Malta » Valletta

Valletta, Malta's Capital and a World Heritage Site declared by UNESCO is a living experience of Baroque Architecture, termed the Citta’ Nuova by the Knights of St. John setting its foundation in 1566. Jean Parisot de la Valette, Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, gave his name to the city and approved the design plans drawn by Francesco Lapparelli and engaged Girolamo Cassar, a local architect to supervise the building of this “designer city".

Throughout the centuries Valletta welcomed Emperors, Heads of State, Cardinals and Bishops, amongst many other dignitaries, all important to Malta's geo-political development. Valletta also became a keen destination for many artists, painters, authors and poets logging their unforgettable memories in written or painted form: Caravaggio, Mattia Preti, Algardi, Bernini, Han Christian Andersen, Edward Lear, Teophile Gautier, Sir Walter Scott, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Alexander Dumas, and Lord Byron are just a few who walked along the Valletta Waterfront up to the heart of the City.

Valletta lives today a New Renaissance, keeping up to the name of Citta' Nuova. The beauty of the Grand Harbour of Valletta with the City on one side and Vittoriosa, the older City of the Knights, on the other side, was described by Sir Walter Scott as “a Valletta just like a dream".

The priceless Cathedral of St. John, enriched by the largest and only signed Caravaggio painting in the World, The Grand Master's Palace, the majestic 16th Century Sacra Infermeria, the Hospital of the Knights of St. John, the Auberges and Churches and the shaded piazzas elegantly designed in the grid plan of Valletta, where the sea is visible from every corner of the streets, make of Valletta, the smallest Capital of the European Union, a unique experience for every traveller.