Valletta's 16th-century buildings were constructed by theKnights Hospitaller. The city was named after the FrenchmanJean Parisot de Valette, who succeeded in defending the island against an Ottoman invasion during theGreat Siege of Malta. The city isBaroque in character, with elements ofMannerist,Neo-Classical andModern architecture, though theSecond World War left major scars on the city, particularly the destruction of theRoyal Opera House. The city was officially recognised as aWorld Heritage Site byUNESCO in 1980.[7] The city has 320 monuments, all within an area of 0.55 square kilometres (0.21 sq mi), making it one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world.[7][8] Sometimes called an "open-air museum",[9] Valletta was chosen as theEuropean Capital of Culture in 2018. Valletta was also listed as the sunniest city in Europe in 2016.[10][11]
Former mural atIs-Suq tal-Belt illustrating the city's construction
The peninsula was previously calledXagħret Mewwija (Mu' awiya – Meuia; named during the Arab period[12])[13][14] or Ħal Newwija.[15] Mewwija refers to a sheltered place.[16] Some authors state that the extreme end of the peninsula was known as Xebb ir-Ras (Sheb point), of which name origins from the lighthouse on site.[17][18] A family which surely owned land became known asSceberras, now a Maltese surname as Sciberras.[19] At one point the entire peninsula became known as Sceberras.
Recent scholarly studies have however shown that the Xeberras phrase is of Punic origin and means 'the headland' and 'the middle peninsula' as it actually is.[20]
The building of a city on the Sciberras Peninsula had been proposed by theOrder of Saint John as early as 1524.[21] Back then, the only building on the peninsula was a small watchtower[22] dedicated toErasmus of Formia (Saint Elmo), which had been built in 1488.[23]
In 1552, the Aragonite watchtower was demolished and the largerFort Saint Elmo was built in its place.[24]
In theGreat Siege of 1565, Fort Saint Elmo fell to theOttomans, but the Order eventually won the siege with the help of Sicilian reinforcements. The victorious Grand Master,Jean de Valette, immediately set out to build a new fortified city on the Sciberras Peninsula to fortify the Order's position in Malta and bind the Knights to the island. The city took his name and was calledLa Valletta.[25]
The Grand Master asked the European kings and princes for help, receiving a lot of assistance due to the increased fame of the Order after their victory in the Great Siege.Pope Pius V sent his military architect,Francesco Laparelli, to design the new city, whilePhilip II of Spain sent substantial monetary aid. Thefoundation stone of the city was laid by Grand Master de Valette on 28 March 1566. He placed the first stone in what later becameOur Lady of Victories Church.[26]
In his bookDell'Istoria della Sacra Religione et Illustrissima Militia di San Giovanni Gierosolimitano (English:The History of the Sacred Religion and Illustrious Militia of St John of Jerusalem), written between 1594 and 1602,Giacomo Bosio writes that when the cornerstone of Valletta was placed, a group ofMaltese elders said: "Iegi zimen en fel wardia col sceber raba iesue uquie" (Which in modern Maltese reads, "Jiġi żmien li fil-Wardija [l-Għolja Sciberras] kull xiber raba' jiswa uqija", and in English, "There will come a time when every piece of land on Sciberras Hill will be worth its weight in gold").[27]
De Valette died from a stroke on 21 August 1568 at age 74 and never saw the completion of his city. Originally interred in the church of Our Lady of the Victories, his remains now rest inSt. John's Co-Cathedral among the tombs of other Grand Masters of theKnights of Malta.[26]
Francesco Laparelli was the city's principal designer and his plan departed from medieval Maltese architecture, which exhibited irregular winding streets and alleys. He designed the new city on a rectangulargrid plan, and without anycollacchio (an area restricted for important buildings). The streets were designed to be wide and straight, beginning centrally from theCity Gate and ending at Fort Saint Elmo (which was rebuilt) overlooking the Mediterranean; certain bastions were built 47 metres (154 ft) high. His assistant was the Maltese architectGirolamo Cassar, who later oversaw the construction of the city himself after Laparelli's death in 1570.[26]
InAntoine de Paule's reign, it was decided to build more fortifications to protect Valletta, and these were named theFloriana Lines after the architect who designed them,Pietro Paolo Floriani ofMacerata.[32] DuringAntónio Manoel de Vilhena's reign, a town began to form between the walls of Valletta and the Floriana Lines, and this evolved from a suburb of Valletta toFloriana, a town in its own right.[33]
In 1634, agunpowder factory explosion killed 22 people in Valletta.[34] In 1749, Muslim slavesplotted to kill GrandmasterPinto and take over Valletta, but the revolt was suppressed before it even started due to their plans leaking out to the Order.[35] Later on in his reign, Pinto embellished the city withBaroque architecture, and many important buildings such asAuberge de Castille were remodeled or completely rebuilt in the new architectural style.[36]
In 1775, during the reign ofXimenes, an unsuccessful revolt known as theRising of the Priests occurred in which Fort Saint Elmo andSaint James Cavalier were captured by rebels, but the revolt was eventually suppressed.[37]
Early morning in 1967 on the notorious Strait Street known to generations of British Servicemen (especially to sailors on shore leave) as "The Gut". Bars and bordellos abounded, and brawls were common, but its popularity never waned.
In 1798, theFrench invaded the island and expelled the Order.[38] After the Maltese rebelled, French troops continued to occupy Valletta and the surrounding harbour area, until they capitulated to the British in September 1800. In the early 19th century, the British Civil Commissioner,Henry Pigot, agreed to demolish the majority of the city's fortifications.[39] The demolition was again proposed in the 1870s and 1880s, but it was never carried out and the fortifications have survived largely intact.[21]
Eventually building projects in Valletta resumed under British rule. These projects included widening gates, demolishing and rebuilding structures, widening newer houses over the years, and installing civic projects. TheMalta Railway, which linked Valletta toMdina, was officially opened in 1883.[40] It was closed down in 1931 afterbuses became a popular means of transport.
In 1939, Valletta was abandoned as the headquarters of theRoyal Navy Mediterranean Fleet due to its proximity to Italy and the city became a flash point during the subsequent two-year longSiege of Malta.[41]German andItalian air raids throughout theSecond World War caused much destruction in Valletta and the rest of the harbor area. TheRoyal Opera House, constructed at the city entrance in the 19th century, was one of the buildings lost to the raids.[24]
The Valletta Local Council was established by the Local Councils Act of 1993, along with the otherlocal councils of Malta.[47] The first election was held on 20 November 1993. Other elections were held in 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2013,[48] 2017.[49]The present local council was elected in 2019.[50]The local council is housed in a building in South Street.
The following people have served as Mayors of Valletta:[51]
Valletta features aMediterranean climate (KöppenCsa) with very mild, wet winters and warm to hot, slightly long, dry summers, with an average annual temperature above 23 °C (73 °F) during the day and 16 °C (61 °F). Valletta experiences a lack of precipitation during the summer months and most of the precipitation happens during the winter months. Winter temperatures are moderated by the surrounding sea, as a result, the city has very mild winters and a long seasonal lag. The official climate recording station in Malta is at Luqa Airport, which is a few miles inland from Valletta. Average high temperatures range from around 16 °C (61 °F) in January to about 32 °C (90 °F) in August, while average low temperatures range from around 10 °C (50 °F) in January to 23 °C (73 °F) in August.
Climate data for Malta (Luqa Airport in the suburbs of Valletta, 1991–2020)
The architecture of Valletta'sstreets and piazzas ranges from mid-16th century Baroque toModernism. The city is the island's principal cultural center and has a unique collection of churches, palaces and museums and act as one of the city's main visitor attractions. WhenBenjamin Disraeli, future British Prime Minister, visited the city in 1830, he described it as "a city of palaces built by gentlemen for gentlemen," and remarked that "Valletta equals in its noble architecture, if it does not excel, any capital inEurope," and in other letters called it "comparable toVenice andCádiz" and "full of palaces worthy ofPalladio."[63][64]
Buildings of historic importance includeSt John's Co-Cathedral, formerly the Conventual Church of theKnights of Malta. It has the only signed work and largest painting by Michelangelo Merisi daCaravaggio.[65] TheAuberge de Castille et Leon, formerly the official seat of the Knights of Malta of the Langue of Castille, Léon and Portugal, is now the office of thePrime Minister of Malta.[59] TheGrandmaster's Palace, built between 1571 and 1574 and formerly the seat of the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, used to house the Maltese Parliament, now situated in a purpose-built structure at the entrance to the city, and now houses the offices of thePresident of Malta.[66]
Admiralty House is a Baroque palace dating to the late 1570s. It was the official residence of the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet during the British era from the 1820s onwards. From 1974 until 2016, it was the site of theNational Museum of Fine Arts.
TheManoel Theatre (Maltese:Teatru Manoel) was constructed in just ten months in 1731, by order of Grand MasterAntónio Manoel de Vilhena, and is one of the oldest working theatres in Europe. The Mediterranean Conference Centre was formerly theSacra Infermeria. Built in 1574, it was one of Europe's most renowned hospitals during the Renaissance. Thefortifications of the port, built by the Knights as a magnificent series of bastions, demi-bastions, cavaliers and curtains, approximately 100 metres (330 ft) high, all contribute to the unique architectural quality of the city.
l-Arċipierku – an area close to theSacra Infermeria. Its name possibly derives fromarchipelago since it contains a number of lanes which break up the area into many "islands" of houses, or fromarchi-borgo since the area is located just outsideFort Saint Elmo.[68]
il-Baviera – an area around the English Curtain, bounded by Old Bakery, Archbishop, Marsamxett and St. Sebastian Streets. It is named afterAuberge de Bavière.[68]
il-Biċċerija – an area close to il-Baviera, named after theslaughterhouse which was formerly located there.[68]
il-Kamrata – an area close to theSacra Infermeria. It is named after the Camerata, a spiritual retreat which was demolished in the 19th century and replaced by social housing.[68]
Deux Balles (Maltese:Duwi Balli) – an area close to il-Baviera. The name probably originates from theFrench occupation.[68]
il-Fossa – an area close to the Jews' Sally Port and Fort Saint Elmo. It is regarded as the worst maintained area of Valletta.[69]
Manderaggio (Maltese:il-Mandraġġ) – an area behind Manderaggio Curtain, bounded by St. Mark, St. Lucia, St. Patrick and Marsamxett Streets. This was meant to be a small harbour (mandracchio) but it was never completed, and a slum area developed instead. The slums were demolished in the 1950s and were rebuilt as housing estates.[68]
Eurostat estimates the labour force in 2015 for the greater Valletta area at around 91,000 people. This corresponds to a share of just under 50 percent of Malta. As in Malta as a whole,tourism is an important economic sector. The most important tourist zone is the area surrounding the Grand Harbour. For the cruise industry, after several years of planning, work began in 2002 to build the Valletta Waterfront Project, a cruise terminal, in the Grand Harbour.[70] There is also a publishing house in Valletta, Allied Newspapers Ltd., a media company. This company publishes the two market-leading newspapers,Times of Malta andThe Sunday Times of Malta.
The Valletta Campus of theUniversity of Malta is situated in the Old University Building. It serves as an extension of the Msida Campus, especially offering international masters programmes.[71]
Saint James Cavalier, originally a raised gun platform, was converted into a Centre of Creativity in the year 2000 as part of Malta's Millennium Project. It now houses a small theatre, a cinema, music rooms and art galleries. Various exhibitions are regularly held there. It has welcomed over a million visitors since opening.[78]
TheValletta International Baroque Festival is held every year in January. Jazz music in Malta was introduced in the Strait Street area, frequented by Allied sailors during bothWorld Wars.[79] Malta's Jazz Festival took place here. Strait Street is also known asThe Gut. This area is undergoing a programme of regeneration. The city's dual band clubs are the "King's Own Band Club" (Maltese:L-Għaqda Mużikali King's Own) and "La Valette National Philharmonic Society" (Maltese:Is-Soċjetà Filarmonika Nazzjonali La Valette).[citation needed]
Malta International Airport is 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the city in the town ofLuqa. Malta'spublic transport system, which uses buses, operates mostly on routes to or from Valletta, with their central terminus just outside thecity gate. Traffic within the city itself is restricted, with some principal roads being completely pedestrian areas. In 2006, apark and ride system was implemented in order to increase the availability of parking spaces in the city. People can leave their vehicles in a nearbyFloriana car park and transfer to avan for the rest of the trip.
In 2007, acongestion pricing scheme was implemented to reduce long-term parking and traffic while promoting business in the city.[86][87] AnANPR-based automated system takes photos of vehicles as they enter and exit the charging zone and vehicle owners are billed according to the duration of their stay.[86]
Valletta is served by a fleet of electric taxis which transport riders from 10 points in Valletta to any destination in the city.[88]
As of 2021, an undergroundMalta Metro is being planned, with a projected total cost of €6.2 billion,[89] centred on the Valletta urban area.
Bianco, Lino (2009)."Valletta: A city in history"(PDF).Melita Theologica.60 (2). University of Malta: Department of Architecture and Urban Design – Faculty for the Built Environment:1–20.ISSN1012-9588.OCLC1587122. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 19 March 2018.
^Zammit, Andre (1986). "Valletta and the system of human settlements in the Maltese Islands".Ekistics.53 (316/317). Athens Center of Ekistics:89–95.JSTOR43620704.
^"Grandmaster Palace"(PDF).National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. 28 December 2012. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 7 May 2016.
^Nicosia in Cyprus is further south than Valletta, however Cyprus is geographically part of Asia, although occasionally considered a European country in political and cultural geography. TheUnited Nations geoscheme includes Cyprus inWestern Asia.
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