched vessels of all sizes go by, I recounted tales to Shawn from my solo travel days in Malta. Not much had changed in the Lower Barrakka Gardens in the past ten years. The so-called ‘temple folly’ in the neo-classical style was still there, as were olive trees with twisted trunks. They were just a bit more mature.
The Lower Barrakka’s well-manicured lanes are great to explore any time of day, but there’s something especially nice about them at night. I’ll never forget the late-summer evening when Shawn and I watched an Old World vessel lift its elegant white sails and glide past the garden’s rampart walls. It felt like a scene from another age.
Note that during the summer months, you might find the Lower Barrakka Gardens closed to the public, as they are a popular spot for wedding receptions and private parties.
More –
Admission free.
Hastings Gardens
The Hastings Gardens were one of our favorite spots for jogging, walking, or just taking in a splendid sunset. Shawn and I would occasionally bring a coffee or homemade banana bread to Hastings, climb onto a wide section of the mighty fortifications, and watch the world go by on land and on sea.
The gardens take their name from Lord Hastings, who was a Governor of Malta during the 1820s. Built atop Valletta’s formidable bastions, Hastings Gardens are shaded by olive and oleander trees. The park provides a bit of reprieve from the cacophony of honking horns in Valletta, and it offers a silhouetted view of the town of Mdina.
Like the Lower Barrakka Gardens, during the height of summer you might occasionally find Hastings closed to the public, as it’s a popular site for wedding receptions, private parties and community events. Teenagers also flock there with their significant others, so don’t be surprised if you turn a corner and see them locking lips. On such a densely-populated island, there just aren’t many places to go to find privacy!
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Admission free.
Strada Stretta
When elderly Maltese residents heard that Shawn and I lived on Strada Stretta (also known as Strait Street or Triq-id-Dejqa) they usually responded with a hushed “Oh!” Sometimes they smirked, other times they were embarrassed to relay the infamous street’s history to us.
Decades ago, Strada Stretta was the playground of visiting sailors who referred to the narrow alley as ‘The Gut‘. Because Strada Stretta was packed with bars, brothels and lively music halls – offering wine, women and song – many Maltese told me that they were once mortified at the thought of even walking anywhere near it. One woman remarked how embarrassed she was that her father’s law practice was situated there. Another Valletta resident took a more sentimental approach, relaying that her sister met her American husband-to-be on the narrow street.
After the British military’s departure from Malta, and several decades of neglect, Strada Stretta is having a more G-rated renaissance today. A popular television show of the same name has hit Maltese television airwaves. And on the once notorious street itself, restaurants offering everything from tapas to Maltese fare have cropped up. They are nestled alongside wine bars, offices, and abandoned buildings waiting to be restored. The street’s dining and drinking establishments regularly play host to fun (mostly free) musical performances, which are organized by the Strada Stretta Concept.
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Strada Stretta Concept (Facebook page features events taking place on Strait Street / Strada Stretta. During our time in Valletta, we enjoyed classical performances, an evening celebrating French vocalist Edith Piaf, gypsy jazz music, even a saxophonist accompanied by an opera singer.)
St. James Cavalier
&
Malta’s National Centre for Creativity
St. James Cavalier epitomizes the concept of adaptive reuse. The structure was built in the 16th century as a cavalier, but in the hundreds of years since then, it’s been a gun platform, a social spot for British officers, and even a printing press. Today, the austere building – its sole embellishment is a coat of arms – is Malta’s National Centre for Creativity. Inside there is a cinema, theater and multi-purpose halls. Visit the website below to learn about the facility’s upcoming events.
If you’re really into military history, Valletta’s other cavalier (St. John’s Cavalier) is practically identical and situated parallel to this one. It’s now the Embassy of the Order of St. John, the descendants of the Knights who originally built it.
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Malta’s National Centre for Creativity – Spazju Kreattiv (official website)
Grandmaster’s Palace
State Rooms & Palace Armoury
Ever since its construction in the 1560s, this Valletta landmark has served as Malta’s seat of government. Originally built as a lavish palace for the Knight’s grandmasters, the building later served as the official residence for British colonial governors. Until 2015, it was the meeting place for Malta’s Parliament, and today, it’s the Office of the President of Malta.
Inside, there are two sections of interest: the lavish State Rooms and the Palace Armoury. The State Rooms are renowned for the Parisian tapestries dressing the walls of the Tapestry Room. This area was under construction during our visit, so I didn’t get to see the flora and fauna depicted on the tapestries. Still, I enjoyed overlooking the verdant courtyard, and exploring the building’s sun-drenched corridors, with their ornate ceilings and marble floors. We’d lived in Malta for a few months by the time we visited the palace, so it was fun trying to pick out the island’s various landmarks depicted in the paintings.
The Palace Armoury is located in another wing of the building in what was formerly the palace stables. The Knights’ extensive arsenal of arms and armor was moved to the palace in 1604, and while some of the collection has since been ‘depleted’ (between 1798-1800, Malta was occupied by Napoleon’s troops and some looting took place), the armory is still said to have one of the world’s largest collections of arms and armor. As I walked past the large glass cases holding instruments of war, I couldn’t help but notice how everything from breastplates to canons were intricately decorated. The objects were simultaneously beautiful and evil.
Just in front of the Grandmaster’s Palace, on St. George’s Square, concerts, annual holiday parades, and commemorative events are held, such as the 1942 awarding of the George Cross to the people of Malta. If you like pomp and circumstance, the Changing of the Guard Ceremony takes place here the last Friday of each month.
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Palace State Rooms (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
Palace Armory (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
Changing of the Guards (Malta Tourism official website)
Fort St. Elmo and the National War Museum
I often associate Fort St. Elmo with the sweet, but feral felines that call the granaries on the landward side of the structure home. Today, benevolent locals leave mounds of food for the cats on the lids of these 17th-century contraptions. This seems fitting – especially considering that these subterranean pits would have once sheltered a precious supply of grain for the island’s residents. Since Malta was so dependent on food imports centuries ago (it still is!) and because sieges were an ongoing threat, long-term storage options were absolutely essential.
Fort St. Elmo itself was built in 1552 by the Knights of Malta, designed to protect both the Grand Harbour and the Marsamxett Harbour, which together flank the Valletta Peninsula. While impressive in its own right, the star-shaped Fort St. Elmo was and still is dwarfed by the more formidable Fort St. Angelo, located across the Grand Harbour from Valletta in the Three Cities.
During the Great Siege of 1565, when the Knights and the Ottoman army engaged in heavy battle, Fort St. Elmo held out for 28 days – much longer than expected. Though the Ottomans eventually took the smaller St. Elmo at great costs, leader Mustafa Pasha, turned in the direction of Fort St. Angelo and reportedly said, “If so small a son has cost so dear, what price shall we have to pay for so large a father?” A few weeks later, the deflated Ottoman army left Malta.
After the Great Siege, St. Elmo continued to serve various purposes, including serving as a prison during the French occupation (1798-1800) and as a strategic defensive point for the British during bombardments by the Italian Air Force in World War II.
Today, it’s possible to explore select sections of St. Elmo. The compound also houses Malta’s National Military Museum, which focuses on World War I and World War II-era collections, and includes the George Cross. This coveted award was given to the people of Malta for their bravery during World War II. The next time you see the red and white Maltese flag, make note of the George Cross in the upper-left corner.
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Fort St. Elmo | National War Museum (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
Siege Bell War Memorial
The Siege Bell Memorial overlooks Valletta’s breakwater, the Grand Harbour, and the open sea toward Sicily. It is also the perfect place to catch a magnificent Valletta sunrise. It honors the 7,000 people who lost their lives during the 1940-1943 Siege of Malta. During those three years, tiny Malta was bombed relentlessly by Axis powers Italy and Germany. In just two months of 1942, more bombs were dropped on Malta than on London and Dresden during the course of the war. Those statistics are especially dramatic given the country’s small size — about 27 km long by 15 km wide. Thankfully, the area around the Siege Bell is a more peaceful place today, with hobbyist drones replacing combat aircraft, and cruise ships, ferries and private yachts plying the water.
Photo tip: A brilliant spot to capture the sun rising over the Mediterranean (map here).
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Admission free.
Lascaris War Rooms
Situated about 40 meters (120 ft) under Valletta’s Saluting Battery (see above), these underground rooms and tunnels once served as the War Headquarters for the British during World War II. They were opened in 1940.
Top secret during its time, the Lascaris War Rooms housed radar equipment, encryption machines, and rooms for coordinating artillery fire. This allowed the military staff working within to transmit and receive clandestine communications. General Eisenhower used the subterranean complex to oversee the Invasion of Sicily.
During our visit, a dedicated volunteer guide enthusiastically shared the details of his recent meeting with a Maltese woman, now in her nineties and living abroad, who worked in the complex during the 1940s. The woman returned to Malta to see the rooms where she once covertly worked. She shared tales of not even being able to tell her family members about her true place of employment. She also relayed more lighthearted tidbits about trying to look attractive, so that she might be able to catch the eye of one of the foreign officers working there.
Even after World War II drew to a close, the Lascaris War Rooms continued to be used, most notably during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Cold War.
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Lascaris War Rooms (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
Panoramic tour of the Lascaris War Rooms
Lascaris War Rooms (Wikipedia)
National Museum of Archaeology
&
Auberge de Provence
If you’ve explored some of Malta’s temples and wish to complement your visit, or if you didn’t have enough time for the temples but still wish to absorb a little archaeological heritage, then The National Museum of Archaeology is a fantastic stop.
Located on Republic Street, the museum is housed in what was once the Auberge de Provence (residence for the Knights from Provence). There are sections devoted to Malta’s Temple Builders, Bronze Age people, and Phoenician period.
I found the Sleeping Lady figurine, which was sculpted by the so-called Temple Builders, to be fascinating. Though miniature in size, it’s incredible that the statue survived for thousands of years inside the depths of the Hypogeum. So many mysteries exist about this chapter of Malta’s history, and I couldn’t help but wonder who the Sleeping Lady was modeled after, and what she represented? Peaceful sleep? Death?
Aside from this enigmatic figure and the architectural fragments taken from Malta’s temples, my other favorite display was the one devoted to the seafaring Phoenicians. The sarcophagus and description of how the Phoenicians made their noble purple dye by painstakingly extracting it from a seashell, were especially intriguing.
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National Museum of Archaeology (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
Google Arts & Culture, a platform which aims to “democratize access to culture” offers a wonderful virtual reality tour of the museum too.
National Museum of Fine Arts
&
Auberge d’Italie
As I was researching this guide, the country’s Museum of Fine Arts was being moved to the Auberge d’Italie building, which once housed the Italian branch of the Knights. The new location for the National Museum of Fine Arts is said to be three times as large as the former museum. It’s projected to be open to the public by 2018.
If the museum is still undergoing development during your visit, the ornate exterior of the Auberge d’Italie, (particularly the crest and bust toward the top of the building), is worth a quick peek.
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National Museum of Fine Art (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
Pjazza-Teatru-Rjal
From 1866 to 1942, Valletta’s elegant Royal Opera House graced the corner of Republic and South Streets. Sadly, the grand building was mostly leveled during a World War II bombing raid, as this vintage photograph shows. For decades, the site lay in ruins, with only the terrace and parts of the ornate columns remaining. After the war, government leaders couldn’t decide what to do with the site. Indeed, when I first visited Valletta in 2006, the plot of land appeared completely neglected, a bit like long-forgotten Roman ruins.
By 2013, the remnants of the opera house had been transformed into the open-air theater called Pjazza Teatru Rjal that you can see today. Like the sleek City Gate and Parliament, the site is another project designed by architect Renzo Piano. The Teatru Rjal now holds concerts, dance performances and film screenings.
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Teatru Rjal (official website)
St. John’s Co-Cathedral
Built by the Knights in the 1570s, the interior of St. John’s Co-Cathedral dazzles with its baroque opulence. St. John’s inlaid marble floor, comprised of the tombstones of prominent knights, is especially stunning. When we attended a Christmas concert there, the invitation asked that ladies refrain from wearing high heels, so that the precious floor could be protected. When you see the intricately-crafted tombs, you’ll understand why.
A plethora of rich sculptures and paintings cover practically every square inch of the cathedral, making your eye unsure where to rest. The most famous of the paintings is The Beheading of Saint John, painted by Caravaggio. The Italian artist is said to have committed a murder and then escaped to Malta with the intent of producing a painting in exchange for a pardon. He even became a Knight of Malta for a brief spell.
St. John’s Cathedral has eight chapels, one for each of the langues (linguistic groups) that existed during the time of the Knights. See the Auberge de Castille listing above for more information about the various langues. And, if you’re eager to scout out the Knights’ auberge buildings in Valletta and in Birgu (their first base) this list should be helpful.
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St. John’s Co-Cathedral (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
Manoel Theatre
From the outside, the Manoel Theatre looks stately, but not much different from Valletta’s other baroque-style limestone buildings. Step through its main entrance and into the theater though, and this 285-year-old structure is dazzling – bringing to mind a terraced wedding cake.
One of Europe’s oldest working theaters, ‘the Manoel’ was built in 1731 by the Portuguese Grand Master of the Order of St. John, and inaugurated in 1732. In the past, some of the Knights of Malta even performed there. While the venue does not hold performances year-round due to sweltering summer temperatures, it regularly offers behind-the-scenes tours. We enjoyed peeking at the theater’s colossal collection of costumes, while simulating the sounds of rain, wind and thunder using the museum’s 19th century ‘sound machines.‘
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Putting Malta in the Limelight: Valletta’s Manoel Theatre (my blog post)
Manoel Theatre (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
Sacra Infermeria
The Knights’ Hospital
The Knights of Malta are famous for driving away the Ottoman Turks during the Great Siege of 1565. However, what’s less known about the order is its legacy of medical care. When the Knights built La Sacra Infermeria in 1574, it was one of the most advanced medical facilities of its time. The hospital remained open through World War I and into the 1920s, helping Malta earn its title, ‘The Nurse of the Mediterranean.’
The Knights Hospitallers exhibit features models of what the hospital’s wards would have once looked like, and outlines the Knights’ revolutionary medical practices, including the antibacterial use of silver for food service. The farther below ground you venture here, you’ll find shelters used during bombing raids in World War II, and see gloomy subterranean cells where patients with mental conditions were housed. Visually, the most impressive part of the facility is the former ward, which is 155 meters long (roughly 500 feet), and once the largest in Europe. Since the building now functions as a conference center and concert hall, this section unfortunately may not always be open to visitors.
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Sacra Infermeria / Mediterranean Conference Center (official website) lists opening hours & entrance fees.
Malta Experience website You can purchase combination tickets to this audio-visual show and the Sacra Infermeria, or go into the Sacra Infermeria building itself to buy a ticket only for that site. I’ve never seen the Malta Experience show, as Shawn and I only purchased Sacra Infermeria tickets.
National Library of Malta
&
Republic Square
Certainly worth a peek if you are a bibliophile, the National Library of Malta exudes old world charm. In its atmospheric Reading Room, shelves of centuries-old books line the walls from hip to ceiling level. Many of these books and valuables were left to the library by Knights upon their death.
The elegant 18th century-structure, popularly known as the Bibliotheca, is situated on Republic Square, near the outdoor dining area of the opulent Caffe Cordina. It’s the last of the official structures built by the Knights, and for those interested in conducting research on either the Knights of Malta, or Maltese culture and history, there’s a good chance you’ll find the collections fascinating.
If you visit, be sure to bring a passport or other form of identification, as an ID is needed to obtain an entry badge. Photography is not allowed inside the Reading Room.
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Admission free.
National Library of Malta (official website)
National Library of Malta (Wikipedia)
Queen Victoria Statue and Victoria Gate
Having been part of the British Empire for 151 years, Malta still flashes relics from its colonial past. One of the most prominent is the stately Victoria Gate, which faces Valletta’s Grand Harbour side. Constructed in the 1880s, the Victoria Gate replaced its 16th-century predecessor, the Del Monte Gate. We saw crackling oil paintings of the old Del Monte Gate at Valletta’s Museum of Fine Arts and thought it was neat that a marina had sprung up around it, creating a bustling area. It looks like there was once a fountain and fish market nearby there too. Nowadays, the Victoria Gate is a popular place for placid stray cats that lounge under the limestone structure.
The Queen Victoria statue is in front of the National Library on Republic Square. She usually has a flock of pigeons vying for the limited seating space around her crown. Her likeness was inaugurated in 1891.
Nelson’s Hook
Believed to have been installed into a building’s exterior wall by the Knights, this iron hook on St. John’s Street is often overlooked by passersby. Though it has no signs alerting visitors of its significance, the unassuming hook is believed to have first been used to help hoist St. John’s Co-Cathedral’s gargantuan bells in the 1740s. A few decades later, it might have helped facilitate public punishment – propping up a pillory.
Lord Nelson, the curious hook’s namesake, was said to have squeezed his body through the hook after being dared. This supposedly happened in 1803, and thereafter the tale of Nelson’s flexible feat spread. A legend developed in the British Navy that a promotion could be achieved if a service-member succeeded in wiggling his body through the hook, as demonstrated in this vintage picture. Find the hook on this map.
Former Victory Kitchen
During World War II, Malta had more than 40 Victory Kitchens – places from which war-weary families could get food. Back then, families were issued meal vouchers, entitling them to food items like goat’s meat, tomato sauce and beans.
In the early 2000s, a Victory Kitchen sign was unearthed during restoration on this Valletta building. You can find the sign on the Melita Street side of the Clark’s shoe store building. This is right near the intersection with Merchants Street (map here).
General Resources:
Valletta Waterfront | Cruise Port
Technically in the neighboring town of Floriana, the Valletta Waterfront is the port of entry for visitors arriving by cruise ship. From here, you can access the city by taxi, via the Upper Barrakka Lift (elevator), or on foot.
While the restaurants, bars and shops here mostly cater to visitors, this spot still is historical. In the 1700s, the Knights – along with visiting merchants – used to unload their goods here.
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Valletta Waterfront (official website)
Tourist Information Offices
There are two tourist offices in Valletta – one on Melita Street (in central Valletta) and another on the Valletta Waterfront. See the Malta Tourism Authority website for opening hours and contact information.
Transportation
Valletta is known for its steep, San Francisco-esque streets and abundance of steps. While this makes for a picturesque atmosphere, it can also make getting around on foot challenging for someone with limited mobility. In this section, I’ve included information about alternatives to walking: horse-drawn cabs, electric taxis, and a trackless tourist train.
And, if you’re using Valletta as a hub for exploring spots elsewhere on the island, I’ve included links to Valletta’s bus schedule and bus card options, plus ferries to Sliema and the Three Cities.
Taxis – Here is a link to taxi fares from the airport to Valletta and other Maltese destinations. Also, this government page offers guidance on how much taxi fares should cost. We regularly used the bus to get around the islands of Gozo and Malta. However, when we needed an early-morning taxi to the airport from Valletta, we used eCABS. We were impressed with the customer service we received, and the pre-arranged fare was the best I found too.
Bus Travel – Valletta does have a circular bus, which might be useful for getting around Valletta if you have limited mobility or cargo to carry. If you’ll be exploring Malta for a few days or more, you’ll probably want to pick up a multi-use bus card. Depending upon how many days you’re staying, this will likely save you money, and it’ll make bus drivers happy too, since you won’t need to make a cash transaction. Journeys completed within two hours should count as one fare, so save your receipt if you choose to pay with cash. If you’re living in Malta for a longer amount of time, you’re eligible to apply for a residential Tallinja card, which offers even lower fares. Whatever card you choose, use this Journey Planner to map out your excursions. Keep in mind that short distances can be deceiving when it comes to travel times throughout the island! The island is densely populated, and it can take an hour just to go a few kilometers. This is especially true during rush hour, or if there’s just been a heavy storm. (When we first got to Malta in 2015, flooded roads meant that it took us about 2.5 hours to travel just 10 kilometers by bus!)
Sliema Ferry – It takes about 5 minutes to travel from Valletta’s Marsamxett Harbour to the city of Sliema by ferry. This is considerably faster and more scenic than taking a bus! See the Valletta Ferry Services website for a timetable and fares.
Three Cities Ferry | Dgħajsa– The journey time from Valletta to Vittoriosa (known locally as Birgu) is roughly 5-10 minutes. Alternatively, you can travel by dgħajsa, Malta’s version of a gondola. Dgħajsa drivers congregate near Valletta’s Three Cities ferry point. Like its Sliema Ferry counterpart, a ferry or a dgħajsa is a quicker and more enjoyable way to travel from city to city than by bus. Visit the Valletta Ferry Services website for a timetable and fares. As for dgħajsas, on one of our crossings by dgħajsa, Shawn and I met ‘Captain Bruce’ who pilots the Pici. He can be reached by mobile at 99 93 33 77. Alternatively, you can schedule a dgħajsa through this website. (I have no experience with this website.)
Electric Taxi (Smart Cabs) – A fleet of electric taxis exists in Valletta. I’ve never ridden them, but here are pricing and booking details.
Horse-Drawn Cabs – If you’d like to explore Valletta’s perimeter by horse-drawn carriage (karozzin), you can find horse drivers offering their services near Valletta’s City Gate (near the Bus Terminal), as well as near the entrance to Fort St. Elmo. I’ve never done this before, but as you would anywhere in the world, be sure to confirm the price in advance. There are actually signs posted at the pick-up spots, noting the established prices. As of 2016, it was €35 for the first 30 minutes. This is the price per trip, not per passenger. Also, use your own judgment about whether you think the horse is well-cared for.
Tourist Train – Like the horse-drawn cabs, I haven’t had the occasion to ride the tourist train, but I often saw it snake through central Valletta. It might be fun for kids, or practical for those with limited mobility.
Hotels & Apartments
When I first visited Valletta in 2006, short-term lodging options were few and far between. However now, there are lots of properties to choose from.
During my first trip, I stayed at the Casa Asti (affiliate link), a charming guesthouse that’s run by sweet Annie and her family. Nearly 15 years have passed, but the Casa Asti is still welcoming travelers today. (One reader recently wrote me to say that she and her mother had a wonderful stay there!) The Casa Asti is located in the heart of Valletta, making it easy to walk to Malta’s bus station in about 5 minutes. Casa Asti’s address is: 18 Saint Ursula Street.
In recent years, more and more boutique hotels and self-catering apartments have appeared on the scene in Valletta, some occupying pretty old palazzi. Since we lived in Valletta, we never had the need to stay elsewhere in the city. Nevertheless, the following Valletta boutique hotels piqued my curiosity because they look like they offer a stylish blend of old and new:
Casa Ellul
Trabuxu Boutique Living
10 Strait Street
Airbnb is also an option for finding accommodation in Valletta. (If you’re new to Airbnb and sign up using this link, we both get $25 in travel credit. Some readers have mentioned that Airbnb modifies the promotion from time to time, so the figure might be a bit more or less.)
Since Valletta is compact, chances are that you’ll find yourself in a convenient spot wherever you choose to stay on the peninsula. Valletta hosts the island’s main bus terminal, so staying there makes day-trips to sites elsewhere on the island convenient. Even if you’re visiting for a long-weekend or city break, you can see from this guide that there are lots of things to keep you busy in Valletta itself.
While I wholeheartedly recommend staying in Valletta, it might not be a good fit for you if you’re planning to spend most of your time at the beach.
Likewise, some people might find Valletta to be too noisy. At times, we encountered significant noise in Valletta: honking horns, a rambunctious family next door, construction drilling between midnight and 4 a.m. Living on Strada Stretta, where there are wine bars, we expected to hear live acoustic guitar or perhaps the chatter of guests emanating from the wine bars and cafés. But we weren’t prepared for the invasive noise. In short, check to see that your Valletta accommodations have sound-proof windows. Or, be prepared to embrace life in a lively capital city.
Long-Term Accommodation
As for longer-term accommodation, it can be challenging finding a Valletta apartment to rent on a long-term basis. This is because owners prefer short lets (higher profit margins for them), plus only a fraction of the city’s buildings have been restored. The rest of the buildings are derelict, with many undergoing refurbishment. When we moved to Malta in September 2015, I found these practices to be helpful for finding an apartment for a long let:
Work with several real estate agents at a time, and be persistent! At the height of our apartment search, I was calling or emailing about 7 agents on a daily basis to see if any new properties had appeared in their database since our last conversation. Though we had hoped to avoid paying a realtor’s commission, in the end working with an agent was the only way we could find an apartment. As commission, we paid half of one month’s rent; our landlord paid the other half of that commission.
If you can, partner with an agent who specializes in properties in Valletta or the Three Cities. If you are set on living in Valletta, clearly communicate this to your agent. Persistence pays off.
Join accommodation-themed groups on Facebook and publicize that you’re looking to rent in Valletta.
Distribute your phone number to locals within Valletta. At one point, I even went into shops and restaurants to strike up conversations with employees, inquiring if they knew of anyone with a vacant apartment. I got a few leads this way.
If you’re looking for a long-let during the winter months, you might have better luck than someone searching during the summer. Otherwise, keep in mind that many apartment owners are eager to rent their properties on a shorter-term basis, especially during the prime tourist season.
The Valletta 2018 European Capital of Culture designation created a flurry of interest in the city, sparking a ‘seller’s market’. When we were offered a handful of Valletta apartment viewings, we encountered high-pressure sales. Often, a realtor scheduled several clients at once, injecting a feeling of competition.
We paid €675 monthly rent for an 11-month contract. We had a 1-bedroom apartment, with a combined kitchen/living room. Electricity was approximately €65 a month, and water was about €20 a month. Internet was €30 a month for a 30 Mbps speed.
Groceries & Bakeries
Valletta has a fair number of ‘mom & pop’ grocery markets, making shopping for bottled water and essential nibbles rather convenient if you’re staying in the capital. Some cater to locals, while others target tourists.
Though I like supporting smaller establishments, Shawn and I did most of our grocery shopping outside of Valletta, at Lidl or Pavi supermarkets in the town of Qormi. We did this for several reasons. For one, we tended to do a week’s worth of shopping at a time. Also, larger grocery stores outside of the capital have a greater selection, including gluten-free products. I still occasionally popped into Valletta’s small shops when I needed a last-minute ingredient, or to restock our fruit and veggie basket.
In Valletta, I took a liking to a tiny grocery store named Fresh Direct run by Valletta resident, Tanja, who was happy to share details about Maltese life with me. You can find Tanja’s shop at 143, Old Bakery Street, or via the shop’s website.
If you can, go there on a Saturday (before the afternoon closure), and mingle with some of the Valletta locals. I met 83-year-old Richie, a former cabaret performer, who might even have been a drag queen in the 1950s. The ladies at the grocery store told me that Richie can still dance, and that he was quite handsome during his performing days. I also had a chance meeting with a cosmopolitan Maltese diplomat at the grocery store. He was sporting a straw hat – perhaps from his years spent in South America. He seemed thrilled to share historical tidbits about the island. Other down-to-earth locals there were always eager to tell me what Valletta life was like back in the day too. They lamented that it was much better years ago, because there were less people and things felt more private.
However crowded it is, the shopping experience at Tanja’s felt authentic, with people yelling over the counter in a boisterous fashion. They were quick to tell me that they were passionately discussing issues – not fighting!
When I was first writing this guide, Valletta was in the midst of restoring its 19th-century covered market building on Merchant’s Street. In 2018, the Valletta Food Market (Is-Suq Tal-Belt) was officially reopened. This ‘new’ market features eateries and food stalls. Shawn and I peeked inside this atmospheric market before the restoration began, and liked the look of the wrought ironwork. We were happy to learn that the structure would be having a renaissance, after many years of neglect. However, some locals I chatted with back in 2016 expressed regret that it would “not be the same” experience that they once had buying fresh fish, fruit, and vegetables.
Late during our time in Valletta (lucky for Shawn who is addicted to bread!), we discovered Borg Bakery, an authentic bakery frequented by Valletta locals. You can get ftira and Ħobż Malti there, ranging from 25 to 75 Euro cents for a bread bun or sliced loaf of sourdough, respectively. Find the Borg Bakery at 76, Triq San Nikola. It’s at the tip of the peninsula, heading toward Fort St. Elmo.
For sweet treats I found some lovely cannoli (kannoli) at the kiosk near the City Gate entrance. It’s the first stand on the left if you’re facing the City Gate. It’s a dangerous neighborhood for those with a sweet tooth, because it’s situated next to the celebrated imqaret (date treat) stand. Being gluten-free, I didn’t get to try the kannoli or the imqarets, but Shawn and our Maltese friends gave the cannoli great reviews.
Restaurants
As for restaurants, our Valletta picks follow. If you’re a gluten-free eater, as I am, rest assured that several restaurants offer gluten-free pasta options. If you ask, some might even bring out gluten-free bread to accompany your meal.
Wherever you choose, do consider making reservations – especially on weekends and holidays. Also note that many establishments are closed on Mondays.
La Mère (now called TukTuk) – Hands-down, this was our Valletta favorite! Perhaps one reason I liked this restaurant so much is because eating there reminded me of our time exploring India. Couple that nostalgia with a delightful menu of Indian, Arabian and Mediterranean-inspired dishes, kind staff, and a cozy interior, and you have a winning combination. All of the waiters I encountered understood what gluten is, and were able to recommend dishes accordingly. I loved the spicy curries!
D’Office Bistro – Friendly staff, pleasant Mediterranean-style food, complimentary gluten-free bread, and an awareness of what is and is not gluten-free, made this centrally-located restaurant a nice pick. It’s just around the corner from the Grandmaster’s Palace.
Rampila Restaurant – Tucked into Valletta’s fortifications overlooking the City Gate entrance, the setting is what makes this restaurant special! Stepping inside, you might be tempted to dine under the attractive limestone-arched ceiling, but if you can, reserve a table outside on the terrace for lovely views. After dinner, it’s fun to pop into Rampila’s wine bar for a drink. Its walls are studded with wine from around the world, and through the floor’s glass panel, you can spy the old wine cellar below.
Pharmacies
Pharmacies are located throughout Valletta’s main thoroughfare, Republic Street, and on some side streets. Our go-to place for drugstore needs was the Empire Pharmacy, which has a shop on Melita Street and Old Theatre Street. Karen, who works there, was always very helpful and kind.
Post Offices
Valletta’s most convenient post office is situated just across the street from the Auberge de Castille. For other locations and opening hours, visit MaltaPost’s website.
Safety
Crime-wise, Shawn and I never felt unsafe in Valletta. There are occasionally reports about pickpockets in Valletta’s (and Malta’s) most touristic areas. Open grates with drop-offs, low fortification walls, gargantuan piles of dog droppings and wreckless drivers disregarding signs and speed limits probably pose the biggest hazards. I can’t emphasize the poor driving enough, as drivers often do not stop at stop signs or designated pedestrian crosswalks. Unfortunately, news articles about pedestrians and bicyclists being hit in Malta are all too common.
Consult your country’s foreign affairs site for specifics. Here are Malta-specific travel pages for Americans, Brits, Canadians, Australians, and New Zealanders.
Souvenirs
If you’re looking to take home an ink drawing, mug, or set of notecards capturing the essence of Malta’s colorful doors, floor tiles and street scenes, check out the work of local artist Stephanie Borg, whom we met while on a Maltese olive-oil tasting ecotour. Note that her shop is in Rabat (near popular Mdina), not Valletta.
A good gift for ladies who appreciate handmade jewelry is a piece of sterling silver filigree. When my beloved Croatian handcrafted filigree earrings needed a polishing, I sought out The Silversmith’s Shop (on Republic Street). They had stunning bracelets, necklaces and pendants there, and I enjoyed talking to the son whose father started the business. A traditional Maltese symbol would be the Maltese Cross, but there are loads of options. I also popped into other filigree jewelry stores to peek at their work, and one shop-owner confessed that many of their pieces are no longer produced in Malta. Be sure to inquire about where the jewelry is made, if that’s important to you.
The National Museum of Archaeology Gift Shop features items inspired by Malta’s Temple Builders. I thought the shop’s limestone candle holder, featuring the prehistoric people’s trademark swirl design, was neat, but I couldn’t add more weight to our luggage.
If your country allows you to import honey, it could be fitting to bring home a jar as a souvenir because Malta has been known for its remarkable honey since ancient times. Speculation exists that the name Malta even evolved from names given to it thousands of years ago. Numerous stores in Valletta sell honey, but scrutinize your purchase carefully, as fakes are reputed to exist. The best way to determine authenticity is to purchase directly from the beekeeper. Two Maltese beekeepers we met live outside of Valletta, but perhaps you can meet up with them elsewhere on the island. We visited the apiary of beekeeper Michael Muscat (find his contact details and the story of our visit here) and we also crossed paths with beekeeper Ray Sciberras at several community events.
Festivals and Holidays
The Maltese excel at celebrations and fanfare! From a film festival to a baroque music festival, a plethora of special events take place in Valletta year-round. I suggest that you consult the Malta Tourism Authority’s What’s On calendar to see what’s happening during your visit.
What follows, however, are just a handful of Valletta’s most popular festivities. These dates change, so check them before your visit.
Feast Days:
St Paul’s Shipwreck – 10 February
St Augustine – 11 May
Our Lady of Mount Carmel – 16 July
St Dominic – 3 August
Carnival
Easter
Christmas & New Year’s
Notte Bianca
Wine Festivals (Delicata and Marsovin)
Maltese Newspapers
If you want to keep abreast of happenings in Malta before or during your visit, peruse the country’s online newspapers:
The Times of Malta
The Malta Independent
Malta Today
From Maltese apps to a weather forecast website, here are more links to help you plan your stay in Malta:
Valletta 2018 European Capital of Culture
Visit Malta (official tourism website)
City of Valletta website and City of Valletta Facebook page
Malta Yellow Pages
Malta 7-Day Forecast
Malta Apps (recommendations from the Malta Tourism Authority)
Do you need more trip-planning ideas? From an island hopping sailing excursion, to ecotours in Malta’s greener corners, this index highlights all my posts from Malta.
Where in the World?
Photography & text © Tricia A. Mitchell. All Rights Reserved.
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Have you visited Valletta, or do you call Malta home? What are some of your favorite spots in Malta’s capital city? | |||||
9289 | dbpedia | 2 | 11 | https://themaritimeexplorer.ca/2021/11/12/valletta/ | en | Valletta – Malta’s Tiny, Amazing Capital City | [
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] | 2021-11-12T00:00:00 | Valletta is the smallest capitol city in Europe by size, but it packs a lot into its narrow streets. Here's why it is a World Heritage Site. | The Maritime Explorer | https://themaritimeexplorer.ca/2021/11/12/valletta/ | In the last post from our whirlwind tour of Malta with Adventures Abroad, we took a boat cruise around Marsamxett and Grand Harbour getting a close up view of the famous forts that the Knights of St. John used to repel the Great Siege of Malta in 1565. It was a great way to start the trip and introduced us to Jean de Valette, the Grand Master of the order at the time of the siege and the principal architect of the successful defense. In this post we’ll visit the Maltese capital of Valletta which was also the brainchild of this man and his enduring legacy to the world. Please join our small, but mighty group as we take a walking tour of this World Heritage Site.
History of Valletta
Valletta is almost unique among world cities in that it was totally designed and built as one gigantic project over a relatively short period of time – sort of a forerunner to cities like Brasilia and Canberra. At the time of the Great Siege the various forts around Grand Harbour were separate entities with the Sciberras Peninsula upon which present day Valletta sits, a steep largely uninhabited expanse. The attacking Ottomans set up much of their artillery on the peninsula and used it as their base for besieging Fort St. Elmo.
In retrospect we know the Ottomans would never again seriously threaten Malta, but in 1565 the Knights of St. John fully expected further efforts to dislodge them from the island. Jean de Vallette’s conception was to create a citadel out of the entire peninsula, surrounded by high walls that would connect Fort St. Elmo to fortifications on the landward side. Once enclosed, a new city with a rectangular grid of streets would be created within which each of the eight divisions or langues that made up the Orders of the Knights of St. John would build their individual headquarters or auberges as they are most frequently referred to. On top of that there would be the Grand Master’s Palace and the usual excessive number of churches you would expect in the 16th century. Lastly, there might even be room for some merchants and ordinary folk.
The successful defense of Malta from the Ottomans was viewed as a great event all through Christian Europe and the knights got substantial monetary support for their project from various monarchs and Pope Pius V who supplied the architect who designed the city. Incredibly, within six years of the end of the Great Siege, Valletta was substantially complete and the headquarters of the knights was moved from Fort St. Angelo on the other side of the Grand Harbour into the new city. While Jean de Vallette did not live to see his vision come to fruition, dying in 1568, he did get the honour of having the city named for him.
In 1980 Valletta was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site with this brief description of why.
Malta’s capital Valletta is a fortified city located on a hilly peninsula between two of the finest natural harbours in the Mediterranean. The Siege of Malta in 1565 captured the European imagination and mobilised the resources needed to create the new city of Valletta, founded soon after, in 1566. The Knights of St John, aided by the most respected European military engineers of the 16th century, conceived and planned the city as a single, holistic creation of the late Renaissance, with a uniform grid plan within fortified and bastioned city walls.
With this background in mind, let’s start walking.
This is a map of modern day Valletta. The peachy coloured areas are city walls or bastions as the Maltese refer to them with the city laid out in a grid pattern within them. Most of the streets are pedestrianized and only residents and suppliers are allowed to have vehicles within the city. The main street, Republic which is wider than any others, sits at the crest of the Sciberras Peninsula with side streets falling away in either direction. Overall it’s one of the nicest cities to walk I’ve ever visited with a grand total of 320 different monuments and notable attractions.
The main entrance to Valletta is through the main city gate immediately behind the Three Tritons Fountain which is the circular area on the map. Although the fountain dates back to 1959 it has been restored and rejigged a number of times and technically wasn’t officially inaugurated until 2018. It is a very popular place for both tourists and Vallettans to meet up before entering the city.
Walking over the bridge that crosses between the outer and inner walls of Valletta you can get an idea of just how massive these walls are.
The first thing you see on entering Valletta proper is the modern Parliament of Malta building which opened in 2015 and is about the only modern building you will see in the entire city.
Instead of proceeding straight on Republic Street, Chantelle, our local guide, turns left and takes us up these steps towards Hastings Gardens and St. John’s bastion.
While the area around the city gate was fairly teeming with people, up here on the city walls it’s an oasis of green, shady tranquility.
Of the 320 monuments in Valletta the one below might be the most intriguing. It is the sarcophagus of Francis Rawdon-Hastings who was governor of Malta from 1824 until his death in 1826. He was a most interesting man who fought for the British at Bunker Hill and numerous other American Revolution engagements. He was rumoured to be the one who put the dying General Warren out of his misery with a bullet to the head. He later became Governor of India and was successful in a number of wars against the ghurkas as well as securing the island of Singapore for the British Empire. The town of Rawdon, Nova Scotia was named after him by United Empire Loyalists who were rescued by him from a siege of the town of Ninety-Six, South Carolina by a much larger force of American rebels (sieges seem to just pop up when talking Maltese history). Also the county of Hastings, Ontario was his namesake.
The Governor died at sea and his widow returned the body to Valletta and most of it is in that sarcophagus. However, she had his right hand cut off and preserved until she died when it was reunited with hers in death. The things we do for love.
The reward for taking this route becomes apparent when you get to St. John’s Bastion and have this fantastic view of Manoel Island with its large fort and the Lazaretto on the left hand side of the photo. This was a quarantine facility used on many occasions right up until 1937 and as the link notes, Malta was no stranger to epidemics and pandemics long before Covid showed up in 2019.
Also visible from this portion of the Valletta city walls is this somewhat distant monument with its golden eagle atop a scaled Travertine marble column. It is the Malta Memorial that commemorates the 2,297 Commonwealth air men who lost their lives in the Mediterranean theatre of war and have no known graves. There are the names of 285 Canadians on that memorial.
Turning now toward the city and away from the walls, our group comes across the first residences in this city of only just over 5,800 souls and one of the defining features of these homes, the Valletta balconies.
They come in just about every colour of the rainbow and more. Just like the Georgian doors of Dublin or the Jellybean Row houses of St. John’s, Newfoundland, one could spend an entire day or more just making a photo gallery of these balconies. However, I don’t have a day to set aside so you’ll have to come to Valletta and see them for yourself. It’s worth the trip, but I will give one more.
This area of the city is one from which the best views of the dome of the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the tallest in Valletta, can be seen.
From here Chantelle led us up one of the side streets, across Republic and over to Merchant’s Street where there are a ton of restaurants and shops catering to the tourist trade. Looking down toward the Grand Harbour side of Valletta you see one of the most photographed streets in the city. The iconic British post box set in the middle of the narrow alleyway with the many coloured balconies is about as Valletta as you can get.
Not all in Malta is as serene and seductive as the streets of Valletta as we found out upon when we came to the Great Siege Monument on Republic Street which faces the Maltese Law Courts on the other side. As you can see, the monument has become a focal point for protesters, which these type of monuments often are. In this case it is the unresolved assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in October, 2017. She was exposing corruption at the highest levels of the Maltese political and business classes when she was killed by a car bomb. One of three suspects who carried out the killing has pleaded guilty, but the people behind the plot remain largely unknown although one casino magnate has been charged. What is maddening to the ordinary Maltese people is that it was only because of immense international pressure that the investigation was ever seriously undertaken. Many believe that the powers that be were more than a little pleased that this persistent gadfly had been eliminated, but they failed to realize that in dying a martyr’s death she remains as great a force as she was in life.
Just down the street from this monument is the massive Grandmaster’s Palace which encompasses an entire city block. Up until February 2020 this was one of the biggest attractions in Valletta, but except for portions of the armoury, it is now closed indefinitely as it undergoes restoration. There seems to be no timeline for reopening which is always suspicious.
From the outside the palace is not much to look at, quite similar to buildings found throughout Spain and Latin America. The one notable feature is this balcony that extends around the corner of the palace that makes it unique to Valletta..
Around the backside of the building is the entrance to the Palace Armoury which is claimed to be one of the greatest collections of arms and armour to be found anywhere. But as of late 2021, only one gallery is open so there is no way of weighing in on that assertion from personal observation. However, if you do follow the link above you will see some of the treasures that are currently not on display. What we did see was quite interesting, especially this troop of pikemen in 16th century armour.
Also of note was this Ottoman warrior clad mainly in chain mail and not the plate armour of the knights, wielding the classic curved scimitar favoured by the Turks and not the double-edged sword used by the European knights. Pick your poison – stabbed in the guts by the thrust of a Christian sword or slashed and possibly beheaded by the razor sharp scimitar of the Muslim.
The one thing that has been driving me nuts since the visit to the Palace Armoury is the meaning and provenance of these two shields about which I can find nothing on the internet. The fact they are painted leads me to believe they are probably more symbolic than practical, but I could be totally wrong. The one on the right might at first glance appear to feature both the Christian cross and the Muslim crescent, but actually the use of the crescent moon dates back far earlier than Islam and even Christianity. It was often associated with the Virgin Mary. I would love to know who these shields belonged to and what the heraldry on them denotes – a reason to return to Valletta when the entire armoury reopens.
Time for a late lunch. Alison and I go for beer, pizza and a Maltese salad at nearby Eddie’s Cafe Regina and then rejoin the group to continue exploring Valletta.
Our first stop is the Basilica of St. Dominic which is one of the seventeen churches within the walls of Valletta. The official name is The Basilica and Matrix Parish Church of Our Lady of Safe Haven and St. Dominic. Say that ten times. The parish dates back over 450 years and was popularized by sailors who would come here to give thanks after returning safely from a particularly treacherous voyage, whether that be due to bad weather or Barbary pirates.
This church dates only to 1815, the original one built in 1571 being declared unsafe due to earthquake damage in 1780, but is definitely worth dropping into to gaze upward at the wonderful domed ceiling. Things like this can almost give you a reverse sense of vertigo.
This the first of many churches we will visit in Malta. While I am not a religious person, I can and do appreciate the great works of art that religion can inspire.
Our final stop on this first day in Malta is just outside of Fort St. Elmo and should be on every visitor’s checklist. The Malta Experience is a 45 minute audio-visual show that gives one better insight into Malta’s 7,000 year history including the major neolithic monuments we will visit on this tour. It takes place in a small theatre deep inside the bastions of Valletta. | ||||||
9289 | dbpedia | 0 | 73 | https://www.africanmediamalta.com/post/2020/01/10/the-british-occupation | en | The British Occupation in Malta | [
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] | 2020-01-10T00:00:00 | After more than 150 years of presence in Malta, it is obvious that the British have left many marks on the island. The first? The english language is one of the two official languages of the country (with the Maltese of course). And yes, here, almost everyone is bilingual! But that is not all: just walk in the capital Valletta and see the different cafes with english names, or the British letter and phone boxes to realize the presence of the British. Maltese also drive on the left, like in the | en | https://static.parastorage.com/client/pfavico.ico | Africa Media Malta | https://www.africanmediamalta.com/post/2020/01/10/the-british-occupation | After more than 150 years of presence in Malta, it is obvious that the British have left many marks on the island.
The first? The english language is one of the two official languages of the country (with the Maltese of course). And yes, here, almost everyone is bilingual! But that is not all: just walk in the capital Valletta and see the different cafes with english names, or the British letter and phone boxes to realize the presence of the British. Maltese also drive on the left, like in the United Kingdoms.
But why have the British occupied Malta? Remember our last post about the French Occupation. In 1800, the Maltese requested assistance from the British Empire in order to get rid of the French. Once done, the British troops had to return the territory to the Order of Saint John according to the Treaty of Amiens. This was overturned by the Treaty of Paris signed in 1814, so Malta became officially under British control until its independence in September 21, 1964.
The occupation
The archipelago had a strategic position for the British, particularly during the First and Second World War. It was used as a resources suppliers, as well as a hospital. In fact, wounded soldiers were sent for cure to Malta, which was named the “Nurse of the Mediterranean”.
King George V awarded to the Maltese his George Cross, as a recognition for their courage during WWII. In fact the archipelago underwent massive bombings from Germans and Italians, in their fight against the British.
On September 21, 1964, Malta gained its independence. But only in 1974 has it proclaimed the Republic. The British forces remained until 1979, with the closure of their last military base.
Malta, now an EU country also belongs to the Commonwealth. It has kept a visible legacy from the British era, the links between the two countries remain strong. | ||||
9289 | dbpedia | 3 | 26 | https://maltaguide.pro/french-creek.html | en | The Best Mobile Map and Guide Tool if you visit Malta! | [
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Under the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte, the French fleet departed with 30,000 men with the aim of occupying Egypt.
App info: In our app you will find the location, address, opening hours and admission / entrance fee of this spot. If you use the app, you will find additional information and news about this spot on this page.
On 9th June 1798, Grandmaster of the Order of St. John, Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, refused to cooperate with Napoleon's request for water and food supplies.
In response to this refusal, Napoleon immediately ordered Valletta to be bombarded, which ultimately resulted in the French occupation of Malta. The French Creek got its name from this historical event and was the site where Napoleon Bonaparte landed in 1798.
When the dockyard creek became too full they developed this area in the period 1861 up to and including 1909, for maritime purposes and created drydocks 2 and 6 which nowadays are still in full use.
Now there are 270.000 square metres ship-building area. In this area one can find cranes with a lift capacity of 1250 tons. Directly at the entrance there is drydock no 6 with along it Ãa Spica Pierâ.
If cruise ships can not berth at the quay in Valletta anymore than they berth at this quay.
Ships can be built in this area, can be renovated, rehabilitated and/or maintained. One can find here the following mentioned drydocks ( length x breadth x depth in metres and ft. ):
no 2 - 164 x 38,4 x 8,8 ( 538 x 126 x 28,9 ft );
no 3 - 144 x 31,7 x 8,8 with retractable roof ( 472 x 104 x 28.9 ft );
no 4 - 262 x 40 x 8,5 ( 859 x 131 x 27,8 ft );
no 5 - 216 x 3 x 8,5 ( 708 x 27,8 x 9,8 ft );
no 6 - 362 x 62 x 9,3 ( 1187 x 203 x 30,5 ft );
no 7 - 98 x 35 x 3,4 ( 321 x 115 x 11,15 ft ).
As a tool during your journey of discovery through Malta, you can use our information services free of charge. You can do this in two ways, via our website https://maltaguide.pro or our app depending on your operating system, Google Play or Apple Store. Both give you the same information.
âThe Malta magazineâ is the best, ultimate and most comprehensive magazine you can get of Malta.
The magazine is growing fast and will soon contain more than 350 interesting topics.
Find and discover interesting sights and discover the many historical secrets of the country Malta. Find all things to do and places of interest in your exploration.
âThe Malta magazineâ is also convenient whether you are walking, driving a car, or using the hop-on and hop-off bus trip, boat trip, etc.
âThe Malta magazineâ provides you with general information about the sights, Maltaâs beauty, secrets, history and culture, its architecture, fortifications, etcetera and specific information as: what took place here?; When was it built and by whom?; What are the functions of all these.
âThe Malta magazineâ describes also religious subjects, museums, parks, places of interest, public toilets and much more useful information. Interesting texts set up by local experts and additional informative photos make this app distinctive.
âThe Malta magazineâ answers many questions and shows in an easy way to navigate way where the sights are located. A great landmap and citymap made specifically for you, is a great tool. You can immediately see where you are and where the sights are.
In this "Malta Magazine" you will find the location, address, opening hours and admission / entrance fee, general additional information and news about the spot.
Everything in âThe Malta magazineâ is easy to operate, without any knowledge and suitable for young and old.
âThe Malta magazineâ is free while you normally would pay for a guided tour, you may enjoy navigating through Malta on your own terms.
âThe Malta magazineâ is constantly maintained about: attractions which are closed due to renovation, changed entrance fees or opening times, etc. This maintenance costs a lot of money. However, it has been decided not to include annoying advertisements. The âThe Malta magazineâ has no hidden costs.
The skillfielly texts are written by local experts and additional informative photos make âThe Malta magazineâ information provision distinctive. | ||||
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] | 2021-12-13T21:17:00-05:00 | I love Valletta! It is by far the most photogenic European capital there is, in my opinion. Besides the famous Blue Lagoon of Comino, Valletta's images are synonymous with Malta. Surrounded by water on three sides, the city rose out of the Mediterranean as an unpenetrable sea fortress. Like much of | en | https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f4ef170d347c007483edd76/1602959925406-FMLWFX4V8HMV2WJZ07RO/favicon.ico?format=100w | Tuljak! Travel Blog | https://www.tuljak.com/blog/valletta-the-jewel-of-malta | I love Valletta! It is by far the most photogenic European capital there is, in my opinion. Besides the famous Blue Lagoon of Comino, Valletta's images are synonymous with Malta. Surrounded by water on three sides, the city rose out of the Mediterranean as an unpenetrable sea fortress. Like much of Malta, the city is constructed of Mediterranian sandstone and takes on a golden hue of the sun throughout much of the day. The yellow complexion of Valletta and its residential architecture is reminiscent more of a North African city than a European one. It is among the most photogenic capital cities in Europe.
Being the smallest national capital within the European Union, Valletta is a tiny city occupying just a quarter of a square mile. In comparison, that was a quarter of the area of Hoboken, New Jersey. Walking from one end of the city to another took fifteen minutes. Its small size provided us the psychological reassurance that we were unlikely to miss out on important landmarks. The whole city of Valletta has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site; it is a living and breathing outdoor museum. Valletta is just the perfect place to uncover layers of Maltese history.
Knights Hospitaller’s Valletta
Constructed under the order of Grandmaster Jean Parisot de Valette, Valletta was a direct response to the infamous Great Siege of Malta in 1565. The heroic defense of Malta became a tale of epic legend in Christian Europe. During the siege, Fort Saint Elmo at Sciberras Peninsula saw some of the bloodiest actions. Grandmaster de Valette famously said that the defense of Malta rests in the hands of Fort Saint Elmo. It was unsurprising that Valette set up a whole new town on the rest of the peninsula. Following the siege, the order achieved great international prestige. Financial donations flooded in from across Europe, and the pope even sent in his best military engineer, Francesco Laparelli, to facilitate the construction.
As a military order, the Knights Hospitaller certainly did not mess about when it came to military planning and ruthless efficiency. Valletta is the first city planned out on paper from scratch since the fall of the Roman Empire. Though other grid cities were built during medieval times, Valletta was constructed on an entirely different scale. The grid plan facilitates the efficient movement of military personnel. The layout is also conducive to water supply and public sewage infrastructure. According to Laparelli, the grid also facilitates a breeze to combat the unbearable humidity of the summer. Valletta certainly reminds me of Lisbon’s Baixa neighborhood, laid out by a military general two centuries after Valletta. The similarity between the two cities is striking, but the difference in architectural style is just as interesting.
To best appreciate the grandeur and history of Valletta, we made the point to get outside of the city to admire the majesty of its fortification. A state-of-the-art fortification, including many star-shaped bastions, encircled the new grid city. Due to the level of destruction during the siege, Fort Saint Elmo had to be completely rebuilt. Overall, there were four bastions and two cavaliers. Though a few segments of the original walls have been demolished since then, large sections still survive. These walls had anything from water cisterns to magazines and grain storage.
Lucky for us, we visited Valletta right after the inauguration of the long-awaited restoration of Valletta Ditch Garden, which is now named Gnien Laparelli in honor of Francesco Laparelli. The Maltese dug out the ditch to provide not only defense but also happens to be a massive quarry for the construction of Valletta. The former ditch has now been transformed into a delightful park space. With open parks and greeneries being rare commodities in Malta, the residents particularly treasured this little oasis. From the bottom, we could understand how formidable these walls must have been to any enemy.
Admittedly, one of the most unique regulations imposed by the knights was the mandate that corners of each city block must be decorated with statues of saints. By my own accounting, this is the case for about a quarter of street corners in Valletta. All the statues and miniature shrines certainly add many unique personalities to a grid city. For a non-Christian like myself, I got a kick out of the over-the-top religiosity. Valletta is known to have perhaps the highest concentration of churches in the world. With 28 churches, there is one church for about every two hundred residents. In comparison, that is fifteen times more churches per capita than Rome.
Despite the formidable fortification built over the century, it is all very ironic that Valletta fell to the Napolean forces without a single shot. In 1798, the French invaded Malta and met little resistance from the Knights or local Maltese. Amazingly, they occupied the entire archipelago except for Valletta in just one day. Due to the knight’s unpopularity among local Maltese and low morale among the French langues within the order, the French forces could negotiate the surrender of Valletta with Grandmaster Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim. Without firing a single shot, the French managed to end the knights’ 268-year-long rule of Malta. To me, it demonstrated just how fleeting political powers are. All the fortification and glorious history seemed so irrelevant all of a sudden.
Except for a portion of Fort Saint Elmo that is closed for renovation, the entire length of Valletta’s fortification is fully accessible. Walking along the embankment is one of the best ways to appreciate Valletta’s unique geographic position. Without question, our favorite section is just south of Fort Saint Almo. Various terraces provide wonderful panoramic views of the Grand Harbor and the medieval cities of Vittoriosa, Senglea & Cospicua. Part of the fun was taking in all the actions on the water. From massive cruise ships and luxury yachts to traditional Maltese luzzu, the parade of vessels under the Mediterranean sun mesmerizes. I can’t help imagining the scheme of the 1565 siege might have looked like from that very spot.
The British Valletta
The French occupation of Malta lasted only two years. However, the French colonial left important political and cultural legacies on the island. The colonial government abolished Maltese nobility, the feudal system, the inquisition, and the pervasive practice of slavery. France also established the first constitutional government on Malta, albeit a colonial one. But for various reasons, the local Maltese rebelled against the French with aid from the British. In 1800, the French commanders surrendered Valletta to the British after a two-month blockade. Instead of returning Malta back to the Knight Hospitallers, the Maltese petitioned to be administered by the British, thus transforming Malta into a British protectorate.
Unlike France, Britain’s influence is everywhere we look. For a start, all the street signs are bilingual. The British made English the only official language and openly discouraged the use of Italian, a dominant second language for Maltese at the time. Seeing signage for “Archbishop Street” in the middle of the Mediterranean was a weird sensation. Of course, there were plenty of grand public buildings bearing the name or coat of arms of the British Empire, such as the grandiose Victoria Gate. In front of the city library still stands a grand statue of Queen Victoria. But perhaps the most visible remnants today may be all the bright red British-style public phone booths and mailboxes still found all over Valletta today.
Being a desert island, public green is hard to come by in Valletta. One of the most popular places of refuge would be the twining Upper Barrakka Gardens and Lower Barrakka Gardens. This little public greenery seemed like a Garden of Eden in the middle of a parched fortress. These twin parks were opened to the public after Malta's annexation into the British Empire. Recognizing these are two of the most important civic spaces in the city, the British authority was all too happy to cram in all sorts of historical monuments to commemorate the greatness of British Malta. The Upper Barrakka Gardens has plaques for Winston Churchill, Gerald Strickland, and Thomas Maitland. But the grandest monument has got to be the Doric temple at the Lower Barrakka Gardens. This impressive edifice is dedicated to Sir Alexander Ball, a British naval officer who led the insurrection against the French occupation and later became the first civil commissioner, the equivalent of the governor, of British Malta. Alexander Ball is said to be the most beloved British administrator in the history of Malta.
This is arguably the most scenic spot in all of Valletta. From the view platform of Lower Barrakka Gardens, you have a beautiful view of Fort Ricasoli, Grand Harbour, and the Valletta Breakwater. The strategic location of the garden and the monument are important political symbols of British Malta. Just across the street from the garden is the Siege Bell War Memorial. The solemn memorial commemorates the siege of Malta during World War II. Even today, the bell of the memorial, which is said to be the largest in Malta, still rings every day at noon.
Of course, one of Valletta's most famous residents was Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. After their wedding to Prince Philip in 1947, then Princess Elizabeth moved to Malta while her husband was stationed there as an officer of the British Royal Navy. The Queen famously said that her time in Malta was the best time of her life. As a newlywed, she was able to live like a commoner during her two years in Malta. She reminisced when she could stroll the streets of Valletta and buy her own groceries just like anybody else. During those years, the future queen divided her time between Malta and England, where young Prince Charles lived with his grandparents.
From 1949 to 1951, the royal couple lived in Villa Guardamangia, just outside central Valletta. Owned by Philip’s uncle, Lord Mountbatten, at the time, this urban villa still stands today. When Queen Elizabeth last visited Malta in 2015 to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, she famously inquired about revisiting her former home. Reportedly, the owner denied her request at the time, and the house was in a decrepit state of preservation. Fortunately, the villa was eventually purchased by the Maltese government in 2019. A museum by Heritage Malta is now planned for the villa to commemorate the queen’s personal connections to Malta.
The Modern Valletta
As the republic's capital, Valletta is still home to Malta’s main political institutions, such as the National Parliament, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Court of Justice Building. By all accounts, Valletta was largely neglected for decades after Malta became a Commonwealth Republic in 1974. With the departure of the British Royal Navy in 1979, Malta’s economy struggled to find a new footing. Very little construction took place in Valletta in the republic's early years. In 1980, Valletta was given the coveted designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a pivotal moment in the modern history of Valletta; its cultural and architectural heritage became a forefront issue for public discussion.
For me, the most exciting architecture in Valletta is one of the very few modern buildings in the city. Nicknamed the “City Gate Project,” the multi-year renovation project was initiated after the UNESCO designation. The project aimed to revitalize the main entry into the city and put on a new face for Valletta. Designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, the project demolished the early 20th-century city gate and revitalized the bombed-out neoclassical Royal Opera House, which has been in ruin since the end of the war. Rather than bulldozing the ruin, the design team set up an outdoor theater with the shell of the former theater. It is such a beautiful concept, and the result is stunning.
In 2018, Valletta received the title of European Capital of Culture. With a grant from the European Union, the city underwent a massive restoration project. Lucky for us, we enjoyed Valletta in its “prime” nowadays. Aside from the City Gate Project, just about every corner of the city has been spruced up. Looking at Valletta today, it would be hard to imagine that Valletta used to have an unsavory reputation just a few decades ago. Back then, the Maltese capital was known as a place for bureaucrats and a gathering spot for rowdy sailors. Nowadays, the city is blessed with a plethora of boutique hotels and a burgeoning culinary scheme.
Despite the injection of tourism activities, pockets of local life remain alive and well. Valletta feels lived in and authentic, from streetside produce stands to packed parish churches. By most accounts, the locals seem comfortable sharing their amazing city with all the visitors. Honestly, the ongoing popularity of Valletta worries me just a bit. I think the day we saw no laundry being handed out of the Gallarija would be when Valletta became the next Venice. I only hope that day will never come.
Contrary to common suggestions from guidebooks and other travel blogs, we opted to stay in Valletta. Although it may not have the same thriving nightlife in Salema or Paceville, Valletta offers the historical ambiance that made Malta special. Besides the higher cost of accommodation, I could not think of any disadvantage in making Valletta your home base. Conveniently, all bus lines terminate at Valletta’s handy bus terminal. We certainly would not hesitate to stay in Valletta for our next visit to Malta. | ||
9289 | dbpedia | 3 | 67 | https://hmml.org/collections/repositories/Malta/national-library-of-malta/ | en | National Library Of Malta: HMML Repository | [
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] | null | [] | null | National Library of Malta: HMML Repository | en | https://hmml.org/favicon.ico | https://hmml.org/collections/repositories/Malta/national-library-of-malta/ | The Malta Study Center microfilmed several archival collections at the National Library of Malta between 1989 and 1999. The complete microfilm collection contains over 6,500 archival folders, volumes, and registers with records dating from the 12th century through the early 19th century. The primary microfilm project centered on the Archives of the Order of Malta and its two related collections, Treasury A and Treasury B. The project also microfilmed 33 volumes of the Archives of the Università of Città Notabile. Cataloging the Archives of the Order of Malta is an ongoing project, currently focusing on updating information from old repertoires and HMML's Legacy Catalog. Originals are periodically checked to verify data in the records.
Archives of the Order of Malta
The pre-1798 historical archives of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and its central offices are held in the National Library of Malta. The Archives of the Order of Malta (AOM) contain materials dating from the 12th century through the early 19th century, when the French ended the Hospitaller rule on the island in 1798 and the British took possession of the Island in 1800. The archives contain records of the Order's diplomacy, administration, letters of the Grand Masters, historical genealogies of the knights proving their nobility, papal bulls defending or protecting the Order's privileges, and the internal legal documents of the Order, including statutes, visits (visite), land surveys (cabrei), improvements (miglioramenti), property holdings, spoils (spogli), and information about the Order's naval, religious, and hospitaller duties. Records of the French occupation and early British period are found in the collection.
Series 1, Original Documents. Archives 1-72
Series 1 consists of charters, donations, bulls, and letters addressed to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. The materials include information about the Order's properties in the Latin East, original charters issued by kings, popes, and masters of the Order, and individual codices that do not form part of the other series in the archives. The series includes important documents such as the original papal bulls conferring privileges on the Order of Saint John and Charles V's grant of Malta and Tripoli to the Order in 1530.
Series 2, Libri conciliorum, 1459-1798. Archives 73-254
Documents recording the activities and meetings of the Council of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Registers include originals (libri conciliorum), minutes (libri minutarium) and copies of proceedings, deliberations, decrees, and judgments concerning admissions, collations of priories (priorati), bailiwicks (baliaggi), and commanderies (commende), dignities and titles, diplomatic correspondence, instructions for ambassadors and members of the Order, passports, and military, administrative and judicial matters. Records also include indexes, repertories, and abstracts of the Council meetings and decisions. Original documents, letters, petitions, memoranda, reports, and contracts related to the meetings are also included.
vHMML (first record) https://www.vhmml.org/readingRoom/view/215064
Series 3, Libri conciliorum status, 1522-1798. Archives 255-279
Documents recording the activities and meetings of the Council of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Registers include originals (libri conciliorum status) and minutes (libri minutarium conciliorum status) of proceedings, deliberations, and decrees concerning political, military, and diplomatic matters and internal administration of the Order and the Maltese archipelago. Records also include one index, original documents, letters, reports, and briefs related to the meetings. Related documents in AOM series 2.
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/218136
Series 4, General Chapters of the Order of Saint John, 1330-1776, Archives 280-315
Documents recording the activities and meetings of the General Chapter of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Records include originals and copies of proceedings, deliberations, and statutes concerning business and legislation of the Order. Volumes also include summaries of the statutes, rolls, memoranda, and petitions. Related documents in AOM series 1 and series 10.
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/218307
Series 5, Libri bullarum, 1346-1798, Archives 316-633
Records pertaining the activity of the Chancery of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Registers include copies or registration (libri bullarum) and minutes (libri minutarium) of magistral and conventual decrees concerning admissions, collations of priories, bailiwicks, and commanderies, dignities and titles, diplomatic correspondence, instructions for ambassadors and members of the Order, passports, and military and administrative matters. Records also include indexes, repertories, chancery formulas, and chancery taxes and fees. Related documents in the AOM Series 17, National Library of Malta (Valletta) manuscript collection, and Cathedral Archives (Mdina).
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/214549
Series 6, Treasury, ca. 1600-1800, Archives 634-1125
Documents pertaining to the activity of the Treasury of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Records include deliberations and decrees (originals and minutes), chirographs, accounts, expenses, balances, general ledgers, subsidiary ledgers, general journals, donations, responsions, taxes, contracts, pensions, wills, spoils and dispropriamenti, payment orders, salaries, tavole and soldea (maintenance expenses for members). Documents related to the activity of the Congregation of War (Congregazione di Guerra), the Magistral Receipt (Ricetta magistrale), and the Secrecy (Secrezia, Segrezia, or Officium Magisterialis Secretiae) are also included, probably once belonging to different archives. Records include indexes. Series includes individual subseries. Related documents in Treasury A, B, and C collections at the National Library of Malta (Valletta).
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/221433
Series 7, Papal Bulls, ca. 1400-1796, Archives 1126-1181
Documents issued by the Pope and addressed to the Grand Master and the members of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, and preserved by the Chancery of the Order. Registers include copies of papal bulls (bullaria) and original papal briefs granted to the Grand Master and to individual knights concerning confirmation of statutes and ordinances, privileges, graces, and dispensations for members of the Order. Records also include indexes. Related documents in the AOM series 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/219112
Series 8, Petitions, 1603-1798, Archives 1182-1199
Records concerning petitions (suppliche) and requests addressed to the Grand Masters of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Records include rescripts (rescritti) and reports of the jurats of Malta (Giurati), of members, and officials of the Order of Saint John. Volumes include documents related to and in support of petitions. Alphabetical repertory of the volumes is also included.
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/215046
Series 9, Correspondence, ca. 1586-1798, Archives 1200-1648
Correspondence of the Grand Master of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem with ambassadors, priors (priori) and other members of the Order in Europe, European sovereigns, and the papacy. Records include correspondence between the procurators of the Treasury (procuratori del Tesoro) of the Order and the Order's receivers (ricevitori) in Europe, which once belonged to the archive of the Treasury. Related documents also in AOM series 1 and 6 at the National Library of Malta (Valletta).
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/220709
Series 10, Statutes and Ordinances, ca. 1300-ca. 1800, Archives 1649-1712
Documents recording statutes, ordinances (ordinationes), rules, and regulations issued by the General Chapter of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Records also include privileges granted by popes and sovereigns, treaties, summaries, notes, comments, and controversies related to statutes, dignities, privileges, and magistral election. Volumes also contain instructions for commissioners, rolls, and lists of dignities. Related documents in AOM series 1, 2, 3, 4, and in the manuscript and printed collections of the National Library of Malta (Valletta).
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/221251
Series 11, The Hospital, 1590-1798, Archives 1713-1758
Records pertaining to the activities and administration of the Hospital or Holy Infirmary (Sacra Infermeria) of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Records include rules, statutes, accounts, wills, indexes, and lists of personnel. Volumes include printed and manuscript material.
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/212756
Series 12, The Navy, ca. 1500-1798, Archives 1759-1934a
Records pertaining the Congregation of the Galleys (Congregazione delle Galere) and the Congregation of the Vessels (Congregazione delle Navi) of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Records include deliberations, statutes, rules, reports, instructions, accounts, expenses, lists, and rolls of knights and crew.
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/212802
Series 13, The Conventual Church, ca. 1300 -1813, Archives 1935-2084b
Records pertaining to the activity of the Conventual Church of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Records include deliberations, decrees, bulls, death records, trials and controversies, liturgical and ceremonial records, privileges, benefices, regulations, inventories, accounts, legacies (legati), visitations, letters patent, petitions, and reports. Volumes also concern the Bull of the Crusade (Bolla della Crociata) and the printing press of the Grand Master. Documents related to churches, congregations, confraternities, and monasteries of the Order in Malta and Europe are also included. Series includes individual subseries. Related documents in the Archivum Venerandae Assembleae (AVA) fond at the Cathedral Archives (Mdina), in Treasury A and B collections at the National Library of Malta (Valletta), and in the Officium Bullae Sanctissimae Crociatae (OBC) fond at the National Archives of Malta (Mdina section).
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/220318
Series 14, Deliberations of the Langues, ca. 1300-ca. 1800, Archives 2085-2240
Records pertaining to the activities and administration of the Langue of Aragón, Catalunya, and Navarra, the Langue of Auvergne, the Langue of Castille, León, and Portugal, the Langue of England, the Langue of France, the Langue of Germany, the Langue of Italy, and the Langue of Provence of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and the related decision-making bodies. Records include deliberations, correspondence, accounts, rolls, lists, indexes, repertories, acts, accounts, legal documents, trial proceedings, and reports. Series includes individual subseries.
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/221953
Series 15, Proofs of admission, ca. 1500-1800, Archives 2241-5258
Records of the admission procedure for membership to the Langues and related priories in the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Records include genealogical trees, family and church records, notarial records, correspondence, and legal documents from the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Series includes individual subseries.
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/209993
Series 16, General visits, land surveys, and improvements of the Langues, ca. 1400-1800, Archives 5278-6382
Records pertaining to the activities and administration of the Langues of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem related to the foundation, estimation, measurement, and survey procedures of territories, properties, and goods located in the priories, the bailiwicks, and the commanderies of the Order in Europe. Records include lists of properties, drawings, maps, notarial records, and legal documents from the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and the local institutions involved. Series includes individual subseries.
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/235844
Series 17, Miscellanea, ca. 1400-1900, Archives 6383-6576
Miscellaneous records pertaining to the activities and administration of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and its decision-making bodies, the Congregation of War, the Jesuit College, Maltese churches, the Health Commissioners (Guardiani di Sanità), and the French and the British governments in Malta. Records include legal documents, petitions, reports, lists, spoils, dispropriamenti, correspondence, rolls, treatises, account books, repertories, deliberations, historical works, and indexes. Series includes individual subseries. Documents once belonged to different offices and archives. Related documents in the Miscellanea fond at Cathedral Archives (Mdina), in the other AOM series, and in the Treasury A and B collections at the National Library of Malta (Valletta), and at the National Archives of Malta (Rabat and Mdina sections).
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/236644
Treasury A
Miscellaneous collection of documents pertaining to the activity of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, its members and decision-making bodies. Records also concern the Jesuit College, the Monastery of Saint Mary Magdalene, and the Universitates of Mdina and Valletta. Collection includes series and subseries.
Series 1, Archives of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, ca. 1500-ca. 1900, Treasury A 1-151
Miscellaneous records pertaining to the activities of the Treasury (Tesoro or Comun Tesoro), the Assembly of the Conventual Chaplains (Assemblea dei Cappellani Conventuali), the Congregation of War (Congregazione di Guerra), the Secrecy, the Foundations (fondazioni) Cotoner, de Paule, Fiteni, Lascaris, Lomellina, Manoel, Marradas, Marulli, Nibbia, Passalacqua, Perellos, Scappi, Wignacourt, and other foundations of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Records of the Jesuit College, the Monastery of Saint Mary Magdalene, and the Chapel of Our Lady of Philermos are also included. Series includes individual subseries. Related documents at the Cathedral Archives (Mdina), the National Archives of Malta (Mdina section), the AOM and Treasury B collection at the National Library of Malta (Valletta).
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/235651
Series 2, Archives of the Università of Mdina and Università of Valletta, Vittoriosa, and Senglea, ca. 1500-1900, Treasury A 152-188
Miscellaneous records pertaining to the activities of the Università of Mdina (Università della Notabile), the Università of Valletta, Vittoriosa (Birgu), and Senglea in Malta, the Hospital of Santo Spirito in Rabat, and the administration of the cumoli or cumuli di carità, pious bequests and foundations. Records include account books, inventories, and other legal documents. Series includes individual subseries. Related documents in the Archives of the Università at the National Library of Malta (Valletta) and in Mandati Diversi della Chiesa Cattedrale di Malta e dell'Università di Malta series at Cathedral Archives (Mdina).
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/235793
Treasury B
Documents mostly pertaining to the activity of the Administration of Public Property (Amministrazione dei beni pubblici) of the British government in Malta. Registers and volumes include correspondence, decrees, deliberations, petitions, account books, reports, and other legal documents. Land surveys of foundations, Secrecy, Assembly of the Conventual Chaplains, Jesuit College, Saint Paul's Grotto, women's hospital (casetta delle incurabili), Monte della redenzione degli schiavi, and Magistry (Magistero) of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem are also included. 13 volumes are missing. Related documents in AOM series 6, and Treasury A and C collections at the National Library of Malta (Valletta), the Amministrazione dei Beni Pubblici (ABP), Officium Syndicatus Congregationis Munium et Belli (OMB), and Officium Magistralis Secretiae (OMS) fonds at the National Archives of Malta (Mdina section), and the Archivum Venerandae Assembleae (AVA) fond at the Cathedral Archives (Mdina).
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/222813
Archives of the Università of Città Notabile
The Malta Study Center microfilmed 33 volumes from two series of the Archives of the Università of Città Notabile (Mdina). Records contain the municipal privileges, customs, minutes, accounts, charters, and concessions granted to the town council (Consiglio popolare) of Mdina, mostly covering the years 1450 to the Università's suppression in 1818. Records contain information about the maintenance of fortifications, the issuing of licences to businesses and tradesmen, the importation and sale of wheat, transfers of immovable property, taxes for wine (called diritto di scisa, later granted to the Secrecy in exchange of remuneration), meat (diritto di manderano), wheat, bread (bollo sul pane), and properties in Malta belonging to foreigners. Related documents in Treasury A and B collections and AOM Series 17 at the National Library of Malta (Valletta).
Series 1, Scritture originali, ca. 1300- ca. 1800, Università 1-10
Documents pertaining to the activity of the Università of Mdina (Università della Notabile) and its council in Malta. Records include privileges, legal documents, accounts, reports, correspondence, and deliberations.
vHMML (first record) https://w3id.org/vhmml/readingRoom/view/103783
Series 2, Registri degli Atti dell'Università, 1450-1812, Università 11-43
Documents pertaining to the activity of the Università of Mdina (Università della Notabile), town council (Consiglio popolare), and the jurats (giurati) in Malta. Records include deliberations, legal documents, and accounts. | |||||
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9289 | dbpedia | 3 | 30 | https://vassallohistory.wordpress.com/french-blockade/ | en | French Blockade | [
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] | null | [] | 2013-09-25T08:48:56+00:00 | French Blockade Batteries A Blockade Diary from Senglea Uprisings and Revolts A Debt that was never settled On 19 May 1798, a French fleet sailed from Toulon, escorting an expeditionary force of over 30,000 men under General Napoleon Bonaparte. The force was destined for Egypt, Bonaparte seeking to expand French influence in Asia and force… | en | Vassallo History | https://vassallohistory.wordpress.com/french-blockade/ | On 19 May 1798, a French fleet sailed from Toulon, escorting an expeditionary force of over 30,000 men under General Napoleon Bonaparte. The force was destined for Egypt, Bonaparte seeking to expand French influence in Asia and force Britain to make peace in the French Revolutionary Wars, which had begun in 1792. Sailing southeast, the convoy collected additional transports from Italian ports and at 05:30 on 9 June arrived off Valletta. Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, refused Bonaparte’s demand that his entire convoy be allowed to enter Valletta and take on supplies, insisting that Malta’s neutrality meant that only two ships could enter at a time.
Capitulation of Malta to General Bonaparte
On receiving this reply, Bonaparte immediately ordered his fleet to bombard Valletta and on 11 June General Louis Baraguey d’Hilliers directed an amphibious operation in which several thousand soldiers landed at seven strategic sites around the island. The French Knights deserted the order, and the remaining Knights failed to mount a meaningful resistance. Approximately 2,000 native Maltese militia resisted for 24 hours, retreating to Valletta once the city of Mdina fell to General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois. Although Valletta was strong enough to hold out against a lengthy siege, Bonaparte negotiated a surrender with Hompesch, who agreed to turn Malta and all of its resources over to the French in exchange for estates and pensions in France for himself and his knights. Bonaparte then established a French garrison on the islands, leaving 4,000 men under Vaubois while he and the rest of the expeditionary force sailed eastwards for Alexandria on 19 June.
During his one week stay, général Buonaparte issued no fewer than 10 Orders or Ordinances embodying 98 Articles, to ensure that Malta now belonged to the French Republic. French was made the official language. The articles included the dismissal of the Order, the mandatory wearing of the tricolour cockade, the abolition of the slavery, the liberation of the buonavogli, the abolition of the University and the creation of a central school, religious freedom for the Orthodox Greeks and the Jews, compulsory schooling.
The Ordinances Napoleon issued can be grouped in four categories (see table below). His reforms were based on the principles of the French Revolution. But the French did not have enough time to put these reforms to practice.
A brand new government was composed of nine Maltese notables and the Chief French Commissary Regnaud de Saint-Jean- d’Angély. The Palace Square became place de la Liberté, and streets took the name of rue de la Félicité Publique, rue des Droits de l’Homme ou rue Napoléon Bonaparte. On 18 June, he was on board l’Orient with the treasure of the Knights worth five million francs in gold and one million in silver plates. On 19 June, the expedition set sail for Egypt, leaving général de division Vaubois, appointed Commandant en chef des Isles de Malte et du Goze, to defend the islands with 3,053 men, 5 companies of artillery and a medical unit. At first the French tried to win the support of the Catholic Church, but quickly the Maltese Church found itself nearly abolished: papal jurisdiction abolished, prohibition of the consecration of new priests under the age of thirty, and expulsion of all priests, regular clergy and nuns who were not native of Malta. Additionally, civil marriage was declared to be legal.
Maltese uprising
The Maltese were soon disgusted by their new masters. Outraged by the plundering of their churches, and faced by an unprecedented economic and financial crisis that had been precipitated by the draining of most of the cash. On 2 September, this anger erupted in a popular uprising during an auction of the Mdina Carmelite church property, and within days thousands of Maltese irregulars had driven the French garrison into Valletta. Soon the two islands were in a state of full rebellion, and the Maltese formed a National Assembly. They dispatched to a petition to King Ferdinand, their official Suzerain, in Naples, to help them in their struggle against the French. Though Ferdinand promised much, he did little, soon having enough on his own plate to worry much about his loyal Maltese subjects. Valletta was surrounded by approximately 10,000 irregular Maltese soldiers led by Emmanuele Vitale and Canon Frangisk Saverio Caruana. The Maltese were armed with 23 cannon and a small squadron of coastal gunboats. Although there was intermittent skirmishing between the garrison and the Maltese, the fortress was too strong for the irregulars to assault. On 19 September, a Portuguese squadron of four ships, Principe Réal, Rainha de Portugal, San Sebastian, and Alfonço Albuquerque, under the command of the Marquis Pinto-Guedes de Nizza Reale, appeared off Malta, and the blockade began. The squadron had been sent by St. Vincent from Cadiz to reinforce Nelson, but had arrived off Alexandria too late to take a part in the battle of the Nile.
The Portuguese ships returned to the blockade of the island in October. On 25 September 1798, a British convoy consisting of 13 battered ships under Captain Sir James Saumarez appeared off the island. Survivors of the Battle of the Nile, they were in urgent need of repair and unable to directly assist in the siege. Nevertheless, Saumarez met with representatives of the Maltese and on 25 September, sent an offer of truce to Vaubois on their behalf. Vaubois replied “Vous avez, sans doute, oublié que des Français sont dans la place. Le sort des habitans [sic] ne vous regarde pointe. Quant à votre sommation, les soldats français ne sont point habitués à ce style” (“You might have forgotten that the French hold this place. The fate of the inhabitants is none of your concern. As for your ultimatum, French soldiers are not accustomed to such a tone”). Unable to persuade the French to give in, Saumarez instead provided the Maltese forces with 1,200 muskets with which to continue the siege. Saumarez, unable to delay repairs any longer, sailed for Gibraltar at the end of the month. On 4 October, Nelson sent his orders to Alexander Ball:
You are hereby required and directed to proceed in his Majesty’s Ship Alexander, under your command, off the Island of Malta, taking with you the Ships named in the margin (Terpsichore, Bonne Citoyenne and Incendiary), whose Captains have my orders to follow your directions, and to use your endeavour to blockade the Ports of that Island, so, as to prevent any supplies getting in them for the French troops, as well as to prevent the escape of the French Ships now in that place…
From then on, the destinies of Alexander Ball and of Malta would be inextricably entangled. On 12 October, the British ships of the line HMS Alexander under Captain Alexander Ball, HMS Culloden under Captain Thomas Troubridge and HMS Colossus under Captain George Murray joined Niza’s ships off Malta, marking the formal start of the blockade. On the same day, Vaubois withdrew the last of his soldiers into the fortified new city of Valletta, accompanied by approximately 100 Maltese nationals who had joined the French forces. The garrison numbered over 3,000 men and initially at least was well supplied. In the harbour lay the ships of the line Dégo and Athénien and the frigate Carthaginoise, all of which were former ships of the Maltese Navy, as well as the newly arrived Guillaume Tell and frigates Justice and Diane, survivors of the Battle of the Nile under Rear-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, which had reached Malta at the end of September. On 24 October, the Vanguard, in company with the Minotaur (74, Captain Thomas Louis), arrived with Nelson on board. He confirmed his orders to Ball and added the Audacious and the Goliath to the blockade.
Capture of Gozo
On 24 October, after a ten day passage from Naples, Nelson joined the blockade squadron in HMS Vanguard accompanied by HMS Minotaur. On 28 October, Ball successful completed negotiations with the French garrison on the small island of Gozo, the 217 French soldiers there agreeing to surrender without a fight and transferring the island, its fortifications, 24 cannon, a large quantity of ammunition and 3,200 sacks of flour to the British. Although the island was formally claimed by King Ferdinand of Naples, it was administered by British and Maltese representatives, whose first action was to distribute the captured food supplies to the island’s 16,000 inhabitants. Malta and the surrounding islands were not self-sufficient and quickly the challenge of feeding the population became a strain on the islands’ resources, particularly with so many men under arms. Although now formally in command of the islands, King Ferdinand refused to assist with supplies, and the responsibility was left to Ball and his captains to arrange for the transport of supplies from Italy. By the end of the year, the number of Maltese troops in the field had fallen from 10,000 to 1,500, supported by 500 British and Portuguese marines from the blockade squadron. The blockade fleet, consisting of five British and four Portuguese ships, operated from St. Paul’s Bay and Marsa Sirocco (now Marsaxlokk) on the island of Malta itself.
Blockade
1799 was a frustrating year for the British and Maltese forces deployed against Malta, as efforts to secure sufficient forces to prosecute the siege were repeatedly denied. Major-General James St Clair-Erskine, commander of British Army forces in the Mediterranean, considered the on going War of the Second Coalition in Italy and the defence of Minorca to be higher priorities than Ball’s siege, while the defeated Neapolitans continued to refuse assistance. A Russian squadron under Admiral Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov briefly appeared off the island in January, but was almost immediately ordered to join the Russian and Turkish forces besieging the island of Corfu. In addition to the difficulties the Allies faced in obtaining food for the Maltese population, the French succeeded in bringing supplies through the blockade in the early part of the year: in January 1799 a schooner reached Valletta from Ancona, and in February the frigate Boudeuse evaded the blockade and entered the port with supplies from Toulon. In May, a major French expedition under Admiral Etienne Eustache Bruix entered the Western Mediterranean, forcing Nelson to recall his scattered fleet from across the region, temporarily raising the blockade of Malta. During this operation a number of French supply ships took advantage of the absence of the British squadron to enter Valletta. However, despite these occasional supply ships, the French garrison was rapidly running out of food. To conserve resources, the French forced the civilian population out of the city; the civilian population dropped from 45,000 in 1799 to 9,000 by 1800. Nelson himself took nominal command of the blockade, while Ball was made president of the Maltese National Congress. As liaison between the Maltese military and civilian commanders, he directed the distribution of supplies to the Maltese population, which was beginning to suffer from disease brought about by food shortages. He was replaced on Alexander by his first lieutenant, William Harrington. On 1 November Nelson again offered terms of surrender to Vaubois, and was again rebuffed, with the reply “Jaloux de mériter l’estime de votre nation, comme vous recherchez celle de la nôtre, nous sommes résolus défendre cette fortresse jusqu’à l’extrémité” (“Keen to deserve the esteem your nation, as you seek that of ours, we are resolved to defend this fortress until the end”). By this point, Nelson was conducting the blockade at a distance, based at the Neapolitan court in Palermo. There he indulged in gambling and social engagements, becoming closer and closer to Emma, Lady Hamilton, wife of the ambassador Sir William Hamilton. His behaviour was heavily criticised, not just by his commanding officer Vice-Admiral Lord Keith, who had recently replaced Earl St Vincent, but also by old friends such as Thomas Troubridge, who wrote to him “If you knew what your friends feel for you I am sure you would cut out all the nocturnal parties . . . I beseech your Lordship, leave off”. In December 1799, Erskine was replaced by Lieutenant-General Henry Edward Fox, who immediately redistributed 800 troops from the garrison at Messina to Malta under Brigadier-General Thomas Graham. These troops filled the gap left by the withdrawal of Portuguese forces, which had been ordered to return to Lisbon. Disease began to spread within the city as rations became scarcer. The arrival of an aviso in January 1800 with the news of the events of 18 Brumaire that made Bonaparte First Consul of France prompted a brief respite and a public statement from Vaubois that the city would never be surrendered, although conditions continued to deteriorate.
Starvation and relief
At the beginning of February 1800, the Neapolitan government, reinstated in Naples after being expelled the year before, finally agreed to participate in the siege and 1,200 troops were embarked on a squadron led by Vice-Admiral Lord Keith’s flagship HMS Queen Charlotte and landed on Malta. For a time, both Keith and Nelson remained with the blockade squadron, which consisted of six ships of the line and several British and Neapolitan frigates. On 17 February a message arrived with the squadron from the frigate HMS Success, which had been stationed off Sicily to watch for French reinforcements. Captain Shuldham Peard reported that he was shadowing a squadron of six or seven French ships sailing in the direction of Malta. These vessels were a relief squadron, sent from Toulon with extensive food supplies and 3,000 additional troops under Contre-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Perrée in Généreux, one of the ships of the line that had escaped at the Nile two years earlier. On 18 February, the convoy was sighted by lookouts on Alexander. In the ensuing chase, Success captured a French transport and attacked the much larger Généreux. Although the frigate was damaged in the exchange, Success’ second broadside mortally wounded Perrée and delayed the ship of the line long enough for HMS Foudroyant, under Lord Nelson, and HMS Northumberland to join the battle. Heavily outnumbered, Généreux surrendered. Shortly after the capture of the Généreux, Keith returned to the Italian coast in Queen Charlotte, where his flagship was lost in a fire that killed more than 700 of its crew, although Keith was ashore at the time.[28] Before departing, Keith issued strict instructions to Nelson that he was not to return to Palermo, but was to confine any shore leave in Sicily to Syracuse. Nelson ignored the order and by late March was in Palermo conducting an open love affair with Emma Hamilton. In his absence, Troubridge took over command of the blockade, delegating temporarily to Captain Manley Dixon. Dixon led the squadron on 31 March when Guillaume Tell attempted to break out on Valletta under Decrés. Spotted by the frigate HMS Penelope under Captain Henry Blackwood, Guillaume Tell was chased northwards and engaged by first Penelope and then by Dixon’s HMS Lion, driving both ships back but suffering severe damage. Eventually the arrival of the powerful Foudroyant under Captain Sir Edward Berry proved too much for Decrés, but he continued fighting for another two hours before he was forced to surrender his battered and dismasted ship; in the engagement, he lost more than 200 men killed and wounded.
Nelson’s cruise
In the aftermath of these defeats at sea, and with the food supply in Valletta dwindling, the British sent another demand for capitulation. Vaubois again refused, with the reply “Cette place est en trop bon état, et je suis moi-même trop jaloux de bien servir men payset de conserver mon honneur, por écouter vos propositions.” (“This place is in too good a situation, and I am too conscious of the service of my country and my honour, to listen to your proposals”). In reality, the situation was dire: during February, prices of basic foodstuffs stood at 16 francs for a fowl, 12 francs for a rabbit, 20 sous for an egg, 18 sous for a lettuce, 40 sous for a rat and six francs per pound for fish. For the civilian typhus patients, the only food available was a horse-flesh soup. On 23 April, Nelson departed Palermo in Foudroyant, with both Sir William and Emma Hamilton on board as his guests. The party visited Syracuse and then travelled on to Valletta, where Berry took Foudroyant so close to the harbour that the ship came under fire from the French batteries. No hits were scored, but Nelson was furious that Emma had been taken into danger and immediately ordered Berry to withdraw. His anger was exacerbated by Emma’s refusal to retire from the quarterdeck during the brief exchange.[34] From there, Foudroyant anchored at Marsa Sirocco, where Nelson and Emma lived together openly and were hosted by Troubridge and Graham. Sir William Hamilton, a prominent antiquarian as well as a diplomat, spent his time exploring the island. By early June, Nelson and his party had returned to Palermo, the beginning of a lengthy overland journey across Europe to Britain. Nelson also detached Foudroyant and Alexander from the blockade, again in defiance of Keith’s explicit orders, to assist the Neapolitan royal family in their passage to Livorno. Enraged at Nelson’s disobedience, Keith publicly remarked that “Lady Hamilton has had command of the fleet long enough”. In May, Troubridge returned to Britain and was replaced in command by Captain George Martin, while Graham was superseded by Major-General Henry Pigot.
Surrender
The British blockade continued to prevent French efforts to resupply Valletta during the early summer of 1800, and by August the situation was desperate: no horses or pack animals, dogs, cats, fowls or rabbits still lived within the city, the cisterns had been emptied and even firewood was in short supply. So desperate was the need for wood that the frigate Boudeuse, trapped by the blockade, was broken up for fuel by the beleaguered garrison. With defeat now inevitable, Vaubois gave orders that the frigates Diane and Justice were to attempt a breakout for Toulon, the frigates given minimal crews of approximately 115 men each. On 24 August, when the wind was favourable and the night dark enough to obscure their movements, the frigates put to sea. Almost immediately, lookouts on HMS Success sighted them and Captain Peard gave chase, followed by HMS Genereux and Northumberland. Diane under Captain Solen was too slow and Peard soon overhauled the under strength French ship, which surrendered after a brief exchange of shot. The frigate later became HMS Niobe. Justice, under Captain Jean Villeneuve, was faster however and outran its pursuers, eventually making Toulon, the only ship from Malta to do so during the siege. On 3 September, with his men dying of starvation and disease at the rate of more than 100 a day, Vaubois called a council of his officers at which they unanimously decided to surrender. The next day, envoys were sent to the British and in the afternoon General Pigot and Captain Martin signed the agreed terms with Vaubois and Villeneuve. The Maltese were excluded from negotiations entirely, although their commander, Alexander Ball, subsequently became the first Governor of Malta. The terms of the surrender were absolute: the island, its dependencies, fortifications and military supplies were all turned over to British control. This included the ships of the line Athenien and Dégo and the frigate Carthagénaise, although only Athenien was of sufficient standard to be incorporated into the Royal Navy, becoming HMS Athenienne. The other ships were broken up in their berths. Two merchant ships and a variety of smaller warships also were taken. The capture of Malta returned control of the central Mediterranean to Britain and was an important step in the invasion and liberation of Egypt from French rule in 1801. An essential condition of the Treaty of Amiens in the same year, which brought an end to the French Revolutionary War, was that the British leave Malta. Russian Tsar Alexander I had a long standing claim to the island as titular head of the Knights of St. John, and demanded that it be turned over to Russian control before agreeing any alliance with Britain. Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger flatly refused, and the Napoleonic Wars with France began soon afterwards, in part due to the failure of Britain to comply with this clause of the treaty. The island subsequently remained in British hands until its independence in 1964.
PERSONALITIES DURING THE FRENCH BLOCKADE
Dr Charles J. Boffa
Cavaliere Vincenzo Borg
Cavaliere Vincenzo borg (Braret) was one of the leading merchants of the time and hailed from Birkirkara. He as a popular figure and was describedby his contemporaries and in a British despatch as a man of much drive and energy. When the uprising commenced, he was chosen by the inhabitants of Birkirkara and Mosta as their leader. He took charge and organised the largest battalion of Maltese volunteer troops from his area and tackled problems head on.
He had a fairly good educational background by the standards of those times and was generous with the workers who worked for him in his business before the uprising commenced.
He had an intense desire to rid Malta of the French. This desire and his courage in a difficult situation led to an impressive performance. Although he could not be described as a very tough man, he had plenty of stamina and his qualities of leadership were obvious. He contributed a lot to the defeat of the French. Two years later he clashed with Captain Ball. However in later years he was created CMG Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George.
Canon Frangesco Caruana
Canon Frangesko Caruana had previously been a member of the French Commission of Government, but realized that the French were abusing their their powers in various ways, were harming the church’s jurisdiction and religion and that this should be stopped.
He was well known for his pastoral work, good sermons, will power and high sense of duty towards his country. He played a very important part against the French.
According to Captain Ball, he was very able and intelligent, but at times tended to assume too much power and ignore his deputies. While the insurgents had elected Notary Emanuele Vitale as general in command of the troops and village battalions, the people of Zebbug and Siggiewi refused at first to recognise him as such and considered Canon Caruana as their leader. Vincenzo Borg intervened and emphasised that unity was vital. Harmony was restored in due course.
Mgr Caruana had a high academic background and was appointed Rector of he University after the French left Malta. He was appointed Bishop of Malta thirty years later.
Notary Emanuele Vitale
The other outstanding leader was a very competent professional man – Notary Emanuele Vitale who was involved in activities against the French from the beginning of the Uprising.
He took a keen interest in the public sector and being a legal man, understood fully the radical changes which the French had introduced. He had a strong following at Rabat, Mdina, Dingli, Attard and Qormi.
It takes dedication, hard work and natural born talent to rise and be titled as General during a period of hostilities. An intelligent man, he managed resources effectively, including time and skills. He was a man of action and worked tirelessly for what he felt convinced to be the best interests of the Maltese; employing his skills to keep up the morale of his troops, especially in the beginning when they were short of muskets, guns and adequate rations.
Because of his sustained efforts and his being regularly in the field with his men, he had to give up nearly all his professional work as notary. Previous to the insurrection, sometimes he used to go hunting with friends and could shoot well.
Notary Vitale was appointed Governor of Gozo on 20th August 1801.
Dun Mikiel Xerri
As Professor of philosophy at the Seminary and of Mathematics at the University, Dun Mikiel Xerri was one of the foremost academics of his times. He was a gifted speaker and had a good rapport with Maltese at various levels and with students. He was well known for his exemplary life. He had an inner strength, imperturability, resolution and inspired his colleagues and others with a quiet confidence.
He lost his good life aged 60 for his ideals. He was promised a free pardon if he would reveal the names of others who were involved in the plot to infiltrate into Valletta and overthrow the French. “I am here to answer for my actions … and not to be the spy of my countrymen … I am guilty oand ready to die”.
He faced death unflinchingly.
“A man is as great as his love of his country, faith and courage.”
Brigadier General Thomas Graham
One of Captain Ball’s first initiatives during early 1799 was to request Colonel Graham then in Messina in command of the British garrison who were to strengthen the defence with other Sicilian and Italian troops, to transfer his to Malta. This was done in due course and he integrated his troops with Maltese ones along the defence lines and took overall command.
Who was Thomas Graham? He had a distinguished career in the British army had served in previous campaigns, gaining a lot of experience under battle conditions and man management. “He was tall, of a goodly presence and muscular frame and capable of great fatigue. He tended to discuss problems with both Maltese and British officers and when visiting troops on duty made it a point to say words of encouragement and appreciation. His easy and cultivated manners, his kindly disposition, his high sense of integrity and honour rendered him popular wherever he went”.
He served with the Austrian army in Italy in 1796-7 and escaped from Mantna when besieged by the French. He helped Sir Charles Stuart to win Minorca.
The rank of Brigadier General held good only during his service in Malta. In 1837, together with Vice Admiral Sir G. Martin, Sir T. Graham was invested GCMG by the King, mainly for services which had been rendered in Malta.
Guglielmo Lorenzi
Captain Guglielmo Lorenzi was a Russian corsair who had settled in Malta since he was a young man. Earlier in his career, he had been given the honorary title of Colonel in recognition of his performance while commanding some ships during a previous war between Russia and Turkey. He was living at Valletta, was well off and generous with poor people and the elderly. He was the top leader who planned to overthrow the French administration in Valletta and some secret meetings were held at his summer residence at Pieta’.
He was a hardened warrior and courageous, he had spent many years of his life at sea and taken part in sea battles. Although 64 years of age, he knew no fear.
There is a parallel with Dun Mikiel Xerri in his attitude before the military tribunal after being arrested. Like Dun Mikiel, he refused to betray his Maltese accomplices, There is no doubt that there were other Maltese who were involved and were not caught. If Lorenzi and Xerri had divulged names, others would have been condemned to death.
Before being shot, Captain Lorenzi prayed and wanted Roman Catholic rites. Before the firing squad, Lorenzi remained calm and did not show any fear or perturbance. It is likely that he was buried in the cemetery at St. Publius, Ploriana, with others who were executed.
Luca Azzopardo
Luca Azzopardo, a hawker who used to sell agricultural produce and other items, was involved in the planned uprising. He was a good marksman and an energetic person. When the French started arresting those people supporting Mikiel and Lorenzi, somehow he managed to avoid capture and later escaped to countryside.
Two others who managed to avoid capture were Paolo Greco and Xmun Gili. It is surmised that they swam at night from Valletta to Kordin.
Gejtano Balzan
In 1797, Gejtano Balzan was a senior official who managed the Cotton division in the Customs Department and part-time commanding officer of the Siggiewi militia. He was a very capable and influential person who led by word and example. Soon after the insurrection began, he was deeply involved in the campaign and participated in actual fighting. Besides, he also served as the administrative-cashier at the San Guzepp army camp. He was awarded the Silver Medal.
Between 1800 and 1814, he continued serving as a captain in the Militia and in 1814, he was appointed the senior police officer of the area of Siggiewi – Imqabba and Qrendi.
Mattew Bonavia
Mattew Bonavia had been trained and had wide experience in civil engineering and also management as he had served as clerk-of-works with leading architects of his times, under the Order of St. John. He seems to have socialised, probably because his expertise, among higher circles and was well known among skilled workers,
He opposed the French occupation and was imprisoned at Tigne from where he managed to escape with a colleague and gave service on land with the British forces.
He accompanied Canon Francesco Caruana and other representatives of the Maltese, and acted as an interpreter aboard Nelson’s flagship off Malta when the Maltese sought the assistance of Great Britain and pressed him to take action.
He took an active part in what was going on and got on well with the workers and troops he commanded. Apparently, Bonavia made a very good impression on senior British and Neapolitan officers as he was entrusted with the construction of some defence works – one of these being a ditch on the landward side of San Lucjan Tower in Marsaxlokk. Furthermore he was placed in charge of parties
Maltese workers entrusted with the unloading of stores from British warships and craft at Marsaxlokk. His valuable service is mentioned in one of the British dispatches.
At least on two occasions, General Graham and Captain Ball sought his opinion and services. He was awarded the medal for meritorious services and a commendation. Captain Ball offered to recommend him for a commission as a regular army officer. After the French were defeated, Mattew Bonavia was attached to the Royal Engineers’ department and was involved in various activities. He served with distinction as adjutant to the company of Maltese sappers, miners and tradesmen until he retired in 1814.
Pietru Buttigieg
Pietru Buttigieg, a notary by Profession joined the protesting Maltese from his village of Zebbug, which had a population of approximately 4300, but which later increased by about another 700 refugees from Valletta and the Three Cities. By word and example, Dottore Buttigieg together with Canon F. Caruana – one of his closest friends, encouraged the peasants and villagers to join the village battalion and began at once to help in the organization and future of the men under arms. The village battalion increased in numbers and efficiency with a total of nearly 500.
These included a substantial number who had previously served in the Militia and Cacciatori and included four officers, 15 sergeants and 15 corporals with previous military experience.
Notary Buttigieg was a man of scholarship, intelligence and a born leader. He took an active part and put in an appearance often at the defence posts to attend to the needs of the men. Because of his activities, he disrupted his professional practise and even helped financially in the war effort.
Although he was not a military officer, he was physically present, during the planned attack on part of the Cottonera lines, with a large party of Zebbugin and many others from other villages, hidden at Fgura in the fields where the Tal-Karmnu chapel once stood and in Wied Blandun. From here they had to synchronise their advance towards the Ghajn Dwieli area, where the climb was due to be attempted, approximately 130 metres to the North of the present Ghajn Dwieli tunnel.
The assault did not turn out well and was a failure. Dr. Buttigieg retreated with the rest when the French concentrated their fire as well as on Wied Blandun, the inlet at Bormla, Fgura and Tal Borg.
Although as village representative on the National Congress, he exercised discipline, if anyone was in difficult straits he was there to help altruistically.
Michele Cachia
Michele Cachia – military and civil engineer, was chosen by the inhabitants of Zejtun as their leader. During the times of the Order of St. John, he was active on a part-time basis, in the militia as a senior officer and adjutant of the village battalion. In 1787 he spent a few months in Rome and Naples to broaden his expertise in architecture. He was involved in various dangerous activities against the French.
He was the mastermind with a few others who organised a system of sending messages by means of coloured flags and banners which were hung on the Zejtun church and other vantage points such as at San Lucjan – Marsaxlokk, the Ghaxaq and Luqa churches, Zabbar , etc.
When Brigadier General Graham set up his headquarters at Palazzo d’Aurel at Gudja, Michele Cachia who knew the terrain of the landscape well, was asked by Graham and other senior officers to give them advice. He also supervised the construction of the batteries at Tal Borg and Kordin. Michele combined expertise and tireless energy,
Michele Cachia is mentioned in a dispatch from the civil commissioner Charles Cameron. “He was involved in the construction of all the batteries and contributed money towards the expense of the war. He is famed for his wisdom in counsel. His integrity and talents have acquired him a great reputation and the entire confidenvce of the people of every description”. Michele Cachia was one of the Maltese who proceeded to England to present a petition to the British Foreign Office in December 1801. Some information about each personality was passed on to London. He was awarded the Gold Medal for highly meritorious services and a special commendation by General Graham. The house with some structural alterations where Mikiel Cachia resided in Zejtun is now known as Juventutis Domus.
Michele Cachia served in the public service during Sir Alexander Ball’s admistration and supervised the construction of the beautiful gardens of the Luogotenenti of the Casals.
Captain Aniello Cafiero
Captain Aniello Cafiero – While the leaders planned their strategies, they had behind them the support of many. Captain Cafiero possessed an intense spirit to play his part at risk to his life. There is information on Malta at the Archivio di Stato di Napoli, Sezione Esteri. Among other things, there is mention of a claim submitted by an Italian Neapolitan officer after being invalided because of serious health reasons while in Malta; disciplinary measures taken against two soldiers for insubbordination. (1789); and reference to the 2,100 troops sent to Malta under General G.B. Fardella, by King Ferdinand.
Captain Cafiero – a Neapolitan was the captain of a small ship who previous to the French occupation, earned his living by carrying cargoes between Sicily, Naples and Malta. He had settled in Malta years earlier where he lived with his family in Senglea (Strada Due Porte) . He was a respected and popular figure, partly because he was generous with neighbours and the poor.
Captain Cafiero knew Lorenzi. He agreed to be involved in the planned fighting and had hidden 55 muskets, several daggers and ammunition in his ship and also a quantity of gunpowder in the cellar of his residence at Senglea. He was to lead his men and another group from Cottonera and assault St. Angelo, overpower the guards, take it over and raise the Neapolitan flag. After the plot of the Valletta uprising was uncovered, Cafiero and his crew were arrested, put under investigation procedures and imprisoned in the cells at St. Angelo. When things turned out contrary to the hopes of many, his wife emptied the containers with gunpowder in the sewage pipes. Meanwhile, Cafiero waited and prayed – he could have faced a firings quad. He managed to escape to the countryside.
At the end of hostilities, Cafiero submitted a request (supported in writing by some Maltese) to the King of Naples, to be reimbursed for the expenses he incurred for the weapons and gunpowder which he had bought, meant to be used against the
French. (Archivio di Napoli, fasc. 2806).
Lieut. Colonel Teodor Cardona
Lieutenant-Colonel Teodor Cardona was the commanding officer of a Neapolitan regiment that was sent to Malta to participate in the blockade of the French. It is likely that he was born in Corfu of Maltese parentage. As a young man he was commissioned as an ensign, and later served at various officer levels. He had extensive battle experience. He had even served in campaigns, against the
French.
Teodor Cardona was a well mannered, respectable officer. Appearances may be illusory – he was tough and brave. For some time after he arrived in Malta with his regiment, he wished to be appointed commandant of all the Maltese troops. In fact Judge Guzeppi Kalcidon Debono had written a letter (26 Oct 1798) to Canon Frangesco Caruana, that Teodor Cardona had informed him that he wished to be appointed senior commandant.This could have possibly led to a crisis in command and various Maltese leaders refused to comply.
Throughout the blockade, he helped the Maltese in various ways, including the training of gunners and infantry tactics. Oblivious to tiredness, he often worked himself to the limit and discussed matters with his Maltese counterparts. He was assisted by a young Lieutenant, Bascal Gauci.
Lieut. Colonel Cardona was an ardent supporter of the Maltese cause and his services (and also the 2,100 Neapolitan soldiers under the overall command of Colonel Fardella) contributed immensely to the final French surrender.
Philippo Castagna
Philippo Castagna, Luogotenente of the two cities of Burmola and Senglea. “A man of an excellent public character and popular with the inhabitants. He distinguished himself at the siege of Valletta and in the National Congress, by his courage, moderation and wisdom. He took Gozo from the French with a handful of troops. He is warmly attached to His Majesty’s Government”. (British report)
P. Castagna was an erudite scholar. In 1805, he was involved in establishing the Monte di Pieta, where people went to pawn their gold and silver, under certain conditions.
Indri Cilia
Indri Cilia, an officer in the Birkirkara battalion, under Vincenzo Borg, was one of the leaders, who had been waiting for two days in the store-rooms at Marsamxett to commence the operation of the 12th January 1799. Remaining quietly hidden in the dark storerooms must have been hell. When surprised by the French troops who had come over from Fort Manoel to investigate after suspecting that something unusual was happening at Marsamxett, several were killed, others tried to escape and drowned, others surrendered while others escaped.
I have not managed to find what happened to this brave leader. It seems that he was not among those shot by the French and to the best of my knowledge not even among those listed dead in the parish records of that year.
Dr. Felic Cutajar
Dr Felic Cutajar, a mature learned lawyer supported the Maltese insurrection from the start and also took part when a large number of Maltese from different strata assembled at the Banca Ciuratale in Mdina to decide on a line of action.
A professional man of integrity, he was also a good linguist; he knew French and Italian well and also had a fair working knowledge of English – which was not common among Maltese at that time. He was Vincenzo Borg’s secretary for a num ber of months. When Captain Ball needed a secretary, he was an obvious choice.
He had an excellent rapport with Ball, Vincenzo Borg and Canon Frangesco Caruana. Dr Cutajar’s name is synonymous with Ball’s drafting of certain pronouncements, legal and administrative work. At times he served as laison between Ball and other eminent Maltese leaders.
He was so competent and trusted by Captain Ball that after the French left, he was kept on in a senior legal and administrative capacity. He was highly commended for his services, both when serving as Captain Ball’s secretary and later on as Pro-Secretary of the administration, and deputy head of the civil service. (equivalent to Administrative secretary).
Dr. Cutajar wrote ‘Il-Breve Storia della venuta dei Francesi nell’Isola di Malta e loro modo di governarla‘. As he was an eyewitness of the happenings of those years, his account is invaluable.
Guzeppi Damato
Guzeppi Damato, previous to the French occupation, was a senior non-commissioned officer in the Regiment of Malta. He was what one may describe as a typical army man – full of zeal and initiative and an ardent supporter of the plan. He was condemned to death and shot.
Santu Formosa
I have not managed to find enough details about Santu Formosa, who led the armed men from his village of Zurrieq, where he was a gentleman of some’ influence. He took a leading part during the first period of hostilities and continued to show sustained resource during later operations against the French. He carried out the duties of an officer and must have been a man of sound character and energy.
Chev. Ganni Gafa
Chev. Ganni Gafa: Although this notable citizen was fairly well off, he took an active part during the period of hostilities, instead of remaining comfortably at home. In 1798, the population of Gharghur was approximately 1000, mostly farmers, who elected him as their representative on the National Congress.
Ganni Gafa was also an exemplary cleric. As a point of interest to readers, it is relevant to mention that at that time there were many clerics in Malta and Gozo.
Although some did in due course become priests, many others did not. In their everyday life, they lived as normal citizens but were usually involved and participated in church activities and religious services. A substantial number helped those less fortunate in the community. During certain church activities, they wore a habit nearly similar to that of priests. The posts of clerics were abolished by the Church authorities about a century later.
From the beginning of the uprising, Ganni Gafa showed unremitting commitment both in the National Congress and in encouraging the formation of a company of about 180 men, several of whom had previous experience in the militia.
Besides collecting some money from the locals and in kind – agricultural produce for those under arms, he contributed himself for their everyday needs, to supplement their meagre pay and rations. At Gharghur, the battery of Vendomn with six guns had been set up by the Knights in 1701 and the Tower of St. Mark with two guns in 1607. Some of these guns were moved to new sites to strengthen the defence lines in the San Gwann area.
Gafa supported Vincenzo Borg throughout and combined competence with considerable drive. During this difficult period and when the British administration took over, he broadened his range of civic activities for the good of all.
Chev. Ganni Gafa had a high reputation and was appointed to the then prestigious post of Lieutenant of Gharghur with local administrative powers, in which he served until 1813.
Stanislaw Gatt
Stanislaw Gatt – At that time the village doctor, the parish priest, the pharmacist, the area inspector or sergeant of police and some merchants were the ‘elite’ or influential persons of the area. Furthermore the pharmacist, because many of the medicines in use were hand made from local herbs, was knowledgeable in some aspects of medicine and also in administering first-aid to the injured. Stanislaw Gatt was well known and very capable in his profession.
He took a keen interest in public affairs and was elected to represent the people of Qormi in the National Congress. He was an erudite individual and at one time he used to give practical tuition to some aspiring to take up the profession of pharmacy. He helped the poor, by often dispensing medicines without receiving payment or just charging them the bare minimum to cover his expenses.
During the critical period when food was very scarce, he emphasized to those under arms and the people in general, not to discard the leaves of some vegetables, such as carrots, cauliflower and potatoes but to eat them. Vitamins were not known as such at that time, but from practical experience he attached a lot of importance to fresh green vegetables for health reasons. He was perfectly right. (Mr. Guze’ Cardona, M.A. had mentioned S. Gatt, among others, in his lecture ‘Professionals of the Past’).
Stanislaw Gatt, with no previous military background, led a large detachment from Qormi and occupied in the initial stages of the insurrection, Jesuit Hill (east of Qormi) and also blocked the road which from Marsa goes up to Kordin and Pawla. In this daring initiative, his detachment included many who had previiously served in the Militia and also two officers from the Qormi district. Beditt Sciluna and Salvu Galdes. Gatt’s house in St. Catherine Street is preserved.
Grand Master Ferdinand Yon Hompesch
Ferdinand Von Hompesch who was of German origin was elected Grandmaster at the age of 53, in 1797. His long stay in Malta, since he was 12, as a page of Grand Master Pinto and his ability to speak fairly good Maltese. added to popularity with the Maltese, especially villagers and workers. Before being elected Grand Master, he resided in a 18th century palace, ‘Palazzo Hompesch’ which was situated in Old Bakery Street, Valletta. Unfortunately this was one of the many buildings destroyed by bombing in April 1942.
He was a Grand Master of winning manners and did not lose any opportunity to be present in towns and villages during feast celebrations. He was very charitable and used to throw coins (although his financial situation was not good at all – in fact he owed money) to the crowds greeting and cheering him. The granting of a title of Citta’ after requests were made was another way of showing respect. During his short term (1797-1798) Zabbar was raised to the status of Citta Hompesch, Zejtun – Citta Beland and Siggiewi – Citta Ferdinand.
To give an example, Hompesch attended the celebrations on the occasion of the feast of the Annunciation held at Tarxien in May 1797, where he was received with enthusiasm. In the parish records, Esiti Veneranda Lampada 1798, f 55, there is mention of payment for a caleche which the parish priest ordered to take him to Valletta to invite Hompesch and also the cost of a bouquet of flowers (payment in scudi) which was presented to him at Tarxien.
Grand Master Hompesch is often blamed for the dishonerable capitulation, but one must consider the fact that his authority had been undermined by many French Knights in various sectors. He was at the mercy of factors beyond his control. However looking at this period with the benefit of hindsight and reading references to him, he was not a tough person and not given to warrior rhetoric.
Mgr. Vincenzo Labini
Mgr. Vincenzo Labini, a Sicilian who had occupied various senior posts in the Church set-up in Sicily took over as Bishop of Malta and Gozo on the 19th June 1780. He was pious and energetic and visited the parishes fairly often and did not limit these to specified times of the year:
He encouraged the clergy to utilise when possible, part of the money given in aid of religious services for the souls departed to aid the poor, when poverty was rampant – a sensible idea.
Another wish of his was that the canopy used during processions over the Blessed Sacrament should as much as possible be carried by members of the clergy and not by laymen. Furthermore he encouraged more teaching on religion, visits to the Blessed Sacrament and the Via Sagra (Way of the Cross).
During the French period, the pressure and mental strain must have been great.
During the heavy fighting at Bormla, it was probably Labini’s personality and exhortations which persuaded the large number of angry insurgents to put down their arms and avoid more bloodshed. During his term as Bishop he consecrated various new churches and chapels.
Antonio Mallia
Antonio Mallia (a Gozitan gentleman). From the beginning of the uprising he was actively engaged in resistance to the French occupation and encouraged other Gozitans to do likewise, risking his own life in the process. He was popular among the Gozitans because of his affable character, charitabale disposition and his interest in the future of Gozo.
Sir Charles Cameron noted “He is the Lieutenant-Governor and first Provost of Gozo and zealously attached to the British Government”.
Chevalier Mallia rendered important services to the Gozitans during critical times. He was awarded the Gold Medal.
Count Salvatore Manduca
Salvatore Manduca, 3rd Count of Montalto, was the son of Francesco Manduca, and Domitilla Fiott De Noto. He married Donna Elena Portughes and died in Notabile on 12 November 1800. He was the father of (Count Sir) Vincenzo Manduca.
Count Salvatore Manduca, a gentleman of culture played a prominent role in the confused period following the collapse of the Order of St John and the arrival of the French.
He was one of the delegates who together with Bishop Labini, accepted the inevitable entry of Bonaparte’s forces into Mdina ‘provided that the religion of the people, their liberty and their property be respected and the safety of the public institutions guaranteed’. It was soon clear that this was not to be and after an initial period agitating for the return of the Order, he threw himself wholeheartedly into the insurrection against the French and worked for the support and protection of Nelson and the British. He was elected a Representative of the People and together with Marquis de Piro and Count Theuma Castelletti continued to play a prominent part in the events of that period, until his death in November 1800.
Don Pietro Mallia
Magister Theologiae in the Public College, a priest with a high academic ground and lecturer who represented Hal Ghaxaq on the National Congress. A man of pure reputation, enjoying confidence, and is much attached to His Majesty’s Government, as are many of the Maltese priests and Monastic Orders”.
Paolo Muscat
Paolo Muscat – served for several years in the militia, both under the Knights and during the period of hostilities, when he served as sergeant, Lieutenant and Captain. He certainly possessed a solid foundation of character and the determination to accomplish his missions, irrespective of the risk these entailed. During an attack on the Samra Battery he was wounded but luckily he recovered from a flesh wound and continued to take an active part, a few months later. For a period he served as an instructor. He won the medal for meritorious services and a Commendation. At times, he tended to be rather strict.
When the French attacked the Samra Battery, he ordered half of his detachment to hide behind rubble walls and trees at Msida and started retreating with a pre-arranged plan – as soon as he had reached a spot further on, the troops behind the rubble walls had to venture out and attack the French from the rear. Meanwhile half the detachment he was leading turned round and the French found themselves between two fires, they were thrashed leaving behind them several dead and wounded. This shows that temporary Captain Muscat, according to a British mention in a dispatch had “a real knowledge of tactics and movement which are the basis of a good leader’s plan”.
A. Peralta
I was not able to find data on all the Maltese citizens or officers who led by word and deed, or who contributed towards the final victory. There must have been other unsung heroes.
Lieutenant (temporary captain) A. Peralta, who had served under the Knights in the regiment Cacciatori Maltese had requested the French to continue serving in the army. It appears that he was accepted, but later on was so disappointed with the laws being enacted, that he had second thoughts. He was involved with the plans being formulated by Captain Lorenzi and was among those shot.
Xandru Pisano
Xandru Pisano, a carpenter from Cospicua who previously had also served as an armed leading seaman on the Order’s galleys, had hidden in a small dirty stable close to the bastions – (for a considerable time the number of French sentine inadequate), a number of muskets, swords and iron bars. He had planned to lead a group of persons from Bormla – where there was a lot of antagonism against the French – if the Maltese had managed to climb up the bastions in the area not far from the Ghajn Dwieli area and join in the attack. As fate would have it, the assault failed so the part he meant to be involved in, did not materialise.
Major-General Henry Pigott
Major-General Henry Pigott served in Malta as Civil Commissioner during 1801. He arrived in Malta with 1,500 British troops only a month and a half before the French surrendered and was given overall command of the British and Neapolitan troops. At that late stage, he was perhaps not well acquainted with the vital part played by the Maltaese in the struggle and what the Maltese had gone
through.
Pigott was unfair in not allowing a Maltese leader to sign the capitulation with the rest. Pigott was intransigent when the Capitulation was signed and notwithstanding Captain’s Ball’s clear wishes, he did not allow him to sign as Head of the Maltese. Pigott should not have yielded to the insistence of Vaubois; because cut off from all outside assistance, having exhausted all their provisions and with hundreds of troops sick, the French had no alternative but to surrender.
In 1801, Major-General Pigott, following instructions from London, issued the following official order: “His Eminence the Bishop of Malta is to receive from all guards, honour due to a Brigadier-General. When after World War I, this rank was abolished, the Archbishop of Malta was classified from the point of military status, as a Major-General.
In 1837 H. Pigott was invested GCMG.
Mattew Pulis
Mattew Pulis – With the exception of Dun Mikiel Xerri and Captain Guglielmo Lorenzi, he bore a mantle of responsibility perhaps greater than any of his compatriots in Valletta in the plot to overthrow the French garrison. There could be no doubt that he was for a long time on a knife-edge of risk. Mattew’s brother Filippu was also involved in the Valletta plan.
Mattew Pulis resided in Valletta and had been carrying out his duties regularly under the Knights, at the Ramo Quarantena (quarantine branch), mostly at the Lazaretto as Sotto-Ispettore di Sanita e Purfumatore. From a normal life Mattew and his son were plunged into a real life adventure which was dangerous and bizarre, as well as one of the most extraordinary to have befallen a law abiding citizen of his times. He had a special French pass which entitled him to travel by boat between the Lazaretto and Valletta and enter and leave the capital on work related with his duties. This meant that he was in a unique position to pass on secret letters
and communications from Maltese leaders in the countryside to Valletta and vice-versa, such as from Canon Caruana and Emanuele Vitale to Dun Mikiel Xerri and Captain Lorenzi. How he did this is not clear, but there are indications that when necessary, he took letters with him from Valletta to the Lazaretto and his brave son at that time a teenager somehow, (possibly by swimming or while fishing) passed on the letters to another Maltese, probably at Pieta or Msida.
Mattew Pulis must have had plenty of guts. The staff and men working with and under his direction had trust in him. It required no great genius to carry letters. What did require brilliance was the game of bluff on which Mattew Pulis and his son deliberately and at great risk embarked. He was among those shot by the French when the Valletta plot was uncovered.
Don Emanuel Riccard
Don Emanuel Riccard, was first a Capuchin, but as his health suffered because of the rigour of the Order, he became a priest. “He is a man in whom Governor Alexander Ball puts much confidence; he is very zealous in our cause and in that of his country. Sir Charles Cameron concluded this brief about him, that he is a respectable man and speaks French”. Don Riccard was a scholarly person and for some years was a teacher.
Agostino Said
Agostino Said was elected by the inhabitants of Zabbar as their representative. He was popular and had abundant resources of energy, intelligence and determination. According to Mgr. G. Zarb who had researched about some past Zabbar personalities, Agostino Said hid these qualities behind a rather modest appearance and down to earth approach. Said owned a few fields and had served for a period in the Militia. Although there is some doubt about this, he was probably employed in a clerical capacity under the Knights. He had an upright character and had a fairly good educational background, because the locals went to him for advice. He started working when he was 16, was trusted and helped in church activities.
As village representative he was ipso facto the head of the local battalion and the ‘Gente di Guardia’. Although I think that he was involved in some fighting or related aspects, I have not managed to find any documentary evidence to support this. Mgr. G. Zarb had told me that there was another W. Said (probably Wistin Said) who had been active with the armed peasants and who was also a police constable or corporal. The Zabbar battalion which consisted of 250 men was commanded by four officers. Emanuel Lia, Guzeppi Cachia, Klement Elul and Guzeppi Ellul.
Guzeppi Scicluna
Guzeppi Scicluna – Soon after the insurrection commenced, the men of Luqa chose the Rev. Guzeppe Grima as head of the Luqa battalion. However, Guzeppi Scicluna emerged as the de facto spokesman and active leader of the battalion, for which he was well suited.
He possessed mental vigour and a resolve to overcome obstacles.He enjoyed the confidence of the people, the clergy and the principal Maltese leaders. He had an interesting background. Although not young in years, he had plenty of stamina. He had served for about 34 years first as a sergeant and for 24 years as a “sottotenent’ ub Lieutenant). As commandant of the Maltese troops, E. Vitale appointed him Captain.
He was involved at first in active defence and eventually to an ethos of the offensive both at Kordin and during the unsuccessful Cottonera attack. With other Maltese officers, he had formulated part of the plan to the climb-up of the bastion at Bormla. He managed to borrow about 15 iron helmets which were used many years earlier by soldiers of the Knights, and he had suggested their use by some of the Maltese climbing up, as a protection. (although these could have restricted their movement and agility). He was awarded the meritorious service medal.
Marquis Mario Testaferrata
Marquis Mario Testaferrata – (one of the leading families in the Island). “He has been distinguished for his prudent though manly conduct in the various trying situations he was placed in since the invasion of the French. He was so well thought of by all parties that he was appointed one of those who drew up the capitulations to the French. He has shown great attachment to his Majesty’s Government. As to his talents, he is a man of sound judgment and is well informed with respect to the ancient privileges, as well as the present state of the Island”.
Gan Indri Trevisan
Gan Indri Trevisan, a supremely brave young man aged only 17112 from Zebbug, fought against the French garrison of Mdina with the Maltese led by Emanuele Vitale, where he was wounded in his arm. On the 6th September 1798, leading a detachment of Maltese troops and peasants he broke into an ammunition store, situated near Kordin and after overpowering the French guards they carried away 78 barrels of gunpowder, 40 boxes of cartridges and some firearms. In this activity he was slightly wounded again.
He was going to be involved in the planned attack on Valletta, as an officer leading a company of Maltese. He served both at the Samra area, at Marsa and at Kordin during different periods, where he was hero-worshipped by the men he commanded.
He exposed himself repeatedly to danger and during the attack on the Cottonera lines, he was wounded in the head, but thanks to his healthy physique, he survived again. As a young officer aged 18 to 20, he bore an incredible burden of responsibility and his strong powers of resilience made him recover rather quickly.
He was rewarded with the gold medal. In later year she served as an officer with the British army in Calabria and was caught prisoner when the French captured Capri, from where he managed to escape. During the plague of 1813, he was the controller of the ships which arrived in the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett. In 1846, his son Dr Ganaton Trevisan applied to serve as a magistrate in Gozo.
General C.H.B. De Vaubois
General Claude Henri Belgrand De Vaubois was one of the best cadets while at the military academy and was commissioned in the Royal Artillery in 1770. After the French revolution, the army was disorganised and needed good officers.Vaubois was one of them. Vaubois’ career ran nearly parallel to that of Napoleon. When Napoleon was a recruit, Vaubois was his senior. When Napopleon was promoted to Lieut. Colonel in 1793, Vaubois’ had just been promoted General De Brigade. Later on, Napoleon’s genius and success at Toulon impressed the French Directorate and he was promoted to General De Brigade. In the same year, Vaubois distinguished himself with his impressive stand at the Siege of Lyons.
When General Vaubois was appointed commander-in-chief of the French garrison in Malta, he was 50 years old. Although in general, he was considered an affable person, he possessed a strong personality and excelled as an administrator. For a long time, he refused to admit defeat, even when he saw his dreams crumbling. Leading and controlling a garrison craving for food and a high proportion sick due to malnutrition and other factors, was a feat in itself and a credit also to the French officers and troops who for a very long period did not mutiny or ask for surrender.
In his book ‘History of Italy under Napoleon’, Botta writes (translation) “Glorious, certainly was Lord Nelson, but not without glory was its defender, for neither greater courage nor greater fortitude, nor greater ingenuity could have been displayed by Vaubois” .,. “Deserted by all, he struggled for two years and at least overcome not by force of arms, but by that dreadful scourge, famine, which always takes from man, the strength and often the will to resist”.
The strict blockade by sea established by, first the Portuguese ships and later by the English, destroyed all hopes of success in the repeated attempts (onlv a few ships managed to get through) made to revictual the French garraison.
When Vaubois returned to France he was welcomed as a hero and in 1808 he was honoured with the title of Count of the Empire. He died in 1839, at the venerable age of 91.
Girolmu Vella
Girolmu Vella – It is an accepted fact that efficiency depends a lot on aptitude, training, enthusiasm and mental vigour. Girolmu Vella proved to be an effective, brave combat commander. He had served as a soldier and sergeant in the Maltese regiment under the Knights.When the uprising started he was off duty helping his cousin in a bakery at Qormi. He joined voluntarily the Maltese under arms.
Vella had been a very efficient sergeant and among the best marksmen. Furthermore the fact that he used to be entrusted with the part-time training of recruits, shows that he was among the elite N.C.O’s. Emanuele Vitale selected him to be among his circle of staff with the duties of an officer, and captain of a com pany of Maltese volunteers. He served as such with merit and was awarded the medal for meritorious services. Later he was also commissioned in the Maltese Light Infantry.
Captain S. Vella
Captain S. Vella had been serving as an officer in a regiment under the Knights, was an ardent supporter of the Maltese cause from the start of the insurrection. He and another officer Indri Cilia trained a number of armed Maltese who had planned to infiltrate into Valletta and was hidden with many others in the store rooms at Marsamxett, when unexpectedly French troops rushed on them and opened fire.
Captain Vella was among those who were taken unawares and caught prisoner. However he had a very good army record and was a brave officer. That breeze at night carried straws of disaster. Although he was a regular army officer, when arrested, there lurked the hazard of ending before a firing squad.
After being repeatedly interrogated by a military tribunal, the unexpected happened. There were two versions of what happened – Although condemned to death, the sentence was never implemented. One version was that he insisted that as a regular army officer, and on active service, according to the rules of war, it was against the rules to shoot a prisoner. The second version was that he managed to get his release and fled to the country through the assistance of Captain Olivier – President of the French Military Commission.
Captain Vella later continued to serve as a regular officer, in Maltese Regiments, the last Regiment being the Royal Malta Fencibles, up to 1823.
Dr Nerik Xerri
Dr Nerik Xerri who had shown great interest in medicine since he was young, left Malta and qualified with merit as a doctor at the University of Salerno. After he returned to Malta, he worked indefatiguably among his countrymen. He was popular and the inhabitants of Kirkop elected him as their representative on the National Congress.
He was a very able doctor and administrator. He frequently visited defence posts and camps of the Maltese and attended to their needs, and for a short period also those of British troops, when two British medical officers were sick. Of all the 400 British marines serving in Malta all but 178 were incapacitated by fever at some time or other. A large number of British and Neapolitan Troops
was likewise affected, When the attack on the Cottonera lines started, he together with another doctor, Francesco Caruana accompanied the Maltese troops that were due to advance, if the scaling of the bastio had ucceeded. For his valuable services, he was awarded the Gold Medal and larer a pecial commendation by Captain Ball.
In 1800, Captain Ball appointed him Captain of Ports and served as such until 1806, when he became a member of the staff of the Universita. In the meantime he retained the then prestigious title of Lieutenant of Kirkop between 1801-1804.
During the terrible outbreak of plague of 1813-1814, he served with distinction as Commissioner of Health. Later, he served as the personal physician of the Pasha of Tripoli for a number of years and died in Malta in 1841.
Mgr Saverio Cassar
Studied in Rome. Cassar graduated doctor of Divinity and was ordained priest in Rome on 30 March 1771 by the Patriarch of Alexandria, Francesco Mattei. Cassar was nominated archpriest of the Gozo Matrice directly by Pope Clement XIV on 20 April 1773. He was created Provicar of Gozo on 1 January 1775, chosen head of Government and Superintendent of all the island of Gozo on 18 September 1798.
Soon after the rising against the French on 2 September 1798, the Gozitans decided to coordinate their effort and formed a provisional local government made up of nine well known people with Atchpriest Cassar as head of government and inspector general.
He was a born leader with a dynamic personality, a steely will power, and an awe inspiring bearing – characteristics which made him the only arbiter of life in Gozo. Cassar organised the Dejma and obtained weapons and foodstuffs from foreign leaders. He collected money to pay the troops under his command and even arrested pro French partisans, including three canons.
He met Nelson and discussed the terms of capitualtion of the French which took place on 28 October 1798. Thus Gozo was liberated and became an independent entity.
As governor-genral and governing head for the king of Naples, Cassar organised the administration, reopened the law courts, elected new jurats, opened a custom house and even wanted to make Gozo an autonomoys diocese.
He was responsible for internal affairs and foreign policy. However, the Maltese congress disapproved of these actions and he British replaced him by Emmanuele Vitale as governor of Gozo.
Luogotenenti Di Governo
This is a list of Maltese citizens who (with many others) had given valuable services and were among the first in 1801 and after to be appointed to the then prestigious post of Lieutenant of their town or village. This was not a military appointment. The post carried with it certain administrative powers and responsibilities, such as those of an executive police officer empowered to arrest criminals and thieves and with the authority of a magistrate who could deal with minor offences where the fine did not exceed 25 skudi. They were also entrusted with some local administrative work and distributing Government relief to the very poor.
Those appointed were men of the strictest integrity who had proved themselves, were able to deal with local needs and serve as laison with the administration of the Government in Valletta. | |||||
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] | 2022-08-31T01:47:22-07:00 | en | /apple-touch-icon.png | Order of Malta - Western Association | https://orderofmaltawestern.us/grand-master-jean-parisot-de-valette/ | Jean Parisot de Valette was born to French nobility
A great leader, he quickly climbed the Order’s ranks
He famously saved Malta from Turkish invasion
Malta’s capital city, Valletta, is named after him
Born to a noble family in Parisot, France, circa 1495, Jean Parisot de Valette entered the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (Order of Malta) at 20 years old and never looked back. His expeditions with the Order took him to Rhodes, Viterbo, Malta, North Africa, the Sicilian coast, and other exciting places.
He distinguished himself early on as a capable leader and quickly climbed the ranks of the Order. Over a ten year period, he was appointed from Auditor to the Governor of Tripoli, then Grand Preceptor, then General of the Galleys, then Bailli of Lango and Grand Commander, and finally Prior of St. Gilles in 1556.
At this time, the threat of a Turkish invasion loomed over Malta, as it had ever since the Order had arrived on the island.
De Valette was named Lieutenant Grand Master during the illness of Grand Master Claude de la Sengle. Shortly thereafter, the Grand Master died and de Valette was unanimously elected to assume the Grand Magistry in 1557.
He ably restored the Order’s struggling finances and continued to expand the Order’s fleet. He also secured official representation for the Order at the Vatican’s Council of Trent, which sought clarification of Catholic doctrines and a thorough reform of the Church in wake of the Protestant Reformations.
At this time, the threat of a Turkish invasion loomed over Malta, as it had ever since the Order had arrived on the island. Malta was of great strategic importance to the Turks since it was a stepping stone to conquering more of Europe. Defeating the Order was therefore essential and so the Turks committed enormous resources to ensuring victory. De Valette and his knights were in their way and they would learn the hard way what a small battle hardened and zealous force could bring to bear.
De Valette ordered that the Order’s ships destroy the Turkish arsenal at Constantinople.
In 1565, the Turkish fleet arrived at Malta, encompassing over 100 vessels carrying some 30,000 men. This formidable Turkish force appeared far superior to the 10,000 knights under de Valette’s command.
The Turks laid siege to St. Elmo, but it took them more than a month to win the fortress from de Valette’s and the Order’s heroic resistance.
Next, the Turks attacked the fortress of St. Michael. But this time, under de Valette’s leadership, the fortress did not fall.
Soon, a force from Sicily came to de Valette’s aid. Faced with this besieging army, the Turks retreated to Constantinople. They later planned another attack, but de Valette ordered that the Order’s ships destroy the Turkish arsenal at Constantinople, preventing it.
De Valette won many awards for this great victory. He was even offered a cardinal’s seat from Pope Pius IV, which he refused. Instead, he busied himself planning the construction of a new city on Malta.
The city was named Valletta in honor of de Valette. However, the Grand Master never witnessed Valletta’s completion, dying of a stroke in 1568.
Today, his remains are held in the crypt of St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta, Malta’s capital city. | |||||
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] | null | [] | 2023-10-10T15:34:44+00:00 | Get to know Valletta Malta before you go: What to do and see, the best places to stay, restaurants, nightlife and more! | en | MaltaCulture.com | https://www.maltaculture.com/valletta/ | Often described as an open-air museum and a living piece of history, Valletta’s streets and sights will have you wandering around to marvel at all its beauty. The Baroque architecture adorns all corners of the small city, and there are plenty of historical buildings to admire.
Though the city was built on a peninsula of only 1km by 600m, Europe’s southernmost capital is abundant in historical sights. UNESCO described Valletta as “one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world” when it named Valletta a World Heritage Site. You will find some of Europe’s finest artworks, churches and palaces in Valletta.
Founded in 1565 by the Knights of St. John, it was stated that Valletta would be “a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen”, and it remains true to its 16th-century class. The fortified city walls overlook the Mediterranean Sea and provide a perfect setting for a relaxing yet intriguing holiday. Imagine yourself strolling around the small, picturesque side streets while grabbing a local snack and a coffee in one of Valletta’s many quaint cafés.
Malta has been colonised throughout the ages and now stands proudly independent since 1964. Today, Valletta is the administrative and commercial heart of the islands, and locals and tourists alike flock to the city for its culture and vivacity. The city is dotted with little shops and cafés, and there is more than enough to explore – you definitely won’t get bored.
After investments made in recent years, Valletta has transformed into an even safer and more popular place. Valletta was the European Capital of Culture in 2018, together with its Dutch sister city Leeuwarden. Cultural events were held all throughout the year, and the capital greatly benefited from the extra investments and visitors it gained.
When arriving to Malta International Airport in Luqa, Valletta is just 10 kilometres away. There are several ways of transport to get to Valletta.
Grab a taxi
Getting from Malta Airport to Valletta by taxi will take around 15 minutes. You can buy a prepaid ticket at a fixed rate from a booth in the airport’s Arrivals Hall. The fixed fare is €15. You may also want to consider booking a taxi in advance online, using a service such as any.cab. This will ensure you of a hassle-free trip.
Hop on a bus
Taking a bus from Malta Airport to Valletta takes about half an hour. You can hop on the X4 express bus, which goes every thirty minutes. Simply sit back till you are at the final stop (Valletta 18) and hop off just outside City Gate. Bus tickets are €2 in summer or €1,50 in winter. Make sure you have small cash with you!
Rent a car
If you are comfortable driving, you can rent a car at the airport and make your way to Valletta yourself. The drive will take around 15 minutes, and is easy to navigate. Prices for rental cars start from €7 per day, depending on the car and the season. Keep in mind that cars are right-hand drive, and you drive on the right side of the road.
However, do keep in mind that there is little parking space inside the city, and driving in Valletta is like navigating a maze because of all the one-way streets. Both public and private parking is available right outside the city, which is within walking distance. Taking into account the traffic, busy streets and manic drivers, it might be easier to use the public transport rather than renting a car in Valletta.
Use the airport shuttle service
A cheaper alternative to taxis, the airport offers a shared shuttle service. This service can drop you off and pick you up from your accommodation. A one-way trip from Malta Airport to Valletta for two adults plus luggage costs €10.
Valletta is one of Europe’s smallest capital cities, and you can comfortably get around on foot. Unlike many European cities that are a fusion of small villages, the city’s layout is a convenient grid system, making it easy to navigate. The city is quite hilly, and even though there are steps in steep streets, you might want to consider other modes of transport to get around.
If you do not feel like strolling through the streets, you can take an electric minicab to get around. These minicabs can carry up to three people and cannot cost more than €5 per trip. Hail one in the street or at electric minicab stands.
Valletta does not lend itself to getting around by car. With limited parking space and both residents as well as businesspeople driving around, driving in the city can get frustrating quickly. Many visitors that drive to Valletta use the Park and Ride in Floriana and catch a bus to the city centre.
The streets of Valletta although tidily laid out do feature steep hills. This, together with the lack of cycle lanes, doesn’t make the city ideal to cycle in. While you can rent bikes near the City Gate, keep in mind that traffic can get hectic and that it is inevitable to go up- and downhill quite a bit.
Another option is to grab an electric scooter in the city. Download the Bolt app (Android | Apple) to use the electric scooters or get a cab out of the city. Renting an electric scooter is easy: find one on the map in the app, scan the QR and you’re ready to go. This is a cheap and convenient way of getting around town.
Getting to other places in Malta
Malta’s transport system is small but covers all corners of the islands. If you don’t mind spending some time on a bus to get to your destination, that’s the most economical way of getting around the islands. If you prefer to quickly get where you want to be, taxis are the best option for you. There are also ferries operating from Valletta to bring you to popular, nearby destinations.
Public buses
The main bus station hub is in Valletta, right outside the City Gate. Walk past the Triton fountain to find the bus stops at your left-hand side or follow the road downwards from Castille to end up at the bus stations. There are bus stops starting from Valletta A1 to Valletta C6, so you can catch a bus to any corner of the island.
TIP: Use Google Maps to find out the best route for you to take to your destination. The app will show you the route and the details of the bus you need.
Taxis
If you prefer taking a slightly more costly but faster alternative, taxis are the way to go. You can hail a white taxi at any place except for bus stops. These taxis operate at a fixed price.
If you are comfortable using apps to get a taxi, this is usually the cheaper option. We recommend using Bolt (Apple | Android) or eCabs (Apple | Android). If you are travelling alone, a cheap option is ride-sharing taxi app Cool (Apple | Android).
Ferries
If you want to visit Sliema or the Three Cities, your best option is to take a ferry from Valletta.
Ferry from Valletta to Sliema
To head from Valletta to Sliema by ferry, make your way to Marsamxett Harbour. Here you will find the Sliema ferry. Hop on board for €1.50 or €2.80 for a round trip. This will take you to the Sliema Ferry stop, right in the city. The trip takes less than ten minutes, so make the most of it by staying on the sunny top deck and admiring the views of the harbour.
Ferry from Valletta to the Three Cities
Views of the Three Cities can be admired from Valletta’s Upper Barrakka Gardens, but you can also easily make your way there by ferry. To reach the Three Cities, take the Upper Barraka Lift down to the Grand Harbour and cross the road to the ferry. If you take the ferry, the lift is free on the way back up, too. Adult tickets are €1.50 or €2.80 for a round trip. Enjoy views of the Grand Harbour from the top-deck of the ferry!
Besides museums and architecture, Valletta has a lot more to offer. Are you looking for exciting activities? Here are some good ideas to get you started.
Walking tours
Valletta is a world heritage site and given the number of attractions and significant historical sites, it is easy to miss some of the best ones. A walking tour will take you to all the best sites in Valletta. As you stroll through the Upper and Lower Barrakka gardens, your local guide will provide you with historical context to what you are seeing.
Grand Harbour Boat Tour
This Captain Morgan cruise is a half-day excursion, taking you around the Grand Harbour, where you’ll find majestic sea views of the island’s fortifications. The tour also includes the showing of “The Malta Experience”, a film presenting Malta’s 7000-year history, with a special focus on the Grand Harbour area. The tour is €25 for adults and €17 for children.
Segway Tours of Valletta
If walking around the city is not for you, consider seeing it by Segway. Small groups are shown around the city by a guide with the whole group travelling on these two-wheel machines. Saves a lot of time and indeed energy!
A night at the Opera or Theatre, or Embrace the Contemporary
Valletta’s commitment to the arts has become legendary. If you love watching actors and performers tread the boards, you have three excellent options to indulge your passions:
Manoel Theatre
The Manoel Theatre, known by locals as ‘The Manoel’, is Malta’s much-loved national theatre. Rebuilt and refurbished following the Second World War, the theatre underwent a rebirth in 1960. It has been educating, informing, and entertaining audiences of all ages ever since. The splendour of the building will take your breath away.
Pjazza Teatru Rjal – The Royal Opera House
The original Royal Opera House was carpet-bombed during the Second World War and remained totally destroyed. In the early 2000s, with the rehoming and building of Malta’s parliament building, it was decided that a new Pjazza Teatru Rjal would be constructed. In 2013, Malta once again had an Opera House.
Pay a visit to the Pjazza Teatru Rjal to experience diverse events and workshops, as well as world-class performances of classic operas.
Spazju Kreattiv
Spazju Kreattiv is a very vivid creative arts hub. Valletta-based, Spazju Kreattiv features a cinema, exhibition spaces and a theatre. The project has been established since 2000 and hosts an artist in residence programme. Most of the work is contemporary in nature and any visit is culturally enriching.
Food Tasting Tours
One way to get to know a country is through its food. A food tasting tour will take you to the best places to sample Maltese cuisine. This includes savouries and sweet food paired with local beer and wine.
On any visit to Valletta, consider visiting these must-see places of interest. They are all fascinating and provide historical context to Valletta’s place in the world.
St. Johns Co-Cathedral
Built between 1573 and 1577, St Johns Co-Cathedral is adorned with a lush Baroque interior. The cathedral is dedicated to John the Baptist. The interior is truly inspiring and every single inch is beautifully decorated. Even the floor is comprised of tombs of dead knights.
Grandmaster’s Palace
The Grandmaster’s Palace was one of the first buildings to be built in Valletta, as it was built between the 16th and 18th century. It was originally the palace of the Grandmaster of the Order of St. John. Today it houses the office of the president of Malta, and the palace and its courtyard are open for visitors.
Upper and Lower Barrakka Gardens
If you’ve been strolling around the city and need a peaceful break, pop by the Upper and Lower Barrakka Gardens. Located in the city centre, these serene gardens are the perfect spots to catch some shadow, sit back and relax. Located just 15 minutes away, you can easily visit both gardens on foot.
TIP: When you’ve made your way to the Upper Barrakka Gardens and are not afraid of heights, take the 58-meter Upper Barrakka Lift down to the Grand Harbour. The way down is free, and you will arrive close to the ferry to the next must-see: The Three Cities.
The Three Cities
Just across the water from Valletta’s Grand Harbour are the so-called Three Cities: Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua. The Three Cities have been significant in the development and history of Malta, providing both a defence and a source of income for the Maltese people.
Today they are largely unspoiled and one of the best places to experience local Maltese life.
The Saluting Battery
Head towards the Grand Harbour and you will find the oldest operational saluting battery in the world. From here, you can see spectacular views of the harbour and surrounding towns. Tours include a close look at the guns – entirely authentic weapons from yesteryear.
Top 5 Museums in Valletta
The Lascaris War Rooms
Malta has always been in a strategic location from both a trading and military perspective. During the Second World War, the Lascaris War Rooms were constructed underground. That’s where the defence of the island and key battles were coordinated during the conflict.
Now, the war rooms are a museum operated by volunteers. The guides are knowledgeable and the reconstruction of the rooms brings history alive.
The National Museum of Archaeology
Head towards Republic Street and you will soon find the National Museum of Archaeology. It is housed in a magnificent building featuring Baroque architecture. Once inside, the stunning exhibits that date back to the Neolithic period will have you gazing in wonder and get you thinking about how people lived in days gone by.
Cultural treasures include:
The ‘Sleeping Lady’ (Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum)
The ‘Venus of Malta’ (Ħaġar Qim)
Bronze Age daggers – these were found at Tarxien Temples
The Horus and Anubis pendants (Phoenician period)
The anthropomorphic sarcophagus (Phoenician period)
The museum is a great introduction to the prehistory of Malta and provides insights into the cultures of these long dead civilisations.
Great Siege of Malta & the Knights of St. John
This exhibition depicts the events that became known as the Great Siege of Malta. Told through the eyewitness accounts of poet Francesco Balbi in a series of period dioramas, combined with digital telling of the siege in graphic depictions, the story of both Malta’s greatest victory and the history of the knights is brought to life.
The siege is significant to both Malta and the world and is the story of how 700 Knights of St. John and 8000 regular troops repelled a 40,000-strong Turkish invasion fleet. Paying a visit is like a pilgrimage into Malta’s roots, and it is definitely worth your while.
MUŻA – The Malta National Community Art Museum
MUŻA is a unique project which was created in 2018 as part of Valletta becoming the European Capital City of Culture in 2018.
The exhibits are from the local community and feature works from local groups. Ideas are often shared and debated at the museum, which makes for interesting and engaging discussions. The museum is powered by renewable energy sources and provides a local flavour of Valletta people’s thinking.
It is housed in the World Heritage Site of Auberge d’Italie on Merchants Street.
Fort St Elmo – National War Museum
Malta has some amazing war museums and this one can stand proud among them. Although many of the displays are focused on the two world wars, there are weapons on display here that represent the history of Malta and in some ways tell the story of the island as it passed from one empire to another.
Some of the gems of the museum are ‘Husky’, Roosevelt’s Jeep, the Maltese medal for gallantry, The George Cross and a Gloster Sea Gladiator N5520 FAITH.
To find the museum simply head towards St Elmo in Valletta’s historic district.
Just a few years ago, Valletta used to go quiet after workers and shopkeepers left town at night. Today, nights in Valletta are enchanting as never before. Pubs and cafés welcome locals and visitors alike, and wine bars are dotted around the city. Whether you’re up for a classy night out or looking for a casual draft beer, you’ll feel right at home in Valletta’s many bars and pubs.
What was once a red-light district with sailors’ bars is now the street to be in the after-hours. Strait Street, or Strada Stretta, is a small street filled with some of Valletta’s bars. While some bars still honour the street’s history, today Straight Street is a popular place to have a drink – whether you like it classy or casual.
Other bars and restaurants can be found at Valletta Waterfront, where you can savour a meal while watching cruise ships and yachts making their way through the Grand Harbour. You can take a 15-minute walk from the Triton Fountain to the Valletta Waterfront, or take the lift down from the Upper Barrakka Gardens.
The main nightlife hub is Paceville, where you will find an array of places – from Latin bars to techno clubs and from karaoke cafés to Irish pubs. If you are looking to dance to the latest hits until the late hours, Havana and Footloose are your best bet.
Top 5 Bars and Pubs in Valletta
Bridge Bar
Arguably the most popular bar in Valletta, and for a good reason. On any weeknight this may seem like a normal place, but on Friday nights you can enjoy live jazz on the bridge with spectacular views of Grand Harbour. Enjoy Bridge Bar at its best on warm summer nights.
Trabuxu Wine Bar
Trabuxu, “corkscrew” in Maltese, is a gem of a wine bar nestled in a 400-year-old cellar. They offer a large selection of local and foreign wines to be complemented with one of their cheese platters or charcuteries. Trabuxu is a great place to spend a cosy winter night inside.
Tico Tico
Located in Strait Street, Valletta’s former red-light district, Tico Tico is a hotspot known for its cocktails, wine and great atmosphere. Its retro interior and cosy couches make it homely, and it is the perfect place to go after dinner.
Yard 32
Another gem in Strait Street is the gin and tapas bar Yard 32. The first gin-bar in Malta has a selection of 200 gins and 42 tonic waters, so if you G&Ts are your go-to drink, this is your place to be. Enjoy some Spanish tapas on the side while you’re at it.
Ġugar Hangout & Bar
With a cosy interior and funky tunes coming from the speakers, Ġugar has real hippie vibes. Enjoy the cheap local dishes with a great beer of your taste and sit back and relax on the steps of Ġugar.
Festivals in Valletta
The Maltese love their festivals, and among the numerous festivals across the islands, Valletta hosts some of the most extravagant ones. If you get the chance, try and time your visit to coincide with one of these:
Valletta Jazz Festival
Even if jazz is not your thing, you can’t help but admire the musicianship on display at the Malta Valletta Jazz Festival. Both local and international stars descend on the city for the five-day event held in July.
Notte Bianca
Notte Bianca, translated as the White Night, is a celebration of the arts and sees artists of all crafts taking part. Music is once again a strong theme in the festival, as are the performing arts. If you are paying the islands a visit in October, Notte Bianca is not to be missed.
Malta International Arts Festival
In the last weeks of June, the Malta International Arts Festival hits the streets. Featuring new and up and coming artists, displays, music and theatrical performances are held all over the city. | |||||
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9289 | dbpedia | 0 | 12 | https://thecoleridgehotel.com/brief_history_of_valletta/ | en | History of Valletta | [
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] | 2020-02-20T15:15:37+00:00 | The history of Valletta is strongly linked with the Knights of St John who laid its foundation stone in 1566. Valletta’s history is also linked to French occupation and British rule. | en | The Coleridge | https://thecoleridgehotel.com/brief_history_of_valletta/ | The history of Valletta, Malta’s capital is inextricably linked with the Knights of St John who laid its foundation stone in 1566, creating an elegant Baroque city from an arid, empty peninsula. This city was to serve not only as a fortress, protecting it from potential invasion, but also as an enclave for the Knights. here they would reside, administer, perform their duties as a religious, military and Hospitaller order and, also, enjoy recreational activities.
After the Great Siege of 1565, Pope Pius V sent the Knights his foremost military engineer, Francesco Laparelli, to design the city both as a fortress to defend Christendom and to create a cultural masterpiece. The bare peninsula of Mount Sceberras was transformed into a fine example of modern city planning and a military ingenuity.
At the turn of the 17th century, Valletta had grown into a sizeable city for the standards of those days, taking over from Mdina, the former capital, which had lost much of its allure after the Great Siege.
Napoleon brought Malta into French occupation in 1798 during the same period as the French Revolution. Bonaparte also had an impact on the history of Valletta, and on the history of Malta. They reformed Malta’s institutions: abolishing the Roman Catholic Church, nobility and slavery and vowed to bring equality among the citizens. After two years the Maltese wanted to take back ownership of their islands and reinstate the church, and they voluntarily joined the British Empire.
Soon after the British came to Malta, a cholera plague broke out in 1813, and after careful investigation, it was learnt that this was caused because drinking water was contaminated by sewage. The Valletta sewers therefore underwent a thorough overhaul and a full survey was carried out.
These came in useful when the Second World War broke out, and the underground infrastructure was used as war shelters, together with newly dug out tunnels and shelters that were needed to ensure civilian safety and to be used as strategic War Rooms. Some of these are now converted into museums, but more of that in a later post…
Malta, and Valletta, played a strategic role during WWII. Valletta was badly battered by the bombing of Nazi fighter planes and many historical buildings were damaged or destroyed. The most prominent example of this is the Royal Opera House, of which the ruins only remained. After decades of deliberation over whether to rebuild the Royal Opera House, the ruins were finally tidied up and are now converted into an open air theatre.
The rebuilding of damaged areas began as soon as the war ended, and the British implemented a rigid and rapid programme of works to ensure that housing was provided, and new buildings were erected in the style of the time.
British influence continued to shape Valletta’s history throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, until 1964, when Malta became independent once again.
Our Next Post… the architecture of Valletta!
Meanwhile, why not follow us on Instagram ! | |||||
9289 | dbpedia | 3 | 10 | http://holidayletsmaltagozo.com/about/malta/valletta/ | en | Valletta, Malta | [
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] | null | /favicon.ico | Holiday Lets Malta Gozo | null | Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt (English: The City) in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,966.
Valletta contains buildings from the 16th century onwards, built during the rule of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, also known as Knights Hospitaller. The city is essentially Baroque in character, with elements of Mannerist, Neo-Classical and Modern architecture in selected areas, though World War II left major scars on the city. The City of Valletta was officially recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980.
The city is named for Jean Parisot de la Valette, who succeeded in defending the island from an Ottoman invasion in 1565. The official name given by the Order of Saint John was Humilissima Civitas Valletta — The Most Humble City of Valletta, or Città Umilissima in Italian. The bastions, curtains and ravelins along with the beauty of its Baroque palaces, gardens and churches, led the ruling houses of Europe to give the city its nickname Superbissima — 'Most Proud'.
On Friday 12 October 2012, Valletta was unanimously named European Capital of Culture (ECoC) for 2018, by a jury of experts, following a presentation by the Valletta 2018 Foundation. The official declaration of the title is expected to take place at the next EU Council of Ministers meeting, some time around May 2013. ECoC jury chairman Manfred Gaulhofer, during a live-broadcast press conference in St John’s Co-Cathedral’s oratory, said the jury was convinced that Valletta had the will, motivation and the required ambition to receive the title.
The city is on the island of Malta so it shares its early history with the island. Immediately after the end of the Siege of Malta in 1565, the Order decided to found a new city on the Xiberras peninsula to fortify the Order's position in Malta and bind the Knights to the island. The foundation stone of Valletta was laid by the Grandmaster of the Order, Jean Parisot de la Valette on 28 March 1566. La Valette placed the first stone in Our Lady of Victories Church.
In his book Dell’Istoria della Sacra Religione et Illustrissima Militia di San Giovanni Gierosolimitano (English: The History of the Sacred Religion and Illustrious Militia of St John of Jerusalem), written between 1594 and 1602, Giacomo Bosio writes that when the cornerstone of Valletta was placed, a group of Maltese elders said "Iegi zimen en fel wardia col sceber raba iesue uquie" (Which in modern Maltese reads, "Jiġi żmien li fil-Wardija [l-Għolja Sciberras] kull xiber raba’ jiswa uqija," and in English, "There will come a time when every piece of land on Sciberras Hill will be worth its weight in gold").
Grand Master La Valette died on 21 August 1568 at age 74 and never saw the completion of his city. Originally interred in the church of Our Lady of the Victories, his remains now rest in St. John's Co-Cathedral among the tombs of other Grand Masters of the Knights of Malta. Francesco Laparelli was the city's principal designer and his plan departed from medieval Maltese architecture, which exhibited irregular winding streets and alleys. He designed the new city on a rectangular grid, and without any collacchio (an area restricted for important buildings). The streets were designed to be wide and straight, beginning centrally from the City Gate and ending at Fort Saint Elmo overlooking the Mediterranean; certain bastions were built 153 feet (47 m) tall. The Maltese architect Gerolamo Cassar was responsible for a number of the buildings.
After the Knights' departure and the brief French occupation, building projects in Valletta resumed under British rule. These projects included widening gates, demolishing and rebuilding structures, widening newer houses over the years, and installing civic projects. | ||||||
9289 | dbpedia | 1 | 48 | https://www.originaltravel.co.uk/travel-guide/malta/culture | en | Malta Culture : Language, Religion, Food | [
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] | null | [] | null | Read our cultural information about Malta to prepare your Malta holiday. | en | /favicon.ico | https://www.originaltravel.co.uk/travel-guide/malta/culture | Population
518,536 inhabitants (2021).
Official language
Maltese and English.
Language spoken
The official languages of Malta are Maltese and English, with 95.4% of the inhabitants speaking the Maltese mother tongue. Maltese is a language of Semitic origin written in the Latin script and over the centuries it has incorporated many words that originally derived from English, Italian and French. Italian is also widely spoken, as is English, but the Maltese islanders have managed to retain a unique language, despite countless others being brought over throughout the years. Maltese was largely only a spoken language until the latter half of the 19th century, when its grammatical rules were defined and written down.
People
Descendants of colonists from Sicily and Calabria formed the basis for the repopulation of the Maltese islands in the beginning of the second millennium, which when coupled with the eastern Mediterranean and the Maghreb influence, have formed the contributing genetic makeup of the Maltese people. Language is also the foundation of identity here and one of the largest foreign communities remains the British.
Religion
Roman Catholicism is the state religion of Malta, with 98% of the Maltese people identifying as Catholic (mostly Roman-rite, with a Byzantine-rite minority), making the nation one of the most Catholic countries in the world.
National Holiday
September 21 (independence anniversary - 1964).
Holiday Calendar
January 1: New Year's Day.
February 10: Feast of the Shipwreck of Saint Paul.
March 19: Feast of Saint Joseph.
March 31: Freedom Day (1979: departure of the last British soldiers).
March-April: Holy Week.
May 1: Labor Day.
June 7: Anniversary of the Insurrection of June 7, 1919 (against the British).
June 29: Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
August 15: Feast of the Assumption.
September 8: Victory Day (of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem over the Ottomans – 1565).
September 21: National Day.
December 8: Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
December 13: Republic Day (1974).
December 25: Christmas Day.
History
Malta is an archipelago found in Southern Europe, nestled between Italy and Libya in the Mediterranean Sea. It’s influenced by its neighbouring countries, with Sicily, Tunisia and North Libya all nearby. Inhabitants have been settled here since as early as 5900 BC, with its central Mediterranean Sea location proving hugely important, acting as a naval base. Countless powers have grappled with ruling the island, including the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, Knights of St. John, French and British (to name a few!).
Malta is the world’s tenth smallest country in area, with just 518,536 inhabitants covering an area of around 122 square miles. Its capital Valletta is the smallest national capital in the European Union by area and population. It may be small but it’s certainly mighty and became a British colony in 1813, serving as a station for ships and the headquarters for the British Mediterranean Fleet. Before being besieged during World War II by the Axis power, where an important allied base for operations in the Mediterranean and North Africa was formed. In 1964 the British parliament passed the Malta Independence Act, giving the Maltese people independence from the United Kingdom as the State of Malta, with the late Elizabeth II as its queen. The country then became a republic in 1974 and has been a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations since its independence. It also joined the European Union in 2004 and then became part of the Eurozone monetary union in 2008.
Malta has celebrated Christians since the time of early Christianity, although while under Arab rule the country became a predominantly Muslim country, at the time however Christians were tolerated. The Norman invasion of Malta by Roger I in 1091 brought with it the end of the Muslim rule, and now Catholicism is the state religion, but the Constitution of Malta guarantees freedom of conscience and religious worship.
The Maltese economy is heavily reliant on tourism and the country continually promotes itself as a must-see Mediterranean tourist destination, and rightly so, with a much warmer climate than the rest of Europe and countless landmarks, UNESCO World Heritage Sites (including Hal Saflieni Hypogeum, Valletta and seven megalithic temples, which are some of the oldest free-standing structures in the world) and of course, plenty of beaches for lounging - you really can’t go wrong.
Politics
The republic of Malta has a parliamentary system and public administration that’s been closely modelled on the Westminster system in the UK. It has the second-highest voter turnout in the world (and highest for nations without mandatory voting). The unicameral Parliament is made up of the President of Malta and the House of Representatives, with the President of Malta being a largely ceremonial position. They are appointed for a five-year term by a resolution of the House of Representatives carried by a simple majority. This House of Representatives has 65 members that’re elected for a five-year term in 13 five-seat electoral divisions and since Malta is a republic, the head of state in Malta is the President of the Republic.
Etiquette
Tipping in Malta is at your discretion and while it isn’t mandatory, it’s something that’s expected if you’re happy with the service you receive. For guides, we recommend four to five euros per day and per person. For service personnel it can vary greatly, a good way to align your trip with the local economy is by gaging the prices of a beer or tea, which will give you an idea of the standard of living and allow you to estimate a reasonable amount. In Malta a tip of around 10 to 15% is the standard for waiters or taxi drivers. When it comes to clothing, the Maltese people tend to dress formally and modestly, which is something to bear in mind. Hats should be removed when entering a church, with shoulders covered and appropriate footwear (sandals and open-toe shoes should be avoided in sacred buildings and sites). The Maltese typically have a relaxed approach towards timekeeping and punctuality, which is commonly referred to as ‘island time’. This friendly and laid-back approach is a welcoming one to tourists, with the island’s celebrations and festivities something for all to enjoy.
Shopping
The Luzzu, a traditional colourful fishing boat boasting two eyes on the bow, is one of the most popular Maltese souvenirs. Followed by the famous dolphin shaped door knockers, Maltese cross and other religious porcelain or enamel figurines. The goldsmiths of the archipelago are also known for their exquisite filigrees and further afield in Gozo it’s all things lace (silk, cotton or crochet) and blown glass. Of course, there’s things to quell stomach rumblings too, with honey, nougat, sheep cheeses, olive oils and liqueurs in a plentiful supply.
Food
Talking of food, the cuisine in Malta is a pretty big deal. It’s flavourful, fresh and influenced by neighbouring countries, like Italy with its fish supply and the Arabs with their breads and wine. There’re plenty of authentic Maltese dishes to enjoy, from the national dish of fenkata (braised rabbit served with potatoes and nougat, and peanuts as a side dish) to the aljotta, a fish soup. Or try the warming Kawlata, a traditional Maltese vegetable soup that’s typically made with cabbage and pork. There’s also a distinct North African influence, incorporating broad beans cooked with garlic and parsley while the surrounding sea provides mahi-mahi, that’s often cooked in a spicy tomato sauce. Or the famous octopus stew and tuna rolls. But those on the go in need of a quick fix needn’t worry, as there’s plenty of pastizzi to be found (a fondant filled with ricotta or peas). Gozo has plenty of options too, with sheep cheese dishes and ftira ghawdxija stuffed bread filled with potatoes, tomatoes, olives, anchovies.
Drink
The tap water is drinkable but, to avoid any hassle, we advise you to drink bottled mineral water. Of course, you can always wet the whistle with Kinnie, the Maltese David-Cola attempting (and succeeding) in taking on the American Coca-Goliath. Or opt for one of the local beers, Cisk and Hopleaf. There was a time when the British wanted to replace the Malta growing vines with cotton and wine with beer but the cotton growing collapsed, while the beer remained and wine vine growing returned. Today the most typical grapes of the archipelago are the ghirgentina, which make delicious white wines. While the gellewza make excellent reds and rosés and the old-fashioned vinification gives supple, low-concentration wines. Coffee is enjoyed relatively plain here, although the addition of cinnamon and orange blossom is always a welcome one. | |||||
9289 | dbpedia | 3 | 8 | https://www.historytoday.com/archive/french-surrender-malta | en | The French Surrender Malta | [
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] | null | [] | null | en | /sites/default/files/favicon.png | https://www.historytoday.com/archive/french-surrender-malta | The knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, or Knights Hospitallers, driven out of their stronghold of Rhodes by the Turks, moved to Malta in 1530, making Valletta one of the strongest fortress cities in Europe. In 1798, however, Napoleon Bonaparte arrived on his way to Egypt and demanded that his ships be allowed into the Grand Harbour to take on water. When he was refused, he put troops ashore and sent the Knights packing. Many of the islanders were relieved to be free of them, but as the French began to apply sound revolutionary principles involving heavy taxes, higher interest rates and an attack on the Roman Catholic Church, relief turned to resentment. An uprising in September confined the French garrison of some 4,000 men under General Vaubois to Valletta and the other fortified towns.
At this point the British intervened. A modest naval force was sent to assist the islanders, commanded by Captain Alexander Ball. Ball mounted a blockade and smoothed over the mutual suspicions and hostilities of the Maltese insurgent leaders. The siege settled down to a question of who would starve to death first, the French or the Maltese. In December 1799 British troops arrived to increase pressure on the French and in February 1800 reinforcements came from the Two Sicilies. The islanders were suffering desperately from hunger and disease, but the plight of the French was worse: by August they had eaten all the dogs and cats in Valletta.
In early September Vaubois sent word to Major-General Henry Pigot, commanding the British troops, that he was ready to surrender; the capitulation was signed on the 5th after negotiations to which the Maltese were not invited. The French were to withdraw to Marseilles - the British had no way of feeding them if they were taken prisoner - while the British wondered whether to return Malta to the Knights of St John. Ball urged keeping the islands as a naval base and a centre for trade. Nelson disagreed and the London government bided its time, while Ball was left to run Malta.
In 1802 Malta was returned to the Order of St John as part of the Peace of Amiens, but a delegation of Maltese arrived in London, demanding to be placed under the rule of George III and his successors. The peace did not hold, Nelson changed his mind, and the British remained in control. Ball, who who loved Malta and was very popular there, ran the islands until his death in 1809. In 1812 a commission reported it ‘a matter of gratification to find that in opposition to some representations made by a small disaffected party in the island, the great mass and body of the people were happy and contented; warm in their professions of attachment to Great Britain, and thriving in wealth and population to a degree almost unprecedented.’ | ||||||
9289 | dbpedia | 2 | 27 | https://internationalliving.com/countries/malta/valletta-malta/ | en | Valletta, Malta | https://images.ctfassets.net/wv75stsetqy3/4RrGeoI7vGAJFonzSzlcmQ/c793d2ac09a7b5fd272461f5cefca96f/migrated-tGYDg4-Missing_description?w=1800&h=600&q=60&fit=fill&fm=webp | https://images.ctfassets.net/wv75stsetqy3/4RrGeoI7vGAJFonzSzlcmQ/c793d2ac09a7b5fd272461f5cefca96f/migrated-tGYDg4-Missing_description?w=1800&h=600&q=60&fit=fill&fm=webp | [
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] | null | [] | 2023-10-20T10:07:01.463000+00:00 | Valletta, Malta is a city rich in expats, including part-time investors and digital nomads, from nations around the world... | en | https://internationalliving.com/countries/malta/valletta-malta/ | Europe’s Smallest & Sunniest Capital
Most Europhiles are unaware that Valletta—the enchanting Mediterranean capital of Malta—is one of the first planned cities in Europe, designed and constructed by the Knights Hospitaller in the 16th century.
Military architect Francesco Laparelli led the team of Knights who envisioned a fortified city to serve as a bastion against the many invaders Malta has experienced throughout its history. The city’s layout was carefully planned in a grid pattern, allowing for efficient organization and defense strategies from every angle of the peninsula on which it is built.
Valletta possesses stunning architecture, strategic palisades around the seafront, and, to this day, well organized, easy-to-follow grid streets—albeit hilly and narrow. If you arrive to the city by sea—entering via one of the deepest natural harbors in Europe—the fortifications are quite imposing. It feels as if you are stepping back in time, looking up at the monochromatic limestone walls and buildings punctuated by a myriad of bright accent colors on the doors and iconic Maltese balconies.
Malta was a Crown Colony of the United Kingdom from 1814 until 1964 and part of the British Commonwealth after that, until finally emerging as a republic in 1974. You can still see the remnants of their history, such as driving on the left, three-pronged square electrical plugs, the parliamentary and education systems, English as an official language, and the iconic red phone and postal boxes.
The population of the Maltese islands is approximately 512,000, and Valletta’s current population is just under 6000 residents. Thus earning the title of Europe’s smallest capital.
Traveling to Valletta
The best time to visit Valletta—and the rest of Malta—is during Europe’s Spring (April-June) or Fall (September-early November). Winter tends to be cool, damp, and windy (with highs struggling to get out of the 50s F and lows in the 40s F), while summer can get extraordinarily hot (with daytime highs soaring into the high 90s F). If you don’t mind the heat, summer can be a thrilling time on the islands. Malta experiences, on average, 300 days of sunshine per year, thus giving Valletta the title of the sunniest capital in the EU.
There are no nonstop flights from the Americas to Malta, so at least one connection is required. Malta has one airport, Luqa, located in the south-central part of Malta’s main island. Easy connections include British Airways through London, Lufthansa through Frankfurt or Munich, Air France through Paris, Turkish Air through Istanbul, ITA through Rome, or Swiss Air through Zurich. Other direct destinations are served by Europe’s low-cost carriers, such as Ryan Air, Easy Jet, Wizz Air, and Malta’s flagship airline, Air Malta (which will be folding at the end of 2023 and rebranding as a new airline TBD).
Because the island is so small, it’s a quick trip to Valletta upon arrival. With a normal traffic flow, it takes about 15 to 20 minutes to reach the airport. App-based cars (Bolt, eCabs, Uber) are waiting at the airport. And it will typically cost less than €20. The airport has car rentals on site, if you choose to drive. Prices for a compact car start as low as €60 weekly (remember to keep left). Or you can take the Malta Transport bus. Although significantly cheaper at just €2, it could take up to three times as long.
There are daily ferries from Sicily to Valletta. This stunning, fortified city has also become a high-demand cruise destination. Valletta currently handles approximately one million cruise passengers annually, with a cruise port offering seven berths—four of which are a 15-minute walk to the city center. Well known lines such as Seabourn, Oceana, Norwegian, Costa, MSC, and Celebrity all make Valletta a port of call. When you ask Mediterranean cruisers and crew their favorite port to enter, often they’ll say, “Valletta, Malta.”
Retire in Valletta
Valletta is a city rich in expats, including part-time investors and digital nomads, from nations around the world. Primarily British and other Europeans, but you find people from every corner of the earth. This melting pot of expat cultures and tourists makes for an easy assimilation to the city. Plus, English as an official language eases any angst for accomplishing business, joining social activities, and enjoying day-to-day life. The common language is English across the expat and interacting with the local community (even as a second or third language), since expats typically don’t speak Maltese.
There is no “bad” location to live on these charming islands, but Valletta is a popular choice for some, since it is the capital. It’s loaded with historical significance and is architecturally impressive. You don’t need a car because the city is so small and compact at approximately .24 square miles (.61 square kilometers). Therefore, everything within Valletta is accessible by foot. But beware, you will want good walking shoes. It’s not a city recommended for those with mobility challenges due to small, uneven pavements.
Since Valletta is located on a peninsula, there are ferries or water taxis to the “suburbs”—south to the historical 3 Cities or north to Sliema and St. Julians, where you will find shopping, nightlife, and most of the expat population reside. The ferries depart regularly throughout the year and those residents age 60+ holding a Tallinja (Malta Public Transport) card can ride round trip for just €0.90 or €0.50 one way. The public bus system's main terminus is just outside the city gate of Valletta, making it an easy journey to anywhere on the main island of Malta. 60+ residents can ride the bus for free.
Because Valletta is a small, antiquated, walled city built hundreds of years ago, you will not find any stand-alone homes in North American-style buildings. It is basically a massive fortress without any extra land to build anything new. There are mansions and villas tucked behind walls and Maltese balconies, however the price tags are typically well into the multi-digit millions. And many of the properties, in Valletta especially, are passed down through the Maltese generations. As an outsider, finding the right place to live becomes a challenge. But not impossible!
Christine Kelly and her partner, Norbert Horvath, moved to Valletta from Toronto, Ontario, in January 2021 and are renting while renovating a recently purchased home. “We like the buzz of living in the capital city. Even in the winter, it's a bustling place with a great selection of cultural activities and amazing restaurants. Plus, the architecture is beautiful, and the people are friendly and welcoming. It's also very easy to get to everywhere else on the island by bus or Bolt or ferry from Valletta,” she explained.
Christine shares her experience of house hunting in this lovely city, “We worked with a local agent for about six months, and looked around lots of apartments and houses. We categorically told the agent we did not want a big renovation project, but when we looked round the place we liked, we were blown away by its potential. We were also slightly disappointed by the homes we found that were already renovated. We plan to stay in Malta indefinitely so we decided to bite the bullet and try to build exactly what we wanted rather than compromise and buy something not really what we were looking for.
That said, it hasn’t been a very straightforward process so far. Completing the sale took over nine months. Searches are incredibly complex in Valletta because the lawyers have to search through ownership details scanning back over centuries for a property, and most properties are not single-unit standalone homes—they’re all jumbled up with rooms hanging over neighbor’s properties and different floors belonging to different families, for example.”
She continues, “We finally completed the purchase in Oct 2022 and since then have been working with local architects to draw up plans and obtain planning permission. It's been a very complex process because Valletta is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is protected on the Maltese national level by an Antiquities Protection Act of 1925. Once we have permission finalized, construction can begin. Again, this is complicated because traditional methods must be used, which comply with the heritage regulations. We anticipate it taking approximately 18 - 24 months. Fortunately, the architects we are working with are excellent, and have been guiding us through the process.”
There are no Special Designated Areas (SDA’s) in Valletta. SDAs are large developments built in other parts of the country especially for foreigners who can purchase property in Malta with the same acquisition rights as Maltese citizens within those developments. Therefore, buying in Valletta will take an extra step to attain an AIP permit (Acquisition of Immovable Property).
There are a number of visa options, including the digital nomad visa or a work visa if you are, for example, working for many of the I-gaming companies located on the island. If you are a retired third country national (non-EU), you can apply for permanent residency through the Malta Permanent Residency Programme (MPRP). Or as a part-time expat, Canadians and US citizens can stay in Malta and the EU Schengen region for 90 days without a visa or up to 180 days per year (90 days in/90 days out).
For health needs there is a clinic and a dental clinic, as well as several pharmacies in Valletta. The top private hospital (St. James Capula) is located in Sliema, and the best public hospital (Mater Dei) is in L-Imsida. Driving distance to each is approximately 15-20 minutes from Valletta.
Lifestyle in Valletta
The lifestyle in Valletta can be fast-paced and vibrant, especially when the cruise ships arrive into port and the tourists pour into the city. And you will never tire of exploring the city's incredible history and architecture and surrounding areas.
You don’t really need a car in Valletta. There is a larger grocery store in the middle of town and several smaller shops. If you need something more specialized, you can take the city bus or a Bolt—which are both inexpensive and a great way to stock up on supplies not available just around the corner.
Valletta—like all of Malta—is one of the safest places in the world. You will not hear about mass shootings, armed robberies, or gang turf homicides. They simply don’t happen in Malta. One can walk down the streets alone safely after dark. However, it’s always good to exercise caution as, on rare occasions, you will hear about petty theft or bag snatching—especially late at night in some of the entertainment areas like Straight Street or crowded tourist sites.
If you’re into boating, sailing, diving, water sports, etc. Valletta is surrounded by water and is situated on the Grand Harbour—so it is pretty easy to find what you are looking for. And if you golf, it is just a 15-minute drive to Malta’s Royal Golf course. Nature hikes, however, will take a little more travel time, as Valletta is unequivocally not a “natural” destination.
Because Malta is so small, 124 mi² (320 km²) and a total coastline of 122.4 mi (197km), it is easy to make a day trip from Valletta to anywhere on the island and even the neighboring islands of Gozo and Comino.
Things to Do in Valletta
Casa Rocca Piccola.
Valletta is one of the most concentrated areas of historical significance—with more centuries-old ruins, buildings, churches, fortresses, cathedrals, and ancient palaces than you can imagine.
One of the top sites in Valletta includes St. John’s Co-Cathedral, with its opulent Baroque interior and its history dating back to the Knights of Malta.
Also recommended is the only palace in Valletta which is still inhabited. The owner of the 16th-century Casa Rocca Piccola Palace has opened 12 of the 50 rooms for tours and houses a massive collection of paintings, silver, and superbly crafted antique furniture.
The Maltese National Theatre, or the Teatru Manoel, was built in 1731 to entertain the knights and general population. It is one of the oldest theaters in Europe and is still open for performances and tours. Baroque in its style, the golden chandelier within is quite impressive.
The saluting battery (the oldest still operating in the world) in the Upper Barrakkara Gardens towering over the Grand Harbour offers breathtaking views from a beautiful park. The cannons are fired at noon and 4pm daily.
The immense Fort St. Elmo and the National War Museum educate on the history of invasions of Malta. Fort St. Elmo was built in 1552 by the knights to protect Valletta. The fort also played an important role as a major defense structure when the Italians bombed Malta in WWII. If you are a history buff, put it on your list.
Take a cruise around the waterfront and see Valletta’s magnificence from the sea. Just across the Grand Harbour on the south side, a 10-minute ferry ride will take you to Vittoriosa, Senglea, and Cospicua, known as the Three Cities and considered the cradle of Maltese History.
Cost of Living
Fort St. Elmo.
Malta is part of the EU trade agreement. That means that products imported from other EU countries are not subject to tariffs imposed from other places—helping to keep costs low. Lower than most places in North America. You will find dinners out and entertainment to clothing and healthcare to cost less, as well as the overall cost of living.
However, Valletta is one of the most expensive places on the island as far as real estate prices and rentals. Mostly on par with some of the typical homes and condos you will find in trendy cities in the Americas. But there is always a gem to be uncovered.
I found a two-bedroom, one-bathroom for sale, just a corner around from the seafront in an old historic building built in the 1930s. The asking price is €329,000. Although it has sizable rooms, high ceilings, and good bones, it is unquestionably a place one would call a fixer-upper. Prices for more liveable properties will range from €475,000 to €1,500,000+ and rentals from €1,000 to €6,000. So, it is still possible to live in this Mediterranean capital city for $3000 or less.
Here is a sample lower-end budget for monthly expenses for a couple living in Valletta. Of course, your lifestyle and housing requirements can vary widely.
ExpenseUS $Rent (furnished, two-bedroom apartment/home)$1,200Electricity$120Water$10Household help (weekly maid)$140Internet$30Cellphone$10Cable/Pay TV$50Healthcare (for two people)$350Transportation$50Groceries$600Entertainment$250Miscellaneous$100Monthly Total:$2,910
If living a vibrant lifestyle in a small historical walled city with unparalleled sea views is of interest for retirement or investment, add Valletta, Malta, to your must-see list. | ||||
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9289 | dbpedia | 1 | 24 | https://www.foratravel.com/guides/CPKGW9/sun-sea-and-history-guide-to-a-vacation-in-malta-fora | en | Sun, Sea & History: Guide to a Vacation in Malta | [
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] | null | [] | 2022-11-06T17:16:43.834000+00:00 | Traveling to Malta? Get inspired with this Fora-curated itinerary: Sun, Sea & History: Sun, Sea & History: Guide to a Vacation in Malta. | en | /apple-touch-icon.png | Fora Travel | https://www.foratravel.com/guides/CPKGW9/sun-sea-and-history-guide-to-a-vacation-in-malta-fora | History
Travel back in time and visit one of the prehistoric temple sites like Ħagar Qim, Mnajdra or Ġgantija, spread throughout Malta and Gozo. Don’t miss the impressive underground maze of chambers at the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum. If you’re interested in Malta’s Roman past, visit the town of Rabat where you can find catacombs and the remains of a roman villa, Domus Romana, which still has original mosaics in place.
One does not have to look very hard to see the legacy that the Knights of St. John left on the island as the capital city of Valletta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built by the Order and still stands in all its magnificence today. Valletta is home to dozens of museums, palazzos, monuments and churches - the most impressive of which is St. John’s Cathedral. The Cathedral holds the tombs of several Grandmasters of the Order and the cathedral museum boasts a Caravaggio painting “The Beheading of John the Baptist”. The Baracca Gardens offer a commanding view across the Grand Harbour to the Three Cities, also built during the Knight’s reign, and you can take a traditional Maltese gondola ride to them from the Valletta waterfront.
The beautiful medieval city of Mdina is another historic gem, and dates back even further than Valletta. It is one of my favourite places to spend an afternoon walking round its shaded alleyways and sqaures, especially on a hot summer day. Visit the Mdina dungeons for a glimpse into Malta’s macabre past under the French occupation, or Palazzo Falson which is the oldest house in Mdina to have survived the 1693 Sicily earthquake.
Culture
Malta’s culture is as diverse as its history. Its occupiers have included Phoenecians, Romans, Arabs (the Maltese language is most closely related to Arabic but written in the Roman alphabet), French and (until the 1960s) the British - which means most of the population speak English fluently. Catholicism played a big role in the island’s identity; village life is centered around its parish church and piazza and during the summer months you can go to one of the village feasts that are dedicated to their respective patron saint.
Festivities last a week to ten days, culminating in the feast day itself where the statue of the saint is paraded through the streets to the sound of a brass band; fireworks and catherine wheels, which are still made by hand, put on an impressive show; and people eat and drink in the streets while catching up with friends and neighbours.
Adventure
The warm waters of the Maltese islands make it a big scuba diving destination. Whether you are an experienced diver or would like to try it for the first time, and maybe get certified on your trip, there are many dive schools that offer courses or guided trips to dozens of dive sites. I caught the diving bug in 2018 and always book a couple of dives when I visit. There are several wreck sites of boats and WWII planes that are really fun for those looking for adventure on their dive.
Watersports are available to rent at most of the beaches and resorts at the north end of the island or if you prefer to take a boat trip, a day at Comino’s Blue Lagoon is fun for all ages.
If staying on land is more your speed, take a day trip to Gozo and go on a quad bike tour of the island.
Relaxation
When you need a break from the sightseeing and adventure, why not book an afternoon at one of the many excellent spa’s on the island. One of my favourites is at the Golden Sands Resort. Located by the sea, when you are done being pampered you can enjoy an alfresco cocktail or dinner while listening to the sounds of the waves.
Nightlife
Malta has a very vibrant nightlife and cafe culture. The main area for bars and clubs most popular with a younger crowd can be found in the Paceville area of St. Julian’s but Valletta has come alive in recent years and offers a much more sophisticated nightlife scene with cocktail bars, live music and restaurants open till late at night. Malta also hosts international DJs for parties throughout the summer months.
Day Trips from Malta
Gozo is a short 30 min car and passenger ferry ride from the north end of the island and is a smaller more laid back version of Malta.
Comino can be accessed by a smaller boat from the north end of the island. It is a tiny island with one hotel but it’s blue lagoon is a popular swimming area.
Sicily is 60 miles to the north of Malta and day trips are offered by catamaran with coach tour and stops at Mount Etna, Taormina and Catania before returning to Malta in the evening.
Maltese Pastizzerias: Can be found in every town and village and offer traditional pastries called Pastizzi (filo pastry parcels filled with savoury ricotta or peas) that are delicious at any time of the day. They also serve other snacks like pizza by the slice, sausage rolls and cold drinks. Be sure to try the Maltese bread too, which is served in most restaurants with your meal, and in my opinion is the best bread in the world!
Manouche Cfraft Bakery: A modern take on the traditional french bakeries and bistros, they are open from breakfast to dinner.
The Hilltop Restaurant: A restaurant in the north of the island serving Mediterranean cuisine for lunch and dinner.
Trattoria A.D. 1530: Tucked away in a piazza in the Medieval city of Mdina serving lunch and dinner, they have a varied menu that includes some of the best pizza and pasta you’ll ever taste.
The De Mondion Restaurant: If you’re looking for a fine dining restaurant with fabulous panoramic views from the Mdina bastions, this Michelin starred restaurant inside the Xara Palace Relais & Chateau hotel is the place to go.
Acqua Blu: A seafood restaurant in one of the historic Three Cities. Sit by the edge of the water and enjoy your lunch or dinner while looking out across the grand harbour to Valletta.
Soul Food: Vegan, vegetarian and gluten free restaurant in the capital city, famous for their Buddah bowls.
Wagyu: Also in Valletta, this is an Asian Fusion restaurant serving sushi, curries, noodle dishes and an impressive cocktail menu. There is also an upstairs bar with music if you are just looking for somewhere to enjoy a classy cocktail.
Terrazza: Jump over to Gozo (Malta’s sister island) to enjoy an array of dishes and cocktails artfully prepared using local ingredients overlooking the picturesque bay of Xlendi. Get there in time for sunset - it won’t disappoint.
Ta'Tona: Also on Gozo, this family run restaurant is open for dinner during the summer months, and serves Mediterranean cuisine right by the harbour so you can take the ferry across and return after dinner.
La Nostra Padrona: Located in the fishing village of Marsaxlokk and specializing in seafood, you can roam the Sunday market then have lunch right by the water’s edge as you watch the fishermen bring in their catch.
Ta Marija: Serving traditional Maltese food since 1964. The national dish of Malta is rabbit which can be prepared as a stew or fried and is delicious. |