In the old days the Maltese used to boast that Malta was ‘Il Fior del Mondo’ – the flower of the world.  Malta’s main attraction remains, however, Valletta, our capital city. Benjamin Disraeli in his younger days visited Malta and wrote of it in his 1833 novel Henrietta Temple: “… that fair Valletta, with its streets of palaces, its picturesque forts and magnificent church…” That magnificent church was, of course, St John’s Co-Cathedral. 

When the Knights of St John were in 1523 expelled from Rhodes by Suleiman I after a six-month siege of the island, the Turkish leader was generous enough, in view of their exceptional bravery, to allow them to depart from Rhodes in their own galleys taking with them their most important personal possessions.

For some time the Knights drifted aimlessly from one place to the other in the Mediterranean until finally Pope Clement VII proposed Malta (and Tripoli) as the best from a very short list of possible homes where the Order could settle permanently, especially in consideration of the island’s excellent strategic location.

Emperor Charles of the Holy Roman Empire, on his part, also agreed to cede the island to the Knights in the hope of obtaining the goodwill of the Pope and to establish a buffer between his possessions in the Mediterranean and the Ottoman forces that had become a continuous threat and serious menace to all Europe. Above all, the Mediterranean had become the soft underbelly of Christian Europe.

Grand Master Philippe Villiers de L’Isle Adam, a very careful man, appointed a committee of knights to visit Malta to study the situation. The committee submitted an extensive report at the end of its mission which was not in general favourable in its conclusions.

It reported that Malta was an arid rock and very unpleasant as a place of permanent residence. Furthermore, with its long summer drought the provision of water was a constant worry. But in the end they had no real alternative to Malta.

The Knights arrived in Malta in 1533 and remained here until the arrival of Napoleon in 1798 when they were expelled from the island for good. Their 256 years in Malta immeasurably enriched the island, making of it a venue of European art and culture at its highest level.

The Great Siege of Malta by Ottoman forces in 1565, and which lasted for three months, three weeks and three days, cemented the Knights’ hold on the island.

The Valletta Project should remain a holistic attempt that encompasses both the city and its immediate environs

Andrew Vella in his history of Malta writes: “First of all, the victory, bonded the Knights of St John with the island of Malta… secondly, it built trust between the Order and the members of all classes of the population… thirdly, it gave Malta the identity of a nation that was no longer to be considered by foreigners as a province of Spain, a vassal and beggar of Sicily” (loose translation).

Jean de Valette, the heroic grand master during the siege, immediately after the defeated Turks left the shores of the island turned his attention to creating a magnificent strong city on mount Sceberras.

Francesco Laparelli, the renowned Italian military engineer, was commissioned to draw up the plans for the new city and its fortifications. In doing so, he was helped by our own Girolamo Cassar who had a great say in all the plans and related works.

The foundation stone of Valletta was laid with great pomp on March 28, 1566. Subsequent grand masters continued to embellish the city to make of it the magnificent baroque capital we have all come to admire.

During the last 15 years (especially since our accession to the EU), several projects have been taken in hand by the authorities to restore and embellish the city. Personally, in my life, I have never seen our capital city so vibrant, clean and resplendent.

Additionally, the latest Piano interventions have enhanced the entrance to the city. All in all, these new works have been a worthy long effort, but the project must not stop here. The lower part of Valletta, for example, still needs a lot of attention and the potential there for further improvements cannot be overstated.

Indeed, the Valletta Project should remain a holistic attempt that encompasses both the city and its immediate environs.

Let me end with a quote from the diary of Lady Violet Bonham Carter (at the time Violet Asquith) on her first entrance into Grand Harbour on May 30, 1912: “We sailed into the most wonderful harbour I could have imagined or dreamt of – ‘harbour of harbours’ – strongholds and fortresses piled up on every side.”

Almost a hundred years before Lord Byron in a sad lamentation at his departure from Malta wrote:

“Adieu, ye joys of La Vallette!

Adieu, scirocco, sun and sweat!

Adieu, thou palace rarely entered!

Adieu, ye mansions where I’ve ventured

Adieu, ye females frought with graces!

Adieu, redcoats and redder faces!

I go – but God knows when, or why

To smoky towns and clouded sky.”

Let’s take great care of Valletta, our incomparable precious gem.

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