Valletta

On this chilly morning,we headed over to Valletta to walk around and check out the sites there.

Valletta was named after Jean Parosot de la Valette, who succeeded in defending the island from an Ottoman invasion, known as the Great Siege of Malta, in 1565.  It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage city in 1980.  The siege was one of the bloodiest and most celebrated events in the 16th century, and was the climax of an escalating contest between a Christian alliance and the Ottoman Empire for control of the Mediterranean.

Waiting for the morning bus on a chilly day.

Each morning we saw these boats sailing around together.

When we first arrived in the city, there were these native men playing some pan flutes.  One guy was from Chile and the other was from Mexico.

Here is a little sampling of their music.

The highlight of our day trip to Valletta was St. John's Co-Cathedral. 

St. John's Co-Cathedral is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of the order.  According to the Co-Cathedral's official website, After the knights' victory over the Ottomans, they turned  Malta into a "fortress that befitted a military Order and built a new capital worthy of noblemen.  Pride of place in the center of the new city 'Valletta' was reserved for their church."

Building was completed on St John's in 1577.  The exterior is plain and somber reflecting the mood of the Order after the Great Siege.  The  8 chapels on either side of the nave were assigned to the various "langues" (meaning tongues) or sections of the Knights, and each was dedicated to its own patron saint: 

The Chapel of Provence: St Michael, The Chapel of France: The Conversion of St. Paul, The Chapel of Italy: St. Catherine, The Chapel of Germany: The Epiphany of Christ, The Chapel of Auvergne: St. Sebastian, The Chapel of Aragon: St. George, The Chapel of Castile, Leon & Portugal: St. James The Greater, and The Chapel of Anglo-Bavaria was known as the Chapel of the Relic where the knights kept the relics they had acquired through the centuries.

The church interior was redecorated in the new Baroque style to reflect the era's flamboyancy.  It was largely decorated by Mattia Preti, the Calabrian artist and Knight.

In 1941, during the Second World War, St. John's Co-Cathedral suffered severe damage as a result of a bombing attack over Valletta, but fortunately, the contents had been transferred elsewhere before the strike.

As I mentioned, the facade is not very interesting, but when we entered the church I drew in a breath and exclaimed, "Ooooooh!" It was  really beautiful.

The ceiling of St. John's.

The collection of in-laid marble tombstones in the nave contain the remains of important knights.  They illustrate the coat of arms of the knight buried below, images relevant to that knight, and often tell a story of triumph in battle.

View of the alter from inside the nave.

Also in Valletta, is the Grand Master's Palace, which we, regretfully didn't tour on the day. 

Guards outside the Grand Master's Palace.

Changing of the guard.

A view from the Grand Harbor.

Another view of the Grand Harbor.

The Siege Bell Memorial erected in 1992 to honor the over 7000 people who lost their lives in the WWII Siege of Malta from 1940-1943; 50 years after the island was awarded the George Cross of Bravery.  It weighs 10 tons and is rung daily at noon.

Old buildings near the harbor.

More old buildings near the harbor.

The main purpose of the Saluting Battery was for protection of the harbor against a Naval assault.  From the 1820's a gun was also fired at mid-day to signal out the exact hour of the day by which Ship Masters would calibrate their chronographs on board.  These time pieces were used up to the early part of the 20th century to find longitude at sea.