Written by Ben Kesp
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| Valletta |
Each time I visit Valletta, the capital of Malta it radiates a sense of refreshment, like an isolated little haven sitting on the edge of a tangled urban sprawl. Why does Valletta feel different? Perhaps it is due to the fact that it was purposely built as a city on a peninsula and fortified heavily by grand bastions on all sides. This prevents a city spread allowing it to remain intact with all its features and characteristics since its construction in the late 1500s – excluding the fierce bombardment it received during WWII. The walls contribute to its uniqueness unlike the urban expansions of most other towns and resorts on the island, which have spread out of control causing over 80% of the land to be classified as an urban area.
With only a population of just under 7,000 people it is very easy to navigate its grid street system and the majority of the streets are for pedestrians. This in itself is a relief from the vast amount of cars on the island (one of the highest in Europe for car ownership) and it makes the adventure of roaming its many narrow streets a pleasure. The main thorough fare running right through the city is called Republic Street, a wide and bustling street. Time is to be a luxury on the streets to absorb the abundance of shops, businesses, restaurants, churches, cafes etc., and this is only at eye level! You must raise your eyes upwards to marvel at the baroque architecture of the buildings, many adorned with traditional Maltese balconies. What is a Maltese balcony? These can be seen all over the island. The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden enclosed balcony projecting out from the wall. They are decorated in beautifully rich colours and textures adding striking additional features to the Maltese buildings. In Valletta the style of the Maltese balconies are unique from that of the rest of the island and the balconies often wrap around corners of buildings.
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| Maltese Balconies |
The city of Valletta has many gardens and parks with excellent views. From the high point of Upper Barrakka Gardens one can look across over Valletta’s grand harbour and to the three cities lying south of Valletta. These are ancient cities of Malta and are called Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicu. As Valletta was built for defence many of its fine forts and gun battlements can be seen sitting by the grand bastions really enforcing the strength and robustness of the city. It was a well planned out and designed city and what lies beneath is an extensive network of caves and cisterns and later these were connected creating a labyrinth of tunnels. This underground system had been used for bringing freshwater to the city and for sanitation pits.
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| Republic Street, Valletta |
I would like to mention the famous painting called “The beheading of St. John the Baptist” by Caravaggio considered to be one of his most famous works which can be found in St. John Co-Cathedral. For me the only other place that I have seen on the island to rival Valletta is the ancient city of Mdina, the original capital of the island.
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| Grand Harbour, Valletta |
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