St. John's Co-Cathedral, the Knights' conventual church. Impressive from the outside...
Saturday, October 24th.
Today was a very full day learning of the complex history of Malta. We set out on foot to explore Valletta, Europe's smallest capital, built by the Knights of St. John as a fortress city following their victory in the Great Siege of 1565. IT is built on a outcrop overlooking two deep well protected harbours. This is a very popular tourist destination and today 3 cruise ships were expected so we began our tour at St. John's Co-Cathedral, the Knights' conventual church, which hides an incredible gilded Baroque interior and inlaid marble tombs behind a deceptively plain facade. The interior is overwhelming in gold, murals, statues and a floor covered in inlaid marble tombs. Its museum holds Caravaggio's largest known painting, The Beheading of St. John the Baptist, completed during the artist’s turbulent stay on the island. Then we walked to the Upper Barakka Gardens, the terraced gardens laid out along the bastion walls with sweeping views across the Grand Harbour to the Three Cities beyond. As we walked past the President’s House a black SUV pulled up and the president stepped out and we immediately questioned by an interviewer. It was amazing how informal it was and how he wasn’t surrounded by security. Next we went to the Sacra Infermeria, the Knights' 16th-century hospital, for "The Malta Experience," an audiovisual journey through seven millennia of island history, from the temple builders to independence. The movie was very well done and gave a brief overview of the history of Malta. The island sits in a very strategic location in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea and is the shortest distance between North Africa and Europe. It has been invaded and colonized by every major civilization in the region except the Ottoman Turks who tried to defeat it by siege, but failed in 1565. It played a very important role in both world wars and was heavily bombarded in WWII. The people never surrendered and eventually the Allies were able to use Malta as an entry point into southern Europe through Italy and bring about the defeat of the 3rd Reich. Then we had 90 minutes of free time to explore and have lunch. Nearby, the Grand Master's Palace served as the Order's seat of government for over two centuries. Here we toured its state rooms, hung with Gobelin tapestries, and the Palace Armoury, its halls lined with knights' swords, breastplates, and ceremonial suits of armour. From here we walk to the National Museum of Archaeology, housed in the Knights' Auberge de Provence, where the "Sleeping Lady" and other Neolithic treasures trace Malta's temple-building culture back some 5,000 years. After a fascinating and long day we returned to the hotel for a short break before our group dinner.
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