Fort St. Elmo

Fort St. Elmo

  • On 9 January 2022
Fort Saint Elmo is a fort that stands on the seaward tip of the peninsula on which Valletta was built, between Grand Harbour and Marsamxett Harbour. The Order of St. John had built it on the site where a small tower once stood.  It is one of the best-known landmarks in Malta for its role in the Great Siege of […]
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The Valletta Ditch – Ġnien Laparelli

The Valletta Ditch – Ġnien Laparelli

  • On 9 January 2022
Francesco Laparelli’s original design of Valletta consisted of a bastioned land front with two cavaliers separated from the mainland by a deep ditch. Although varying in time, the ditch approximately measures 12.5 meters in depth and from 12.5 meters to 25 meters wide in certain locations and cuts across from Marsamxett Harbour to Grand Harbour. The […]
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Jean de Valette Square

Jean de Valette Square

  • On 9 January 2022
In 2012, a square was inaugurated in Valletta named Pjazza Jean de La Valette which also features a statue of the Grandmaster. The statue is 2.5m high and was cast in bronze by the local sculptor Joseph Chetcuti. In the statue, La Valette is shown in armour and holding Valletta’s plan in one hand and […]
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  • On 9 January 2022
The main landward entrance into Valletta was Porta San Giorgio or as better known as Porta Reale, which commenced in 1566 and was completed in 1569 by the Order of St. John to designs of Francesco Laparelli or of Girolamo Cassar, located between St. James’ and St. John’s Bastions. In 1586, additions were made to the gate […]
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Castille Square

Castille Square

  • On 9 January 2022
Castille Place is located on the highest part of the land-front of Valletta. The square is enclosed by various prominent buildings and structures, amongst which are the Auberge de Castille which housed the Castillian and Portuguese knights of the Order of St. John, St. James’ Cavalier which is one of the two keeps within Valletta’s […]
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Old Parliament Chamber

Old Parliament Chamber

  • On 30 October 2021
The former Parliament chamber, embedded in people’s memories as the venue of so many historic and feisty sittings, has been stripped of its fittings and famous purple hue. It is now being transformed into a fresh, bright hall in preparation for hosting informal EU ministerial meetings during Malta’s 2017 EU presidency. The chamber’s furnishings used […]
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The Upper Barrakka Lift

The Upper Barrakka Lift

  • On 27 March 2021
The original Upper Barrakka Lift was one of two proposed as a vertical transport with the introduction of the tramway in Malta, was completed in September 1905 and launched in the following December. The cost was £5,000. The lift was 200feet high and its total weight was some 75 tons. Each cabin carried twelve passengers. […]
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Triton Square

Triton Square

  • On 27 March 2021
The main fortifications of Valletta  were separated by a deep ditch, and Porta Reale was covered by a Piazza d’Armi and a ravelin. During the 17th century, Valletta’s fortifications were strengthened with the construction of f four counterguards along the landfront, as well as by St. Magdalene’s Ravelin, with a small ditch separated the ravelin […]
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