Today I will take you to Valetta, capital city of Malta and European Capital of Culture for 2018. The walled city was established in the 1500s on a peninsula by the Knights of St. John, a Roman Catholic order.
It has a unique scenery and architecture, ancient narrow streets, Renaissance cathedrals and Baroque style palaces. It has changed over the years like every city but now you can discover more even in the evenings.
The city look not that big but if you like to see form different angles be prepare to spend full day there. Myself I call "small San Francisco"
#Valetta is famous for variety of magnificent balconies mainly made form wood. It is historical place where every corner hide a story. Has population over 6.000 and get crowded with people who work there for the Council, Court, offices, restaurant, and of course tourists from all around the world.
#grandharbor
In Grand Harbor stops Cruises from all around the world. "Valetta Waterfront" is all area along the port where are restaurants, bars and also Church of the Flights into Egypt.
Church was built in 1752, along with stores, bombarded in the WWII and the damaged parts have since been rebuilt similar to the original. The doors of the building were painted with a different colours, symbolising the different types of goods that they were once stored in them: blue represents the storages of fish, green of agricultural produces, yellow for wheat and red for wine. #valettawaterfront
The breathtaking view for a Grand Harbor you can take from Barrakkas Gardens. What they lack in size but they make up for a historical and cultural content, built by the Knights of Malta. The gardens are located on upper tier of St. Peter's and Paul Bastion, which was built in the 1560s. The Bastion's lower tier contains the Saluting Battery.
#barrakksgardens #salutingbatteryvaletta
It is mainly use for firing ceremonial gun saluting now like for example"Rolex middle sea race" which takes place every year in Malta in October. It starts and finished in incomparable scenery.
#rolexmiddlesearace #maltarolexrace
The garden's terraced arches were build in 1661 by the Italian Knight Fra Flamimino Balbiani.
They were originally roofed and used to offer recreation to the Knights of the Order of Saint Johns, but were opened to the public following the end of the French Occupation of Malta in 1800. In the park there are several monuments and memorials to a number of prominent people including Gerald Strickland or Winston Churchill.
The gardens are linked to Valetta's ditch and the nearby Lascaris Wharf by the Barrakka Lift. The first lift in the side was build in 1905, but was closed in 1973.
Manoel Theatre is one of the oldest working theatre in Europe (older than San Carlos in Naples).
Constructed in 1731 by the Grand Master Antonio Manoel de Vilhena for the honest entertainment of the Knights. The theatre is a baroque gem with a wonderful acoustic and a full calendar of populated events by locals and international performance, with production in Maltese and English. You can check on: www.teatrumanoel.com.mt.
It is small, 623 seat venue with an oval-shaped auditorium, three tiers of boxes constructed entirely of wood, decorated with gold leaves, and a pale blue trompe-l'oeil calling that resembles a round copula. Open from Mon - Fr for guided tours every 45 min from 9:30 till 4 pm. Sat from 9:30 - 12:00.
St. John's Co-Cathedral is an architectural metaphor for the Order of the Knights of St.John, who built it between 1573 and 1578. The simple post-siege facade reflect the Knights' military pragmatism, whilst the gilded valuta, painted ceiling, polychrome marble floors and general Baroque exuberance of the Lavish interior reveal the sophistication, power and wealth of the Order. The Church is till this very day an important shine and a sacred place of workship.
#stjohncathedral #valettachurch #stjohncocathedral #stjohn
Angels, skeletons and other ethereal icons are inlaid with breath-taking precision and artistry into the marble quadrangles of the Co-Cathedral floor, a distinct theme or message in each section. The 405 #tombs represented constitute a vibrant and festive procession that expounds upon both the inevitability of death and the rapture of the life beyond.
Attached to the church are the Oratory where hang two magnificent paintings by #Caravaggio which fitted perfectly in scenery. Also a museum, with valuable collections of vestments and books and Flemish Tapestries based on drawings by Rubens.
Beheading of St.John
Caravaggio's Stroke of Genius. 1608
Open Mon-Fr from 9:30-4:30. Sat from 9:30-12:30. Free admission to St.John cathedral during the mess hours only.
More about Malta you can see on:
https://steemit.com/malta/@dorotea/malta-introduction and in next episodes.
Sources: Wikipedia & Google
