VALLETTA

'Valletta', population 6,315 (official estimate for 2005), is the capital city of Malta. The whole city was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.

Contents

Name

Government

History

Geography

Demographics

Transport

Buses

Park and Ride

Controlled Vehicular Access

Valletta Main Roads

Main sights

Churches

Palaces

Museums

Theatres

Piazzas

Gardens

Forts

Other

Culture

Music

Carnival

Feasts

Sports

In popular culture

References

See also

External links

Name

The official name the Order of Saint John gave to the city was ''Humilissima Civitas Valletta'' — The Most Humble City of Valletta. However, with the building of bastions, curtains and ravelins, along with the beauty of the baroque buildings along its streets, it became known as ''Superbissima'' — 'Most Proud', amongst the ruling houses of Europe. In Maltese it is colloquially known as ''Il-Belt'', simply meaning "The City".
Benjamin Disraeli visited Valletta in August 1830 , on the recommendation of his friend, Lord Byron. He described Valletta 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 in Europe," and in subsequent letters to friends, that it is "comparable to Venice and Cadiz...not a single tree, but full of palaces worthy of Palladio."

Government

Dr. Paul Borg Olivier is the Mayor of Valletta and has been leading the City Council since 1999 . Dr. Borg Olivier was elected on the Nationalist Party Ticket (PN), an affiliate of the European People's Party, which holds the majority of the Council.

History

The foundation stone of Valletta was laid by the Grandmaster of the Order of Saint John, Jean Parisot de la Valette, on 28 March 1566; The Order (which was the long-time ruler of the city and the island) decided to found a new city on the ''Xiberras'' peninsula just after the end of the Siege of Malta in 1565, so as to fortify the Order's position in Malta, effectively binding the Knights to the island. The city was designed by ''Francesco Laparelli'', while many of the most important buildings were built by ''Gerolamo Cassar''. Valletta, hence, is an urban area which boasts many buildings from the 16th century and onwards, but most of them were built during the time of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem (the Knights Hospitaller, or Knights of Malta).
After the Knights and the brief French interlude, the next building boom in Valletta occurred during the British rule. Gates were widened, buildings demolished and rebuilt, houses widened and civic projects installed; however, the whole city and its infrastructure were damaged by air raids in World War II, notably losing its majestic opera house constructed at the city entrance in the 19th century.

Geography

The Valletta peninsula, which is fed by the two natural harbours of Marsamxett and the Grand Harbour, is Malta's major port, with unloading quays at Marsa; a cruise-liner terminal has been built recently in the Grand Harbour, along the old sea-wall of the duty free stores built by Grandmaster Manuel Pinto de Fonseca.
The city contains several buildings of historic importance, amongst which are St John's Co-Cathedral, formerly the Conventual Church of the Knights of Malta and home to the largest single work by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, his only signed work, and a priceless collection of seventeenth-century Flemish tapestries (alongside Republic Street); the Auberge de Castille et Leon, formerly the official seat of the of the Knights of Malta of the Langue of Castille, Léon and Portugal, now the office of the Prime Minister of Malta (found on the highest point of the city, above the bastions); the Magisterial Palace, built between 1571 and 1574, formerly the seat of the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, now housing the Maltese Parliament and the offices of the President of Malta (opposite Palace Square along Republic Street); the National Museum of Fine Arts, a Rococo palace dating back to the late 1570s, which served as the official residence of the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet during the British era, from 1789 onwards (in South Street); the National Museum of Archaeology, formerly the Auberge de Provence (Republic Street); the Manoel Theatre (Teatru Manoel, in Maltese), constructed in just ten months in 1731, by order of Grand Master Antonio Manoel de Vilhena, and one of the oldest working theatres in Europe; the Mediterranean Conference Centre, formerly the Sacra Infermeria, built in 1574, one of Europe's most renowned hospitals during the time of the Knights of Malta; and the fortifications themselves, built by the Knights as a magnificent series of bastions, demi-bastions, ravelins and curtains, approximately 100 metres high, designed to protect the city from attack.

Valletta has a suburb, Floriana, which was built on the outside part of the Valletta bastions and on the inner part of the Floriana Lines, hence leaving an area between these two lines to house those that could not afford a house in Valletta. Another area for such people is located within Valletta's own walls: In the original plans, the Order wanted a man-made creek to house the navy, however this could not be completed, and so the area, known as ''Manderaggio'' (in Maltese 'il-Mandraġġ'), was taken over by the homeless, so resulting in a jumble of buildings with dark alleyways in despicable sanitary conditions. The Manderaggio was partially demolished in the 1950s so as to build a housing area in Valletta. The area still remains a shabby area, yet still it is better than it was before.

Demographics

The population of Valletta has steadily decreased over the years, and is now reduced to about a third of its peak. This process was heavily accelerated after World War II as new development in outlying suburbs marked a shift of the population away from the capital city, but it continues as the centre of Malta's commercial and administrative activity.

Transport

Buses

Malta's public transport system, which uses buses, operates mostly on routes to or from Valletta, with their central terminus just outside the city's entrance. Traffic within the city itself is restricted, with some principal roads being completely pedestrian areas.

Park and Ride

In 2006, a park and ride system was implemented in order to increase the availability of parking spaces in the vicinity of the city. People can leave their personal vehicles in a Floriana parking lot and transfer to a van for the rest of the trip, which takes a mere few minutes.

Controlled Vehicular Access

In 2007, a Controlled Vehicular Access system was implemented in order to reduce long-term parking stays and traffic while promoting business in the city [1]. An ANPR-based automated system takes photos of vehicles as they enter and exit the charging zone and vehicle owners get billed according to the duration of their stay. Various exemptions and flexible billing rules make the system the next evolutionary step of systems like London's congestion charge system.

Valletta Main Roads

★ Misraħ Kastilja (Castille Place)

★ Misraħ Sant' Iermu (St. Elmo Place)

★ Triq il-Fran (Old Bakery Street)

★ Triq il-Lanċa (Boat Street)

★ Triq il-Lvant (East Street)

★ Triq il-Mediterran (Mediterrean Street)

★ Triq ir-Repubblika (Republic Street)

★ Triq it-Teatru l-Antik (Old Theatre Street)

★ Triq l-Assedju l-Kbir (Great Siege Road)

★ Triq Marsamxett (Marsamxett Street)

★ Triq Melita (Melita Street)

★ Triq San Bastjan (St. Sebastian Street)

★ Triq San Kristofru (St. Christopher Street)

★ Triq San Mark (St. Mark Street)

★ Triq Spur (Spur Street)

★ Xatt il-Barriera (Quarry Wharf)

★ Triq San Duminku (St. Dominic Street)

Main sights

Churches

★ Our Lady of Victories Church

★ St John's Co-Cathedral

★ Carmelite Church

★ St Paul's Anglican Cathedral

★ St James Church

★ St Francis of Assisi Church

★ Parish Church of St Augustine

★ Christ the Redeemer Church

★ Church of the Jesuits

★ Parish Church of Saint Mary of Porto Salvo and Saint Dominic (first basilque in Malta according to the Bolla Pont by Pope Pius V)

★ Franciscan Church of St Mary of Jesus (Ta' Ġieżu)

★ St Andrew's Scots Church (Presbyterian and Methodist)

Palaces

★ Grandmaster's Palace - houses the Parliament of Malta

★ Auberge De Castille - houses the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta

★ Auberge D'Aragon - houses the Ministry of Finance

★ Auberge D'Italie - houses the Malta Tourism Authority

★ Auberge De Provence - houses the National Museum of Archaeology

★ Auberge De Bavière - houses Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs

★ Casa Rocca Piccola - private residence open to the public

★ Palazzo Francia - houses a number of offices and shops

★ Palazzo Parisio - houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

★ Palazzo Castellania - houses the Ministry of Health, the Elderly and Community Care

★ National Museum of Fine Arts

Museums

★ St John's Co-Cathedral Museum

★ Grandmaster's Palace Armoury Museum

★ Malta War Museum - Housed at Fort Saint Elmo

★ National Museums of Archaeology - Housed at Auberge De Provence.

★ National Museum of Fine Arts

★ Manoel Theatre Museum

★ Toy Museum

Theatres

★ Manoel Theatre

★ Royal Opera House

Piazzas

★ St John's Square (Misraħ San Ġwann)

★ St George's Square (Misraħ San Ġorġ)

★ Queen's Square (Pjazza Reġina)

★ Great Siege Square (Misraħ l-Assedju l-Kbir)

★ Freedom Square (Misraħ il-Ħelsien)

★ Castile Square (Misraħ Kastilja)

Gardens

★ Upper Barrakka Gardens

★ Lower Barrakka Gardens

★ Hastings Gardens

Forts

★ Fort Saint Elmo

★ Saint James Cavalier

Other

★ Castellania, the Knights' former law courts

★ Mediterranean Conference Centre

★ Valletta Waterfront

★ Triton Fountain

★ Public Library

Culture

Music

The capital city was the mecca of jazz music in Malta, introduced in the lively Strait Street area frequented by Royal Navy sailors. The famous Cafe Premier in Republic Square hosted many jazz formations. Valletta was also the host of the esteemed Malta Jazz Festival up to 2005.

Carnival

Valletta is the scene of Malta's boisterous annual Carnival held in February 10 leading up to Lent.

Feasts

The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel are celebrated with devotion every 16 July, Saint Dominic is celebrated in Valletta on August 4, whilst the feast of Saint Augustine is celebrated throught the year. A procession of St. Rita is also carried out.

Sports

Valletta is also renowned for its football club Valletta FC, one of the top football clubs on the Maltese island.
In 1980, Valletta played host to the many nations attending the 24th Chess Olympiad.

In popular culture

★ The lower part of Strait Street (Strada Stretta) is a former Red Light district lined with bars which was very popular with sailors in Malta's days as a naval base, known as ''The Gut''.

★ The last several chapters of Thomas Pynchon's novel V. take place in Valletta.

★ Much of Nicholas M. Rinaldi's novel ''The Jukebox Queen of Malta'' take place in Valletta.

★ Parts of the film Munich were shot in Valletta.

References

See also

★ City Gate ''(Bieb il-Belt)''

★ Valetta, New Zealand

External links

★ VisitMalta.com - Valletta

★ Valletta city council

★ Street map

★ Valletta - Places to visit

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