Malta’s teeming with history and heritage

Stand at any corner in the main street of Malta’s hilly capital city, Valletta, and whatever way you turn, you’re looking straight down towards the Grand Harbour with glorious views of the water.

It’s a delight. But while Valletta is stunningly beautiful, this planned city wasn’t designed with scenery in mind – the harbour views were to ensure the Knights of St John, who settled in Malta in the early 1500s could repel invaders, especially their great enemy, the Ottoman Turks.

Ireland had its fair share of invaders through the centuries, but our experience pales into insignificance when compared to this small Mediterranean country, comprising three islands, Malta, Gozo and Comino.

Its central location between Africa, Europe and the Middle East made it attractive to invaders. The first settlers arrived from nearby Sicily in 5,000 BC and since then, the Phoenicians, Romans, Normans, Turks and French are just some of those who were drawn there. Its final rulers were the English. They arrived as heroes in the late 1700s to save Malta from Napoleon – Malta eventually gained independence from England in 1964.

That past makes for a country with rich layers of history.

And it’s never been easier to visit, since Ryanair opened a new, twice-weekly, route from Shannon to Malta last month.

The Maltese and the Irish are similar in disposition and, in any company, conversation flows.

That was certainly true when our guide Audrey took us to visit the beautiful St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta, established by the Knights of St John in the late 1500s.

“I love baroque,” she announced. “And this is high baroque.”

From the outside, it’s fairly plain, but inside, it’s breath-taking.

This cathedral was commissioned in 1572 for the Order of the Knights of St John and many of its Grandmasters are buried beneath its ornate tiled floors. It took five years to build and just about every surface it contains is gilded.

It’s impossible to visit Malta without learning about the Knights of St John (or Knights of Malta) because they’ve played such a role in its history.

Established in the 11th century in Jerusalem as the Knights Hospitaller, their main job was to care for medieval pilgrims to the Holy Land. Later, they defended Jerusalem against the Ottoman Empire and its Islamic faith. When the Ottomans ousted them from the Holy Land in the late 13th century, they fled to Rhodes, eventually becoming homeless.

In 1530, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, granted them a home in Malta, part of his kingdom, where they held sway until Napoleon invaded in 1798 and expelled them. The renowned artist Caravaggio was admitted to the Knights in the early 1600s and two of his finest paintings are in St John’s Co-Cathedral, the magnificent Beheading of John the Baptist and the smaller but beautiful St Jerome.

The Knights’ palaces or auberges are among Valletta’s most beautiful buildings, and include Casa Rocca Piccola, a private residence that’s open to visitors. Its grand rooms contain everything from a portable chapel to modern paintings and visiting is like travelling through time with Malta’s wealthy residents.

The island’s main cathedral, St Paul’s, is located in the more ancient walled hilltop city of Mdina, also known as ‘the Silent City’, which is more than 4,000 years old. It’s an amazing mix of medieval and baroque architecture, built of local yellow limestone which glows in the sun. It will be familiar to fans of Game of Thrones as a location in its first series.

Our guide on this occasion, Clive, likened it to ‘a club sandwich’ because of its layers of history. Mdina and nearby Rabat have the remains of a Roman villa and catacombs, while Arabic influences are also visible. Mdina, which once served as Malta’s capital city, is a glorious maze of streets with villas which were home to the island’s noble families – several still are. Links between church and state are everywhere in Mdina. Noblemen’s houses, government buildings and Catholic churches sit side by side in its small but impressive public squares.

Many of Mdina’s buildings were destroyed by an earthquake in 1693. Subsequent rebuilding has led to a mix of architecture – but there are no modern buildings in this tiny city. Strangely, cars are allowed on its narrow streets, although that privilege is limited to residents.

Mdina offers fantastic views over the neighbouring valleys – unlike other areas of Malta which have seen huge development in recent years – much of the land around here is agricultural. This island is the biggest of the country’s three islands and is just 17 miles long and nine miles wide. It’s densely populated – most of the country’s 500,000 residents live here.

Mdina’s reign as Malta’s capital city ended when the Knights took over the country in the 1530s – their military duties included repelling the mighty Ottomans and to do that, they needed to be by the sea.

Initially they settled in an area known as ‘the Three Cities’ beside the island’s main harbour, before building the baroque city of Valletta. That happened after the Great Siege of 1565, when a small force held out against the invading Turks.

Valletta dominates one side of the Grand Harbour while the older Three Cities – Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua – are across the way. Vittoriosa, (also known as Birgu), is home to the Maritime Museum housed in the former bakery of the British Navy – Malta became Britain’s main naval base in the 1800s. Here, visitors can experience the country’s history through dishes drawn from different eras as museum curator, Liam Gauci, explains the links between cuisine and heritage. A lunch based on early 19th century recipes was an eye-opener. Spiced chickpea and broccoli soup was followed by a frittata topped with cod’s roe and a main of chicken stuffed with chestnuts and cranberries. Dessert was a coffee and vanilla sorbet. Malta had coffee ever before it hit England. This is a terrific way to learn about history in a building that’s steeped in it.

While England ruled Malta, there are Irish influences too. The boatman who ferried us across the harbour from Valletta to Birgu was Frank O’Hara – his Cork-born great-grandfather who’d been in the British Navy, settled on Malta.

A tour of the Three Cities on golf-type buggies followed. These self-guided trips, by Rolling Geeks, offer an overview of the area and its history.

On a break from history, we enjoyed a Segway tour along the Dingli Cliffs on the south-western coast of the main island. The sun on our faces, sea views, and the thrill of mastering the art of Segwaying (well, nearly) made for a fantastic afternoon.

There was no fear when it came to food – Malta has a great dining scene with many influences. Seafood is everywhere and a particularly lovely lunch was had on the rooftop space of Alka Restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean and Blue Grotto.

Another memorable meal was at Gracy’s Brasserie in Valletta, housed in a 17th century palazzo, built for a Knight, which overlooks the historic St George’s Square. The flavours and presentation were matched by the service in this architectural beauty of a building.

Less formal but also delightful was a lunch on the island of Gozo, at a restaurant called Ta’ Rikardu in that island’s main city of Rabat.

Located just below the Citadel – Rabat’s massive defensive city walls – Ta’ Rikardu’s had a cornucopia of fresh veg and cheese, all from Rikardu’s farm. Beer followed at the country’s first craft brewery, Lord Chambray, which focuses on the home market – where stout with hints of coconut tasted way better than could be imagined.

Malta produces more wine than beer, although little for export. Some of the finest comes from San Niklaw winery, whose owner, John, has a fulltime job as a paediatrician. He and his brothers also run this family farm focusing on vines and olives where he hosted a special tasting and shared his concerns about how climate change is affecting agriculture in Malta. Fresh water is a precious resource here.

Back to pre-history and the temples that are dotted throughout Malta and Gozo, are a must-see. At the Ġgantija Temples in Gozo our guide, Audrey, conveyed the mystery of these ancient, mysterious places – older than Newgrange or Stonehenge.  These temples are a huge attraction and it’s easy see why.

All Malta’s temples are UNESCO heritage sites, as is Valletta, a testament to the country’s importance through the centuries.

The natural landscape is beautiful too, and Gozo is especially unspoiled.

Malta is being developed at an extraordinary rate – a bit like Celtic-Tiger Ireland, only with less land available.

Despite modernisation, Catholicism is strong in this country and each village has its local feast day, or Festa, which give rise to great competition among local groups. Think hurling, but with rival groups from the same village parading statues on the streets.

The town of San Anton was our base for our stay, in the family-owned Corinthia Palace Hotel, a five-star residence that grew out of a 19th century villa and which houses the Michelin-starred Bahia restaurant. A beautiful dinner in the hotel on our final night brought a memorable four-night visit to a close. We fitted a lot into our short stay in this country thanks to its small size, which makes everything highly accessible.

■ Judy Murphy was a guest of the Maltese Tourism Authority. Ryanair operate twice-weekly direct flights from Shannon to Malta, on Thursdays and Sundays, until October 27.

All information on Malta’s islands is available at Visit Malta