Malta – an island with a past Print E-mail
Malta’s strategic position in the Mediterranean has ensured a violent and colourful past under many flags. Linda Hart went to visit this friendly archipelago. Where to go for a winter break? I wanted to be near the sea, somewhere with plenty of historical interest, but small enough to explore in a week. Some warmth and sunshine would be a bonus, but I didn’t want a long plane journey. When I chose Malta I was able to tick all these boxes. But until I was there, I didn’t fully realise what an inspired choice this was. I doubt whether any place else in the world contains so much of historical interest in so small a compass.

ImageThe Maltese Islands are strategically situated on the east-west sea route across the Mediterranean, roughly halfway between Gibraltar and Egypt.

Ships crossing from the western side of the Mediterranean to the eastern side, or vice versa, must pass near Malta. As a result, for over 3,000 years the ruling powers around the Mediterranean have dispatched traders, raiders and invaders to this small archipelago, in order to capture and control it (see box “Malta’s many rulers”).

There are two main islands – Malta, which is 17 miles long and 9 miles wide (about the size of the Isle of Wight), and Gozo, roughly one-third that size. The rocky coastline is extremely indented, with loads of scenic bays, inlets and creeks that provide excellent harbours for cruise ships, pleasure yachts and fishing boats, as well as grand places for holiday makers to swim, sunbathe, snorkel and scuba-dive.

Despite the mild winters and hot summers, you won’t see much forestry or arable farming. Instead, the Maltese islands are dominated by a distinctive honey-coloured limestone, which looks wonderful against the backdrop of an azure sky and sapphire sea. For millennia this rock has been hewn from the island and wrought into temples, fortresses, palaces, houses, churches, chapels, coastal towers and boundary walls, giving Malta a unique architectural unity.

Winston Churchill called Malta “that tiny rock of history and romance” and it’s true that history is behind every corner, down every lane, along the coast, inside palaces, among temples and within churches. Neolithic remains on the Maltese islands are extensive, and six temples dating from the Bronze Age (around 3600 BC) have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The two temples at Ggantija, on Gozo, are the earliest freestanding manmade structures in the world. Another World Heritage Site, the Hypogeum on Malta, consists of an enormous subterranean necropolis that was miraculously dug out of rock, using the most primitive of tools, around 3000 BC.

The remains of a Roman house (the Domus Romana) at Rabat, on Malta, have been turned into a splendid museum of domestic life in Roman times; it contains some of the oldest mosaics in the western Mediterranean. From the Domus Romana it’s a short walk to St Paul’s Catacombs, a complex of underground Roman cemeteries that were used until the 4th century.

Adjacent to Rabat is the ancient walled city of Mdina. Built by the Phoenicians, but given a Baroque makeover by the Knights, its narrow carefree cobbled streets have an old-world charm that is unforgettable. Here, too, is the majestic St Paul’s Cathedral, and nearby the Magisterial Palace (built for one of the Knights’ Grand Masters, it is now the Natural History Museum).

No visit to Malta is complete without a day trip to Gozo on the ferry that plies between the two islands. Greener and more rural than Malta, Gozo also has a walled town – known as the citadel – perched defensively on a hill at the top of the island’s capital,Victoria. Here, too, is a cathedral (with a magnificent false dome painted on the ceiling), several museums, much medieval ambience, and fabulous views of the island spread out below.

City to savourImage

The jewel in Malta’s crown is its capital, Valletta, where I could happily have passed a week admiring its architectural gems, savouring the views across the Grand Harbour, visiting its many museums and churches, marvelling at the massive fortifications, walking in the gardens, and relaxing in the outdoor cafés (even in December).Valletta is probably the world’s first planned city, built by the Knights of Malta in the late 16th century, on a finger of land between two vast natural harbours.

They designed very long narrow streets – for defensive purposes – and extravagant, monumental, Baroque buildings to proclaim their wealth and power. They constructed two miles of fortifications that still ring the Grand Harbour today. Valletta’s wonderful buildings today house the National Museum of Archaeology, the National Museum of Fine Arts, the Palace of the Grand Masters, the Armoury, the National War Museum, Fort St Elmo, St Paul’s Shipwreck Church, the Manoel Theatre (one of Europe’s oldest) and St John’s Co-Cathedral whose tapestries, altar paintings, inlaid marble tombstones and richly ornamented chapels will take your breath away.

All over Valletta are reminders of Malta’s close links with Britain. The Palace of the Grand Masters was the British Governor’s Palace, for example, and there is a bust of Churchill in the Upper Barrakka Gardens. The Anglican Cathedral was built with a £100,000 donation from the Dowager Queen Adelaide, who visited Malta in 1838. The Lascaris War Rooms – today a fascinating museum – was once the headquarters of the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean Fleet during the Second World War. On display at the National War Museum is a copy of the George Cross awarded to Malta for conspicuous gallantry and endurance during the horrific April 1942 bombing campaign. A perfect way to end a day in Valletta is with a very British afternoon tea in the sumptuous lounge of the Hotel Phoenicia.

Malta's many rulers

The first inhabitants came from Sicily, around 5000 BC. The Phoenicians then controlled Malta from around 850 BC, until the arrival of the Carthaginians in 600 BC. Their great rivals, the Romans, conquered in 218 BC. They ruled for 700 years, until Malta was absorbed into the Byzantine empire. An Arab invasion in 870 turned Malta into an Islamic state.

Two centuries later Count Roger from Sicily conquered Malta in order to revive Christianity. Spain gained control of the islands 360 years later. But in 1530 the king of Spain gave Malta to the Order of St John of Jerusalem, Christian crusaders who came from Europe’s most aristocratic families. In the Great Siege of 1565 (one of the most famous and crucial battles in European history) the Order’s knights, with help from the Maltese people,  miraculously triumphed over a far more powerful army led by the Sultan of Turkey.

The Knights of Malta (as they were henceforth known) had a major impact on Malta’s history and architecture over the next 250 years. But Napolean Bonaparte, with a fleet of 400 ships, captured Malta as a stepping stone to Egypt in 1798. The Maltese rebelled against French rule, and welcomed help from Nelson and the British Mediterranean fleet. Thus began 164 years of British colonial rule. Malta became independent in 1964, and a republic in 1974. All British Armed Forces left the island in 1979. Malta joined the European Union in 2004, and is the smallest member in both area and population.

 Further information

  • Contact the Malta Tourist Office on tel: 020 8877 6990 or visit www.visitmalta.com
  • Flights to Malta available with Air Malta, British Airways, Ryanair, British Jet and Thomsonfly.
  • Many of the museums and buildings mentioned above are managed by Heritage Malta; for visiting times and other information see www.heritagemalta.org
  • Captain Morgan’s Harbour Cruises – www.captainmorgan.com.mt
  • The Rough Guide to Malta & Gozo at £6.99 is compact and thorough.
  • The Kappillan of Malta, by Nicholas Monsarrat, is a gripping novel about the dramatic history this fascinating island, told through the eyes of a humble priest during the second Great Siege of Malta 1940–42.
  • Linda Hart travelled with Titan HiTours (tel: 0845 3750150 or www.titanhitours.co.uk), but many tour companies and cruise ships include Malta in their programme.
 
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