Revisiting Valletta
Our first visit to Valletta earlier in the week seemed to fly by and we felt we didn’t see as much of the city as we’d wished. It didn’t help we were dodging rainstorms for most of that day. Given that, today we planned a second visit to the Maltese capital city.
On the way to the Sliema ferry docks we encountered this intriguing wire sculpture on the promenade:
Oh, Those Valletta Hills…
After departing the Valletta ferry and making your way to the city centre, you’ll find that Valletta is indeed a very hilly city (shades of Lisbon, Portugal here). We got our leg workout in while visiting Valletta, that’s for sure:
Barrakka Gardens
One of the most popular sites in Valletta are the Barrakka Gardens, of which there are two levels: the Upper Barrakka Gardens and Lower Barrakka Gardens.
The Upper Barrakka Gardens and Lower Barrakka Gardens are public gardens, offering a panoramic view of Valletta’s Grand Harbour:
The Gardens are located on the upper tier of Saints Peter and Paul Bastion, which was built in the 1560s. The Lower Gardens contain the Saluting Battery where visitors can watch the daily ceremonial cannon firings at Noon and 4:00PM every day. We chose not to visit the Lower Gardens as there was an entry fee, and the view was just as good on the Upper Gardens:
The Garden’s terraced arches were built in 1661 by the Italian knight Fra Flaminio Balbiani. They were originally roofed, but the ceiling was removed following the Rising of the Priests in 1775:
What was the “Rising of the Priests”?
The Rising of the Priests was a short-lived 1775 rebellion in Valletta, led by Don Gaetano Mannarino against the rule of the Knights Hospitaller. The uprising was caused by political and economic tensions following the death of Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca and his successor’s austerity measures, as well as a dispute between the Knights and the Bishop of Malta. While the rebels briefly captured fortifications, the revolt was quickly suppressed, leading to arrests, executions, and imprisonments.
In Upper Barrakka Gardens there were several monuments and memorials to a number of prominent people, including Sir Winston Churchill. A replica of the statue Les Gavroches (the Street Boys), by the Maltese sculptor Antonio Sciortino, was also located in the garden:
The Gardens is the highest point of Valletta’s walls, and thus its bordering terrace offers a clear view over the Grand Harbour, the Three Cities (Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua), as well as over the shipyard and the lower-lying parts of Valletta.
Note the crush of people on the terrace in the upper right of the photo below. This is typically how busy the Gardens, and most of Valletta, became once the cruise ships arrived. The Upper Barrakka Gardens were a beautiful spot to visit, but we found the sheer volume of people overwhelming; constantly banging into people intensely detracted from our enjoyment of the Gardens:
Leaving the Upper Barrakka Gardens we wandered through one of the city squares:
There was a couple of interesting sculptures in the Courtyard of the Malta Stock Exchange building:
A Flame Which Never Dies
This odd-looking sculpture outside the Malta Stock Exchange is entitled A Flame Which Never Dies. It is a tribute to all Maltese who worked passionately so that the Maltese people could become master of their country’s fate as a nation, and determine its future.
The monument is the artistic work or Valerio Schembri. It was inaugurated on July 7, 2017 by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to commemorate Malta’s Presidency of the European Council:
2015 Valletta Summit on Migration
This monument commemorates the Migration Summit which brought African and European leaders together in Malta in 2015. It was inaugurated by all the leaders present for the Summit on November 11. In the shape of a knot, it also symbolizes Malta’s foreign policy since the 1970s, inspired by Malta’s geographic position which serves as a link between two continents. This is the artistic work of Vincent Briffa:
Wandering Valletta
One of our objectives this day was to visit the magnificent St. John’s Co-Cathedral. On the way there I grabbed a few shots of everyday life in Valletta:
St John’s Co-Cathedral
St John’s Co-Cathedral is a Catholic co-cathedral in Valletta, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It was built by the Order of St. John between 1573 and 1578, having been commissioned by Grand Master Jean de la Cassière as the Conventual Church of Saint John. The church was designed by the Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar, who designed several of the more prominent buildings in Valletta. The interior of the church is considered to be one of the finest examples of high Baroque architecture in Europe.
The Chapel is dedicated to the Epiphany of Christ. The chapel was originally assigned to the Langue of England, but was given to the Langue of Germany following the English Reformation (a Langue is an administrative division of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem between 1319 and 1798). Its altarpiece depicts The Adoration of the Magi by the Maltese painter Stefano Erardi:
This is a 17th-century sculpture group featuring three large, wooden figures: the Crucifix, the Virgin Mary, and St. John the Evangelist. Donated by Commander Fra Felicaja in 1653, it is considered a masterpiece and was recently restored, which revealed it was originally polychromed. The work is likely from the workshop of Alessandro Algardi, a leading 17th-century artist.
The cathedral is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Malta, and is listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.
The Sanctuary
The Sanctuary has an incredibly ornate interior, a prime example of Baroque architecture. The Cathedral defines this space as “a sanctuary in the sense of a sacred and awe-inspiring space filled with artistic treasures”:
The Oratory – Paintings by Caravaggio
The Oratory displayed many of Caravaggio’s works, the most famous being the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio – The Maltese Connection
Arrogant, rebellious and a murderer, Caravaggio’s short and tempestuous life matched the drama of his works. Characterized by their dramatic, almost theatrical lighting, Caravaggio’s paintings were controversial, popular, and hugely influential on succeeding generations of painters all over Europe.
Caravaggio had a violent temper. When in Rome in 1606 his temper went a step too far. An argument with ‘a very polite young man’ described variously as over a woman, or a tennis match, escalated into a swordfight. Caravaggio stabbed his rival, and though he probably hadn’t intended to kill him, the man died of his wound. Caravaggio chose not to face justice, but leave Rome. He had no doubt that he would quickly obtain a pardon.
Caravaggio went to the island of Malta, an independent sovereignty and home of the Knights of Malta (a religious military order like the Knights Templars). If Caravaggio could become a Knight of Malta, he would be in a better position to seek a papal pardon for the murder he’d committed in Rome. In return for a painting of the Beheading of St John the Baptist, he was granted membership.
Caravaggio’s social standing in Malta was high – his reward included two slaves and a gold chain. All was going to plan, until his temper got him into trouble again. He got into a fight with another knight and found himself in prison. He escaped, but was expelled from the order.
Text source: The National Gallery of London
The image depicts the execution of John the Baptist while nearby a servant girl stands with a golden platter to receive his head. Another woman, who has been identified as a bystander who realizes that the execution is wrong, stands by in shock while a jailer issues instructions and the executioner draws his dagger to finish the beheading
Completed in 1608 in Malta, the painting had been commissioned by the Knights of Malta as an altarpiece; it was the largest altarpiece which Caravaggio would ever paint. It is breathtaking when viewed close up.
Break Time
Whew! Absorbing all that art and bling is exhausting… time for a little break with some Gelato and Coke Zero:
Back to Home Base
After our rest stop we slowly made our way through Malta, back to the ferry docks to return across the water to Sliema:
On the way to the ferry, we shot this short panoramic video of Valletta, panning back to the edge of Sliema:
And so, back to our hotel for the evening.
As always, your photos are first rate Marvin. And your research is spectacular . The amount of work you put into these blogs is quite impressive . I have enjoyed seeing Malta through your lens. I know you got a lot of rain , but the sun still shined in these shots.
Thank you, David 🙂
The gardens and cathedral are both beautiful, but I just love all the balconies jutting out into the narrow streets the best. Just lovely photos.
Thank you so much, Bob