A City Built "By Gentlemen For Gentlemen"
Commissioned by Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette after surviving the epic Ottoman Siege of 1565, Valletta is a masterpiece of Renaissance grid urban planning and High Baroque grandeur. Despite occupying less than one square kilometer, the fortified city contains more than 320 monuments, intricate wooden gallarija balconies, and towering bastion battlements overlooking the deepest natural harbour in the Mediterranean.
1. St. John's Co-Cathedral & The Caravaggio Masterpiece
Behind an austere, fortress-like limestone facade lies one of the most astonishing High Baroque interiors on earth. The cathedral floor consists of nearly 400 inlaid polychrome marble tombstones commemorating knights of noble European bloodlines. The cathedral oratory houses Caravaggio’s monumental oil masterpiece, The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist (1608)—the only artwork the Italian master ever signed.
2. Upper Barrakka Gardens & The Saluting Battery
Perched on the highest point of St. Peter & Paul Bastion, the Upper Barrakka Gardens offer an unmissable vista across Grand Harbour to Fort St. Angelo and the Three Cities (Vittoriosa, Senglea, and Cospicua). Every day at 12:00 PM and 4:00 PM sharp, members of the Malta Heritage Trust fire the historic cannons of the Saluting Battery, maintaining a 450-year-old naval tradition.
3. Republic Street & Merchant Street Strolls
Wander down the bustling pedestrian spine from City Gate (redesigned by Renzo Piano) past the open-air Royal Opera House ruins and National Museum of Archaeology. Turn into narrow side streets like Strait Street, the legendary bohemian entertainment artery during the British naval era, now home to intimate jazz wine bars and artisanal pasticcerias.
Recommended Valletta Itinerary:
- 09:00 AM: Enter St. John's Co-Cathedral right at opening to admire Caravaggio without crowds.
- 11:30 AM: Walk to Upper Barrakka Gardens for the midday Saluting Battery ceremony.
- 01:00 PM: Enjoy fresh lampuki fish or pastizzi at a shaded bistro on Merchant Street.
- 02:30 PM: Explore the subterranean Lascaris War Rooms deep within the rock bastions.
- 05:30 PM: Catch the traditional dgħajsa wooden water taxi across Grand Harbour to Vittoriosa.