Malta: Sentry of the Mediterranean

Located 80 kilometres south of Sicily, the Maltese Islands lie in the Central Mediterranean, with Tunisia to the west and Libya to the south.  Although comprising over 20 islands, Malta's total land area is a mere 316 square kilometres and only the three largest islands (Malta, Gozo, and Comino) are inhabited by a total population of 519,562 in 2021.  Malta's strategic location in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea at the eastern end of the Strait of Sicily has given it great strategic importance as a naval base, trading centre, and way-station for ships heading to India via the Suez Canal after 1869.  The Maltese Islands were first settled in 5,900 BC and have been fought over and ruled by a succession of foreign powers: Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, the Order of St John, the French, and the British.  On 21 September 1964, Malta gained its independence from British rule, voting to become a republic on 13 December 1974, and joining the European Union on 1 May 2004.

Today, Malta is a popular tourist destination, capitalising on its rich history over the millennia, its sun-splashed beaches and quaint villages, and its impressive architecture, from ancient monolithic structures and walled cities to ornate Baroque churches and 19th century British military fortifications.  So much on Malta is the legacy of the Order of the Knight Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem, also known as the Order of St John, a religious order comprising noblemen from Europe's most important families.  After being evicted from Rhodes by the Turks in 1522, the Order was given possession of Malta by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily, in 1530.  Making Malta its home base, the devoutly religious Order used its vast wealth to transform the Maltese Islands, erecting impressive fortifications and Catholic churches.  After repelling a final Turkish siege in 1565, the Order of St John began construction of its brand new fortified capital city of Valletta in 1566.  The city, surrounded by thick walls and bastions, sits perched on a peninsula jutting into Malta's Grand Harbour and features numerous Baroque public, religious, and military buildings to which today's tourists flock.  Despite the Order of St John's 268-year rule of Malta ending in 1798 with its surrender to the French Revolutionary forces of Napoleon, the Order and its knights serve as a popular attraction for visitors, with numerous museums and cultural sites telling the story of the Order and its influence on the development of the Maltese Islands.

Malta's maritime history is as fascinating as its architecture and visitors can see relics from a Phoenician trading ship that sank offshore in the 7th century BC and learn about how the Order of St John based its fleet of galleys in the Grand Harbour and sallied forth to intercept Turkish vessels carrying valuable commodities.  Later still, under British rule, the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet was headquartered in Valletta, with battleships, battlecruisers, cruisers, and smaller warships being based in the Grand Harbour's vast anchorage and thousands of Maltese men employed in the harbour's extensive dockyards and ship repair facilities.  While in the First World War Maltese military hospitals cared for wounded Allied forces evacuated from the Gallipoli campaign, earning Malta the nickname 'Nurse of the Mediterranean', during the Second World War, Malta suffered terribly from Axis attempts to force the British to surrender.  These efforts included Axis naval vessels sinking merchant ships bringing critical food, medicines, fuel, and military equipment to Malta and, most notoriously, an incessant campaign of aerial bombing that caused massive destruction and brought those on Malta close to starvation.  On 10 July 1943, Malta was the principal jumping-off point for the Allied invasion of Sicily, the largest amphibious assault ever mounted until the Normandy landings in June 1944.  Malta's experience (and proud triumph) during the Second World War is another aspect that today is the subject of several museums and historic sites.

The tour below covers only a handful of locations in Malta and any history enthusiast must surely make more than one visit to this tiny, yet fascinating, country.

Photos taken 21-27 October 2023

Malta International Airport, as seen from a Lufthansa flight on Runway 31.  The passenger terminal, opened in 1992, has no jet bridges; instead passengers are transported to and from aircraft using shuttle buses.

An Air Malta Airbus A320neo, registration 9H-NEO, parked on the tarmac at Malta International Airport on the afternoon of 21 October 2023.  9H-NEO was delivered to Air Malta on 4 June 2018.

Passengers disembark from Lufthansa flight LH 1310, an Airbus A321neo (registration D-AIEM, named Hamm), just before 5pm on 21 October 2023.  The flight from Frankfurt takes approximately 2.5 hours.  After deplaning, passengers board one of the airport's shuttle buses for the short drive to the terminal. 

The Waterfront Hotel located along the Strand on Triq Ix-Katt in the Sliema neighbourhood across Marsamxett Harbour from Valletta.  The hotel opened in 2000 and has 165 rooms, a spa, restaurant, lobby bar, and a rooftop terrace featuring a grill restaurant.   

The lobby of the Waterfront Hotel.

The entrance to room 919.

The Waterfront Hotel's electronic room key card.

Room 919 is a Standard Double with a balcony looking into the hotel's interior courtyard.

The spacious room features contemporary decor, air-conditioning, ample closet and storage space, a safe for valuables, and a mini-fridge.

The en suite bathroom in Room 919.  A large, walk-in shower stall is on the left (not pictured).

The balcony of Room 919, looking into the hotel's interior courtyard.  A sensor in the sliding door deactivates the room's air conditioner when opened.

Looking down into the hotel's interior courtyard from Room 919's balcony.  The whitewashed walls and potted palms provide a Mediterranean look.

A hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs with HP Sauce, sausages, hashbrowns, grilled tomatoes, rustic Maltese bread, fruit salad, a peach, mini chocolate croissants, and glasses of apple juice in the hotel's Regatta Restaurant.  An enormous breakfast both prepares one for a busy day of sightseeing and avoids the need to stop for lunch, thereby providing one more time at museums and attractions. 

The heated indoor pool on the 10th floor of the Waterfront Hotel.  The hotel's spa is adjacent to the pool, and the 10th floor also provides walkout access to the rooftop terrace. 

The Waterfront Hotel's rooftop terrace on the 10th floor.  The terrace overlooks the Sliema waterfront and Sliema Creek.  The hotel's 1Olive Grill restaurant and bar is located on the terrace.   

Another view of the rooftop terrace, showing the balconies of rooms facing out into the hotel's interior courtyard.

The rooftop terrace, with an olive tree planted in a raised, tiled planter in the centre.  A pleasant place to nap in the Mediterranean warmth, enjoy a good book, or watch the hustle and bustle of Sliema and Sliema Creek below.

Looking down on Sliema Creek from the rooftop terrace.  Manoel Island is across the creek, and immediately below is the large cross-shaped pool of the Aqualuna Beach Club.  This waterside lido was built by the Waterfront Hotel, ST Hotels, and 115 the Strand Hotel and features a bistro with poolside service, a bar, sunbeds and gazebos for rent, showers and toilets, and free wifi.  The harbourside promenade is popular with walkers and joggers.  

Sliema

The Strand in Sliema, as seen from Triq Ix-Katt, the multi-lane roadway running along the northern edge of Marsamxett Harbour.  This densely-populated town is home to many hotels, restaurants, bars, shops, and shopping centres, as well as residential buildings.  Behind the busy commercial strip along the Strand, the narrow streets are home to quiet residential neighbourhoods.  The Strand's wide harbourside promenade provides pleasant views of Marsamxett Harbour and Sliema Creek, as well as Manoel Island and the historic city of Valletta.  Numerous sightseeing cruises depart from the Sliema waterfront, and visitors can also take the short Sliema-Valletta ferry across the harbour. 

The Parish Church of Jesus of Nazareth on Triq Ix-Katt in Sliema.  Built by Marquis Ermolao Zimmermann Barbaro di San Giorgio and consecrated in 1895, this church was entrusted to the Dominican Friars in 1908 and was designated a parish church in 1973.  It is one of Sliema's four parish churches, housing statues of the prophets and featuring sculptures on its ornade façade.

Numerous vessels are moored along the Sliema waterfront, including the colourful and historic Stella Maris VIII, seen here.  Stella Maris VIII is a sightseeing vessel measuring 17 metres (55.8 feet) in length and 5 metres (16.4 feet) in beam.  Over 90 years old, it once transported food and other goods across the Gozo Channel separating the big island of Malta from its smaller sister Gozo.

Another charter sightseeing vessel along the Sliema waterfront, 22 October 2023.

The skyline of historic Valletta, dominated by the large dome of the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, seen from across Marsamxett Harbour.  In the foreground is the swimming pool of the Movida Beach Lido.

Looking west, up Marsamxett Harbour, with Sliema Creek separating Sliema (right) and Manoel Island (left).

The Valletta skyline as seen along the harbourside boardwalk near Tigné Point at the eastern end of Marsamxett Harbour.  To the right of the dome of the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the spire of the Anglican St Paul's Cathedral. 

Part of the 21st century redevelopment of the Tigné Point foreshore is this pathway through landscaped gardens featuring many native Mediterranean plants.

Waves lap against the rocky Tigné Point foreshore near the entrance to Marsamxett Harbour.  The limestone walls and buildings of Valletta take on a golden hue in the morning sun.  

Located at the tip of Tigné Point is Fort Tigné, with its circular keep feauturing two rows of musketry loopholes and the main gate.  The fort was built by the Order of St John between 1793 and 1795 to protect the entrance to Marsamxett Harbour and was named after Francois René Jacob de Tigné, a Knight of the Order of St John, in recognition for his many years of service to the Order.  Commissioned by the Order's Grand Master, Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc, Fort Tigné was built to a design by Antoine Étienne de Tousard, the Order's chief engineer, and was the last major fortification constructed by the Order before it surrendered to French forces in 1798.  The fort was small by 18th century standards, being closer in size to a large redoubt than a fort, but its polygonal design was revolutionary.  During the French invasion of 1798, Fort Tigné was armed with 28 guns (of which 15 were serviceable) and 12 mortars and was one of the few fortifications to actively resist the invasion; its garrison successfully repelled a French attempt to capture Fort Tigné on 10 June and it prevented French warships from entering Marsamxett Harbour.  However, after being bombarded by French forces on 11-12 June, and given the fall of Valletta and surrounding communities to French forces, the garrison surrendered and Fort Tigné was under French control by 13 June.  Fort Tigné came under British control in September 1800 following Britain's expulsion of the French occupiers, with a permanent garrison established in 1805.  Damage from the French bombardment in 1798 was repaired and the British installed 30 guns in Fort Tigné by 1815. As part of renovations made by the British, the parapet on the keep was replaced with a traversing platform for a single gun mount.  By 1864, the fort had eighteen 32-pounder guns, four 10-inch guns, and an additional 32-pounder gun on the keep.  More significant remodelling of Fort Tigné was completed in the last three decades of the 19th century to accommodate new types of guns and provide housing for the garrison.  Fort Tigné was damaged by air attacks during the Second World War but continued to serve as a military installation until British forces withdrew from Malta in 1979.  In subsequent years, the fort fell into disrepair, with parts of it being vandalised; however, in 2008, Fort Tigné was restored as part of the massive redevelopment of Tigné Point.  Fort Tigné is included in Malta's tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage sites as part of the network of fortifications constructed around Malta's harbours by the Order of St John.  The site on which Fort Tigné stands played an important role during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565, when the invading Ottoman forces established an artillery battery here to bombard Fort Saint Elmo across the harbour in Valletta.

A final panoramic view of Valletta from the Tigné Point foreshore on 22 October 2023.

Three Cities Harbour Cruise

Departing Sliema at 10:30 aboard a sightseeing boat for the 90-minute Three Cities harbour cruise.  After cruising up Marsamxett Harbour and along the northern shore of Valletta, the boat briefly enters the Mediterranean to round the point of Valletta and enter the Grand Harbour.  In the Grand Harbour, the voyage takes passengers past the Three Cities (Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua) located on the southern edge of the harbour.

Some of the hundreds of sailboats and yachts moored in the creeks of Marsamxett Harbour.  These vessels are at a marina in Lazzarreto Creek in the Ta' Xbiex neighbourhood, across from Manoel Island.

Larger vessels moored at the Manoel Island Yacht Marina in Lazzaretto Creek.  The marina has berths for 350 vessels and can accommodate vessels up to 80 metres (262 feet) in length.

Vessels of the Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta, moored at their base at Hay Wharf in the town of Floriana.  The Maritime Squadron is responsible for the security of Maltese territorial waters, including maritime surveillance, law enforcement, and search and rescue duties.  Seen here are the four Austal Class vessels P21, P213, and P24 (in the water) and P22 (on blocks ashore).  The Austal Class vessels were built by Austal in Perth, Australia and delivered in 2009-10; they are principally used for search and rescue and border patrol duties.  The larger vessels on the right are the Emer Class offshore patrol vessel P62 (left) and the Diciotti Class offshore patrol vessel P61 (right).

The largest vessel of the Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta is the OPV748 Class offshore patrol vessel P71, seen here at the squadron's base at Hay Wharf on 22 October 2023.  Ordered in October 2018 and launched in February 2021, P71 was commissioned on 22 March 2023.  P71 was built by Cantiere Navale Vittoria in Adria, Italy and, upon commissioning, it replaced P61 as the flagship of the Maritime Squadron.  The ship measures 78.4 metres (257.2 feet) in length, with a beam of 13 metres (42.6 feet) and a displacement of 2,244 tons at full load.  P71's two Wärtsilä diesel engines provide a top speed of 20 knots (37 km/h) and a range of 2,100 km at 16 knots (30 km/h).  With a crew of four officers and 21 ratings, the ship has accommodations for an additional 20 members of the Special Operations Unit.  P71 is equipped with two 9.1 metre (30 foot) rigid-hull inflatable boats and armed with 1 OTO Melara 25mm Oerlikon remote controlled autocannon, one 12.7mm machine gun, and two 7.62mm machine guns.  The ship's rear helicopter deck can land seven-ton helicopters such as the Leonardo AW139s operated by the Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta.

A view of Fort Manoel, a star fort on Manoel Island in Marsamxett Harbour.  Built by the Order of Saint John in the 18th century, during the reign of the Order's Portuguese Grand Master, António Manoel de Vilhena, Fort Manoel was designed in the Baroque architectural style; as such, it was constructed with a view to both function and aesthetics.  After a number of proposals for a fort on this site were presented from 1569 onward, the final design was agreed only in 1723 and the first stone laid on 14 September of that year by Grand Master Vilhena, who financed the construction and established a fund to pay for the costs of maintaining and garrisoning the fort.  Construction proceeded rapidly and, by 1734, the fort was an active military establishment.  Additional outworks were completed over the course of succeeding years until the entire fort was considered complete in 1761.  Fort Manoel was captured by Napoleon's forces during the French invasion of Malta in June 1798, with the British occupying the fort in 1800 after ousting the French.  Although the fort's cannons were decommissioned and removed in 1906, a battery of 3.7-inch heavy anti-aircraft guns was installed in and around Fort Manoel during the Second World War, with the fort suffering extensive damage from Axis aerial bombing.  British forces utilised Fort Manoel until the garrison was withdrawn in 1964, after which the fort fell into a state of disrepair, exacerbated by acts of vandalism.  Restoration work on Fort Manoel commenced in August 2001 and the fort is included in Malta's tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites as part of the Knights' Fortifications.

Passing a sailboat while heading out of Marsamxett Harbour into the choppy Mediterranean in order to round the tip of Valletta and enter the Grand Harbour.  The dome of the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the spire of St Paul's Cathedral are prominent landmarks on Valletta's skyline. 

  

The St Elmo breakwater protecting the entrance to the Grand Harbour passes to starboard as the tour vessel sails around the tip of Valletta. 

Part of the ramparts built to provide seaward protection for Valletta.  On the right stands the Siege Bell Memorial commemorating those who fought and died defending Malta during the Second World War.  On the left is Lower Barrakka Gardens. 

In Vittoriosa (originally called Birgu) across Grand Harbour from Valletta, stands Fort St Angelo.  Built by the Order of St John in the mid-1500s on the site of a medieval castle, Fort St Angelo was the headquarters of the Order of Saint John during the Ottomans' 1565 Great Siege of Malta.  The fort was rebuilt into its current appearance in the 1690s. 

A view of the north side of Fort St Angelo, as seen from Kalkara Creek.

A view of the south side of Fort St Angelo, as seen from Galleys' Creek.

Senglea, also known as Città Invicta, one of three cities on the eastern side of Grand Harbour along with Conspicua and Vittoriosa.  Built on a narrow finger of land, as with the other two cities, Senglea is home to about 2,700 residents as of 2019.  It is named after its founder, Grand Master Claude de la Sengle of the Order of Saint John. 

Giant cranes tower over the modern shipyard in Grand Harbour, at which large cargo and passenger vessels are repaired and overhauled.  Seen here on 22 October 2023 is the ferry GNV Sealand and, in the dry dock next to it, the 43,025 gross ton Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Karpaty.

The GNV Sealand was completed by Italy's Visentini Shipyard in 2009 and originally named Scottish Viking.  Now operated by Grandi Navi Veloci, GNV Sealand sails between Valencia, Palma de Mallorca, and Ibiza in Spain.  The 26,904 gross ton ferry is 186 metres (610.2 feet) in length, with a beam of 25.6 metres (84 feet), and a draught of 6.85 metres (22.5 feet).  She can carry 830 passengers and 200 cars at a top speed of 21.5 knots (40 km/h). 

A view down Grand Harbour, with Senglea on the right and Fort St Angelo and Vittoriosa on the left.

The MV Jean De La Valette, a high-speed aluminum catamaran ferry operated by Malta-based Virtu Ferries, moored at the ferry terminal in Grand Harbour.  The 850-ton ferry was built by Australia's Austal in 2010 and was the largest high-speed catamaran in the Mediterranean when it entered service.  In October 2023, MV Jean De La Valette operated between Valletta and Augusta and/or Catania in Sicily, carrying up to 800 passengers, 24 crew, and 156 cars or 45 cars and 342 truck lane metres; vehicles can be loaded and unloaded via ramps at the stern and port side.  The vessel is 106.5 metres (349 feet) in length, with a beam of 23.8 metres (78 feet) and a draught of 4.9 metres (16 feet).  Four waterjets, powered by four diesel engines, drive the Jean De La Valette at a speed of 38 knots (70.4 km/h).  MV Jean De La Valette features six air-conditioned lounges with leather reclining seats, open air seating decks, a shop, and three food service outlets.  

Looking down Grand Harbour, with Valletta on the left.

Luxury yachts moored in French Creek on the south side of Senglea.  As the home port of a large number of luxury yachts and a popular destination for foreign yachts, Grand Harbour has developed a significant yacht maintenance industry.  

The motor yacht Paloma, built by Ishikawajima-Harima in Japan in 1965.  The 617 gross ton vessel measures 60.25 metres (197.67 feet) in length, with a beam of 8.85 metres (29.03 feet).  Paloma is powered by two 1,000-horsepower Caterpillar diesel engines, producing a maximum speed of 17 knots (31.5 km/h) and a cruising speed of 15 knots (27.8 km/h) and giving the vessel a range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,408 kilometres).  With seven cabins, Paloma can accommodate up to 14 guests and carries a crew of 16.

Moored in Valletta is the four-masted barquentine Star Flyer, built by Belgium's Scheepswerven van Langerbrugge in 1990-91 and operated by Swedish-based luxury cruise line Star Clippers Ltd.  The 2,298 gross ton, Maltese-flagged cruise ship measures 111.57 metres (366.04 feet) in length, with a beam of 15.14 metres (49.67 feet), and a draught of 5.50 metres (18.04 feet).  Star Flyer carries 170 passengers and is powered by 16 sails and a single Caterpillar diesel engine. 

The high ramparts of the fortifications of Valletta, with Upper Barrakka Gardens and the Saluting Battery seen at the centre top.  To the left, the tall column is the Barrakka Lift, built in 2012 to help people more easily move from the harbour to the heights of Valletta.  Sitting at the water's edge (to the right of the black barge) is the Malta Custom House, built in 1774-76 to a design by Maltese architect Giuseppe Bonnici (1707-1779), and one of the few government buildings still serving in its original role.  The Custom House was officially opened by the Order of St John's Grand Master, Fra Emmanuel Marie des Neiges de Rohan-Polduc, on 27 July 1776; Grand Master De Rohan personally funded the construction of the Custom House, whose walls measure up to 3.66 metres (12 feet) in thickness in some places.  The building's walls were built of coralline limestone up to the second storey in order to resist the damaging effects of salty ocean spray, with normal globigerina limestone used on the upper storeys of the building.  The Custom House's façade overlooking Grand Harbour reportedly featured a stone depiction of the coat-of-arms of Grand Master De Rohan, along with the figures of two mermaids on each side supporting a large frieze above; however, it is believed that the coat-of-arms was destroyed by French troops during the occupation of 1798, with the mermaids and frieze being worn away over time by strong northeast winds.

A line of luxury yachts moored under the ramparts of Fort Saint Angelo in Senglea.  From left to right are: Lady Maja I (62 metres, built 2005); Illusion I (55.5 metres, built 1983); Seagull II (54 metres, built 1952); and Starlust (68.2 metres, built 2020).  Malta is the third most popular flag state for superyachts, with over 1,000 superyachts registered under the Maltese flag.

Looking across Galleys' Creek towards the densely-populated city of Senglea.

Small boats moored in Galleys' Creek between Vittoriosa and Senglea, with Senglea's old limestone residential buildings seen in the background, featuring colourful Maltese-style enclosed balconies.  The bell towers and dome of the Basilica of the Nativity of Mary, also known as the Basilica of Our Lady of Victories, can be seen on the left.  

Returning to the dock in Sliema after the 90-minute Three Cities Harbour Cruise.

National War Museum and Fort St Elmo

A seaward view of Fort St Elmo, as seen from outside the Grand Harbour.  Fort St Elmo was important to the defence of the entrances to Grand Harbour and Marsamxett Harbour.  the fort was built in the shape of a star to a design by military engineer Pietro Pardo in the mid-16th century and played a critical role during the Great Siege of 1565.  For 30 days, Fort St Elmo resisted the attacking Ottoman forces before finally being captured.  It was rebuilt after the siege and continued to expand over time in response to military needs.  Today, Fort St Elmo houses the National War Museum.  

Located outside the landward walls of Fort St Elmo are underground grain silos (fossos) built by the Order of St John to store grain in the event of a siege.  The bell-shaped fossos were filled with wheat and then carefully sealed with large stone caps (some circular and some squarish) and mortar in order to  ensure a dry environment for the contents.  Stone slabs form the pavement between the capstones.  Built during the reign of Grand Master Gregorio Caraffa (1680-1690) when trade and commerce were increasing due to infrastructure improvements, the fossos were managed by the Universita’ dei Grani.  Although 70 fossos were originally constructed in this area, only 30 still survive, while 75 similar underground granaries were built by the British in the Valletta suburb of Floriana in the 19th century.  Grain stored in Valletta's fossos fed French occupying troops during the British blockade between 1798 and 1800 and delayed their eventual surrender.

The ticket office and gift shop for Fort St Elmo and the National War Museum is located in a former gunpowder magazine, also known as a polverista.  The word 'polverista' is derived from the Italian 'polvere da sparo' (gunpowder).  This building was constructed by the order of St John in the 1600s to store gunpowder for the cannon on St Lazarus Bastion, located on the curtain wall.  British forces continued to use the magazine after 1800 but eventually converted it to an office for the Royal Engineers in the early 1900s and, following the Second World War, to a guardroom.  

Proceeding from the entrance, visitors pass the St Lazarus Bastion.  St Lazarus Bastion is technically located outside of Fort St Elmo due to its having been built as part of the Valletta enciente (the enclosure of a fortified place) constructed in the 16th century.  In 1785, the St Lazarus Bastion was armed with seven cannons and 11 mortars and in 1885 was equipped with a 38-ton gun.  This gun was replaced by a single 6-inch breech-loading gun between 1903 and 1936.

St Lazarus Battery was built in 1908 and was armed with two quick-firing 12-pounder guns in 1910.  Quick-firing guns offered a higher rate of fire than older cannons and also used smokeless cordite propellant, which protected the guns against being spotted by the enemy.  These quick-firing guns were later removed from the battery and replaced by a twin 6-pounder quick firing gun in 1938.  The twin 6-pounder was employed in a defensive role during the Second World War.  

Two large ship's anchors on display along the path leading visitors toward Fort St Elmo.

The Victorian era gate into Fort St Elmo.  Although most of the ramparts of Valletta were demilitarised by the end of the 1800s, the Carafa Enciente enclosing Fort St Elmo retained its guns for coast defence purposes.  This gate was therefore built in 1880 to separate the civilian and military zones.

The Orderly Room, built by the British Army around 1910 and used for the administration of the fort.  Prior to the Second World War, it was used as offices for the fort's artillery batteries.  It was from here that daily duties were distributed to the fort's garrison.  In the 1960s the building served as an education centre.

Abercrombie's Casemates.  Previously a curtain wall, around 1860 the Abercrombie curtain was renovated into a casemated (roofed) battery mounting guns overlooking the entrance to Grand Harbour.  In 1864, Abercrombie's Casemates was equipped with sixteen 68-pounder guns and by 1885 it was armed with eight 80-pounder guns.  During the decade between 1897 and 1907, Abercrombie's Casemates featured four 12-pounder quick-firing guns and two machine guns.  Unlike previous artillery pieces, these quick-firing guns combined propellant and projectile in a single cartridge for easier handling and a higher rate of fire.  The ammunition for the quick-firing guns was stored in underground magazine and hoisted to the guns by means of lifts. 

A view of Abercrombie's Casemates from atop Fort St Elmo.  Considered obsolete by the early 1900s, some of the casemates were demolished while others were converted into offices and storehouses. 

A memorial to HMS Urge, a British U-class submarine lost with all hands after hitting a German mine off Malta on 27 April 1942.  Before its loss, HMS Urge had a successful war record, sinking Axis warships and supply vessels, landing and recovering British special forces and Allied secret agents on enemy coasts, and helping to defend the vital supply convoys to Malta.  HMS Urge departed Malta for Alexandria shortly before dawn on 27 April 1942 and was never heard again.  The ship's company of 32 officers and men, as well as 12 passengers, were lost and the wreck was not located until 2019.

A view of the St Elmo breakwater protecting the entrance to Grand Harbour.  A much shorter breakwater, the Ricasoli East breakwater, extends from the other side of the harbour entrance. 

A block of storehouses constructed around 1880 and originally incorporating several machinery and gun sheds.  Plans of Fort St Elmo from before the Second World War show this block containing a garage for a fire engine.  The arched casemates were also used as ammunition magazines for guns located nearby, as well as a shelter for the gun crews. 

A collection of heavy, Rifled Muzzle Loading guns from the latter half of the 19th century.  As artillery became larger and heavier through the 1800s, new military architecture was required to accommodate them.  The Carafa Enceinte around Fort St Elmo was modified through the addition of new gun emplacements and the reinforcement of existing gun batteries with concrete in the 1870s.  When breech-loading guns were introduced in the early 20th century, a further round of architectural modifications was required. 

A plaque marking the grave of General Sir Ralph Abercromby (1734-1801), the commander of the British Army's troops in the Mediterranean.  Abercromby participated in the British blockade of French forces occupying Malta in 1798-1800 and in 1801 was sent to recapture Egypt from the French.  Shot and killed in battle in Egypt, Abercromby's body was transported to Malta and interred within this bastion, which was renamed after him.  As noted on the upper plaque, Abercromby's remains were moved to a vault under the bastion in 1871.

Descending a ramp to the underground magazines of Abercrombie's Bastion. 

One of two concrete control towers atop Abercrombie's Bastion, built in 1938 to control the fire of the two twin 6-pounder quick-firing guns installed here.  It was here on 26 July 1941 that soldiers of the Royal Malta Artillery (RMA) manning the guns were able to disrupt a seaborne attack by nine Italian explosive motor boats from the Italian Navy's 10th Assault Vehicle Flotilla (Decima Flottiglia MAS) against merchant ships forming part of the 'Substance' convoy anchored in the Grand Harbour.  This failed attack was the only one of its kind mounted against Malta during the Second World War. 

One of two gun emplacements in Abercrombie's Bastion, located at the tip of the Sciberras Peninsula on which Valletta and Fort St Elmo are located.  While a twin 6-pounder quick-firing gun was mounted on the circular platform on the right, the guns were removed in the post-war period as part of the fort's decommissioning.

The Carafa Enceinte fronting Abercrombie's Bastion.  The antennae and aerials on the upper left sit atop the Harbour Fire Command complex looking out over the approaches to Grand Harbour from the fort's cavalier. 

A look at two of the concrete towers built in 1938 as part of Fort St Elmo's coastal defences.  These towers were used to spot enemy ships and aircraft and to direct the fire of each tower's associated twin 6-pounder guns. 

Abercrombie's Bastion on the left was originally named St John's Bastion when constructed as part of the Carafa Enceinte enclosing Fort St Elmo as part of the Valletta fortifications.  The Carafa Enceinte was built at the direction of Grand Master Gregorio Carafa in 1687 in order to deny an occupying enemy the use of the foreshore below Fort St Elmo.  This bastioned enceinte was designed by the Dutch military engineer Carlos Grunenbergh and included three bastions: St John's Bastion (renamed Abercrombie's Bastion), Immaculate Conception Bastion (renamed Ball's Bastion), and St Gregory's Bastion.  Dring the period of British occupation of Malta after 1800, the Carafa Enceinte was considered part of Fort St Elmo itself.

The Porta del Soccorso was originally believed to be the relief gate through which casualties were evacuated from the fort and new supplies and reinforcements brought in from Birgu during the Great Siege of 1565.  It has since been confirmed that this was Fort St Elmo's original main gate until a new one was constructed by 1570.  Although Fort St Elmo proper begins beyond this gate, the British Army considered the surrounding enceinte as part of the fort.  The eye mounted above the Porta del Soccorso (the l-għajn) symbolises watch duties, while the coats of arms of Grand Masters d'Homedes, de Valette, and Carafa are also mounted above the gate.  To the left of the gate is a modern bronze sculptural depiction of knights of the Order of St John.

The entrance to St Anne's Chapel, just inside the fort after passing through the Porta del Soccorso.   

The interior of St Anne's Chapel, featuring a high coffered ceiling.  The chapel, originally dedicated to Saint Elmo, already existed in 1488 and was incorporated within Fort St Elmo, constructed in 1552.  It was re-dedicated to St Anne, the patron saint of the Order of St John's navy.  St Anne's Chapel housed an icon of Saint Anne, brought to Malta by the Knights of St John in 1530 and now housed at the Malta Maritime Museum.  The final defence of Fort St Elmo during the Great Siege of 1565 was fought here, with the handful of remaining knights being slain by Ottoman forces who captured the fort on 23 June after 30 days of resistance.  The coffered ceiling and the altar were added to the chapel in the 1600s. 

The Piazza d'Armi, a large parade ground flanked on three sides by soldiers' barracks designed by French military engineer Charles de Mondion and constructed between 1727 and 1729.  These were the first modern barrack blocks built by the Order of St John in Malta and were specifically designed to provide improved sanitation and hygiene, as well as impose more discipline and control over the soldiers residing in them.  The barracks housed 200 soldiers of the Grand Master's Guard. 

The lower tier of one of the casemated barracks blocks now houses various displays, including a recreation of a Second World War soldier's accommodation, seen here.

This display by the re-enactment group Scuola d'Armi (Show of Arms) showcases medieval weaponry, including swords, rapiers, and early firearms such as the musket and the 'handgonne'.  The re-enactors of Scuola d'Armi train in the use of these medieval weapons using original combat manuals and under the guidance of foreign qualified experts.

The members of Scuola d'Armi also practice period crafting skills, such as the making of ink and quills, leather-working, cookery, medical practice, carpentry, fletching (the addition of stabilising structures to arrows), sewing, and weaving, some of which are depicted in this display.  

A display by Legio X Fretensis, a re-enactment group focused on the Roman period.  The group portrays living history as Roman legionaries serving in the 5th Cohort of the 10th Legion Fretensis, as well as citizens of Roman society in the first century AD.

A display of weapons, armour, and equipment by the Legio X Fretensis re-enactment group.  The 10th Legion Fretensis was formed by Gaius Octavius and given the number '10' in honour of Julius Caesar's famous 10th Legion.  The 10th Legion Fretensis fought during the period of civil war that led to the dissolution of the Roman Republic and Octavian's victory resulted in him being hailed Emperor by his troops.  The legion's role in the Battle of Naulochus, near the Strait of Messina ('Fretum Siculum' in Latin), earned it its nickname Fretensis.  The 10th Legion Fretensis is recorded to have existed until at least the fifth century AD.  The legion's campaigns took it to the East, where it fought in the First Jewish War (66-73 AD) under the supreme command of Vespasian, and the Second Jewish War (132-136 AD) under Emperor Hadrian. 

On the east side of the Piazza d'Armi stands the Church of St Anne, built in 1729 during the reign of Grand Master Antonio Manoel de Vilhena.  This garrison church was constructed to enhance the soldiers' devotion to St Anne and was part of the parade ground's redesign.

The Church of St Anne reflects the grand, ornamental, and dramatic styling of 18th century baroque architecture.  The church housed an icon of St Anne holding Our Lady, which was brought to Malta following the Order of St John's expulsion from Rhodes by the Ottomans in 1530.

The National War Museum's exhibits are displayed in chronological order from ancient to modern times in a series of buildings housed within Fort St Elmo.  The earliest artefacts are housed in the former Non-Commissioned Officers' Mess built in the 18th century and used by the British Army during the 19th and 20th centuries.  Seen here are displays on prehistoric Malta, specifically the Bronze Age (c. 2,400-700 BC).  The Bronze Age saw settlers to the Maltese Islands bring copper axes, chisels, daggers, and awls.  The period is also characterised by easily defended hilltop settlements and defensive structures designed to withstand a siege.

A collection of chert and flint blades, probably used for domestic purposes.  These items, dating from c. 3,600-2,500 BC, were found at the Ħal Ġinwi Temple in Żejtun, Malta and at the Xagħra Stone Circle on the Maltese island of Gozo.   

Punic ceramic vessels used for the transport and storage of various products.  The provenance of these vessels is unknown, but they are believed to date from between the 8th and 3rd centuries BC.

Roman-Byzantine column-topping capitals, likely from a religious or important civic building.  The provenance of these artefacts is unknown, though they date from between the 1st and 9th centuries AD. 

A tombstone with Arabic inscription recording the burial of local Muslims, dating from between the 9th and 11th centuries AD.

The National War Museum's Building 2 is a former barracks built in the 1700s and used by both the Order of St John and, later, the British Army to house some of the fort's garrison.  This particular building was reconfigured as a recreational facility in 1910, with a billiard table and a library.  In the 1960s, it was also used as Headquarters' offices. 

Inside Building 2 is housed displays on Malta's military history in the 1500s, including the Great Siege of Malta of 1565.  As a scene setter, this display notes how the Mediterranean had become a battleground between the Ottoman empire and Christian Europe in the 16th century.  Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, after which Ottoman forces made steady inroads into Christian lands and, by 1523, had captured the entire eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, and the Balkans, and evicted the Knights of St John from their island fortress of Rhodes.  

Glass cases hold a replica of a typical shield used by the Knights of the Order of St John, as well as an example of the body armour worn by a knight.  In 1530, following their ouster from Rhodes, the Knights of St John were given Malta and the North African port of Tripoli by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.  Charles V wished to prevent the expansion of Ottoman influence into the western Mediterranean by re-establishing the Order of St John on the strategically important Maltese Islands.  The Order's Grand Master, Philippe de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam accepted the key to the Maltese city of Mdina and sent letters across Europe summoning the dispersed knights to join him on the islands.  The Order established its base at Birgu, now Vittoriosa, and set about reinforcing and remodelling Fort St Angelo as its new headquarters.  Additionally, the knights upgraded the existing medieval galley arsenal and, in 1532, they began building an infirmary, an armoury, and hostels (auberges) for the different nationalities of the knights.  During their early years on Malta, the Knights of St John launched raids against the Turks and grew their wealth.  In 1551, the notorious Turkish corsair Dragut raided the Maltese island of Gozo, carrying off 6,000 residents as slaves.  In response, the knights reorganised and rearmed their forces and built two new forts, St Michael and St Elmo, to defend against future Ottoman raids. 

A reproduction of the banner of the Spanish Order of Santiago, featuring a red cross of Saint James terminating in a sword.  The Order of Santiago was founded in 1160, during the Spanish Reconquista (722-1492) to fight against Moorish rule in Spain and protect pilgrims.  Knights from the Order of Santiago helped to defend Malta during the Great Siege of 1565. 

One of the displays on the Great Siege of Malta of 1565.  Forewarned by spies in 1564, Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette recalled knights from across Europe and unsuccessfully petitioned European monarchs for military assistance.  When the Ottomans finally invaded on 20 May 1565, Malta was defended by fewer than 9,000 men, including around 8,000 Maltese militia and a mere 600 knights.  On 28 May, Ottoman forces commenced their attack on Fort St Elmo.  Weeks of constant bombardment and vicious hand-to-hand fighting followed, with the fort's 946 original defenders (including 100 knights) and subsequent reinforcements repelling successive attacks and inflicting between 6,000 and 8,000 casualties on the Ottomans.  With the fort battered into rubble and overrun by the Ottomans, the few remaining defenders surrendered on 23 June, having lost 1,200 men killed, including 110 knights.   

A display of Ottoman weapons, armour, and cannonballs.  The 40,000-strong Ottoman land force under Mustapha Pasha positioned large cannons on Mount Sciberras (on which the city of Valletta was eventually built) to bombard Fort St Elmo with cannonballs, some weighing up to 170 pounds.  In addition to the stout defence of the fort's garrison, Ottoman forces suffered from disease which spread through their camps.  After capturing the fort's cavalier, the Ottoman cannons could fire directly into Fort St Elmo, with the defeat of the defenders only a matter of time once the Ottomans had cut off the knights' cross-harbour supply of reinforcements and supplies.  Despite the Ottoman victory over Fort St Elmo, a carefully-planned counter-offensive by the knights repelled the invaders and the arrival of reinforcements from Sicily in September forced the Ottomans to evacuate their forces from Malta.  Praise, military support, and money to rebuild Malta poured in from the grateful rulers of Christian Europe, while Pope Pius V sent his favourite military architect, Francesco Laparelli, to help ensure that Malta remained the bulwark of Christianity.   

Building 3, dedicated to the rule of Malta by the Knights of the Order of St John during the period between the Great Siege of 1565 and the Order's surrender to Revolutionary France in 1798, followed by the period of British occupation.  Building 3 stands on the site of a thick walled rampart (cavalier) in 1760, which was in turn heavily modified by 1830 and then converted into an ablutions (washroom) facility by 1910.  

This section of the exhibit details the golden era of the Order of St John's rule of Malta, when the knights enjoyed widespread praise for defeating the Ottoman invasion, the island's defences were rebuilt and strengthened, and the fortified city of Valletta was built.  After the defeat of the Ottomans, Grand Master Hugues Loubenx de Verdalle built defences and began developing Valletta.  This effort included the construction of hostels (auberges) for the Langues (the national groups within the Order), as well as churches, hospitals, and public buildings.  Grand Master de Verdalle also regulated and taxed the activities of corsairs and merchants.

Left: A 17th century pharmacy jar (majolica Albarello) of the kind used in the Order of St John's hospitals.  Right: an 18th century gilt, leather-bound book used by members of the Order for devotional prayers, saying Mass, and celebrating the Order's martyrs and saints' feast days.  

Glass cases hold a variety of weapons and equipment used by the Knights of the Order of St John, including a 16th century Morion helmet; an early 17th century rapier; metal and brass hilted swords from the late-17th and 18th centuries, respectively; and two 17th century staves.  It was Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt (ruled 1601-1622), a talented engineer and strategist, who strengthened Malta's coastal defences and began re-equipping the Order through the creation of a foundry at Valletta.  Cannon makers and craftsmen were employed to bolster the Order's arsenal and armoury, while Wignacourt raised funds to build new galleys for the Order's navy. 

A scale model of Fort St Angelo in Vittoriosa, the Order of St John's headquarters during the Great Siege of Malta of 1565.

It was on this table on 5 September 1800 that French and British representatives signed a treaty confirming the capitulation and departure of French forces on Malta following two years of blockade by the Royal Navy.  When the Order of St John surrendered to Napoleon on 12 June 1798, the era of the Order's rule of Malta came to an end.  The French occupation brought modernity to Malta, with the French establishing the island's first republican government, abolishing slavery, instituting a new legal framework and civil code, establishing 12 municipalities, replacing the religious university with a science-based Ecole Centrale, and abolishing the feudal rights of the church and older nobility.  However, French looting of Malta's churches and disruption to Malta's traditional economy also aroused great anger among the Maltese people.  By 1800, with no chance of reinforcements from France and French forces desperate for supplies, General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois contacted British commander Major-General Henry Pigot and offered to surrender.  The treaty of capitulation was signed behind closed doors with no Maltese officials present as Vaubois did not want to surrender to the Maltese.  Granted the right to keep their weapons and spoils of war, the French forces were quickly repatriated to Marseilles. 

A gallery devoted to Malta's military history during the period of British rule, with a focus on the period 1814-1913.  Malta was declared a Crown Colony in 1815 and soon became Britain's Mediterranean naval base and a well-defended strategic forward base for the British Army.  It was from Malta that British forces could manage campaigns in the eastern Mediterranean and beyond.  The fortunes of Malta during this period fluctuated with the level of military activity in the region, with new docks being built to service British ships involved in the Crimean War (1854-56) and maritime activity surging again after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.  Indeed, Malta became a hub for global trade and a staging post for British troops deploying around the Empire.  Malta's importance grew with Britain's need to protect the vital Mediterranean passage to India, China, and the Far East.  Although the fortunes of the Maltese people waxed and waned with the boom and bust cycle of military expenditures, overall Malta prospered greatly during the period of British rule.  The glass case in the centre of the room contains various British pattern swords, infantry rifles, and revolvers, as well as an Austro-Hungarian Gasser M1870 army revolver.  Displays around the gallery recount the events occurring in Malta and the wider world during the period between 1814 and 1913. 

A Royal Artillery uniform jacket made in Malta to an official British pattern and dating from the mid- to late-19th century.  

A pair of First World War-era torpedoes displayed outside the National War Museum's Building 4, dedicated to the history of Malta during the two World Wars. 

One of two captured 25cm German schwere Minenwerfer (heavy mine-launchers) brought to Malta by British forces after the First World War as prizes.  The schwere Minewerfer had a short, rifled barrel and was muzzle-loaded and highly portable.  The first versions of this weapon were introduced in 1910, followed in 1916 by a longer-barrelled version.  Schwere Minenwerfers were used extensively in trench warfare and against fortifications in Belgium and northern France during the war. 

A display of helmets from the First World War, including a German M1918 ear cut-out steel helmet (left); a British 'Brodie' steel helmet (middle, bottom); a British pith helmet (middle, top); and a French M1915 Adrian steel helmet (right).  

A display on Malta's role in the First World War as 'Nurse of the Mediterranean'.  While Malta had only four hospitals with a combined 268 beds when the war broke out in 1914, 1,000 sick and wounded soldiers were sent to Malta on 29 April 1915 following the landings at Gallipoli in Turkey.  Within a month, the number of patients had increased to 4,000 and, when British and ANZAC troops were finally withdrawn from Gallipoli in January 1916, Malta's 28 hospitals and convalescent centres boasted 20,000 beds.  A medical staff comprising 334 medical officers, 913 nurses, and 2,032 other support staff from around the world cared for the 2,000 wounded and sick soldiers arriving in Malta every week.  Over the course of the war, over 120,000 military patients of all ranks passed through Malta, with a number of those who died in hospital being buried on the island. 

The Gloster Sea Gladiator named 'Faith'.  This aircraft, registration N5520, was manufactured by the Gloster Aircraft Company and is the only survivor of three such Sea Gladiators which participated in the defence of Malta during the early days of the Axis attacks in 1940.  These three obsolete aircraft flew non-stop missions over 10 days in attempts to break up Italian air attacks on the island, thereby earning them the nicknames Faith, Hope, and Charity.  'Faith' was recovered from a quarry at Kalafrana in southern Malta and subsequently restored and presented to the people of Malta by the Royal Air Force on 3 September 1943. 

A display on Malta's preparations for war in the summer of 1940, noting efforts to secure the island's coastline using a handful of British regiments and the King's Own Malta Regiment.  Nevertheless, with Britain facing a potential threat of German invasion, the Maltese were unsure what resources could be sent to them to bolster the defences.  When the first Italian bombing raids occurred on 11 June 1940, Malta had few airworthy aircraft, only 34 heavy anti-aircraft guns, eight light anti-aircraft guns, and one radar set on the island.  Malta was divided into sectors, each with its own Air Raid Precautions (ARP) organisation, civilians were given war jobs, and supplies were stockpiled.  Maltese men enlisted in the British regiments and in the Malta 3rd Light Anti-Aircraft Battalion, and the Malta Volunteer Force was formed.  Given the threat posed to Valletta by Axis air raids, many Maltese people left the city to live in the countryside.  

The uniform of a German Luftwaffe Oberleutnant, equivalent in rank to a Flying Officer in the Royal Air Force.  With Italian forces bogged down in North Africa and Italian air attacks against Malta largely ineffective, Nazi Germany sent forces to the Mediterranean to assist the Italian effort.  The Luftwaffe's Fliegerkorps X, sent to Sicily in December 1940, was the first unit to operate over Malta.  In October 1941, Hitler ordered Luftflotte II to transfer from the Russian front to Italy and in December 1941 Fliegerkorps II arrived in Sicily, under the command of Field Marshal Albert Kesselring.  Kesselring's orders were to neutralise Malta once and for all.  Axis aircraft based in Sicily could reach Malta in just 20 minutes.  Although Axis air raids were incessant and caused great damage to Malta, the island's defences shot down or damaged many enemy aircraft. 

A display recounting the build-up of forces on 'Fortress Malta' in the summer of 1941, when Royal Air Force and Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm joint operations began choking off the flow of Axis supplies to North Africa and struck targets in Italy.  On Malta, 3,000 soldiers and local civilian conscripts repaired and reinforced airfields and built underground workshops, while convoys fought their way through German and Italian attacks to deliver vital supplies to the beleaguered island.  Beaufort torpedo bombers and Hurricane fighters were shipped to Malta and, using intelligence gleaned from coded German wireless signals and reconnaissance patrols, British forces were able to intercept and sink 60% of Axis convoys. 

A painting depicting the three Gloster Sea Gladiators Hope, Faith, and Charity which, in 1940, comprised Malta's entire fighter defence against Italian air attacks.  These three aircraft, kept flying by a rotation of pilots, forced the Italian attackers to fly at high altitudes and misled the Italian air force into believing that Malta was more heavily defended than it really was.

A display on the war in the air in 1941-42, in which Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm, and Royal Navy joint operations mounted from Malta successfully disrupted German operations in North Africa through the sinking of Axis supply convoys.  Despite these successes, Malta continued to endure heavy air raids against its airfields, which were repaired by army ground crews (due to a shortage of Royal Air Force personnel) who hastily filled in bomb craters, patched up aircraft, and constructed protective pens for those aircraft.  In aerial combat, the older Hurricane fighters were no match for faster and more powerful German planes, but new Spitfire Mk V fighters began arriving on Malta in March 1942 to provide air cover for friendly convoys approaching Malta.  Displayed in this case is a piece of wreckage bearing a swastika from the tail of a German Junkers JU-87 Stuka shot down near Żonqor in eastern Malta on 3 May 1942; while the pilot was killed, the gunner was captured alive.  Other items displayed here include aircraft components salvaged from various German and Italian aircraft shot down on Malta; a double-barrelled flare pistol recovered from a German plane; a metal swastika worn by a German pilot shot down over Malta in 1942; and the badges of various Royal Air Force squadrons based on Malta. 

The uniform of a rating on the British battleship HMS Vanguard.  By the time of the Second World War, Malta had been a British naval base for well over a century.  When their ships were in port, naval ratings would scrub the decks or undertake training in navigation, boat launching, and judo.  During the war, the Royal Navy's vessels were in constant danger of attack, whether anchored in Grand Harbour or out in the Mediterranean.  Many Maltese naval ratings served in the Royal Navy during the war on auxiliary minesweepers.  

A display on the war at sea.  Despite the Axis air attacks on Malta which caused the British Mediterranean Fleet to relocate to Alexandria, Egypt, the island remained key to British naval power in the region and its shipyard workers continued to provide vital repair services for Allied shipping.  British submarines based at Manoel Island in Marsamxett Harbour ventured forth to attack German shipping while also being used to bring in limited supplies of ammunition and medicine; one submarine, HMS Clyde, was even converted into a cargo transport submarine.  After a hiatus, the Luftwaffe resumed attacks on Grand Harbour's shipyards and docks and German and Italian naval forces laid minefields near the approaches to Grand Harbour in an attempt to prevent supplies from getting to Malta and bottle up British naval forces in the harbour.  Items displayed here include parts salvaged from the British destroyer HMS Maori, sunk in the Grand Harbour in February 1942; badges from various Royal Navy ships and submarines; a life jacket from the American aircraft carrier USS Wasp; the white ensign flag from the minelayer ML 126; items of Royal Navy protective clothing for gun crews; and the wheel from the MV Moor. 

The bell from HMS Maori, a Royal Navy Tribal-class destroyer of the British Mediterranean Fleet.  Launched on 2 September 1937, Maori was attacked by German aircraft on 12 February 1942 while in Valletta's Grand Harbour and sank with the loss of one life.  The wreck was later raised and scuttled outside the harbour, off Fort St Elmo, on 15 July 1945.  

A display on the 'Illustrious Blitz', the attack by more than 60 Junkers JU-87 and JU-88 aircraft on the aircraft HMS Illustrious on 10 January 1941.  As part of the escort for the Operation Excess convoy from Gibraltar to Malta, Illustrious was a prime target for the Luftwaffe squadrons based on Sicily.  The carrier was hit six times and extensively damaged, with 126 crewmen killed.  Through the heroic efforts of her crew, Illustrious limped into Malta's Grand Harbour.  On 16 January, German aircraft launched a heavy bombing raid on the docks where Illustrious was under repair, with nearby civilian areas bearing the brunt of the attack.   

A closer look at the replica of the damaged ship's bell from the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, bombed by German aircraft on 10 January 1941.  This replica bell was presented to the National War Museum Association by Admiral Sir Charles Madden on behalf of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, UK.

The uniform of a Private of the 8th Ardwick Battalion of the Manchester Regiment.  Given the shortage of Royal Air Force ground crews on Malta, the Manchester Regiment became expert in servicing, refuelling, and rearming fighter aircraft for a quick turnaround under constant attacks during the day and night.  Soldiers of the regiment also cleared debris from Malta's streets and salvaged bomb-damaged houses and property.

A British Army M20 motorcycle manufactured by the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) Ltd. 

The uniform of a Private serving with British forces in North Africa.  Axis and Allied troops fought in the harsh conditions of North Africa for almost three years. The British 7th Armoured Division was composed of various tank and Hussar regiments, later augmented by Eighth Army ground troops and Royal Air Force personnel who were deployed across North Africa to protect the vital Suez Canal.  Britain's North African campaign was supported by Malta-based aircraft and submarines which intercepted and attacked Axis supply convoys sustaining the German Afrika Korps under Erwin Rommel.

The Second World War gallery in Building 4.  

A display of Second World War equipment.  On the right, painted in desert tan, is a Bofors 40mm light anti-aircraft gun, designed by AB Bofors in 1928 for the Swedish navy and adapted for use as a land weapon.  Malta was poorly defended in July 1939 and of the 60 Bofors 40mm guns expected to bolster the island's harbour defences, only eight actually arrived.  By early 1941, there were 129 Bofors 40mm guns on Malta but by 1944 the number had declined to 84, covering the Grand Harbour and the airfields.  In addition to their anti-aircraft role on Malta, Bofors guns in other theatres were also used to fire horizontal tracer shells to mark safe paths for soldiers through minefields.

Seen on the right is a captured Italian Cannone da 47/32 M1939 (Breda 47mm gun).  Approximately 100 of these captured guns were refurbished at a depot in Alexandria, Egypt and issued to various Allied units for second line service.  Some of these were sent to Malta to reinforce the island's defences.  

The damaged propeller from a Junkers JU-87 Stuka dive bomber believed to have been shot down during the 'Illustrious Blitz' raids on the Grand Harbour in  January 1941.  This propeller was recovered from Galleys' Creek in Senglea.  The B-2 variant of the Stuka was fitted with propeller-driven sirens, nicknamed 'Jericho trumpets', whose purpose was to add to the terror of an air raid. 

A 90-centimetre (3-foot) Projector Anti-Aircraft searchlight.  This powerful searchlight was powered by a 90-watt Lister generator to create a focused beam of light with two million candlepower that could reach five miles (eight kilometres).  Some searchlights were also equipped with listening devices to help identify approaching aircraft.  The primary role of the searchlights was the illumination of attacking enemy aircraft at night to permit more effective engagement by anti-aircraft guns and Royal Air Force night fighter aircraft.  However, the lights were also used by the coastal defences to guide damaged friendly aircraft to a safe landing.  The searchlights were coordinated to work together around the harbours and airfields of Malta.    

An Italian MT M1940 Barchino explosive motor boat.  Such boats were launched from a naval vessel and made their way through obstacles, such as anti-torpedo nets.  The pilot would steer the boat toward its target and bail out before impact and warhead detonation.  The cockpit is at the rear of the boat to balance the weight of the 330 kilogram (727.5 pound) warhead in the bow.  Upon striking the target, a small explosive charge would shatter the boat's hull, allowing the warhead to sink and explode when its water-pressure fuze registered a depth of one metre (3.28 feet).  In the early morning of 26 July 1941, a fleet of nine Barchini, two MAS motor torpedo boats, and two SLC (Siluro a Lenta Cors) 'human torpedos' from the Italian navy's elite Decima Flottiglia MAS (10th Assault Vehicle Flotilla) mounted an attack on Malta's Grand Harbour.  The human torpedoes failed to detonate, one motor torpedo boat was caught in the harbour's defensive net, and a second motor torpedo boat hit a pillar and exploded, blocking the entrance with debris.  Alerted by the explosion, gun batteries at Fort St Elmo opened fire and destroyed the remaining Italian craft, while 18 Italian crewmen were taken prisoner.  This particular Barchino was found abandoned 11 kilometres offshore following the 26 July attack and was subsequently towed to Manoel Island in Marsamxett Harbour and dismantled by a Royal Navy lieutenant.

A display case containing artefacts from the Italian explosive motorboat attack on the Grand Harbour, 26 July 1941: a fascio salvaged from Motoscafo Anti Sommergibile (MAS) 452 anti-submarine motorboat; a wooden badge displaying MAS 452 and the date of the attack on the Grand Harbour, presented by the Vice Admiral to the 1st Regiment of the Royal Malta Artillery; a sleeve rank of Sottotenente di vascello (Lieutenant Junior Grade) Roberto Frassetto; and a strap from the survival suit of an Italian MAS crewman.  

Two compasses from Italian navy small craft, including one salvaged from an MT (Motoscafo da Turismo) explosive motor boat that participated in the unsuccessful attack on the Grand Harbour.

A large collection of old cannons now on display on the ramparts of Fort St Elmo.   

The unrestored Lower Fort St Elmo.  This part of the fortress was formed by the construction of the Carafa Enciente in 1689 and technically does not form part of Fort St Elmo.  The three-storey barracks was built within this section in 1762 and was used by both the Order of St John and the British Army.  It could house 1,340 soldiers in 1844.  The first military prison on Malta was constructed within Lower Fort St Elmo in 1849.  From 1964 to 1972, Lower Fort St Elmo was the home of the Malta Land Force and in 1978 it was used as the set of the film 'Midnight Express'.  Lower Fort St Elmo is not currently under the responsibility of Heritage Malta. 

Building 5 continues the story of Malta's Second World War experience up to the defeat of the Axis powers.  

The lobby of Building 5 tells the story of life on Malta during the Second World War, with displays on civil defence, 'Victory Kitchens', news reporting, rationing, hospitals, and air raid shelters.  An installation in the centre of the lobby depicts bombs dropping on shattered Maltese limestone masonry.  One display also notes the role of women during the war, explaining how Maltese women worked with the armed services, the government, and in the dockyards, as well as volunteered to help the Victory Kitchens or the Voluntary Aid Detachment staffing the general hospital and treating wounded at advanced dressing stations.  The Victory Kitchens were established in January 1942 when the government decided to prepare food centrally for the entire community in order to cut waste and ensure fair distribution.  The kitchens were organised throughout Malta, with 42 in and around the Grand Harbour area by June 1943.  People collected their meals to be eaten at home, with more than 175,536 people receiving meals from 170 Victory Kitchens in January 1943.  Those who registered with the Victory Kitchens were asked to give part of their family ration of fats, preserved meat, and tinned fish to the kitchens; in return, they received cooked food, such as hot pot meals and pork or goat stews.  Penalties for stealing food in Malta during the war were harsh, with theft of a tin of meat from the docks carrying a 30-day jail sentence.  

This display contains information on Malta's air raid shelters, many of which were located in tunnels, caves, and catacombs across the island which were surveyed and adapted as needed.  Some of the shelters became the virtual homes of families for the duration of the Axis aerial bombing campaign against Malta, with people moving chairs and beds, chamber pots, and cooking equipment into the shelters.  During 1941, 1,500 men of the Shelter Constructing Department worked to build sufficient shelters, with each shelter occupant being allocated a mere 0.37 square metres (4 square feet) of space.  Some families also excavated their own shelters.  

This gallery is devoted to telling the harrowing story of the vital convoys that kept Malta supplied with food, ammunition, fuel, and other necessities and which suffered terrible losses at the hands of Axis air and naval forces in their attempt to strangle Malta into submission.  The glass case displays a wide range of artefacts from the convoy battles and an animated depiction of the 'Pedestal' convoy of August 1942 is projected onto a large screen on the floor. 

Items displayed here include life jackets from the merchant ships SS Almeria Lykes and Dorset; a life jacket from the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle; the bell from the carrier HMS Indomitable; and a Royal Navy life line hand gun.  With Axis convoys between Italy and Libya suffering heavy losses at the hands of British aircraft, ships, and submarines operating from Malta, the German High Command decided to neutralise Malta by attacking the convoys keeping the island supplied with critical imports of food, fuel, medicines, and military goods.  As a result of this Axis effort, Malta's civilian and military populace was almost out of food by June 1942 and British authorities dispatched a convoy from Gibraltar in August, codenamed 'Pedestal'. 

A display on the merchant sailors, the unsung heroes of the convoys, who came from around the world and who fought their cargo ships through heavy Axis attacks to bring badly-needed supplies to Malta.  The merchant sailors endured uncomfortable conditions and, if their ship was sunk, their pay was stopped on the day of the sinking.  Many members of the Merchant Navy were awarded the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct during the war.  Items displayed here include the name board, porthole hatch, and flag from the tanker SS Ohio.  The Ohio was hit by bombs numerous times during 12-14 August 1942 but its crew managed to coax the severely damaged ship into the Grand Harbour where a large portion of its vital supply of fuel was offloaded.

A display of souvenirs crafted by Axis prisoners of war temporarily held in Malta's Corradino Military Detention Camp before being shipped to Britain.  These souvenirs were a way for the prisoners to earn a bit of extra money to supplement the small allowances they were given.  Picture frames, decorative boxes, crucifixes, ashtrays, cigarette lighters, and ink well sets were popular items made by the prisoners.  In 1945, around 2,500 German prisoners of war were sent to Malta to perform agricultural work and assist in rebuilding infrastructure.  They wore British khaki uniforms with round blue patches on their shirts to indicate their status.  The last German prisoners on Malta were repatriated in 1948. 

The original George Cross medal awarded to 'the Island Fortress of Malta' by King George VI on 15 April 1942 in recognition of the Maltese people's heroism and bravery in defying Axis attempts to starve the island into submission.  Malta had been under almost constant attack by Axis forces from the date of Italy's entry into the war on 10 June 1940; hundreds of air raids, sometimes averaging seven per day, were carried out against Malta in the four-month period between January-April 1942 alone.  Malta was the first British Commonwealth country to receive a bravery award.  The George Cross is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy and is equal in stature to the Victoria Cross, the highest military award for valour.

A Willys Jeep brought to Malta by General Dwight D. Eisenhower in July 1943 for his use as Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Expeditionary Force preparing to invade Sicily.  He named the jeep 'Husky' after the codename for the 10 July 1943 invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky), which was overseen from the underground war rooms in Valletta.  Before he departed for Sicily to oversee the campaign, Eisenhower presented the jeep to Air Vice Marshall Sir Keith Park, Air Officer Commanding Malta. 

The 'Husky' jeep was used by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt when he visited Malta on 8 December 1943.  

A copy of the Times of Malta newspaper of 11 July 1943, announcing the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) on the previous day.  This first step in the defeat of fascist Italy was launched from Malta, with General Dwight D. Eisenhower coordinating operations from the war rooms complex located deep under Valletta.  Operation Husky involved over 2,700 ships and landing craft, aircraft and gliders, paratroopers, and army and navy personnel.  Maltese military, labour force, and civilians played an important supporting role.  Phase 1 of Operation Husky involved simultaneous amphibious assaults on the south coast of Sicily, supported by naval gunfire and strategic bombing.  Within five weeks of the invasion, Allied forces had expelled all Axis defenders from Sicily, thereby opening the sea lanes through the Mediterranean to the Allies once again.  Sicily would be the jumping-off point for the next Allied campaign, the invasion and liberation of Italy.  

A captured Italian Cannone da 75/27 modello 11 on display in the last gallery of Building 5, devoted to the Allied victory over the Axis.  Introduced in 1912, the French-designed, Italian-built Cannone da 75/27 modello 11 field gun was used by the Italian Army's alpine and cavalry troops in the First World War.  The model remained in Italian Army service well into the Second World War, with many guns seeing service with German forces fighting in northern Italy from 1943 to the end of the war.  

The top of the fort's cavalier, which housed a major artillery battery from the time the cavalier was built in 1556.  This area witnessed some of the bloodiest moments in Fort St Elmo's history, from battles during the Great Siege of 1565 to Axis air strikes during the Second World War.  From 1938, the cavalier platform also housed the Harbour Fire Command Post.  Seen here is a memorial to six members of the Royal Malta Artillery who were killed by Italian bombs during an air attack on 11 June 1940, the first such attack on Malta during the Second World War; Fort St Elmo's cavalier was one of the first targets during the Axis aerial bombing campaign. 

The 91.5 metre (300.2 foot) Dutch-built superyacht Tranquility enters Grand Harbour, as seen from atop Fort St Elmo's cavalier on 22 October 2023.  Originally named Equanimity, the vessel was reportedly purchased by Malaysian financier Jho Low using money stolen from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund.  After being seized by Malaysian authorities in 2018, the superyacht was sold at auction in early 2019 and renamed Tranquility.  It can accommodate 26 guests and 28 crew, and features a sauna, helicopter landing pad, swimming pool, gym, spa, cinema, and an on-deck jacuzzi, as well as two 10.5-metre tenders.

The Chart Room in Fort St Elmo's multi-level Fire Command Post, built atop the cavalier and facing the sea.  The Fire Command Post was built prior to the Second World War and was designed to control all coastal artillery defending the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett Harbour.  The Chart Room featured a large table on which a detailed map of the Grand Harbour's environs was depicted.  Any dubious items seen by the Fortress Observation Post at Fort St Elmo and the other forts forming part of the Harbour Fire Command were marked on this map.  Information from the other forts was telephoned to Fort St Elmo's nearby Telephone Room. 

The Fortress Observation Post (FOP), the watchful eye of the entire Harbour Fire Command.  Here, soldiers with binoculars and other sighting equipment scanned the horizon for any sign of enemy ships or aircraft.  Instruments, such as the Depression Position Finder, used to calculate the distance and position of possible targets at sea were mounted on the three columns in this room.  The information was then passed to the Fire Commander in the Fire Command Post to give his orders to all fortifications.  On 26 July 1941, the Harbour Fire Command system was put to the test for the first and only time when Italian explosive motor boats attacked the Grand Harbour; the system worked and the Italian attack was foiled by accurate artillery fire and the Italians' bad luck. 

The Telephone Room was equipped with three telephone cabinets to receive and send communications between the fortifications of the Harbour Fire Command.  It was also linked with the Malta Command complex at the Lascaris War Rooms in Valletta.  Information received in the Telephone Room was passed to the Chart Room and the Fire Command Post through message pipes.  This information was used by the Fire Commander to give orders for the aiming and firing of the various coastal defences mounted in Fort St Elmo and nearby forts, with these orders also transmitted back through the Telephone Room.   

The reverse face of the cavalier (left) and the rear side of one of the barracks blocks on Piazza d'Armi.  The cavalier was probably designed by Nicolo Bellavanti in 1556 and was originally detached from the rest of the fort by a defensive ditch and accessible by a drawbridge.  The construction of the Carafa Enceinte in 1687 necessitated the reduction of the cavalier's footprint and the cavalier itself was incorporated within the fort in 1727.  Additional modifications during the period of British rule after 1800 saw the cavalier strengthened and re-clad in concrete in order to accommodate large guns. 

The National War Museum's Building 6 covers the period between 1946 and 2004, including post-war Malta, the country's independence, and its accession to the European Union.  The exhibit is housed in a building originally constructed in the 1700s as a barracks but used as prison cells for members of the Order of St John found guilty of a crime.  Political prisoners were also held here, including most of the rebels involved in the 1775 Uprising of the Priests and their ringleader, Dun Gejtan Mannarino.  The British also used this building as a military prison by the 1830s.  Additional prison cells were located underground and were reserved for the worst criminals. 

The subterranean corridor within Building 6 containing former prison cells.  Today, visitors learn about Malta's history since 1946, including the granting of self-government and universal suffrage for those over 21 in 1947; Malta's relationship (but not membership) with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) from 1953 to 1971; Maltese independence from Britain on 21 September 1964; the departure of all British military forces from Malta in 1979; Malta's declaration of neutrality in 1980; the first meeting between US President George Bush and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev in Malta on 2-3 December 1989; and Malta's formal accession to the European Union in 2004.

The entrance to Fort St Elmo's cavalier, which now serves as the museum's Building 7 and is devoted to telling the story of the cavalier.  The decision to build the cavalier was taken by the Order of St John in 1554, with the structure originally separated from Fort St Elmo by a ditch and accessible only via a drawbridge.  The cavalier was specifically designed to be the last redoubt against an invader and its walls were metres thick.  It featured guns on the roof, a gunpowder magazine, and sleeping accommodations for troops holed up inside.  The cavalier was built on a natural mound which raised it above Fort St Elmo's walls, allowing the guns to fire across the harbour entrances, as well as towards the landward rear side of the fort.  During the Great Siege of 1565, the Ottomans carried their cannons up the Marsamxett side of the fort and fired down onto the cavalier.  As the cavalier's guns could not be pointed upwards to return fire, the fort's garrison was soon decimated.  After the Great Siege, the cavalier was enclosed by three new bastions and a curtain wall (the Carafa Enceinte) linked to the curtain walls surrounding the new fortified city of Valletta.  These works made it no longer necessary for the cavalier to serve as a gun platform and, in the 18th century, it was used as a gunpowder magazine.  In 1727, as part of the redevelopment of Fort St Elmo's interior, the ditch separating the cavalier from the fort was filled in to create a second parade ground (supplementing the larger Piazza d'Armi).  A lighthouse was also built atop the cavalier in 1766 to guide ships into the harbour.  During the period of British rule, the cavalier was strengthened to cope with the weight and vibration caused by the 11-inch coastal defence guns installed on the cavalier.  By the end of the 1800s, the command and control system for the defensive artillery sited along the north coast of Malta was based on the cavalier and a concrete sighting post with a control room below was built atop the cavalier on the site of the old gun emplacement.  In the Second World War, the Fire Command Post was located in a concrete bunker at the centre of the cavalier.  It controlled the heavy counter-bombardment batteries on either side of the harbour and directed fire onto approaching naval targets.  The watchtower and sighting post were reinforced and new radio and telephones were installed.  Fire Command was moved to a safer site at the end of 1941.  

Valletta

The Tritons' Fountain is the centrepiece of the plaza outside the City Gate entrance to Valletta.  In the background can be seen the Roman Catholic St Publius Parish Church in the town of Floriana, adjacent to the city of Valletta. 

Built between 1952 and 1959, the Tritons' Fountain comprises three bronze mythological Tritons holding up a circular basin measuring five metres in diameter.  The circular base of the fountain consists of four concentric water basins made of reinforced concrete clad in 730 tons of travertine limestone imported from Rome.  After decades of neglect and deterioration, the Tritons' Fountain was restored and officially inaugurated on 12 January 2018.

City Gate, the entrance to the fortified city of Valletta.  This gate, which opens into Republic Street, Valletta's main street, was designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano.  It is the fifth gate to occupy this spot within the Porta Reale defensive curtain wall between two landward-facing bastions.  The city's first gate was built in 1569, followed by replacements in 1633, 1853, and 1965 before the current gate was completed in 2014.

St. John's Bastion, as seen from the stone bridge spanning the deep defensive ditch in front of Valletta.  The ditch is now home to the Francesco Laparelli Gardens, named after the Italian architect sent to Malta by Pope Pius V to supervise the construction of Valletta in 1565. 

Looking southeast from atop St John's Bastion at the City Gate (left) and the bridge linking Valletta to the plaza.  The Tritons' Fountain can be seen on the right.  

Freedom Square, the start of Republic Street, Valletta's main street.  Republic Street runs along the spine of the Sciberras peninsula all the way from the City Gate to Fort St Elmo at the peninsula's tip.  The City Gate Shopping Arcade is on the left and the Parliament House is on the right. 

Parliament House on Freedom Square at the head of Republic Street is the seat of the Parliament of Malta.  The modernist, limestone-clad building, designed by Renzo Piano as part of the City Gate redevelopment project, was built between 2011 and 2015 at a cost of over €90 million.  Parliament House was officially opened on 4 May 2015.  The site of Parliament House was previously occupied by the Valletta Station of the Malta Railway, which was demolished in the 1960s as part of a project to redevelop the entrance to the city.   

Located on Republic Street kitty-corner to Parliament House is Palazzo Ferreria, a palace built in the Venetian Gothic style and completed in 1876.  Officially known as Palazzo Buttiġieġ-Francia, the palace features traditional Maltese enclosed wooden balconies in a design otherwise patterned on Italian buildings.  Palazzo Ferreria is the second largest palace in Valletta after the Grandmaster's Palace, located further down Republic Street.  Now housing government offices on the upper floors and shops on the ground floor, Palazzo Ferreria is a Grade 2 protected monument. 

The ruins of the Royal Opera House, now an open-air theatre called Pjazza Teatru Rjal.  The original opera house was completed in 1866 and considered one of the most beautiful and iconic buildings in Malta.  On 7 April 1942, the Royal Opera House received a direct hit from a German bomb and was almost totally destroyed.  The parts that survived the bombing were demolished as a safety precaution in the late 1950s.  After a series of aborted plans in the following decades to rebuild the opera house, the Maltese government approved a proposal by Italian architect Renzo Piano, who designed an open-air performance venue incorporating surviving elements of the original opera house.  The Pjazza Teatru Rjal was inaugurated on 8 August 2013. 

Walking up a stone staircase to Triq al-Batterija (Battery Street), near Upper Barrakka Gardens.  The building at the top of the stairs is Lloyd House, an 18th century palazzo sitting at the highest point of the St Peter and St Paul bastion walls.  Originally the family residence of an old Maltese family, Lloyd House now serves as a boutique hotel with three luxury suites and a studio apartment.

The Auberge de Castille, located in Castille Place, the highest point of Valletta, and overlooking the town of Floriana and the Grand Harbour area.  The Spanish Baroque-style Auberge de Castille was built between 1741 and 1744 and replaced an earlier building housing those knights of the Order of St John who originated from Castile, León, and Portugal.  The main entrance was enlarged in 1791 and, following the French invasion and occupation of Malta in 1798, the auberge became the headquarters for the French forces.  After Britain forced the capitulation and evacuation of the French in 1800, the auberge became the headquarters of the British Armed Forces in Malta in 1805 and also served as an officers' quarters.  A large aerial installed on the auberge's roof in 1889 was used to communicate with Royal Navy warships moored in the Grand Harbour.  The right side of the building was damaged by aerial bombing during the Second World War and later repaired.  Since 4 March 1972, the Auberge de Castille has served as the office of the Prime Minister of Malta.  The building was restored between 2009 and 2014 and is listed as a Grade 1 national monument.  

The National Library of Malta, located in Republic Square on Republic Street in central Valletta.  Known as the Bibliotheca, this reference library was established by Grand Master Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc in 1776 and moved into this building in 1796.  Due to the French invasion and occupation of Malta in 1798, the library building sat empty until it was inaugurated as the Malta Public Library on 4 June 1812.  The neoclassical library building is close to the Grandmaster's Palace and houses the archives of the Order of St John as well as those of the civil administrative councils (known as 'Università') of Valletta and the city of Mdina between 1450 and 1818.  The statue in the centre of Republic Square is of Queen Victoria (by sculptor Giuseppe Valente of Palermo) and was installed here in 1891 to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee; as a result, the square is sometimes referred to as Queen's Square. 

The impressive loggia running along the front of the the National Library of Malta, as seen from Old Theatre Street on the library's east side.  Triq it-Tezorerija (Treasury Street) extends from the loggia's western end, seen in the the distance.  

Quaint patio cafés in Misraħ San Ġwann (St John's Square), located across from St John's Co-Cathedral on St John Street in central Valletta. 

Another look at St John's Square.  Shops and restaurants are located inside the covered arcade.  A bust of Maltese politician Enrico Mizzi (1885-1950), who briefly served as Prime Minister for three months before dying in office, sits in the centre of St John's Square.  St Zachary Street runs southwest from the square.

St George's Square in central Valletta is the city's main public square and is located on Republic Street.  Also known as Palace Square due to its location adjacent to the Grandmaster's Palace, the square is flanked by the Main Guard Building, the building that once housed the Order of St John's treasury, and the former palace known as the Hostel de Verdelin.  Today, St George's Square hosts exhibitions, festivals, and the monthly changing of the guard ceremony. 

The Fontana dell'Aquila (Eagle Fountain) in a corner of St George's Square near Archbishop Street.  The ornate stone fountain features a gargoyle spouting water, on top of which is perched a bronze sculpture of an eagle in a triumphant pose, also spouting water.  The Fontana dell'Aquila is a designated drinking water fountain.

The Sette Giugno (7th of June) Monument in St George's Square commemorates those killed here during an unruly demonstration on 7 June 1919.  Thousands of protesters were upset with food shortages, rising prices, and stagnant wages caused by the First World War and demonstrated outside a meeting of the National Assembly with the Secretary of State for the Colonies.  Outnumbered and panicky British soldiers fired into the crowd, despite orders not to fire first, killing six Maltese.  As a result of the incident, the British granted the Maltese authorities control of local affairs from that day onward.

The austere, Mannerist-style limestone façade of the Grandmaster's Palace, as seen from St George's Square.  (The palace was closed to visitors when photographed in October 2023 but re-opened on 12 January 2024 following an extensive, multi-year restoration project.)  The Grandmaster's Palace was the first building to be built by the Order of St John in its new capital city of Valletta and served as the palace of the Grand Master of the Order of St John.  Construction of the building, designed by Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar, started in 1574 and continued into the 18th century, eventually occupying an entire city block and making it the city's largest palace.  After the French invasion and occupation of Malta in 1798, the palace was known as the National Palace.  During the period of British rule after 1800, the palace served as the Governor's Palace and, as an official royal residence, was often used by British sovereigns for major events during their stays on the island.  The Grandmaster's Palace was the seat of Malta's parliament from 1921 to 2015 and today houses the Office of the President of Malta.  The Grandmaster's Palace is one of the most visited sites in Malta, attracting approximately 300,000 visitors annually to see the opulently-decorated Palace State Rooms and the extensive collection of medieval armour and weapons in the Palace Armoury.

Looking northeast along Republic Street at the intersection with St Dominic Street.  These residences exhibit the colourful and ornate enclosed wooden balconies (gallariji) typical of many homes in Valletta.  While such enclosed balconies are similar to the mashrabiya of Arabic architecture, gallariji only became widespread in Valletta and the Three Cities (Vittoriosa, Senglea, and Cospicua) in the 1700s, in parallel with the spread of Baroque architectural style.

Looking up Old Mint Street from the intersection with South Street.  The dome of the Roman Catholic Sanctuary Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, seen in the distance, dominates Valletta's skyline, along with the slightly shorter bell tower of the Anglican St Paul's Pro-Cathedral.

The dome of the Sanctuary Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel can be seen from the corner of Old Theatre Street and West Street.  A statue of St Joseph holding the baby Jesus is mounted on the corner of the building.  

Inside the Sanctuary Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.  The Carmelite Friars were among the first religious orders to build a church and monastery in the new city of Valletta dedicated to the Virgin Mary.  The current basilica was built between 1958 and 1981 on the site of a late-16th century church that was destroyed during a German air raid on 4 March 1942.  Although the demolition of the ruined original church resulted in the loss of several artistic and historic objects, much of its contents survived the bombing and were incorporated into the new church.  An early 17th century painting of Our Lady of Mount Carmel dominates the church choir at the back of the High Altar.  The columns are made of red marble.   

Looking up at the 42 metre (138 foot) high dome of the Sanctuary Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.  The oval-shaped dome was designed by architect Guze D'Amato, who died before construction was completed.  The interior sculptural elements of the basilica were completed by Chevalier Joseph D'Amato between 1986 and 2005.

A wooden statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel standing on a silver pedestal sits within a niche in the basilica.  The statue was sculpted in Naples, Italy in 1781. 

The two most iconic elements of the Valletta skyline are the bell tower of the Anglican St Paul's Pro-Cathedral (left) and the dome of the Carmelite Roman Catholic Sanctuary Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (right).  The latter's dome was allegedly deliberately designed to be slightly taller than St Paul's bell tower. Whereas St Paul's, completed in 1844, received only minor bomb damage during the Second World War and was subsequently restored, the current basilica dates only from 1981, having been built to replace its badly-damaged predecessor as a result of a bomb hit in 1942.

The Oratory of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, located in Old Theatre Street near the Sanctuary Basilica of our Lady of Mount Carmel.  This small prayer space is adorned with dozens of silver ex-votos (replicas of human body parts) arranged in patterns in frames which adorn the pilasters and walls of the Oratory.  The Oratory is the seat of the Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a lay organisation founded on 13 February 1622 and attached to the next-door Sanctuary Basilica and Monastery of the Carmelites.  The current space housing the Oratory was given by the basilica's friars to the Archconfraternity in 1895. 

As dusk begins to fall, Valletta's restaurants and bars prepare for the dinner crowds.  Strait Street, running parallel to Republic Street is a narrow pedestrian alleyway lined with places to eat and drink in the warm Mediterranean night air. 

Al fresco dining options abound on Strait Street, including on this section between Old Theatre Street and Archbishop Street, behind St George's Square in central Valletta.

Upper Barrakka Gardens

Upper Barrakka Gardens, built in 1661 to serve as a recreational space for the Italian knights of the Order of St John.  The gardens were opened to the public in 1824.  A circular fountain sits in the centre of the gardens, overlooked by the rear of the Malta Stock Exchange, housed in the former Garrison Chapel building constructed in 1857. 

Upper Barrakka Gardens are located near Castille Square, on the upper tier of Saints Peter and Paul Bastion, built in the 1560s.  The gardens feature various bedding plants, shaded benches, monuments and memorials to prominent people, and a patio café overlooking the old Valletta defensive ditch.  

Steps lead down from Upper Barrakka Gardens to the Saluting Battery, an artillery battery overlooking the Grand Harbour.

The terraced arches in Upper Barrakka Gardens.  They were built in 1661 by Italian knight Friar Flaminio Balbiani and were originally roofed over; however, the roof was removed following an unsuccessful uprising against the Order of St John by disaffected members of the Maltese clergy on 8 September 1775. 

A view from Upper Barrakka Gardens of the Barrakka Lift.  This elevator links the gardens to the Valletta ditch far below, permitting a quick and convenient way for people to get from the ferry docks and cruise ship berths in the Grand Harbour to the city of Valletta without the need for a steep hike or taxi ride.  The first Barrakka Lift was installed here in 1905 but closed in 1973 and was dismantled in 1983.  The current lift was officially opened on 15 December 2012 and measures 58 metres (190 feet) in height.  It consists of a concrete structure clad in an aluminum mesh, with two elevator cars each carrying 21 passengers.  The ride takes 23 seconds and the Barrakka Lift can move up to 800 passengers per hour.  A return ride on the Barrakka Lift costs €1. 

Upper Barrakka Gardens are one of the most popular, and iconic, attractions in Valletta.

Given its location at the highest section of Valletta's walls, Upper Barrakka Gardens provides stunning panoramic views of the Grand Harbour and the Three Cities of Vittoriosa, Senglea, and Cospicua on the east side of the harbour.  Below the gardens is the Saluting Battery from which a gun salute is fired daily at noon and 4pm by re-enactors wearing Victorian-era British Army uniforms.

The Saluting Battery was built by the Order of St John in the late 1560s on or near the site of an artillery battery established by the Ottomans to bombard Fort St Angelo during the Great Siege of 1565.  The Saluting Battery comprises the lower tier of Saints Peter and Paul Bastion and was an active military installation through the French invasion of 1798 and the Second World War; in 1954, the British removed the battery's guns and in the early 21st century the Saluting Battery was restored and opened to the public.  As can be seen from this photo, the Saluting Battery commands the full length and breadth of the Grand Harbour.

Tourists look down over the Saluting Battery and the Grand Harbour from the terrace of Upper Barrakka Gardens.  The battery is equipped with eight working replicas of smooth-bore, breech-loading 32-pounder guns used for the daily noon and 4pm ceremonial gun salutes.  Such guns were originally installed on the battery between 1906 and 1927, with the replicas being installed as part of the restoration of the battery in 2011.

The sun-baked limestone buildings of Valletta, as seen from the northeast side of Upper Barrakka Gardens.  Victoria Gate can be seen in the lower centre of the photograph.  This gate leading from the Grand Harbour area into Valletta was built by the British in 1885 and is the only gate within the city's fortifications surviving in its original form.  The flat-faced St Barbara Bastion runs along the harbour from Victoria Gate. 

The cruise ship Costa Pacifica, a Concordia-class vessel operated by Costa Crociere, moored at the Valletta Cruise Port in the Grand Harbour.  Two cannons on Saints Peter and Paul Counterguard are seen in the foreground.  The 114,500-gross tonne Costa Pacifica measures 290 metres (950 feet) long and 36 metres (118 feet) wide, and carries 3,780 passengers and 1,100 crew on 17 decks (14 for passengers).  She entered service in June 2009.  Costa Pacifica is a sister to the ill-fated Costa Concordia, which ran aground off the coast of Tuscany with 3,206 passengers and 1,023 crew aboard and sank with the loss of 32 lives on 13 January 2012. 

The MS Riviera, a cruise ship operated by Oceania Cruises, moored at Senglea, across the Grand Harbour from Valletta.  The 66,172-gross ton, 15-deck ship entered service on 16 May 2012.  Measuring 239.27 metres (785 feet) long and 32.31 metres (106 feet) wide, MS Riviera can carry 1,250 passengers in 625 staterooms and 800 crew.

Hastings Gardens

An old cannon displayed in Hastings Gardens atop St John's Bastion to the west of the City Gate entrance to Valletta.  The gardens are named after Francis Edward Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings, who served as Governor of Malta between 1824 and his death on 28 November 1826.

Hastings Gardens offer a quiet and relaxing respite from the crowds in the nearby Republic Street.  Wide walking paths and benches border planting beds and trees provide shade against Malta's harsh sun.  

A centrepiece of Hastings Gardens is the stone mausoleum of Governor Hastings, whose body is buried here in a marble sarcophagus.  Governor Hastings died aboard HMS Revenge off Naples, Italy while travelling home to Britain with his wife in November 1826.  His body was brought back to Malta and interred but not before his wife, in accordance with his earlier wishes, cut off his right hand and preserved it to be buried with her when she died.  When the Marchioness of Hastings died in January 1840, the preserved hand was clasped with hers before she was laid to rest in the family vault in Scotland.

Fort Manoel, as seen from a lookout on St Michael's Bastion at the extreme west end of Hastings Gardens.  The gardens offer panoramic views of the cities of Floriana, Msida, and Sliema, as well as Manoel Island in Marsamxett Harbour.

Valletta by night

Built atop St Christopher Bastion on Valletta's east side, Lower Barrakka Gardens overlooks the Grand Harbour, the breakwaters at the harbour's entrance, and the Three Cities.  Smaller than Upper Barrakka Gardens, Lower Barrakka Gardens also has a terrace lined by stone arches, seen here on the evening of 23 October 2023.  The terrace features plaques dedicated to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, the Prague Spring of 1968, Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi, and the 50th anniversary of the 1957 signing of the Treaty of Rome which established the European Economic Community (precursor to the European Union). 

The Siege Bell War Memorial overlooking the Grand Harbour is dedicated to those who defended Malta during the Second World War.  It was originally built to commemorate the 50th anniversary of King George VI's awarding of the George Cross to the people of Malta for their bravery in resisting the Axis siege of the island between 1940 and 1943, and was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II in 1992.  The Siege Bell is rung daily in memory of the war's victims.  The memorial stands on a remnant of the St Christopher Bastion separated from Lower Barrakka Gardens and the rest of the bastion by the Quarry Wharf ring road cut through the bastion in order to parallel the harbour shoreline. 

The centrepiece of Lower Barrakka Gardens is a monument to Sir Alexander Ball, a Royal Navy rear-admiral who served as the Civil Commissioner of Malta from 1801 until his death in 1809 at the age of 52.  Ball is remembered as the Maltese people's most loved British official, possessing both great charisma and sympathy.

The neoclassical monument to Sir Alexander Ball was built in Lower Barrakka Gardens in 1810 and restored in 1884 and again in 2001.

A few people enjoy an evening drink or dessert in a quiet Republic Square, overlooked by the National Library of Malta. 

Evening on Republic Street, where visitors stroll along in the cooler evening temperatures and enjoy the many bars and restaurants on this main street of Valletta. 

Another evening view of Republic Street, near the intersection with Melita Street.

The colourfully lighted Tritons' Fountain, near City Gate. 

St John's Co-Cathedral

The morning queue for admission tickets to visit St John's Co-Cathedral, 23 October 2023.  This visitors' entrance is located in Great Siege Square, off Republic Street, in the centre of Valletta.

The exquisitely-painted Baroque interior of St John's Co-Cathedral is the work of Italian Mattia Preti and other artists.  Following the defeat of the Great Siege of 1565 and the decision to establish the new fortified city of Valletta as the headquarters of the Order of St John, the Order's Grand Master, Jean de la Cassière, commissioned the construction of this co-cathedral in 1572 to serve as the knights' church.

A view of the immense vaulted ceiling of St John's Co-Cathedral.  Like many notable buildings in Malta, the co-cathedral was designed by Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar and was built between 1573 and 1577.  Dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, the patron saint of the Order of St John and of Malta, the co-cathedral's original decor was comparatively modest.  It was not until 1661 that then-Grand Master Raphael Cotoner commissioned Mattia Preti (1613-99) to redecorate the interior in order to rival the extravagance of the churches in Rome.  The vaulted ceiling, completed by Preti in 1666, depicts episodes in the life of Saint John the Baptist. 

A few of the 400 intricately-ornate tombstones which cover the entire floor of the nave of St John's Co-Cathedral.  These tombstones, dating from the early 1600s to the 1800s, commemorate some of the most famous knights and officers of the Order of St John, with each featuring an original design and crafted from various coloured marbles.  Each tombstone contains symbols of triumph, fame, victory, and death.  Popular symbols used include the angel of fame blowing a trumpet or a skeleton clutching a sickle and hourglass to represent mortality and death.    

The sanctuary at the east end of the co-cathedral, containing the main altar.  Upon completion of St John's Co-Cathedral, the knights designated it as their new conventual church, replacing St Lawrence's Church in Vittoriosa (Birgu), the Order's former headquarters across the Grand Harbour.  The sanctuary displays many of the tenets of the Baroque style, including highly decorative and theatrical imagery meant to inspire surprise and awe, impressively-sized architectural features to draw the eye upwards, and the use of natural light to illuminate the abundance of gilding.  Above the main altar, the co-cathedral's apse depicts Saint John holding the Order's standard and kneeling before the Holy Trinity.  

A marble sculptural group depicting the Baptism of Christ, mounted above the main altar.  It was sculpted by Giuseppe Mazzuoli and completed in 1703. 

An ornate sanctuary lamp hanging over the altar.  Such lamps are kept lighted at all times to indicate and honour the presence of Christ.

The carved, dark wooden pulpit mounted on the side of St John's Co-Cathedral among the gilded arches and elaborately-painted vaulted ceiling bays.

The intricate carving on the walls and arches of the co-cathedral's impressive nave was done in place rather than done separately and later attached.  The nature of the Maltese limestone from which St John's was constructed was well-suited to such in-situ carving practices.

A view from the rear of the nave, showing the sheer size and ornamentation of the interior of the co-cathedral and its vaulted ceiling depicting scenes from the life of Saint John the Baptist.

This lunette over the co-cathedral's main entrance (now used as the exit for tourists) is decorated with an allegory of the Order of St John, painted by artist Mattia Preti as part of his commission to embellish St John's interior between 1661 and 1666.  

The view from the nave, looking toward the altar.

Displayed in the passageway leading to the sacristy of St John's, the Crucifixion group was a gift from Commander Friar Felicaja of the Order in 1653.  While the Crucifixion group was not made specifically for the co-cathedral, its provenance and sculptor are not known.  It consists of three large wooden statues: the Crucifix, the Virgin, and St John the Evangelist.  The original location of the Crucifixion group in the Oratory dedicated to the beheading of St John suggests that it was accorded great importance by the Order's Grand Master.  The statues are made of white gesso and are larger than life-size, with their fine chiselling and accurately-rendered anatomical features confirming the work of an expert sculptor. 

The sacristy of St John's Co-Cathedral was completed in 1604 under the supervision of knight Raymundo de Vere using money left by his uncle, the Bailiff of Majorca, specifically for this project.  His coat of arms is displayed in the centre below the niche that holds a statue of Saint John above the altar; the other coats of arms are those of The Religion and Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt (reigned 1601-22).  The large painting on the wall above the altar of the sacristy is The Flagellation of Jesus Christ (1572) by Stefano Pieri.  The flags hanging in the sacristy are the Colours of the Battalions of the Royal Malta Regiment and The King's Own Malta Regiment dating from the 19th and 20th centuries.  The sacristy was where clerics' vestments were stored and where the clerics would dress and prepare for religious services. 

Looking down the passageway between the chapels on the north side of St John's Co-Cathedral.  The chapels on both sides of the co-cathedral were added after the main building was completed in 1578.  Each chapel was dedicated to one of the European regional 'Langues' comprising the Order's administrative structure: Auvergne; France; Provence; Aragon, Catalonia and Navarre; Castile, Léon and Portugal; Italy; Anglo-Bavaria; and Germany.

The funerary monument of Grand Master Marc'Antonio Zondadari (1658-1722), the Order's 65th Grand Master.  Although this monument was originally intended to be placed in the Chapel of the Langue of Italy located on the north side of the co-cathedral, it proved too large and was instead installed at the rear of the nave. 

The Chapel of the Langue of Aragon, Catalonia and Navarre, located on the south side of the co-cathedral.  Dedicated to Saint George, the painting above the altarpiece depicts Saint George on horseback killing the dragon and was likely commissioned by Grand Master Martin de Redin (reigned 1657-60).  The painting was completed by Mattia Preti in 1658 in Naples prior to his first visit to Malta.

A funerary monument commemorating Grand Master Nicolás Cotoner (reigned 1660-63).  The monument is believed to be the work of Giovanni Battista Foggini and depicts Cotoner in the form of a gilded bust surrounded with trophies of triumph carved in white Carrara marble.  The figures of two slaves are depicted carrying the monument on their backs. 

The Chapel of the Langue of Castile, Leon and Portugal, located on the south side of the co-cathedral.  This chapel is dedicated to Saint James, with an altar painting depicting the saint.  The remains of Grand Masters António Manoel de Vilhena (reigned 1722-36) and Manuel Pinto da Fonseca (reigned 1741-73) are buried in funerary monuments in the chapel.  

The elaborately carved and gilded Chapel of the Langue of Germany, dedicated to the Epiphany of Christ, was originally the Chapel of the Langue of England.  However, following the English Reformation, wherein the Church of England was forced to break away from the authority of the Pope and the Catholic Church, the Langue of England was dissolved and this chapel was assigned to the Langue of Germany.  The painting above the altar depicts the Adoration of the Magi and was painted by the Maltese artist Stefano Erardi.

The Chapel of the Langue of Italy is dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of the Italian knights.  The painting above the altar is The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine, completed by Mattia Preti in 1670.

This funerary monument in the Chapel of the Langue of Italy holds the remains of Grand Master Gregorio Carafa (reigned 1680-90).  Before being elected Grand Master, Carafa commanded the Order of St John's fleet in the Third Battle of the Dardanelles (26-27 June 1656).  

The Chapel of the Langue of France, dedicated to Saint Paul.  The painting over the altar, completed in 1661 by Mattia Preti, depicts Paul's conversion to Christianity while on the road to Damascus.  The chapel was extensively re-decorated in 1838 under the direction of Giuseppe Hyzler to comply with the aesthetic principles of the Nazarene movement, which aspired to reform Christian art by cleansing it of what was seen as the excesses of Baroque style.  This redecoration included the installation of neo-classical murals and the use of simplified fleur-de-lys motifs on the walls, as well as the replacement of the original altar with this simpler one made of white marble.

Visitors to St John's Co-Cathedral move between the Chapel of the Langue of France and the Chapel of the Langue of Provence, seen here.  The Chapel of the Langue of Provence is dedicated to the Archangel Saint Michael.  The two funerary monuments on either side of the arched passageway commemorate Grand Master Antoine de Paule (reigned 1623-36) on the right and Grand Master Jean Lascaris Castellar (reigned 1636-57) on the left.

The painting hanging over the altar in the Chapel of the Langue of Provence depicts Saint Michael the Archangel.  While the altar façade, with its four twisted columns, dates to the 1620s and is one of the oldest found in St John’s Co-Cathedral, the altar itself was later refashioned in white marble.

The Chapel of the Langue of Anglo-Bavaria, also known as the Chapel of Relics, is dedicated to Saint Charles Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan and a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation between the mid-1500s and mid-1600s.  Mounted above the altar is a depiction of the presentation of Saint Charles Borromeo to the Virgin Mary.  Although this chapel originally held numerous relics acquired by the Order of St John over the centuries, they were removed in 1798 during the invasion of Malta by the forces of Revolutionary France.

Under the high altar of the co-cathedral, accessed via a staircase from the Chapel of the Langue of Provence, is the Grand Masters' crypt.  This crypt houses the tombs of the Order of St John's first Grand Masters, who ruled between 1522 and 1623.  These include Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam (1464-1534), Claude de la Sengle (1494-1557), Jean Parisot de Valette (1495-1568), and Alof de Wignacourt (1547-1622).

A large wooden crucifix painted by Italian artist Polidoro Caldara (c. 1499-1543) on display outside the oratory of St John's Co-Cathedral.  As most of Caldara's works were paintings on the façades of houses, few examples of his artistry survive. 

The entrance to the oratory, on the east side of St John's, in which are displayed two paintings by world-renowned Italian artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610).

The oratory was constructed in 1602-03 as a place for private devotion.  Today it houses two paintings by Caravaggio, The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Jerome Writing. 

Caravaggio's The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, commissioned as an altar painting by the Order of St John and completed in 1608.  This oil on canvas measures an impressive 3.7 metres x 5.2 metres (12 feet x 17 feet), the largest painting Caravaggio would ever paint.  It depicts the execution of John the Baptist in circa AD 30 and is considered to be Caravaggio's masterpiece, as well as one of the most important works of Western art.  This painting is the only one that Caravaggio signed, with his signature being cleverly hidden in the blood spilling from John the Baptist's cut throat.  The painting is notable for Caravaggio's use of harsh realism and chiaroscuro, a technique popular during the Baroque period (early 1600s to 1750s) in which strong contrasts between light and dark were used.

After climbing a narrow, spiral stone staircase at the rear of St John's Co-Cathedral, visitors can look down over the nave's ornate, colourful floor of marble tombstones or gaze up at the stunning vaulted ceiling painted by Mattia Preti and depicting the life of Saint John the Baptist.

A view down the centre aisle of the nave from the balcony at the rear of St John's Co-Cathedral.  The arches on either side of the nave contain the chapels for each of the Order of St John's eight administrative divisions, the langues, plus a ninth chapel devoted to Our Lady of Philermos.    

An overhead view of the sanctuary in the apse at the east end of St John's Co-Cathedral.  The sanctuary contains the main altar and associated liturgical elements used by clergy during religious services.

The front of St John's Co-Cathedral, on St John Street, which now serves as the exit for the legions of tourists who visit the Co-Cathedral every day.  Unlike the ornate interior, the exterior of St John's Co-Cathedral is quite austere and fortress-like, reflecting the architect's background as a military engineer and the mood of the Order of St John in the years following the Great Siege of 1565.  The doorway is flanked by Doric columns supporting an open balcony from which the Grand Master would address the people on important occasions. 

National Museum of Archaeology

The entrance to the National Museum of Archaeology, housed in the former Auberge de Provence, the headquarters of the Order of St John's French knights from Provence.  The Baroque building, designed by Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar and constructed in 1571, underwent some modifications during the mid-17th century.  It is located on Republic Street in central Valletta.  The museum was opened in 1958 and refurbished in 1998.  

The ground floor entry hall of the National Museum of Archaeology, with admissions desk on the right and merchandise for sale on the left.

Looking down at the museum's vaulted entry hall from the first floor balcony.

On the museum's ground floor are the galleries devoted to the Maltese Islands' prehistoric history, from the earliest appearance of settlements during the Għar Dalam phase (5,900 BC) to the Tarxien phase (2,500 BC).  This display at the entrance describes the rapid climatic changes and sea level rise that led to the Maltese Islands being cut off from Sicily by the end of the 9th millennium BC.  The first permanent farming settlements in the Maltese Islands were established around 5,900 BC.  

A collection of pottery sherds, bone points used for etching, sling stones, and flint tools from the Għar Dalam and Skorba periods in Malta.  The artefacts give a strong indication that the first people to inhabit the Maltese Islands came over from Sicily around 5,900 BC.  The Għar Dalam phase is characterised by the presence of pottery and agriculture, with the type of pottery associated with the spread of agricultural communities throughout the Mediterranean.  The Neolithic settlers who arrived in Malta brought with them wheat and domesticated animals, but the subsequent rapid population growth in the islands led to intensive land use and forced communities to develop socio-cultural structures to ensure social cohesion.

A display case of pottery sherds and other artefacts from Malta's Red Skorba phase (4,400-4,100 BC).  This phase of Maltese prehistory is named after the village of Skorba, a grouping of small oval huts which served as a focal point for economic activity based on agriculture and domestic activities due to its easy access to a nearby fertile valley.

Artefacts dating from the period 4,100-3,800 BC (the 'Żebbuġ phase' named after the town of the same name).  Many of these items, such as shells, fine pottery vessels, obsidian blades, and worked bone objects, were buried with the dead as offerings, possibly indicating a belief in the afterlife.  Burials and the shifting of human remains often included a scattering of soil or red ochre which stained the deposits a reddish hue. 

A display on Maltese prehistoric architecture, including the rock-cut chamber tombs of Malta.  The practice of collective burials in such tombs began in the Żebbuġ phase and continued for about 1,600 years (circa 4,100-2,500 BC).  The burial monuments and cemeteries evolved over time, from simple underground burial chambers entered through a hole at the bottom of a shaft to complex monumental cemeteries decorated with ochre paintings and rock carvings, which gained significance as central social focal points.  The decorated stone slab on display is part of a niche from the Xrobb l-Għaġin Temple near the town of Marsaxlokk in southeast Malta, excavated in 1914-15. 

A stone slab excavated from the Tarxien Temple in southeast Malta in 1915.  The upper surfaces of the slabs found in the temple show signs of burning, which may indicate an animal sacrifice-associated ritual.  This slab is decorated with the images of four sheep, a pig, and a ram.  Well-organised engineering and coordination of manpower were required to construct the Maltese temples.  Several tons of stone blocks were quarried, moved to chosen building sites, erected, and assembled into structural arrangements.  The builders used different types of stone in constructing the temples, including large amounts of local Upper Coralline limestone and Globigerina limestone.

Artefacts from the Buġibba temple in northern Malta, excavated in 1928.  It is believed that the megaliths forming the temples may have been dragged to building sites on spherical stones and then erected by simple engineering techniques using wooden levers, props, earth ramps, stone supports and possibly ropes.  The spiral decorations on megalithic stones would have required stone tools made from obsidian, flint, chert, and bone. 

Fragments of a statuette depicting a corpulent human figure, excavated from the temples at Ħaġar Qim in southern Malta.

Corpulent statues from the Temple period (4,000-2,500 BC) excavated at the Ħaġar Qim temples in southern Malta.  Although originally referred to as 'The Fat Lady', 'Mother Goddess', or 'Goddess of Fertility', these figures are now regarded as asexual.  The obese portrayal of the statues could represent abundance and fertility, critically important to the sustainability of prehistoric societies.

A closer look at one of the stone statues from the Ħaġar Qim temples.  In some of these statues, a carved hole exists where the head should be, indicating that the head was possibly interchangeable.  The placement of the hands, with one lying under the breast and the other hanging by the side, was used on most standing statues at multiple temple sites during this period; however, it is not known what this posture means. 

A display of decorated megaliths, most of which were excavated at the Tarxien temples.  They may have had various functions, such as providing eye-catching interior decoration for the temples or serving as sacrificial or votive altars.  Others appear to have served as screens or barriers closing off access points and thereby securing internal spaces.  During the Temple period (circa 3,600 BC), the prehistoric people living on the Maltese Islands began constructing these megalithic above-ground and underground structures.  These structures were adorned with sculptures, statues, and hundreds of small works of art; however, the lack of a written language at this time leaves archaeologists to speculate on what these megalithic structures were used for.  Based on their layout, it is possible that they were used for some sort of ceremonial purposes, with offerings for better harvests and safe sea crossing being plausible.  

Another large stone megalithic block from the Tarxien temples.  These megaliths were removed from the temple complex in 1956-57 and placed here in the National Museum of Archaeology to protect them from the eroding effects of the weather.

A display of Bronze Age (2,400-700 BC) pottery.  During this period, new people arrived on an apparently empty Malta, the previous Temple period people having disappeared for unknown reasons.  Possibly they died out due to famine caused by over-exploitation of resources, prolonged drought, disease, or civil war.  The new Bronze Age settlers brought bronze axes and daggers not previously seen as Malta lacks metal ores.  It is known that the Bronze Age people lived in defensible positions and cremated their dead, both practices quite unlike those of the Temple period people.  

A dolmen, a monument associated with the funerary rites of the Bronze Age people.  Excavated from at least seventeen sites on the Maltese Islands, dolmens consist of large stone slabs supported by smaller stones.  Such dolmens are not unique to Malta but can be found across Western Europe.  

Artefacts from the Għar Mirdum cave site, including various vessels, a lamp, different jars, bronze rivets, a perforated clay disk possibly used as a pendant, a small unbaked clay vessel, decorated pottery sherds, a high-handled bowl, and a bronze dagger with a finely decorated bone handle.

A display of artefacts from a site near the village of Baħrija (near the town of Rabat) dating from 900-700 BC.  The items include decorated handle fragments, high-handled reconstructed vessels, a decorated bowl, figurine heads, a large clay lamp, a small decorated cup with high handle, spindle whorls, anchor-shaped weights, and loom weights.  The spindle whorls and loom weights indicate the presence of a textile industry in the village.

A display cabinet holding items from the Phoenician period.  After the end of the 10th century BC, the Phoenicians, able sailors and keen merchants based along the narrow coastal strip stretching from modern-day Syria to northern Israel, set out across the Mediterranean in search of metals and trade markets.  It was the ancient Greeks who gave these adventurers the name 'Phoenician'; although the Phoenicians themselves appear to have called themselves Canaanites or used the name of the city they were from, they all spoke a common Semitic language, Phoenician, which spread widely in the ancient world.  Viewing the Maltese Islands as a strategic outpost near Greek Sicily and on the way to the Phoenician city of Carthage in North Africa, the Phoenicians settled them in the 8th century BC.  The items displayed here include a large Corinthian jewellery box, various cups, and a proto-Corinthian perfume or oil vial.  These items date from the 6th and 7th centuries BC and were excavated at tombs in Mtarfa, Buskett near Rabat, and Qallilija near Rabat.

A display of foreign and local imitation pottery.  Greek pottery, in particular pots made in the cities of Corinth and Athens, were valued in the ancient world for their fine quality and decoration.  The double-handled Greek cup was very popular, as were unguent and perfume flasks and other containers for cosmetics.  In Phoenician Malta, potters copied the shapes of Greek pottery using local Maltese clay. 

More Phoenician era pottery on display.  These urns date from the 7th century BC, with several excavated from a tomb near the village of Gudja in southern Malta and others of unknown provenance.  Phoenician kitchenware (plates, bowls, cups, beakers, jugs) were made on a potter's wheel from fine clay, while cooking pots were often made by hand from coarser material.  Some items (urns, incense cups, lamps, oil bottles) were also used for special purposes, such as funerary rituals.  Although most Phoenician pottery was undecorated, the surface was sometimes covered with a fine red substance and polished before the pot was fired in the kiln; this gave the pottery surface a red sheen and may have been done to imitate more costly bronze objects.  As urns like these were used to transport oil, wine, and other commodities, pottery vessels were also traded.  

Artefacts recovered from a tomb discovered in September 1950 near Għajn Klieb on the outskirts of the town of Rabat in central Malta.  The tomb held the remains of a man and a woman on a large limestone platform, as well as the remains of an ox on the floor.  Found along one wall of the tomb were these pottery items, with the majority forming a pair, likely corresponding to an individual.  The tomb dates from the 7th century BC but was reopened in the 3rd or 2nd centuries BC in order for an urn with cremated ashes to be deposited.  Roman pottery from the mid-3rd century AD was also recovered from the tomb during the 1950 excavation.  

A Phoenician coffin shaped like a human figure, much like those popular in ancient Egypt.  The Phoenicians buried their dead in such coffins, often made of wood, terracotta, stone, or marble, which consisted of a casket and a lid.  This coffin was discovered at Għar Barka on the outskirts of the Maltese town of Rabat in 1797.  The lid was held firmly in place by led poured into the grooves on the side of the coffin.  In the Phoenician homeland along the coastal Levant, members of the royal family were buried in similar coffins, often re-using ones brought from Egypt.  Inscriptions on the lids of the coffins would curse anyone who disturbed the eternal sleep of those inside. 

A recreation of an ancient Maltese underground tomb, with the skeletal remains of a body laid on a limestone couch and various items of pottery buried with the deceased.  The tombs were often built at the bottom of a shaft and accessed through a small portal blocked by a stone slab after the interment.

The Gran Salon on the first floor of the National Museum of Archaeology.  It is the most ornate room in the building and was used by the Order of St John's knights from Provence for meetings and as a banqueting hall, where they sat at long tables according to rank.  During this visit in October 2023, the room was undergoing conservation and was not fully open to the public.

Located on the museum's first floor is a gallery devoted to the Phoenician shipwreck discovered off the town of Xlendi in the Maltese island of Gozo.  The wreck was first discovered in 1961 by Royal Navy divers on a training exercise.  The Malta Shipwreck Project is led by the Maritime Archaeology Programme at the University of Malta, which has used state-of-the-art remote sensing equipment to map the seabed and create a database of the Maltese Islands' underwater cultural heritage. 

The small gallery of some of the amphorae recovered from the Phoenician ship that sank in the deep waters of Gozo's Xlendi Bay sometime in the 7th century BC.  The majority of the artefacts recovered from the shipwreck are today mostly held in the Museum of Archaeology in Gozo.    

A small flat-bottomed jug typical of Phoenician tableware.

Some of the well-preserved ceramic artefacts recovered from the 7th century BC Phoenician shipwreck in Xlendi Bay.  Concentrated in the middle of the ship were at least seven different types of ceramic containers, including urns and amphorae from various parts of the central Mediterranean.  The ends of the ship were loaded with saddle querns used as grinding stones for wheat.  The querns, which tests confirmed are made of volcanic rock from Pantelleria, show no signs of wear, indicating that they were brand new when the ship sank.  The two items in the middle of this display are amphorae used to transport wine, one with a flat bottom and the other in the traditional ovoid shape. 

A large pithos (large storage container for bulk fluids or grains) with distinct pinches close to the neck.  It is not known if these features serve a practical function or if they were simply decorative.  

Fortress Builders Interpretation Centre

The entrance to the Fortress Builders Interpretation Centre, located at the intersection of Boat Street and St Mark Street in northern Valletta.  Housed in a late-16th century warehouse, this museum dedicated to Malta's military architecture opened in 2013 and is administered by the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs. 

This wooden framework is part of the drawbridge believed to have been installed at Valletta's main gate, known during the time of the Order of St John as Porta San Giorgio or Porta Reale.  It is the only original surviving feature of its kind to survive from the era of the Order's rule, when almost every city gateway was fitted with a drawbridge.  The wood of the framework has been carbon dated to the middle of the 17th century and the only known gateway to require such a large drawbridge would have been the Baroque entrance at Porta Reale (now called City Gate), which was constructed in the mid-1630s.  

A small theatre inside the Fortress Builders Interpretation Centre plays a short film for visitors.  

A display of quarrying, stone-cutting, and stone-shaping tools and implements of the type used in fortress building in the Maltese Islands.   

A depiction of the different types of fortifications built by various cultures throughout history.

The main gallery of the Fortress Builders Interpretation Centre features a chronological account of the development and evolution of the fortifications built on the Maltese Islands, from the Bronze Age to the Second World War.  Display boards are supplemented with scale models and audio-visual elements.  Seen here is information on the citadels and fortified hilltops which began to be constructed from 1,200 BC, during the late Bronze Age.  These fortified hilltops occupied prominent locations on the coastline or inland, making use of vertical cliff faces and dry-stone walls to enhance protection.  The oldest man-made fortification in the Maltese Islands is Borġ in-Nadur ('fortress on the hill') on the seaward tip of a rocky promontory in Marsaxlokk Bay in the south of Malta. 

This display charts the story of Malta's fortifications through the Phoenician, Roman, and Medieval periods.  Under the long period of Roman rule after 218 BC, life on the Maltese Islands was organised around fortified capitals situated in the centre of Malta and Gozo, respectively, with a harbour town and port facilities at Marsa.  During this time, fortification construction was more structured and standardised, using large stone blocks quarried and prepared in an industrial manner.  After the fall of the Roman empire,  the population of Malta's urban centres declined and the period was marked by the cannibalisation of earlier fortifications and the development of smaller, more easily defensible settlements surrounded by medieval ramparts built using stone blocks from the Roman-era walls and public buildings.  By the 13th century AD, Malta's defence rested on three main strongholds: the fortified towns of Mdina and Gozo and a castle inside the Grand Harbour.  The maintenance of the defences were the responsibility of the local town councils of Malta and Gozo, with work generally contracted to individual craftsmen and skilled labourers; however, in times of danger, all adult males were obliged to provide their labour for free.  Maintenance work was overseen by an elected official and financed by special taxes.   

Another barrel-vaulted gallery continues the story of Malta's fortifications.  A period of rapid fortification construction began with the arrival on Malta of the Order of St John in 1530.  It was the Order's knights which militarised the Maltese Islands to serve as their headquarters and to protect their fleet of galleys.  Over the next 268 years of the Order's rule of Malta, the Grand Harbour area was fortified and a system of fortresses and watchtowers constructed across the island.  Initial defensive efforts focused on the city of Birgu, established in 1530, which enveloped the medieval sea castle (castrum maris).  In 1556, an additional fortress was built in nearby Senglea.  Following the knights' victory over the Ottoman Turks in 1565, the Order of St John built the new fortified city of Valletta on the other side of the Grand Harbour and the highest and most defensible promontory in the harbour area.  In the years that followed, the Order built a complex network of forts and 25 kilometres of bastions and ramparts designed to protect Valletta from both landward attack and naval bombardment.

A scale model of the Wignacourt Tower, a bastioned watchtower in the town of St Paul's Bay in northern Malta.  Named after Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt (reigned 1601-22) and completed in 1610, this tower was the first of five such coastal towers to be built, all of which were personally funded by Wignacourt.  Today, it is the oldest surviving watchtower on Malta.  In 1715, a coastal battery was added to the Wignacourt Tower to accommodate two 18-pounder guns, and in 1761 buttressing was added to the lower half of the structure.  As shown by this model, the Wignacourt Tower's original entrance was via a stone staircase and a drawbridge connecting with the tower's first floor. 

A scale model of a Lascaris tower.  This series of mostly small coastal watchtowers were built between 1637 and 1652.  The Lascaris towers were funded by the local councils for Malta and Gozo.  Most of the Lascaris towers were decommissioned in the 19th century, though some were used during the Second World War.

The section of the gallery devoted to Malta's coastal defences, including the watchtowers built during the reigns of Grand Masters Alof de Wignacourt (reigned 1601-22), Grand Master Giovanni Paolo Lascaris (reigned 1636-57), and Grand Master Martin de Redin (reigned 1657-1660).  From the beginning of the 1600s, the defence of Malta's coastline assumed a prominent place in the Order of St John's defensive strategy.  While the original concept was for a system of simple watchtowers to warn against approaching danger, the plan evolved by the early 1700s into a more aggressive defensive network of batteries, redoubts, and entrenchments designed to resist invasion.

Lascaris War Rooms

The entrance to the tunnel leading to the subterranean Lascaris War Rooms, buried deep below Valletta.  The facility is named after the nearby Lascaris Battery, an artillery bastion built by the British in 1854 and named after the Order of St John's Grand Master Giovanni Paolo Lascaris (reigned 1636-1657).  It was from the Lascaris War Rooms, formally called the Combined War Headquarters, that the defence of Malta was overseen during the latter part of the Second World War.  It also served as General Dwight D. Eisenhower's command post for the Allied invasion of Sicily on 10 July 1943.  After the war, the underground complex served as the headquarters of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet and, between 1967 and 1977, as a NATO Strategic Communications Centre for tracking Soviet submarines in the Mediterranean.

A long tunnel leads through the limestone 45.7 metres (150 feet) below the Upper Barrakka Gardens.  Although the defence of Malta between 1940 and 1943 was coordinated from a nearby Old War Headquarters complex inside an existing series of underground tunnels once used by the Order of St John to house slaves in the 16th century, these were soon deemed too small to accommodate the number of personnel required.  As a result, work was undertaken to construct of a new, tri-service (navy, army, air force) Combined War Headquarters, which opened in May 1943.

The entrance to the introductory gallery in the Lascaris War Rooms, devoted to recounting the story of the construction and operations of the Combined War Headquarters that utilised this underground complex from May 1943.  By bringing together the Royal Navy, the British Army, and the Royal Air Force under one roof, British authorities were better able to coordinate their efforts in defending Malta and waging war against Axis forces in the Mediterranean theatre.  Approximately 1,000 personnel worked in the Lascaris War Rooms, including about 240 military officials.

Individual showcases focus on the Combined War Headquarters operations of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force, as well as daily life in the underground complex. 

A display on the Royal Navy in Malta includes a fireman's helmet from His Majesty's Dockyard Malta; a life ring marked 'Commander British Forces, Malta'; a Royal Navy White Ensign and masthead pennant; a Bosun's whistle; Royal Navy cap tallies for Flag Officer Malta and HMS St Angelo; a collection of ships' badges; a Royal Fleet Auxiliary captain's cap; a Royal Navy white Ratings uniform worn in the summer or in the tropics; a boxed naval full dress bi-corn hat and epaulettes; and a profile of Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Browne Cunningham, Commander-in-Chief of the British Mediterranean Fleet during the Second World War. 

A display on Fortress Headquarters includes a British dispatch rider's helmet; a Malta Command car pennant; a Second World War artillery captain's No. 2 dress tunic; a wartime hand-crank desk telephone; a Lee Enfield Mk III bolt-action rifle; a Bren gun; and a Royal Engineers' grenade.  The Malta Command was an independent command of the British Army through which the Fortress and the garrison of Malta was administered. 

A display on Malta's Air Headquarters includes an RAF station 'scramble' bell; a crest from Malta's RAF Station Luqa; a telephone set from RAF Station Luqa; an RAF car pennant; RAF pilot wings and aircrew brevets; RAF Sector Room plotting equipment; and the uniform of Flight Lieutenant Joseph Henry Salt (1917-1996), Commanding Officer of RAF Radar Station, Fort Madliena.  

A display on daily life for the military in wartime Malta, including a British steel helmet Mk II; an RAF solar pith helmet, kit bag, water bottle, canteen, and web belts once owned by RAF Warrant Officer Edward Wallace; a civilian gas mask; an RAF emergency uniform; a pack of Malta postcards; a medical field dressing; and crockery used by the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) canteen.  A sign next to the 1940 pattern serge battle blouse in the display notes that because of clothing shortages during the siege of Malta (1940-42), the Services were forced to borrow from each other's stocks; for example, RAF uniforms often became a mixture of blue serge, Army Khaki tropical dress, and Navy blue and 'Whites'.

A display in the centre of the gallery recounts the wartime air attacks targeting the War Headquarters, as well as the story of the Women's Royal Auxiliary Air Force (Malta).  Other displays address the complex's postwar use as NATO's Allied Forces Mediterranean (AFMED) Headquarters until 1971, the eventual closure of the War Headquarters in June 1977, and their restoration and re-opening to the public as an historic site and tourist attraction.

The display on the War Headquarters in the postwar period includes a British Mk III steel helmet and Mk II parachutist's helmet; a British Sten gun Mk V from the Suez Crisis (1956); a crest from HMS Goldfinch, the Fleet Air Arm airfield at Ta' Qali; an RAF wool serge service dress tunic worn by a Corporal telegraphist technician; crests for Allied Naval Forces Southern Europe and the US Sixth Fleet; a Creed 7E teleprinter of the type that equipped the War Rooms and the communications centre in the 1950s; and NATO publications that were distributed to the public for free from NATO information desks in Malta in the 1960s.  Folded in the bottom of the display is an Egyptian flag captured by British forces during the 1956 Suez Crisis.

One of the two senior officer's offices used for administrative work in conjunction with the Combined Operations Room. 

Located next to the senior officers' offices is a conference room overlooking the Combined Operations Room.

A display on the Malta convoys, including monitors running a looped video of historical footage of convoy operations.  Between 1940 and 1943, almost all food, fuel, medicine, clothing, ammunition, and military reinforcements reached Malta via convoys of merchant ships dispatched from the UK or Alexandria, Egypt.  These convoys were heavily escorted by warships, including aircraft carriers and battleships, as well as by fighter aircraft operating from Malta.  The final segment of the convoy operations was directed from the Combined Operations Room in the Combined War Headquarters complex, with shore-based fighter cover controlled from the RAF Sector Operations Room as the convoys approached the island.  Over the three-year period of the siege of Malta, 15 major convoy operations were undertaken, with each merchant ship carrying a variety of supplies to ensure that some quantity of everything required arrived at the island even if some ships were sunk along the way.  The convoys were confronted by constant attacks from Italian and German aircraft, submarines, and torpedo boats and were also forced to transit through dense minefields.  As a consequence, out of a total of 55 merchant ships comprising these 15 convoys, 22 ships were sunk and 11 were forced to turn back.  The escorting naval forces also suffered, with the Royal Navy losing 32 warships on the Malta convoy runs.  An additional 32 merchant ships and naval vessels, including submarines, made solitary passages to Malta, with nine being sunk.  The siege of Malta was finally broken by the British victory in the Second Battle of El Alamein (October-November 1942) and the Allied invasion of North Africa (Operation Torch, November 1942), which enabled land-based aircraft to escort convoys to Malta throughout their transit. 

A display of model warships, including a handmade model of the battleship HMS King George V (centre), made by a 15-year old Maltese boy working as an apprentice at the Royal Navy dockyard in Malta in 1945.  The other models are of the American Liberty ship (freighter) Robert E Peary at top and a US Navy Landing Ship Medium (LSM) amphibious assault ship (bottom). 

The Red Ensign flag from MV Rochester Castle, a merchant ship that was part of the critical Operation Pedestal convoy that brought desperately-needed supplies to Malta in August 1942. The Rochester Castle was a 7,795 ton freighter built in 1937 for Britain's Union-Castle Line.  Escorted by 41 warships, including two battleships, three aircraft carriers, seven cruisers, and 32 destroyers, Rochester Castle was one of 14 fast merchant ships that took part in the Pedestal convoy, of which only five survived the harrowing passage to Malta.  Rochester Castle arrived in the Grand Harbour on 13 August despite heavy damage to her bow inflicted by torpedoes fired by German motor torpedo boats en route.  Collectively, Rochester Castle, Ohio, Brisbane Star, Port Chalmers, and Melbourne Star delivered 30,000 tons of vital food, fuel and other supplies to Malta.  After temporary repairs were made, Rochester Castle departed Malta in December 1942 for New York via Alexandria, Egypt and Cape Town, South Africa.  This Red Ensign was donated by the widow of Rochester Castle's Third Officer.

This room is dominated by the Fighter Squadrons' Indicator Panel, nicknamed the 'tote-board' after the score signalling panels at race courses.  This board displayed information about the state of readiness of Malta's fighter squadrons.  The information was communicated using marked metal tags hung by plotters on the tote-board slats facing outwards into the next-door Sector Operations Room.  Information on 24 squadrons could be provided simultaneously and for the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, this was increased to 35.5 squadrons.  Stationary tags showed the number, radio call-sign, and airfield from which a squadron operated, while moving tags showed the number of aircraft in use and their stage of operation.  As information changed, the moving tags were shifted up or down the tote-board.  The information on the status of the squadrons was communicated by telephone from the airfields to the telephonist in the small room seen on the right.  The telephonist relayed the information to the 'Teller' seated the desk, who called out the received information to the plotters at the tote-board.  The tote-board also displayed information on the weather, solar and lunar timings, and different stages of an air raid.  The tote-board room was managed by a non-commissioned officer who sat next to the Fighter Controller on the dais in the next-door Sector Operations Room.   

The two-storey Sector Operations Room No. 8, adjacent to the tote-board room.  At the centre of the upper level sat the Fighter Controller on the command dais, flanked by various staff responsible for controlling air defences, searchlights, barrage balloons, the Malta Observer Corps, and air-sea rescue services.  Down below, more staff plotted the movements of friendly and enemy aircraft on a large plotting table.  Between June 1940 and the lifting of the siege of Malta in November 1942, 707 British and 1,634 Italian and German aircraft were lost in combat.  A total of 6,700 tons of bombs were dropped during 3,000 air raids on Malta during this period, killing around 3,700 people, destroying 50,000 buildings, and making Malta the most bombed place on Earth.  

Looking down on the General Situation Map from the upper floor of Sector Operations Room No. 8.  The Fighter Squadrons' Indicator Panel is mounted high on the wall.  During the period from May 1941 to October 1942, the height of the air battle for Malta, the British successfully employed an integrated air defence system combining radio and radar, anti-aircraft guns, searchlights, barrage balloons, and fighter aircraft into a single efficient fighting system with a clearly defined chain of command.  This system allowed control of both the flow of intelligence on incoming raids and the communication of orders to the defences.  This arrangement was able to process huge amounts of information very quickly, giving the fighter defences sufficient advance warning to prepare for and intercept raids while carefully managing resources in the most efficient manner possible.  Due to the small size of Malta, it was designated as an Air Defence Sector (Number 8). 

The Sector Operations Room was located close to the Filter Room, the central hub of the Air Defence system into which intelligence on incoming raids was communicated.  The army's Anti-Aircraft Gun Operations Room was also located nearby to help ensure efficient coordination between the fighters and the ground-based air defences.  Once coastal radar stations detected enemy aircraft crossing a radius of 30 miles from Valletta, air raid warnings were issued for the civilian population and ground and air defences were alerted for action.  Once the direction of an enemy raid was clearly established, the information was relayed to the Sector Operations Room and the Anti-Aircraft Gun Operations Room, with the former scrambling fighters and the latter deploying anti-aircraft batteries if ordered to do so.  Radio was used by staff in the Sector Operations Room to direct airborne fighter aircraft onto their targets. 

The small size of Malta posed a high risk of friendly fire if fighter aircraft and anti-aircraft guns were used simultaneously.  When both were to be used, as in the case of massed bomber raids, each was given a designated area to cover.  Fighters were usually assigned to intercept enemy aircraft over the sea while Malta's anti-aircraft guns would fire at the enemy over land.  The anti-aircraft guns would also employ a 'geographic barrage' technique over a given target area as a defence against dive bombers.  German air crews compared these massed artillery barrages to a meat grinder and referred to Malta as 'Hell Island'. 

The Direction Finding Room, which provided the Fighter Controller with the position of friendly fighter aircraft as relayed by direction-finding stations located around Malta.  RAF fighters were equipped with an automated mechanism called 'Pip Squeak' which emitted a 14-second squawk once a minute.  These signals were picked up by the direction-finding stations and transmitted by telephone to the Direction Finding Room.  Plotters 'fixed' the friendly aircraft's position on this table, painted with the Mediterranean Fighter Operations Grid and a map of Malta at its centre.  The direction-finding stations are represented by holes drilled into the Malta map, through which a weighted length of string passes.  Each string is attached to an individually coloured 'mouse' which corresponds to the three concentric rings painted around the edge of the table.  Aircraft bearings taken from three different direction-finding stations allowed the plotters to triangulate the aircraft's position, which was then communicated to the Sector Operations Room where other plotters marked the friendly aircraft on the plotting table there.  This process was repeated at regular intervals, permitting the aircraft's track to be updated.  This system allowed the Fighter Controller to vector fighters to intercept enemy aircraft.

The Telephone Switchboard connected the RAF Filter Room and Sector Operations Room with the airfields, observation posts, radar stations, and gun sites around Malta.  The switchboards were able to switch calls between different users on local lines while allowing all users to share a certain number of external phone lines.  Civilian women employed as RAF Auxiliaries generally staffed these switchboards, being among the approximately 100 women working in the Combined War Headquarters complex. 

The Radio Telegraphy Room, known as the R/T Room, enabled the Fighter Controller to communicate directly with the fighter squadrons.  The R/T Room is divided into a series of small cubicles, each equipped with a radio.

One of the cubicles in the R/T Room.  Until 1942, fighter formations were vectored onto their quarry by the Fighter Controller using a live radio connection as the raid developed.  However, this system was found to delay the fighters from finding their targets on time and was also vulnerable to enemy eavesdropping.  Instead, a system was developed to direct fighters onto their targets using coded phrases to convey details on the inbound enemy aircraft formations.

The Signals Office. 

The Sector Controller's office.  

The Meteorological Office.

The Sector Filter Officer's office.

The Malta Observers Operations Room, part of the Sector Operations Room, coordinated all six observer posts on the island.  Three women operators worked here, the two on the left plotting enemy aircraft on a long-range plotting map of Malta and maintaining telephone contact with the observer posts.  The third operator, on the right, relayed plots given to her by the other two operators to the Sector Operations Room where they were plotted on the main plotting table.  Mounted to the wall above the table in the Observers Operations Room is an electrically-operated light signal box controlled by the Fighter Controller in the Sector Operations Room.  Signals (e.g. air alarm, new raid, all clear, etc.) transmitted to the box were immediately relayed to the observer posts by the operators here.   

A display on the Royal Observer Corps (ROC), Britain's nationwide network of ground observers on which was modelled the Malta Observer Corps (MOC), established in early 1942.  The ROC and MOC were intended to supplement radar with visual information on what was observed in the sky, at sea, and on the ground.  The observers would be sent a signal advising them what to look for (direction of aircraft approaching or leaving, their altitude, identification, and number) and they would use binoculars and a plotting instrument to sight and plot enemy aircraft, passing this information on to the Filter Room.  Items displayed here include various aircraft recognition documents, a plotting instrument, a portable telephone used in observer posts, a ROC steel helmet, ROC insignia and cap badges, a set of high-powered binoculars, and a ROC winter uniform dating from 1941.

The Combined Operations Room is dominated by a giant map of Sicily and Malta.  It was here that Commander-in-Chief General Dwight D. Eisenhower and his naval, land, and air commanders (Admiral Andrew Cunningham, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, and Air Marshal Arthur Tedder) were able to track the progress of Allied forces during the invasion of Sicily on 10 July 1943.

The Combined Operations Room contains a monument to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces in the Mediterranean in 1942-43.  The flags of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and France stand on either side of a bronze bust of General Eisenhower. 

Behind large windows running along the length of one side of the Combined Operations Room is a  a series of offices for staff officers responsible for monitoring and plotting the movement of Allied forces on the giant wall map on the opposite wall.

Another of the offices in the Combined Operations Room, replete with multiple telephones for receiving information on the movement of Allied forces.

A display on the RAF Air Sea Rescue Unit (Malta) which was responsible for the rescue of numerous Allied and Axis airmen downed in the central Mediterranean during the Second World War.  The unit's personnel also carried out firefighting duties and helped unload supplies from damaged convoy ships.  While a single high-speed Air Sea Rescue launch was deployed to Malta in July 1938, the Air Sea Rescue Unit (Malta) was not established until 1941, with two additional launches arriving on 29 September of that year.  Various small craft were pressed into service to supplement the handful of high-speed launches, with the unit's crews being mixed British and Maltese.  Eventually, three Air Sea Rescue Unit (Malta) bases were established on the island, with headquarters at the RAF Kalafrana seaplane base in the south.  All wartime operations by the Air Sea Rescue Unit (Malta) were directed from the Sector Operations Room here at the Combined War Headquarters.  During the war, the unit rescued an estimated 274 downed airmen, both Allied and Axis.  The RAF Air Sea Rescue / 1151 Marine Craft Unit based on Malta continued to serve in the postwar period before being disbanded in October 1978. 

The Combined War Headquarters' Filter Room, the third of three successive wartime Filter Rooms in Malta which served as the nerve centre of the island's air defence system.  On the lower level is the plotting area, wireless and telegraphy equipment, the office of the Senior NCO in charge of the plotters, and a plotters' restroom.  The L-shaped upper level was where the Filter Officer and his assistants worked, as well as a Movements Office responsible for tracking friendly non-operational flights in the Malta area.  A short corridor, used only by the Filter Officer or the Fighter Controller, led into the adjacent RAF Sector Operations Room.  It was here in the Filter Room that a mass of information from radar stations and observation posts was received and interpreted ('filtered') before being passed to the Sector Operations Room for action.  Filter Room personnel were divided into Plotters, Filterers, and Controllers.  Information was received by telephone and plotted on the large table map using various counters.  The grid map indicated a pinpoint position, estimated altitude, number of aircraft, and whether the aircraft were friend or foe.  Based on the mass of raw information generated by radar, the Filter Officer had to decide when a few successive plots, with all their possible inaccuracies, might be considered sufficiently reliable to pass along to the Sector Operations Room to scramble fighter aircraft to intercept.  With a shortage of fighter aircraft, trained pilots, and fuel on Malta, it was critical for Filter Room personnel to work quickly and for the Filter Officer to correlate information and make accurate assessments in a timely manner.  It was the expertise of the Filter Room personnel that underpinned the successful operation of the island's entire radar system.  Note the white Radar Board mounted on the rear wall, which indicated which of Malta's radar stations were operational at any given time. 

Looking down on the plotting table in the Filter Room from the upper balcony.  Radar in Malta could detect targets flying at approximately 20,000 feet (6,096 metres) within a radius of 65-75 miles (105-121 kilometres), making it effectively possible to detect enemy aircraft as soon as they crossed the coast of Sicily.  Although the Germans attempted to electronically jam Malta's radar for a period in 1942, the radar stations' continued scanning convinced the Germans that their jamming was ineffective and they switched off their jamming equipment.  In addition to detecting enemy aircraft, Malta's radar stations were also used to track enemy shipping, with battleships and cruisers detectable at a range of 30 miles, destroyers at 15 miles, merchant ships at 20 miles, surfaced submarines at 10 miles, and motor torpedo boats at 7 miles.  The radar stations also assisted Malta's coast defence artillery with detection and ranging, thereby increasing the chances of a successful hit compared to the use of optical ranging instruments.

The office of the Filter Officer. 

A small break room for staff working in the Combined War Headquarters. 

Floriana

The Phoenicia Malta, a five-star, Art Deco-styled hotel built of Maltese limestone and located adjacent to Valletta City Gate.  The proposal to construct a first-class hotel in Malta was first raised in February 1902 when tenders were issued by the Public Works Department; however, much controversy and the intercession of the First World War delayed any decision.  In 1935, a call for a hotel was issued and construction commenced in 1938.  The Second World War halted the construction of the hotel and the site was bombed by German aircraft on 27 April 1942.  When the hotel finally opened on 3 November 1947, it featured 108 guest rooms and eight suites.  In 1994, a renovation and refurbishment project added another floor to the hotel, increasing the room count to 132.  The hotel was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip during their visits to Malta and has also accommodated various celebrities, such as actors Alec Guinness, Gerard Depardieu, Oliver Reed, and Arnold Schwarzenegger when they have been filming movies on Malta.

The Christ the King monument in a plaza on Vjal Ir-Re Dwardu VII (King Edward VII Avenue) in Floriana.  This sculpture by renowned Maltese architect Antonio Sciortino was unveiled in 1917 and commemorates the 1913 Eucharistic Congress hosted in Malta, an important religious event.  In addition to the figure of Christ, the monument depicts a figure of a lady representing Malta, kneeling in honour of Christ. 

The Commonwealth Air Forces Memorial in Biskuttin Gardens near the the Valletta City Gate.  This memorial, designed by Sir Hubert Worthing, was one of the many memorials authorised by the Air Council to commemorate Commonwealth Air Force personnel who died during the Second World War.  The memorial comprises a 15-metre marble column topped by a bronze eagle by sculptor Charles Wheeler.  At the foot of the column are plaques listing the names of 2,301 air force personnel lost during the war.  The memorial was completed in time for Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Malta in 1954.

Maglio Gardens stretching along a 400-metre stretch of Floriana and bounded along its length by Sarria Street and Mall Street.  The promenade was laid out during the rule of Grand Master Lascaris in 1656 and was used by the knights to play maglio, a golf-like game.  In 1942, the walls surrounding the site were removed.  Today, the Maglio gardens are lined by benches and feature well-tended garden beds, wide walkways, and a number of sculptures and monuments to Maltese dignitaries. 

Another view of Maglio Gardens in Floriana.

Pjazza San Publju (St Publius Square) with St Publius Parish Church at its southern end.  As one of the largest urban open spaces in Malta, St Publius Square is often used for mass gatherings, such as the May 1990 and May 2001 visits by Pope John Paul II and the Isle of MTV summer festivals. 

A view of St Publius Parish Church from the square, showing some of the numerous raised circular stone slabs covering openings to the massive granary pits dug under the square.  Granaries were constructed around Valletta and Floriana by the Order of St John to store sufficient grain to withstand a siege and the British authorities in the 19th century continued the practice, building additional granaries.  The 76 granary pits under St Publius Square is the largest concentration of such granaries in Malta. 

The Roman Catholic Saint Publius Parish Church in Floriana, dedicated to Saint Publius, a 1st century Maltese Christian prelate and Malta's first canonised saint.  The neoclassical limestone church was built in various stages between 1733 and the 1950s.  The first stone was laid on 2 August 1733 in the presence of the Order of St John's Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena and the church was completed to its original design by 17 January 1768.  Subsequently, major renovations and additions were carried out, including rebuilding of the façade in 1771 and again in 1884-1890, the addition of a dome in 1780,  construction of an oratory and naves between 1856 and 1861, and the erection of two new bell towers in 1889 and 1892.  After being bombed by Axis aircraft in March and April 1942, the St Publius Parish Church was repaired by the late 1950s, with interior embellishments being completed in the early 1990s. A statue of Christ the King with arms outstretched stands at the top of the church's façade.

Solid, neoclassical buildings with arched arcades line both sides of Triq Sant' Anna (St Anne Street), Floriana's main thoroughfare leading to Valletta. 

The arched arcade of one of the neoclassical buildings lining St Anne Street in Floriana.  Retail shops, restaurants, and pubs line the ground floor of these buildings.  

A quintessentially Maltese ceramic street sign reflects the fact that the British developed Floriana as a garrison town in the 19th century.  

The Porte des Bombes, originally known as Porta dei Cannoni (Cannon Gate), is the main gateway into Floriana.  Straddling Triq Sant' Anna (St Anne Street), the Porte des Bombes is the only arched entrance that still exists from the four original gates of Floriana.  Designed by French architect and military engineer Charles François de Mondion and completed in 1721, the gateway originally consisted of a single arch.  It is topped by the coat of arms of Grand Master Ramón Perellós (reigned 1697-1720), who commissioned the gate's construction.  The gate derives its name from the columns supporting the arches, which are sculpted as upright cannons.  During the French invasion of Malta in 1798, French troops attacked and threw open the Porte des Bombes.  As traffic into Floriana and Valletta increased through the 19th century, the ruling British authorities constructed a second arch in 1868 to permit the passage of more vehicles.  The writing on one side of the Porte des Bombes reads, 'Whilst I fight the Turks everywhere I am secure in my seat'. 

Birgu / Vittoriosa

The Couvre Porte Gate, the first of three successive gates on the western side of the historic fortified city of Birgu, also known as Città Vittoriosa for its role in resisting the Ottoman siege of Malta in 1565.  Located on the western side of the Couvre Porte Counterguard, the gate is inscribed with the date 1722 in Roman numerals (MDCCXXII), when it was completed.  The three gates were likely designed by French engineer Charles  François de Mondion.

A view of the city of Senglea, across Galleys' Creek from Vittoriosa.  Both cities stand on promontories jutting into the south side of the Grand Harbour, across from Valletta.  Galleys' Creek owes its name to the fact that the Order of St John maintained its fleet of galleys in the sheltered waters of the inlet.  Later, the British Royal Navy would use Galleys' Creek as its victualling yard, providing food, drink, and other supplies to the Mediterranean Fleet based on Malta.  This flourishing maritime activity led to skilled workers and merchants settling in the densely-populated towns of Senglea and Vittoriosa on either side of the inlet. 

The Gate of Provence, the third of the three main gates into Vittoriosa, is located on the inner flank of St John Bastion.

A typical narrow, medieval street in Vittoriosa, flanked by limestone houses.  Vittoriosa, then known as Birgu, was the de facto capital of Malta from 1530, when the Order of St John arrived, to 1571, when Valletta was constructed as the new capital. 

Looking down Wenzu Dyer Street in Vittoriosa, with the bell tower of St Lawrence's Church seen in the background. 

At a mere 0.5 square kilometres (0.2 square miles) in area, Vittoriosa is home to only approximately 2,500 people.  Plants, flowers, and small palm trees have been planted in terracotta pots by the residents.

The Collegiate church of Saint Lawrence, known as St Lawrence's Church, stands over the Freedom Monument, a rocky garden mound commemorating the departure of British forces from Malta in 1979. 

Overlooking Galleys' Creek, the first church to occupy this site served as the first conventual church of the Order of St John for 41 years, between 1530 and 1571.  In May 1681, the foundation stone of the current church was laid, with construction completed in 1696 and St Lawrence's Church inaugurated on the feast day of St Lawrence of Rome (10 August) in 1697.  The church suffered damage during three Axis bombing aids on Malta, with the sacristy and chapter hall destroyed on 16 January 1941, the chapel of the blessed Sacrament destroyed on 22 March 1941, and the dome destroyed on 4 April 1942.  Repairs were carried out between 1949 and 1952. 

People line up at the Vittoriosa Water Taxi Station on the Xatt Il-Forn promenade.  The promenade runs along the Vittoriosa waterfront to Fort St Angelo, located at the tip of the promontory. 

Prominent along the Vittoriosa waterfront, overlooking Galleys' Creek, is the Malta Maritime Museum, housed in the former Royal Naval Bakery.  The building was constructed in 1842-45 on the site of the Order of St John's naval arsenal and formed part of the Victualling Yard of the Malta Dockyard, supplying food and drink to the men of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet.  At its peak, the steam-powered machinery installed in the Royal Naval Bakery produced 14,000 kilograms (30,000 pounds) of bread and biscuits every day.  Following the Second World War, the Royal Naval Bakery was converted into the headquarters of the Admiralty Constabulary and served in this role until the departure of British forces in 1979.  The Malta Maritime Museum opened in July 1992 and houses a collection of more than 20,000 artefacts. (The museum was closed for renovations during this visit in October 2023.)   

Looking southeast at the city of Vittoriosa from atop the ramparts of Fort St Angelo, located at the tip of the promontory.  Kalkara Creek is on the left and Galleys' Creek is on the right.  

Vittoriosa by night

The Couvre Porte Gate as seen at night.

Colourful lights illuminate the arches of the viaduct carrying Paul Boffa Street across the rock-hewn ditch and through the 2011 arched opening in the city's St John Bastion walls.  Paul Boffa Street is Vittoriosa's main thoroughfare and is named after the Maltese Labour Party's first Prime Minister, who was born in Vittoriosa in 1890 and served as PM between 1947 and 1950.

A nighttime view of the Gate of Provence. 

The Gate of Provence from the Paul Boffa Street side. 

A statue of Saint Dominic stands in a niche in the wall of the St John Cavalier next to Paul Boffa Street.  Saint Dominic is the patron saint of Birgu.  Born in 1170, Dominic was a Castilian Catholic priest who founded the Dominican Order and is credited with popularising the rosary bead.  He is also the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientists.

Restaurants and pubs in Vittoriosa's Victory Square, located in the centre of the city.

A quiet night along the Xatt Il-Forn promenade on the Vittoriosa waterfront.  The moon is visible above the Malta Maritime Museum's clock tower while a few people enjoy a late dinner or drinks at the restaurants lining this part of the promenade.

Malta at War Museum

The entrance to the Malta at War Museum, located in the Couvre Porte Counterguard in Vittoriosa and managed by the Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna (Malta Heritage Trust).  The pentagonal counterguard was originally built during the reign of the Order of St John's Grand Master Antoine de Paule (1623-36) and designed to protect the St John Bastion.  The British converted the casemates of the Couvre Porte Counterguard into barracks, which now house this museum telling the story of Malta's role in the Second World War.

The Malta at War Museum's galleries and display snake through the former casemates.

The museum's galleries begin with displays on the pre-war Maltese political situation, notably the political struggle between the pro-British Constitutional Party and the pro-Italian Nationalist Party.  Mussolini's Italian fascists attempted to influence Maltese political opinion by establishing an Italian Cultural Centre in Malta and funding student bursaries and free books, lectures, concerts, and exhibitions, as well as forming a fascist youth organisation in Malta.  The threat posed by fascist influence caused the British colonial authorities in  Malta to suspend the 1921 constitution in 1932 and to aggressively pursue Italian sympathisers and establish a radio service to counter Italian radio propaganda.  It was not until 1947 that Britain restored self-government to Malta via the granting of a new constitution.  In the centre of this display case is a mannequin dressed in the uniform of the Italian Fascist Youth (Opera Nazionale Balilla) and the toy rifle (Moschetto Balilla) issued to members to help them get used to handling a gun.

The parade uniform of a German National Socialist Stellenleiter, a mid-level political rank that existed between 1936 and 1939 for county and town administrative staff officers.  Other items of Nazi paraphernalia, including various armbands, are included in this display on the rise of fascism prior to the start of the war.

A display of Malta Police uniforms.  The police switched from their peacetime navy blue uniform (left) to Army battledress (right) in 1940, with constables being issued steel helmets, gas masks, and a service pistol.  In addition to traditional law enforcement duties, the Malta Police were responsible for enforcing compliance with blackout regulations which came into effect on 3 May 1940, as well as monitoring foreigners residing on Malta.  During the war, the Malta Police directed people to air raid shelters, reported on the location of fallen bombs and places that were hit, assisted with salvage operations, erected barricades, and directed traffic.  The police force was also responsible for fire-fighting, enforcing regulations against the black market, and watching for unauthorised hoarding of supplies.  During the war, the Malta Police averaged about 40 officers and 1,304 other ranks.  The display case holds examples of police cap badges, a long-service and good conduct medal, a belt buckle, and a whistle and chain.  A collection of metal trade licence badges issued by the Police Licencing Office to street vendors, tradesmen, transport operators, and entertainers is also displayed.

A display on gas warfare which, having caused 1.3 million casualties during the First World War and been used by several nations in the interwar period, was a major concern when the Second World War broke out.  The discovery of Tabun and Sarin gasses by German scientists in the late 1930s led to hysteria in European nations, who responded by instituting large-scale anti-gas drills in cities, sealing buildings against the entry of gas, installing gas decontamination facilities, and issuing millions of gas masks to fit adults, invalids, children, and babies.  As a result of Fascist Italy's invasion of Abyssinia in 1935-36, Malta became the first British possession to be issued with gas masks against an anticipated Italian gas attack.  Additionally, Maltese authorities organised anti-gas drills in different parts of the island and in schools.  Nevertheless, gas warfare was not employed by either side during the Second World War. 

A display on the Air Raid Precautions (ARP) service that was formed to assist civilians if gas warfare was employed during the war.  While ARP was established in Britain in 1924, the Maltese ARP service was formed in 1935, during the Abyssinian Crisis when the fear of a war between Britain and Italy was at its height.  Around 400 volunteers led by a core of civil servants and teachers were recruited for Malta's ARP and were trained to assist civilians in the wake of aerial bombardment.  ARP training focused on protection against poison gasses, with radio broadcasts, printed materials, and public drills being used to educate the public.  By September 1939, there was a stockpile of 250,000 gas masks in Malta, to be distributed in case of war.  Malta's ARP service was organised regionally, with centres in Valletta, Floriana, Marsa, Cottonera, Msida, Sliema, Mosta, Rabat, Attard, Tarxien, and Zurrieq.  The ARP personnel were responsible for directing people into air raid shelters, ensuring that gas masks were carried and fitted, enforcing blackout regulations, and rescuing and offering first-aid treatment to casualties. 

A display of Royal Air Force squadron and station badges mounted on the wall above a display on the Battle for Malta.  At the start of the war, Malta's air defences consisted of a small number of anti-aircraft guns and four Gloster Gladiator aircraft borrowed from the Royal Navy.  Gradually, more modern Hawker Hurricane fighters were flown to Malta and the Italians were forced to send fighters to escort their bomber aircraft attacking Malta.  In January 1941, the German Luftwaffe's 10th Air Corps was based in Sicily in order to assist the largely ineffective Italian attacks against Malta.  The devastating German attacks destroyed almost all aircraft on Malta and rendered the airfields unserviceable by March 1941.  Dozens of Hurricanes were flown to Malta between April and June 1941 and the island enjoyed a respite from the intensity of attacks when the 10th Air Corps left Sicily for the Balkans, leaving the attacks to continue by the Italians alone.  Malta-based air and naval forces were able to take the offensive against Axis shipping supplying Rommel's forces in North Africa. However, between January and April 1942, large German forces were transferred back to the Mediterranean to carry out Hitler's order to neutralise Malta as a base for offensive operations.  German aircraft of the Luftwaffe's 2nd Air Fleet inflicted tremendous damage on Malta during relentless day and night attacks targeting airfields, fighter aircraft, dockyards, harbours, stores, barracks, and communications centres.  A major reinforcement of Malta with Spitfire fighters in March-May 1942 allowed attacks to be resumed against Axis convoys.  The Luftwaffe was unable to regain the upper hand and suffered crippling losses in June-July and again during a short-lived, eight-day bombing campaign in October.  After this, Malta's offensive forces were steadily built up to assist in achieving the Allied victory in the Mediterranean.  Over the course of the Battle for Malta, the German and Italian air forces dropped 17,000 tons of bombs on the island and lost 1,634 aircraft doing so, compared to 707 British aircraft losses. 

A display containing the uniform and flight suit of Malta Spitfire ace Flight Lieutenant Denis Barnham, Commanding Officer of 601 Squadron, Royal Air Force.  Barnham spent 10 weeks on Malta flying combat sorties in April-June 1942, the most confused and desperate period of the air battle over the island.  He claimed 6.5 enemy aircraft shot down.  After completing his tour, he returned to Britain to become a flight instructor and, later, joined 126 Squadron for a short period.  He died in 1981 at the age of 61.

A lineup of German bombs like those dropped on Malta during the Second World War.  The Luftwaffe used three principal types of demolition bombs: 'Spreng Cylindrisch' (SC) or General Purpose bombs; 'Spreng Dickenwand' (SD) or Splinter Bombs; and 'Panzer Cylindrisch' (PC) or Armour Piercing bombs.  These bombs weighed between 50 kilos and 2,500 kilos (110-5,511 lbs).  While the SC type bombs were used for general demolition work, the SD type bombs were used against personnel, all types of armour, and against other surface targets vulnerable to fragmentation damage.  The bombs were filled with TNT, amatol, and/or trialen.  In addition to large bombs, the Germans also employed sub-munitions for anti-personnel purposes, dropping cluster pods that opened in mid-air to spread the bomblets over a wide area.  British forces established bomb disposal squads in Malta to defuse the estimated 15% of bombs that did not explode.  In a single week in August 1942, a record 584 unexploded bombs were recorded and unexploded ordnance remains a problem to the present day, with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Section of the Malta Armed Forces continuing to register and defuse wartime bombs. 

A display on the bomb disposal squads on Malta.  The case holds the uniform of Lieutenant George Daniel Carroll, a bomb disposal officer of the Royal Engineers who was transferred to Malta in April 1941 to command the Army bomb disposal service.  The display also contains various examples of the types of bombs dropped on Malta by the Axis air forces, including incendiary bombs, high-explosive anti-personnel fragmentation and butterfly bombs, as well as the tools used by British bomb disposal squads to defuse unexploded ordnance.  

A collection of Axis air force uniforms, including a Luftwaffe blue cloth KW 1/33 'Bayerisch' winter suit; an aircrew uniform tunic for the German equivalent of an RAF Leading Aircraftman; a Regia Aeronautica (Royal Italian Air Force) flying suit and early Second World War Italian flight helmet with goggles; a Luftwaffe lifejacket and summer cap; and a Luftwaffe summer flying suit.  The back of the display case contains a section of aluminum cut from the tail of a downed Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Me109 fighter.

The gallery devoted to the British and Axis air forces that took part in the Battle of Malta between 1940 and 1943.  

A bread wagon is the centrepiece in the gallery devoted to recounting daily life in Malta during the Second World War.  With supply convoys to Malta being regularly attacked by Axis air and naval forces, the government introduced anti-hoarding measures in July 1940 and a rationing system in April 1941 to ensure an equitable distribution of food and conserve stockpiled supplies.  The Church was the first to establish a communal feeding program for Maltese who had fled the Grand Harbour area after the first air raids.  In January 1942, the government set up the Communal Feeding Department and 'Victory Kitchens' were established to efficiently distribute food supplies and kerosene to the entire population, with applicants agreeing to hand over half of their food rations in exchange for access to the Victory Kitchen service.  By July 1942, there were over 100 Victory Kitchens, each normally serving 200 people.  The monotonous and unpalatable meals generally consisted of a watery vegetable soup with a few beans and a piece of tinned fish or an ounce of corned beef; occasionally, a slice of goat or horse meat was available.  In January 1943, the Victory Kitchens were serving 175,536 meals daily, with registered subscribers able to draw one meal a day, at midday or in the evening, for a payment of six pence. As the war dragged on and the food situation became more perilous, more items were rationed while the entitlements of already-rationed items were further reduced.  In the summer of 1942, the daily caloric intake for adults was never more than 1,500 and often as little as 1,100, or less than half the daily recommended intake.  Many elderly and weak individuals died from the insufficient diet, while infant mortality soared to as much as 345 per 1,000, with over 2,300 babies under the age of one year dying on the island.  The food situation began to stabilise in November and December 1942, but rations only significantly improved at the end of February 1943.

A display of British Army uniforms and wedge caps worn by regiments and units that served on Malta during the Second World War.     

A display of wartime weapons, including various British and Italian bolt action rifles, revolvers, Sten guns, a Thompson submachine gun, a Willis grenade, a flare pistol, bayonets, a 3-inch mortar, land mines, and a Vickers medium machine gun. 

A display on the wartime defences of Malta, including a 90cm projector anti-aircraft searchlight and a Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun.  Searchlights were linked to a mobile sound locator to assist the operators in directing the searchlights onto enemy aircraft.  By 1942, there were 54 searchlight stations on Malta.  The 40mm Bofors gun was one of the most popular anti-aircraft guns of the war, and was capable of engaging enemy aircraft flying below 2,000 feet.  It fired 120 rounds per minute and was a staple weapon of light anti-aircraft regiments.  In 1942, there were 129 Bofors guns deployed in 11 batteries in Malta, which had increased to 20 batteries equipped with 270 Bofors guns by 1943.  When war broke out, the Malta garrison consisted of five infantry regiments, two artillery regiments, a Royal Engineers squadron, and other ancillary army units.

A large Maltese red ensign flag from the period 1943-1964 (when Malta was still a British Crown Colony) dominates a display on Malta's first George Medals.  A bust of King George VI is on the right, while a George Cross awarded to Malta by the King on 15 April 1942 is displayed in the wooden box on the left.  The George Medal is the second highest civil decoration in the UK and the Commonwealth after the George Cross.  The George Medal was instituted by King George VI on 24 September 1940 to reward acts of civilian courage in the face of enemy action and brave deeds more generally.  Over the course of the Second World War, only four Maltese received the prestigious George Medal.  

A display of cap and shoulder badges from various regiments that served on Malta.  The top row is infantry regiment badges.  Other units shown here include the Royal Tank Regiment, the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, the Royal Artillery, the Royal Engineers, the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, the Royal Army Service Corps, the Royal Corps of Signals, and the Royal Army Medical Corps.  At the centre is the badge of the King's Own Malta Regiment.  

A display on the Battle of the Convoys.  On the left is a mannequin wearing the uniform of an officer in the Maritime Royal Artillery (MRA).  The MRA eventually consisted of six regiments and 24 port detachments employing over 14,000 men, including 170 officers.  The personnel of the MRA served aboard Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships (DEMS), civilian merchant vessels fitted with guns for protection against air and naval attack.  On the right of the display is a mannequin wearing the uniform of a Merchant Navy 2nd Engineer.  During the war, 32,000 merchant sailors died and 11.7 million tons of merchant shipping was lost, representing 54% of the total Merchant Navy fleet.  Other items displayed here include a battle honours board from the Type II Hunt class escort destroyer HMS Bicester; a British four gallon petrol can; various wooden cargo and ammunition crates; wartime dried foods; a 3.7-inch anti-aircraft shell and crate; and an American Red Cross pot supplied to bombed-out households in Malta.

A gallery devoted to Maltese civil society during the Second World War.  In the months leading up to the outbreak of war, all elements of civil society were mobilised to assist the war effort, including the Church, the Boy Scouts, and the St John Ambulance Brigade.  The Church accommodated refugees, allocated schools and convents as emergency hospitals, and established communal kitchens to feed thousands of people.  In June 1940, 150 Boy Scouts formed a 'Scout Company' of the King's Own Malta Regiment and served as messengers, telephone operators at government buildings and hospitals, and as coast watchers, while a large number also served in Malta's Home Guard.  Girl Guides assisted by knitting for the armed forces, assisting the St John's Ambulance Brigade and the communal feeding stations, and assembling gas masks.  When war broke out, Malta's four newspapers, Rediffusion cable radio service, and Information Office-issued newsletter were the only sources of information.  The newspapers reduced the number of pages to conserve the limited stock of available newsprint, while much news was curtailed and events were often reported weeks after they occurred to avoid disclosing sensitive information to the enemy.  The English-language Times of Malta served as a blatant propaganda organ, praising the successes of the local defenders.  The daily newsletter published by the government Information Office was distributed to police stations across Malta and affixed to the stations' noticeboards to be read by the public.

A display of Royal Navy uniforms, including a Commander's tropical uniform and naval pith helmet (left); a Commander's mess jacket and peaked cap (centre); and the undress coat of Vice Admiral Sir Sydney Moffatt Raw (1898-1967).  During the Second World War, Raw commanded the 1st Submarine Flotilla, based at Alexandria, Egypt.  In 1944, Raw was given command of the cruiser HMS Phoebe and served in Burmese waters.  In 1947, Raw was appointed Commodore at the Royal Naval Barracks in Devonport, UK and in the 1950s became Flag Officer (Submarines).  Vice Admiral Raw concluded his naval career as Fourth Sea Lord and Chief of Supplies and Transport in 1952. 

A display of Royal Navy artefacts, including a White Ensign flag; a scale model of HM Submarine P44 United, a U-class submarine that served in the 10th Submarine Flotilla based at Malta; an oil painting of another Malta-based U-class submarine, P37 Upholder, which sank more than 93,000 tons of Axis shipping in the Mediterranean before itself being sunk on 14 April 1942 during its 14th and final patrol before returning to the UK; and the medals, cap tally, and other items belonging to Able Seaman LW Clarke of HM Submarine P44 United.  The display also holds a metal buoy from an anti-submarine boom net; naval 17-pounder training rounds; a brass loudhailer stowed in lifeboats; and a scalloped pattern Royal Navy cake stand and butter dish.  

A display of uniforms and artefacts of the King's Own Malta Regiment (KOMR), a territorial infantry regiment raised for the fourth time in 1932 and disbanded in 1972.  The regiment's predecessor, the King's Own Royal Regiment of Militia, had been granted the distinguished 'King's Own' label by King Edward VII during his visit to Malta in 1903.  The display contains a battle dress blouse and beret, as well as a No. 1 ceremonial uniform and forage cap for a KOMR soldier (left); and the dress uniforms of Captain Paul Debono of the KOMR.  A collection of cap and shoulder badges of the KOMR, the Royal Regiment of Malta (1889-1903), and the King's Own Malta Regiment of Militia (1902-1931) are also displayed.  The large poster at the back of the display was issued by the UK's Central Office of Information during the Second World War to illustrate the British Colonial Forces' contribution to the war effort and boost morale; this version features a portrait of King's Own Malta Regiment Sergeant Major Victor Muscat.

The stairs down to the subterranean air raid shelters excavated in the rock under Vittoriosa's Couvre Porte Counterguard during the Second World War when the barracks were used as a civil defence centre.  At the beginning of the war, there were few underground air raid shelters in Malta and the public was advised to seek refuge in basements or under staircases or sturdy tables piled with mattresses.  Other people sheltered in ancient tunnels built into the bastions while the disused railway tunnel in Valletta and Floriana was converted into the largest air raid shelter in Malta.  In June 1940, public pressure led to a nation-wide effort to provide underground rock-hewn shelters, though this program was hampered by the lack of tools and miners.     

A Shelter Warden sits in his rock-hewn office cubicle.  Although air raid shelters were administered by Protection Officers, the actual day-to-day running of the shelter was entrusted to a responsible individual, usually a civil servant, who ensured that the shelter did not become overcrowded, that a high level of hygiene was maintained, and that public order was maintained.  In compensation for taking on this responsibility, the Shelter Warden was given free use of a shelter cubicle for himself and his family.  Initially, a registration system was established to ensure that shelters were used by residents of the immediate vicinity; however, as this proved difficult to maintain, the registration system was eventually discontinued.  Shelter Wardens oversaw workmen hired to clean the shelters and the shelters were regularly inspected by health and medical officers; nevertheless, diseases associated with poor hygiene and overcrowding, such as a dysentery, scabies, and tuberculosis, were rampant in the shelters. 

Air raid shelters were excavated by hand using manual tools.  When commencing a tunnel, a miner would first use a pickaxe to cut two vertical channels 90 centimetres apart and 30 centimetres deep.  The mass left in between these channels was broken up in large pieces using heavy iron chisels or small quantities of gun powder.  This process was repeated every three feet.  Once a sufficient length of tunnel had been excavated, a stone-dresser would smooth the tunnel surfaces, working by candlelight.  Stone debris was carted out of the tunnel by children or unskilled labourers, who packed the debris into large buttresses outside the shelter entrance to act as a blast wall for added protection.  A skilled miner was paid six shillings and six pence per day and was expected to dig an area measuring three feet by six feet by three feet.  If miners were unavailable, ordinary people were called upon to undertake the excavation work. 

The Main Aisle, the widest and longest stretch of the air raid shelter tunnels, off of which are entrances to private cubicles for families.  Some shelters, including this one, were provided with free electricity by the government if wiring and fixtures were installed voluntarily by inhabitants; otherwise, shelters used crude homemade oil lamps set in 'lighting windows' cut into the rock wall.  These lamps consisted of a small tin filled with water, in which a cork float containing a wick was placed and with a skim of edible oil on the surface of the water serving as fuel.  A lighting window can be seen on the wall to the left.

A map shows visitors the intricate maze of tunnels comprising the Couvre Porte/Coronation Gardens Air Raid Shelter.

Further down the Main Aisle. 

Located off the Main Aisle is a stretch of tunnel containing private cubicles excavated for individuals or families to live in.  Beginning in 1942, the authorities encouraged the excavation of private cubicles in all large public shelters as a means of increasing their capacity.  Such private cubicles were to be excavated by individuals at their own expense after obtaining approval from the Protection Officer and the representative of the Supervisor for Shelter Construction or the Public Works Department, both of which were responsible for shelter construction.

Inside a private cubicle shelter, which the Maltese often equipped with furnishings brought from home.  As registered miners were needed for government work, their use for the construction of private cubicle shelters was prohibited.  As it cost around £100 to dig a private cubicle, most people dug their own, with the work often being carried out by women and children in light of the majority of the male population serving in the military or undertaking war-related work.  

No excavation work was permitted at night, so all digging and clearance activity for private cubicle shelters had to be done before dark.  The average private cubicle shelter measured six feet by six feet by six feet.  Each cubicle was numbered for ease of identification and was separated by seven feet from the adjacent cubicle.  While no doors were permitted at first, eventually wooden gates were allowed to be fitted to private cubicle shelters to prevent theft.

The Emergency Refuge Room.  During the Abyssinian Crisis of 1935-36, when war between Fascist Italy and the League of Nations looked likely, Maltese authorities advised people to designate a safe room in their homes in case of an air attack.  Ideally, this room would be in the basement or dug into the rock; however, if this was not possible, a ground floor room in the centre of the house was best.  Wherever possible, the room of this safe room would have a ceiling reinforced with concrete or thick wooden planks.  All openings to the rooms, such as chimneys or air ventilators were to be hermetically sealed to keep out poison gas, with only one door (fitted with a waterproof curtain) to be used as an entry point.  Residents were advised to equip their safe rooms with everything needed for a long stay, including sanitary facilities, a first aid kit, tinned and dry food, bedding, a radio, and enough books, games, and other hobby material to keep people occupied.  Electric or battery-powered lighting was recommended, supported by candles or lamps to be used sparingly due to their consumption of oxygen in the room.

A narrow, shoulder-width passage snakes off the Main Aisle and leads to the shelter's medical facilities. 

The surgical theatre operated by the Air Raid Precautions organisation and used to treat light injuries.  Unlike the other parts of the shelter, this room has plastered walls and was originally tiled to ensure better hygiene.  Cuts and bruises from flying splinters, shock from bomb blast, and bone fractures from being buried alive under rubble were the most common light injuries experienced during the war.  Cases of scabies, a contagious skin infection caused by tiny mites and often spread in overcrowded, unhygienic conditions, were also commonly treated in shelter medical facilities. 

The First Aid Post, also operated by the Air Raid Precautions organisation.  Such posts were established in different parts of the island to assist victims of air attacks, being found in school and church buildings, police stations, office buildings, and some of the larger air raid shelters.  The first aid posts were stocked with medical and rescue supplies for immediate use and staffed by trained medical personnel or St John's Ambulance Brigade volunteers.  Wounded people were collected, classified, labelled, treated, and evacuated or sent home from the first aid post.  Larger posts, such as this one, were able to offer urgent surgical assistance and administer morphine.  Victims suffering from shock or exhaustion were warmed in the first aid post and served warm drinks to aid their recovery, easing the pressure on casualty clearing stations dealing with more serious injuries.  Although separate accommodations for poison gas victims were provided, these were never used as gas was not deployed during the Second World War. 

A collection of shelter cutting tools.  Underground air raid shelters were always at risk of flooding from water percolating through the rock.  Indeed, more than half of the shelters excavated in Malta were known to suffer from flooding.  To address this risk, sumps were cut into shelter floors, with channels also carved in the floors to direct water to the sumps.  Additionally, a mobile mechanical pump service was also run by the Public Works Department to help drain those shelters especially prone to flooding.  As a rule, shelters were never excavated too close to a well to avoid the risk of flooding if the well was hit during an air raid; however, if a shelter did need to be dug close to a well, the well was emptied and integrated into the shelter or else filled in. 

Another narrow passageway curves toward a series of chambers now used to house displays on life in the shelter. 

The Communal Dormitory, equipped with bunk beds.  In late 1941, the authorities ordered that certain parts of the shelters were to be fitted with permanent bunk beds.  Free materials were provided, though shelter occupants were expected to undertake the work of constructing the bunks.  Workmen were originally intended as the users of these communal dormitories, with bunks available on a first come, first served basis; however, fights were known to break out over who was to sleep in which bunk, as regular users became territorial.  Shelter Supervisors tried to discourage such territoriality and users of the bunks were instructed to bring their own bedding and remove it when they left in the morning. 

The Birth Room.  In response to public pressure, the authorities ordered Shelter Supervisors at large shelters  to set aside one cubicle for the exclusive use of expectant mothers.  Demand for such rooms was very high due to the spike in births during the war years, and the birth rooms were operated by a local District Nurse, assisted by a mid-wife.  

Fort St Angelo

Fort St Angelo, as seen from across the harbour in Valletta.  The fort, located on a natural hilltop, is one of the oldest structures and the earliest man-made fortification in the Grand Harbour.  The earliest known reference to a fortification on the site of Fort St Angelo dates from 1241, when a stronghold called the castrum maris ('castle by the sea') existed; it consisted of two concentric castles, an upper castle and a lower castle, each with high walls (enceintes) stiffened by projecting towers.  By the turn of the 15th century, the castrum maris's landward defences were secured by a ditch.  Nevertheless, the castrum maris was the only fortification of note in the Grand Harbour area when the Order of St John arrived in 1530 and its medieval layout rendered it obsolete in the face of modern, gun-equipped besiegers.

A moat separates Vittoriosa from Fort St Angelo.  This moat was originally a dry ditch separating the castrum maris from Birgu, which was referenced in a document dating from 1416.  The present ditch originated as a shallow moat in 1536 and was subsequently deepened to permit the mooring of the Order of St John's galleys by 1565.  The narrow bridge opposite was built at the turn of the 20th century to provide a footpath and link the drainage system between Vittoriosa and Fort St Angelo.

A ramp leads up to the entrance gate of Fort St Angelo.  It was the Order of St John that began calling the castle Fort St Angelo, possibly in honour of the Archangel Michael, a warrior saint who the Order may have seen as a symbol of their role in protecting Christianity. 

The present entrance to the fort dates from 1690.  Originally, the gate was lower and was accessed via a wooden bridge.  In the late 19th century, this bridge was reconstructed in stone and in 1929 the gate was rebuilt with higher dimensions.  Later, the ramp leading to the bridge was widened to allow the passage of Royal Navy vehicles, given that Fort St Angelo was the headquarters of the Royal Navy in Malta.  Fort St Angelo was entrusted to Heritage Malta for restoration and management in 2007 and, in 2015, the fort was opened to the public. 

Entering the main entrance to Fort St Angelo through two large wooden doors.  When the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V gave Malta to the Order of St John in 1530, the Order made the fort its headquarters and a depot for the manufacturing and storage of gunpowder and armaments. 

Looking down the ramp that leads from the entrance gate up to the gunpowder magazine (circa 1530s) and sick bay.

This underground sick bay for Royal Navy personnel was excavated by hand just prior to the Second World War due to the threat of aerial attack.  The sick bay provided basic medical care in cases of illness or accident but also had surgical facilities.  Patients were accommodated in hammocks, while a ventilation system was installed to supply fresh air.  As this facility remained vulnerable to air attacks, in 1942 a new infirmary was proposed to be installed in the tunnels below Fort St Angelo; however, it is not known whether this project was ever implemented.  This section of the sick bay is the only part of the 1.5 kilometre-long labyrinth of tunnels which the Royal Navy excavated under Fort St Angelo for various uses over many years.  The underground complex even included a pistol firing range and the tunnels were named after streets in London, UK.     

The medieval entrance to Fort St Angelo, located up the hill from the reception centre and within the current fortress walls.  This entrance, which pre-dates 1530, demonstrates that the castrum maris was smaller than the current footprint of Fort St Angelo.  It served as the fort's main entrance until 1690.  Imprints on the upper part of the rampart wall above suggest that the gate was once roofed over.   

The façade of the Chapel of the Nativity of the Virgin, located just inside the original medieval entrance.  This chapel is one of the oldest structures in Fort St Angelo and its design is characteristic of sacred places in Malta dating from c. 1000 AD.  According to legend, the chapel was founded by Count Roger in 1091 when the Maltese Islands were recovered from Arab rule.  By 1274 it was dedicated to the Archangel Michael but in 1565, following the Order of St John's victory over the Ottoman invasion, the Order rededicated the chapel in honour of the feast day of the Nativity of the Virgin, which falls on 8 September.

A display on Fort St Angelo's use as a prison by the Order of St John and some of those notable figures imprisoned here.  Upon the Order's arrival on Malta in 1530, some parts of the fort were immediately developed as a prison for those of the Order's slaves who transgressed.  However, after a slave revolt on 29 June 1531, a new slaves' prison was constructed outside the fort's walls in Birgu.  Knights of St John and members of their entourage continued to be imprisoned inside Fort St Angelo, notably in the underground cell ('guva') located across from the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin.  The bell-shaped guva was likely a disused medieval water cistern, its walls covered in graffiti carved by those held within.  The guva was used exclusively to imprison those members of the Order condemned by the Council for civil, military, or religious infractions, with sentences usually being between one and two years.  Perhaps the best known person imprisoned in Fort St Angelo was the acclaimed artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, who was incarcerated in 1608 after brawling with a knight; Caravaggio escaped his prison cell after a few months and fled Malta.  The last knight to be imprisoned in Fort St Angelo was the Order of St John's Secretary of the Treasury, who rejected the Order during the French invasion of 1798 and spent several days incarcerated until freed by French forces.  The guva was abandoned after the late 18th century and was rediscovered during archaeological work in 1913.

A view of part of the bastion, facing toward the harbour entrance.  Once the Grand Harbour was ringed with strong ramparts by the 17th century, Fort St Angelo lost much of its military relevance.  However, in 1690, the Flemish military engineer Carlos de Grunenbergh designed four artillery platforms (bastions) along Fort St Angelo's northeast flank to guard the harbour entrance and donated the required funds.  As such, the new fortifications were named the Grunenbergh batteries in his honour.  These improvements to Fort St Angelo restored the fortress's potency and relevance to the defence of the Grand Harbour. 

An échauguette at No. 3 Battery.  All of Fort St Angelo's échauguettes feature a sculpture of a fleur-de-lys on their roof.  The fleur-de-lys was a part of the coat of arms of the Order of St John's Grand Master Adrien de Wignacourt, during whose tenure the reconstruction of the fort was completed in 1690.  No. 3 battery was armed with 24-pounder cannons between the 1700s and 1859.  These were replaced by seven 68-pounder cannons from 1863 to 1885.  In response to an 1887 proposal to re-equip the battery with four 80-pounder guns in barbettes, several of the bastion's embrasures were walled up. 

The stone-clad chimney of Fort St Angelo's water distillation plant, constructed in 1902 to meet the Royal Navy's demand for potable water.  In 1915, Fort St Angelo's seven cisterns could hold 4,157,000 litres of water, equivalent to two Olympic-sized swimming pools. 

A view of the backsides of some of the structures on Upper Fort St Angelo, the uppermost level of the fortress.  In the foreground is part of the large, paved parade ground that was built as part of Grunenbergh's 1690 renovations.  The rectangular building with the arched loggia served as the 'Ritz' and 'Waldorf' Senior Rates' Messes in 1963, when Fort St Angelo was occupied by the Royal Navy.

The entrance to Upper Fort St Angelo, surmounted by the emblem of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), the Catholic lay religious order that claims continuity with the Order of St John.  Upper Fort St Angelo is administered by the SMOM under a 99-year lease signed with the Maltese government in 1998.  As per an agreement with Heritage Malta, Upper Fort St Angelo is accessible to the public.  

No. 5 Battery on Upper Fort St Angelo was built in 1690 like the other batteries designed by Carlos de Grunenbergh.  The artillery pieces originally situated here were intended to fire above the parapet wall and not through embrasures.  In 1789, No. 5 Battery was armed with ten cannons and another two embrasures were added by the British Army in the early 19th century.  The battery was also named St George Battery by the British.  The battery's final configuration was eight 64-pounder guns, installed in 1873; the semi-circular iron racers used to traverse the guns remain in place on the ground.  In the early 20th century, one of two 200-foot high radio antennae was erected on the site of No. 5 Battery.  

An 80-foot high wooden ship's mast stands on Upper Fort St Angelo next to the signalling station.  It was erected around 1910 once the fort was handed over to the Royal Navy as a shore base and headquarters for its Mediterranean Fleet.  Flying a large White Ensign flag and the Admiral's flag every day, the mast served as a powerful symbol of the British presence on Malta.  The mast also employed special shapes and lights to communicate weather forecasts and to guide vessels in and out of the harbour.  Another mast was located across the Grand Harbour on Lascaris Bastion but was removed in the 1970s.

Located at the centre of Upper Fort St Angelo is the Chapel of St Anne, built around 1450.  Standing facing the chapel is a statue of Saint Jean-Baptiste, the patron saint of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, whose feast day is 24 June.

The Chapel of St Anne was built on the site of a previous chapel dedicated to St Mary, which was recorded at this location in a document from 1274.  The present chapel was likely commissioned by the Castellan Gucterra de Nava in the mid-15th century.

The interior of the Chapel of St Anne.  When the Order of St John arrived on Malta in 1530, it designated St Anne's Chapel as its Magistral Chapel and enlarged it in 1531 through the addition of a new lateral extension and a crypt beneath.  The remains of the first four resident Grand Masters were interred in the chapel's crypt until they were transferred to the crypt of the newly-constructed St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta in 1577.

Another view of the interior of St Anne's Chapel.  In the 19th century, the British used St Anne's Chapel as an artillery storehouse and, in the 20th century, the Royal Navy used it as a Catholic chapel. 

An Egyptian red granite column in St Anne's Chapel.  One legend has it that the column was brought to Malta by the Order of St John in 1530 as ballast for the Order's galleys during their voyage from Rhodes.  Another legend claims that the column formed part of an ancient Roman temple on the site of Fort St Angelo.  What is known is that the column was installed in St Anne's Chapel in 1531 to support the new ceiling configuration following the addition of a new lateral extension.  This extension made St Anne's Chapel the only rectangular chapel in Malta to be transformed into a double nave chapel.  The chapel's ceiling is an excellent example of the pointed-arch architectural style widely used in medieval Malta.

Manicured box hedges ring St Anne's Chapel as the terraced walkway leads around past other buildings on Upper For St Angelo. 

This building dates to the period of the Order of St John and sections of it were used as a gunpowder magazine in the 19th century.  From 1841, the building served as officers' quarters, first for the British Army in the 1800s and then for the Royal Navy after 1906.  Around 1914, the building was enlarged to accommodate a kitchen, a mess, and a smoking room in addition to the sleeping accommodations.  Naval officers continued to live here until British forces withdrew from Malta in 1979.  

A gate into the fortified courtyard of the Magistral Palace.

The Magistral Palace located on Upper Fort St Angelo.  Originally built to a squarish plan and possibly dating back to the 12th century, in the years prior to the arrival of the Order of St John, when Malta was part of the Kingdom of Sicily, this palace served as the seat of the Castellan, a person of trust appointed by the King or Viceroy in Sicily to ensure the Crown's interests in Malta were secured.  The palace, designed in the Norman architectural style, was further enlarged during the early years of rule by the Order of St John, with a new main hall and outer staircase added by Grand Master L'Isle Adam.  Under the Order's rule, the palace served as the official residence of the Grand Master and was the main administrative hub of the Maltese Islands and the Order between 1530 and 1558, when Grand Master Jean de Valette took up residence in central Birgu.  

The upper balcony of the Magistral Palace.

A view of the fortified courtyard as seen from the Magistral Palace's upper balcony.  Prior to the construction of Ferramolino's Cavalier in the 1540s, this was  the topmost section of Fort St Angelo and the last redoubt in the event of an attack.

The exterior staircase of the Magistral Palace, part of the renovations made shortly after the Order of St John's arrival on Malta.  The staircase likely forced the transfer of the main entrance to the upper storey. 

As seen through a medieval Norman-styled mullioned window is the Magistral Palace's main hall.  Commissioned by Grand Master L'Isle Adam, the main hall was used for meetings of the Order of St John's Council until 1558.  The Chapter General, the Order's highest governing body, also met here in 1533, 1538, 1543, 1548, and 1555. 

During the period of British rule after 1800, the Magistral Palace served as the official residence of the governor of Fort St Angelo and, from 1906 to 1979, as the residence of the commanding officers of the Royal Navy establishments based here: HMS Egmont (1912-1933) and HMS St Angelo (1933-1979). 

Located in the fortified courtyard across from the Magistral Palace, the nymphaeum was built in 1531 in part of a medieval tower.  With its back to the sun's daily path, it provided constant shade against Malta's scorching summer sun.  As such, the nymphaeum was the only structure in Fort St Angelo that did not serve any military purpose.

A trickling fountain in the rear alcove of the nymphaeum and the lush green potted plants give the structure a calming coolness.

A barrack block, possibly predating 1687, is the only one in the fort having two storeys.  The façade was extensively renovated by the British Army in the 19th century and the building housed Royal Navy sailors stationed at the fort between 1906 and 1952.  During the 1970s, the building served as quarters for Chief and Petty Officers before the British armed forces withdrew from Malta in 1979.  

This medieval round tower on Upper Fort St Angelo was possibly built in 1523 and is the best preserved example of the various round towers still found in the fort.  Although the tower underwent significant reconstruction in the late 20th century, the foundations consist of large stone blocks suggestive of the Classical era.  It is not known whether these blocks were re-used on this site, thereby confirming the theory of a Roman fortification where Fort St Angelo stands today, or recycled from a ruin in another location, as was customary for medieval fortification builders.  

Three entrances into the former storehouses / gunpowder magazines / dormitories within Ferramolino's Cavalier.  Today, the vaulted former magazines house exhibits on the military history of Malta and Fort St Angelo.  When used as a gunpowder magazine in the second half of the 19th century, the cavalier could hold 5,712 barrels of gunpowder.  As an explosion of this much powder would have had devastating consequences, in 1876 a 31-foot tall blast wall was built outside the entrances.  After the fort was transferred to the Royal Navy in 1906, the blast wall was removed in 1910, with only a small fragment still standing (underneath the grey railing on the left).  

Within the three large, vaulted former gunpowder magazines in Ferramolino's Cavalier are galleries with displays on the history of Malta and Fort St Angelo.  The centrepiece of this gallery is a replica Maltese ship whose sail serves as a large screen on which plays a looped video telling the story of Malta's place at the centre of the Mediterranean.  Visitors board the ship and sit on benches to watch the film. 

A series of display panels chronologically recounts the story of the various powers that contended for control of the Maltese Islands over the centuries, beginning with the contest between the Carthaginians and the Romans in 218 BC.  The Maltese Islands would over time change hands numerous times, falling under the control of the Normans, the Germanic Crown of Hohenstaufen, the Angevin of southern France, the Aragonese of Spain, the Knights of the Order of St John, Revolutionary France, and Great Britain before being granted its independence in 1964. 

This panel shows the distribution of power between the Spanish and Ottoman empires in 1530, the year that the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V offered the Maltese Islands and Tripoli in Libya to the Order of St John. 

In another of the large, former gunpowder magazines inside Ferramolino's Cavalier is an exhibit, entitled 'Key to Malta', which traces the history and evolution of Fort St Angelo.  The centrepiece of the exhibit is this large scale model of the fort as it exists today.  The 1690 renovations designed by military engineer Carlos Grunenbergh are clearly evident, with four tiered batteries and two lines of rampart walls.

A large panel on the far wall describes the anatomy of Fort St Angelo from 1530, when the Order of St John assumed control of Malta and established its headquarters in the fort.  As land-based siege warfare was the principal threat in 1530, the Order of St John accordingly built new gun platforms facing Birgu/Vittoriosa; however, the advent of the heavily-armed ship-of-the-line in the late 1600s led to greater attention being placed on the fort's seaward defences.  Fort St Angelo therefore evolved into the main battery guarding the entrance to the Grand Harbour, with its four tiered gun platforms mounting 49 cannons in 1761 and 80 cannons and four mortars in 1792.  This configuration was effective well into the 19th century.  By 1900, advancements in artillery had rendered Fort St Angelo's role and location obsolete and by 1912 the fort's armament was reduced to five saluting guns.  The Second World War saw three 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns mounted on Fort St Angelo's walls to defend against attacking German and Italian bombers.

These panels profile key figures who played a role in building, expanding, or strengthening Fort St Angelo from the early 1400s onwards.  These include Gucterra de Nava, a member of a Maltese noble family who was appointed as Castellan of the castrum maris in 1428; Antonio Fantino, a master mason responsible for reinforcing the fort in 1523; Antonio Ferramolino, a military engineer who designed new bastions for the fort; Carlos Grunenbergh, the Flemish military engineer who designed, financed, and built Fort St Angelo's four tiered bastions facing the harbour entrance in 1690; Mederico Blondel, the Order of St John's resident engineer from 1659 to 1698; François Jacob de Tigné, the Order's Commissioner of Fortifications between 1762 and 1788 and responsible for cladding Fort St Angelo's walls in hard coralline limestone; British Army Major General Philip Ravenhill, who designed a number of gunpowder magazines at Fort St Angelo in the 19th century; Royal Navy officer John G. Armstrong, the commanding officer of Fort St Angelo when it was named HMS Egmont (1912-33) and who directed the construction of various amenities for naval personnel housed inside the fort; and Admiral Sir William Wordsworth Fisher, the Royal Navy Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet (1932-36) who re-named the fort HMS St Angelo to foster stronger ties with the people of the Maltese Islands.

An exhibit on Fort St Angelo as an icon of Maltese national identity and showing a few of the many ways in which the fort's image has been used over the years, including in wartime recruiting posters, postcards, coins, decorative plates, and stamps.

The mess uniform of a Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander.

A video on the history of the castrum maris/Fort St Angelo is projected onto the vaulted stone wall of one of the former gunpowder magazines inside Ferramolino's Cavalier.  This exhibition details the folklore and legends associated with Fort St Angelo.  These include the execution of Ottoman prisoners taken during the Great Siege of 1565 and the firing of their heads across the harbour in retaliation for Ottoman forces' execution of those knights and Maltese captured during the fall of Fort St Elmo.  Also recounted is the story of the Grey Lady, the alleged ghost of the mistress of the fort's Castellan who was murdered by him in the 1400s to prevent word of his extramarital affair reaching his wife; the Grey Lady is now rumoured to sadly wander the fortress.  One of the display panels quotes Sir Guy Grantham, Governor of Malta in 1961: 'Fort St Angelo is of great historical importance, it is the traditional headquarters of the Malta Port Division, and is held by the Maltese with the same reverence as HMS Victory by the Royal Navy as a whole.'  

The structure with the blue doors and window frames is Blondel's Residence, built by Mederico Blondel around 1693.  Extensively remodelled in the late-19th century, between 1915 and 1979 the building was used as dormitories, a Paymaster's Office, and messes and quarters for Petty Officers.  Today, it houses a diorama of a typical barracks in the 1780s.

A recreation of a typical 1780s soldiers' barracks in Fort St Angelo.  In the 1780s, the fort was garrisoned by soldiers from the Reggimento di Malta, established in 1776.  In these barracks, the regiment's soldiers lived and stored their weapons.  Provided with uniforms, food, and healthcare, the soldiers were paid a daily wage of 1 tari, 15 grani (sub-units of the Order of St John's scudo currency).  The soldiers' daily routine consisted of an early morning inspection, followed by a roster of work, such as guard duties, cleaning, and cooking. 

An archaeological pit within Fort St Angelo shows a section of the original outer wall of the medieval castrum maris, which pre-dates 1400.  This outer wall covered the bedrock and served to impede enemy troops from climbing up into the castle.  

Looking east at Ferramolino's Cavalier from the top of the barbican protecting the original medieval entrance to the fort.  When Ferramolino's Cavalier was constructed in 1542-47, Fort St Angelo was still the principal fortification on the southern side of the Grand Harbour and the guns placed on this high cavalier covered the high ground neighbouring the Birgu and Senglea promontories. 

Stairs lead up to Ferramolino's Cavalier, originally constructed in 1542 and extensively reconstructed by the British during the 19th century in order to keep Fort St Angelo relevant in the face of major advances in military technology during the Victorian period.

The expense magazine for Ferramolino's Cavalier.  Each artillery platform in Fort St Angelo was served by such an expense magazine, which stored gunpowder to be used by the guns.  This magazine, dating to the 1860s, is divided into two sections.  The first section, seen here, is the shifting lobby, where personnel donned special clothing and canvas shoes designed to prevent deadly sparks.

The second part of the expense magazine is the cartridge store, where gunpowder was weighed, placed in satin bags, and stored in zinc-lined wooden boxes measuring 17 inches by 17 inches by 21.5 inches.  The wooden floor of the expense magazine and the ventilation slits were designed to minimise humidity, which would ruin the gunpowder.  To avoid any risk of explosion, illumination of the cartridge store was provided by a specialised lamp in the shifting lobby, protected behind a glass panel strengthened with brass.  Gunpowder would be carried from here to the battery atop Ferramolino's Cavalier and loaded into the Rifled Muzzle Loading guns positioned there in the second half of the 19th century.  

This bell on Ferramolino's Cavalier was installed in 1716 and replaced the original bell which was said to have played a leading role in the celebrations marking the victory of the Order of St John over Ottoman forces during the Great Siege of 1565.  The original bell equipped a two-storey lookout post atop Ferramolino's Cavalier.  Also originally located on Ferramolino's Cavalier was a giant flag pole on which was flown the ensign of the Order of St John, comprising a white cross on a red background.  

The side arms shed on Ferramolino's Cavalier was used to house the wooden tools used in loading the muzzle-loading guns installed here until 1885.  The tall structure atop the side arms shed is a sea water tank, built in 1928.  With limited fresh water in Malta, sea water was used for second class purposes.  This tank was rebuilt in 2015.  In 1789, Ferramolino's Cavalier was equipped with one 24-pounder cannon facing the harbour entrance and four smaller cannons overlooking Vittoriosa.  Three 32-pounder guns facing Vittoriosa were installed here between 1863 and 1885.  During the Second World War, two 40mm Bofors guns were installed atop Ferramolino's Cavalier between 1941 and 1943 for anti-aircraft defence, shooting down three Axis aircraft and damaging a further 47.

Also located on Ferramolino's Cavalier are the mountings for five 3-pounder quick-firing saluting guns, installed by the Royal Navy in 1912 and retained until the 1970s. 

Looking down at Fort St Angelo from atop Ferramolino's Cavalier.  The rectangular buildings were built in 1947 to serve as dining facilities and dormitories for Royal Navy ratings.  The distilling plant can be seen below and to the right of the stone chimney.

An échauguette on the south side of Fort St Angelo, overlook the Grand Harbour, Galleys' Creek, and Senglea.  The broken ground nearby is the result of a bomb crater caused during the Second World War.  During the war, Fort St Angelo took 69 direct hits from Axis bombs.  While British forces undertook repair work to keep the fort operational, the damaged ramparts were only fully restored in 2015. 

This building on the north side of Fort St Angelo was built in 1872 as a casemated battery for three 9-inch calibre, 12-ton Rifled Muzzle Loading guns.  In 1914, it was enlarged and re-purposed as a wardroom for Royal Navy officers posted to Fort St Angelo.

Looking west from the D'Homedes Bastion, overlooked by Ferramolino's Cavalier.  The small stone building attached to the wall on the right is a gunpowder storage built in the mid-19th century when Fort St Angelo was a leading gunpowder storage facility.  The three spacious vaults within Ferramolino's Cavalier were supplemented by a number of small magazines to supply the fort's gun batteries.  

D'Homedes Bastion, built in 1536.  Two vaults underneath this bastion were used as gunpowder stores for the Order of St John's navy until 1756.  In 1789, the D'Homedes Bastion was equipped with three 4-pounder cannons and one 3-pounder cannon.

The recreation facility constructed in 1920 for Royal Navy sailors of the Mediterranean Fleet, which was based at Malta.  Taking up the greater part of St Angelo Battery, this recreation facility contained a cinema and billiards hall and, in the 1960s, a bar and television room were added. 

St Angelo Battery, built in 1536, was the first proper gun battery constructed in Malta.  Between 1863 and 1885, St Angelo Battery was armed with three 24-pounder cannons.  

Malta's oldest sally port, dating from the 1500s.  The passageway beyond the sally port was used to move forces quickly between Ferramolino's Cavalier and St Angelo Battery.  It was in use until the late 1800s. 

The interior of the passageway connecting Ferramolino's Cavalier with St Angelo Battery on the east side of the fort.

Another archaeological pit within Fort St Angelo reveals the remains of a medieval round tower excavated in 2011.  Like all of the other medieval towers of the castrum maris, this tower possibly dates back to the 1200s and was built to strengthen the rampart walls that surrounded castrum maris.  The tower was partly demolished in the 1700s during renovation work.  Next to the tower sit the remains of a water cistern constructed after 1690, possibly one of 12 such cisterns referenced in a 1723 document.

A view of Fort St Angelo's southern ramparts and bastions.  A ramp leading up to an entrance to Ferramolino's Cavalier was used to move ammunition in and out of the fort.

A final look at Fort St Angelo and Galleys' Creek, as seen from Valletta.

Yachts in Galleys' Creek

A handful of the enormous yachts docked around the Grand Harbour.  These moorings in Galleys' Creek, next to Fort St Angelo, can accommodate some of the largest yachts.  

The 54 metre (177 foot) Seagull II is one of the older and smaller yachts in Malta today.  Built in 1952 in Pula, Croatia, the ship is one of the 'Six Poets' series of yachts built by the Uljanik shipyard; Seagull II was originally named Vladimir Nazor after the Croatian author.  Operated as a small cruise ship, Seagull II was rebuilt in 2004-05 and converted into a luxury motor yacht for charters.  Her interior includes Art Nouveau decoration and the yacht features an Owner's salon, three guest salons, seven staterooms, and a wooden spiral staircase.  The Maltese-flagged Seagull II can accommodate 12 guests and a crew of nine.  Her two 720-horsepower Caterpillar diesel engines drive the yacht at a cruising speed of 12 knots (22.2 km/h), with a range of 3,400 nautical miles (6,297 km). 

A view up Galleys' Creek from the ramparts of Fort St Angelo.  Dozens of smaller boats occupy marina docks further up the inlet.

On the right is the Cayman Islands-flagged superyacht Tranquility, measuring 91.5 metres (300.2 feet) in length.  On the left is the 72 metre (236 foot) superyacht Game Changer, built by Dutch yard Damen Yachting in 2017.  Game Changer has accommodations for up to 17 guests in eight cabins and the vessel's helicopter pad can accommodate large helicopters; the yacht is also equipped with a submersible and a dive centre featuring a decompression chamber.

Another look at Tranquility, built in 2014 by Dutch yard Oceanco.  This superyacht can accommodate up to 22 guests in 11 cabins, as well as 31 crew.  The vessel's amenities include a helicopter pad, a beauty salon, a cinema, a piano, a spa, a swimming pool and Jacuzzi, an elevator, underwater lights, a gym, and a beach club.  Tranquility has a cruising speed of 12 knots (22.2 km/h) and a range of up to 5,000 nautical miles (9,260 km), with an advanced stabilisation system to reduce side-to-side roll. 

The Maltese-flagged motor yacht Illusion I, built by Dutch yard Feadship in 1983.  The 55.5 metre (182 foot), 591 gross tonne vessel can accommodate 12 guests in six cabins, as well as a crew of 12.  Illusion I features a beach club, gym, and Jacuzzi.  At a cruising speed of 12 knots, Illusion I has a range of up to 3,500 nautical miles (6,482 km).   

Mdina

Looking across farm fields at the fortified city of Mdina, sitting atop a plateau dominating the surrounding countryside.  Because of its strategic and defensible position near the centre of the island of Malta, Mdina served as the island's capital from ancient times to the arrival of the Order of St John in 1530, when the Order established its capital in the city of Birgu.  

A view of the De Redin Bastion at the southwestern corner of Mdina, showing the city's defensive walls and deep ditch.  Although the plateau on which Mdina sits has been inhabited since prehistory, the city was founded by the Phoenicians around the 8th century BC, though the settlement was called Maleth at that time.  It was the Arabs that constructed walls around the city and renamed it Medina in  the 11th century AD.  Despite establishing their headquarters in Birgu, the Order of St John began improving Mdina's fortifications in the 1540s and further upgrades were carried out in the mid-1600s. 

An arched stone bridge leads over the defensive ditch to Mdina Gate, the main entrance to the city.  At the direction of the Order of St John's Grand Master, António Manoel de Vilhena, Mdina was rebuilt in the 1720s following the 1693 Sicily earthquake which also caused extensive damage on Malta.  This work was overseen by French military engineer Charles François de Mondion, who introduced strong French Baroque elements into the city, which remained largely medieval in design and layout.  Large sections of Mdina's fortifications were rebuilt, the original main gate was walled up, and the Mdina Gate was built a few metres to the left.

Looking at the defensive walls of Mdina adjacent to Mdina Gate.  The walls were rebuilt in the 1720s as part of the major reconstruction effort to restore the damage wrought by the 1693 earthquake.  The outline of the original main entrance to Mdina, blocked up as part of the 1720s renovations, can be seen on the wall.

A closer look at Mdina Gate, the main entrance to the city, which was built in 1724 in a Baroque style by French architect Charles François de Mondion.  Mdina Gate replaced the original main gate from the medieval period, which was located a few metres to the right.  Mdina Gate features double pilasters and the coats of arms of Grand Master de Vilhena and the city of Mdina.  The superstructure above the gate's portal served as a gatehouse.  Mdina Gate was restored in 2008 and is today one of the city's most photographed tourist sites.

A signboard next to the bridge leading to Mdina Gate depicts the layout of the city, still characterised by its narrow, winding medieval alleys and laneways and dominated by its two largest Catholic churches, St Paul's Cathedral and the Church of the Annunciation.

The rear side of Mdina Gate features reliefs of St Publius, St Agatha, and St Paul, the three patron saints of Malta.

A closer view of the reliefs of St Publius, St Agatha, and St Paul over the rear side of Mdina Gate.  St Publius was Malta's first bishop, while St Agatha is the patron saint of Mdina.  St Paul, the patron saint of the Maltese Islands, introduced Christianity to Malta in the 1st century AD.  The coat of arms and Latin inscription, first added in 1447, commemorate the assistance provided by Maltese nobleman Baron Inguanez to King Alfonso V of Aragon, King of Sicily, during the 1425 rebellion against the unpopular Gonsalvo Monroy, the feudal lord of Malta between 1421 and 1427.

Just inside Mdina Gate is the entrance to Vilhena Palace, named after Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena, who commissioned its construction.  Vilhena's coat of arms adorns the top of the gate leading into the palace's forecourt.

Built between 1726 and 1728 on a site previously occupied in turn by a Byzantine fort, a medieval castle, and a 16th century palace housing Malta's civil administrative council, Vilhena Palace was constructed as part of Mdina's restoration program in the 1720s.  Like other work carried out at this time under architect Charles François de Mondion, the Vilhena Palace was built in the then-popular French Baroque style.  Vilhena Palace served as a summer palace for the Grand Masters of the Order of St John until the French invasion of Malta in 1798.  In the 19th and 20th centuries, Vilhena Palace was used as a hospital before being converted into the National Museum of Natural History, which opened in 1973.  The main doorway to the palace is flanked by Corinthian columns and surmounted by a bronze relief of Grand Master Vilhena and his coat of arms.  

A karozzin, a traditional Maltese horse-drawn carriage, sits outside the gate to the Vilhena Palace.  A karozzin ride through the narrow streets of Mdina is a popular tourist attraction.

Across from the Vilhena Palace, just inside Mdina Gate, is the Torre dello Standardo (Tower of the Standard).  Built in 1725-26 on the site of an earlier medieval tower, this limestone tower formed part of the city's fortifications and was used to pass signals between Mdina and other Maltese towns.  Warning of an invasion would be communicated using signal fires and the tower's cannons were fired every evening to announce the closure of the city's gates.  When Maltese rebels rose up against the French occupation of the island in 1798, they flew Maltese, Neapolitan, and Portuguese flags from the Torre dello Standardo when the Portuguese Navy came to their aid.  The tower continued as a signal station during the early period of British rule in Malta after 1800 and also housed servants working in the hospital inside the Vilhena Palace.  In 1888, the Torre dello Standardo was used as a telegraph office and, later, as a police station until 2002.  Today, it houses a tourist information office.

The Torre dello Standardo (left) and a former villa (right) now housing a souvenir shop and the Mdina outlet of Mdina Glass, located on St Publius Square.

On the other side of St Publius Square is the Mdina Police Station, housed in a three-storey Baroque building dating from the 1720s. 

Looking east, down the narrow Inguanez Street.  The buildings show the Baroque architectural style adopted for Mdina's reconstruction in the 1720s. 

The Corte Capitanale was designed by Charles François de Mondion and built in 1726-28 to house the Law Courts of the Università, Mdina's municipal council.  Its location adjacent to the Vilhena Palace was a deliberate decision to symbolically reinforce that the courts fell under the jurisdiction of the Order of St John.  An underground passage, now blocked, to the nearby Bishop's Palace, also revealed the Church's role in the courts.  The Corte Capitanale overlooks a small public square which for many centuries served as the spot for mustering the city's militia.  The building's monumental façade features an imposing doorway framed by columns supporting a central balcony and flanked by statues representing Mercy and Justice.  The inscription Legibus et Armis ('By using laws and arms') is carved into the façade above the balcony.  Today, the Corte Capitanale houses Mdina's Local Council, serving as the city hall.

The Herald's Loggia was the location where official decrees issued by the Mdina Municipal Court were read out to the public by a town crier.  The loggia, featuring three arches at ground level, was accessed from the Corte Capitanale. 

The Catholic Chapel of St Agatha, at the intersection of Inguanez and Villegaignon Streets.  Constructed in 1694, this Baroque church replaced an earlier medieval church on this site which had been built in 1410 by the nobleman Francesco Gatto and his wife Paola de Castelli of Catania and which had been badly damaged by the earthquake of 1693.  The Chapel of St Agatha was designed by Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafà and was owned by the Gatto Murina family until 1661, when the family transferred it to the church in Malta.  The marble plaque above the door commemorates the church's construction.

The Palazzo Testaferrata, located on Villegaignon Street, the main artery in Mdina.  This palace, built in 1760, is the former summer residence of the Testaferrata family of Messina.  It was the residence of the Marquis of San Vincenzo Ferreri, a member of the Maltese nobility.

A typical example of the narrow, curving medieval streets in Mdina.  Iron lanterns mounted on the limestone walls of the buildings provide some illumination against the shadows cast by the sun passing overhead.  

Looking north on Villegaignon Street.  The Banca Giuratale is on the right and the bell tower of the Church of the Annunciation can be seen in the distance.

The ornate Banca Giuratale, another of Mdina's Baroque buildings designed by French architect Charles François de Mondion.  Built in 1726-28, the Banca Giuratale housed the the civil administrative council of Mdina after its original premises was appropriated to build the Vilhena Palace.  During the Maltese uprising against the French occupation of Malta in 1798, the Banca Giuratale served as the meeting place of the National Assembly established by the Maltese to govern the island and blockade French forces.  In the 19th century, the Banca Giuratale was used as a secondary school and then a private school.  Since 1988, the building has been occupied by the National Archives of Malta and used to store legal records. 

A karozzin carrying tourists plods up Villegaignon Street in central Mdina.

A block of elegant residences on Villegaignon Street look out on to Pjazza San Pawl (St Paul Square), Mdina's largest public square. 

Pink bougainvillea spill over the top of the medieval limestone walls on Holy Cross Street in Mdina.  The entrance to the Medina Restaurant can be seen in the distance; 'medina' is the Arabic word for 'city', reflecting Malta's period under Arab rule between 870 and 1249 AD.

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Paul, commonly known as St Paul's Cathedral, dominates St Paul Square in the centre of Mdina.  The site on which the cathedral sits is rumoured to be the location where Publius, the Roman governor of Malta, met Paul the Apostle after the latter's shipwreck on Malta.  The original cathedral was founded in the 12th century but was severely damaged by the 1693 earthquake that devastated Malta.  The current cathedral was designed by Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafà and built in the Baroque style between 1696 and 1705.

St Paul's Cathedral features bell towers at both corners of the façade and an octagonal dome, just visible in the photo.  Today, the cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta, sharing the role with St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta since the 19th century.

The Cathedral Museum, located in Archbishop's Square across from the south side of St Paul's Cathedral, is housed in the former Seminary.  The Seminary was commissioned by Paolo Alpheran de Bussan, the Bishop  of Malta, and built in 1733-42.  Of special note are the two Atlas figures flanking the entrance and supporting an ornate open balcony.  Flanking the balcony doorway are the armorial shields of Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena and Monsignor de Bussan, while a statue of St Paul stands overtop.  The Cathedral Museum originally opened in halls adjacent to the cathedral in 1897 and moved to its present location in 1969.  The museum houses various works of art; 15 silver statues from the 18th century depicting St Paul the Apostle, St John the Baptist, the Virgin Mary, and the apostles; items of furniture; coins from the Phoenician period to modern day; and a collection of religious woodcuts by Renaissance German painter Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528).

Above the main entrance to St Paul's Cathedral are the coats of arms of the city of Mdina, Grand Master Ramón Perellós of the Order of St John, and Bishop Davide Cocco Palmieri, the Bishop of Malta between 1684 and 1711.  Despite the earthquake damage that required the replacement of the 12th century cathedral, a number of artefacts from that cathedral were saved and incorporated into the current structure.  These include the baptismal font dating to 1495, some 15th century choir stalls, several paintings, and the old cathedral's main door.  As with most Maltese churches, two clocks are mounted on the cathedral's façade: the one on the right shows the time while the one on the left shows the month and day. 

A potted olive tree grows in a quiet laneway leading off of St Paul's Square to the north of the cathedral.  At the head of the laneway, located on St Roque Street, is Palazzo Falca, an 18th century Baroque townhouse built after the 1693 earthquake.  By the 19th century, the palazzo was owned by Giovanni Parisio Moscati, who donated it to the Jesuits as a school.  It was subsequently acquired by the Sisters of St Dorothy and used as a boarding school for girls.

The intersection of Aragona Alley and Holy Cross Street, a quiet residential section of Mdina characterised by narrow medieval passages between the limestone buildings.  Mdina earned the sobriquet 'The Silent City' after most of its inhabitants left following the Order of St John's decision to transfer Malta's capital from Mdina to Birgu in the Grand Harbour.  Today, less than 300 people live in Mdina (though more than 11,000 live in the adjacent city of Rabat) and visitors to Mdina are strongly encouraged to respect Mdina's silence. 

The Church of St Roque, also known as the Chapel of Our Lady of Light, on Villegaignon Street in central Mdina.  This church was built in 1732 to replace another church at the entrance to Mdina, which was demolished as part of the alterations made to the city's main gate.  The site on which the Church of St Roque sits was previously occupied by a chapel dedicated to the Holy Cross from at least 1398; the chapel was dismantled in 1681 and its stone used to build the apse of Mdina's new St Paul's Cathedral.

The Church of the Annunciation of Our Lord, also known as the Carmelite Church, located on Villegaignon Street in the northern half of Mdina.  The property on which the church sits, as well as the surrounding area was given to the Carmelites, a Roman Catholic religious order, in the 1650s and the church was built between 1660 and 1675.  A large Carmelite monastery was built adjacent to the Church of the Annunciation beginning in 1678.

The ornate Baroque interior of the Church of the Annunciation.  The Carmelites, committed to a life of allegiance to Jesus Christ and to serving him 'faithfully with a pure heart and a clear conscience' first arrived in Malta around 1418 and settled in the outskirts of nearby Rabat.  They moved to Mdina 240 years later, in 1659.  When the 1693 earthquake destroyed the nearby St Paul's Cathedral, the cathedral's college of clerics (chapter) moved to the Church of the Annunciation until the new cathedral was completed in the early 1700s. 

A view of the interior of the high oval dome of the Church of the Annunciation.  The dome is decorated with stucco and painting completed in 1901.

Votive candles lit by worshipers in front of a Baroque side altar dedicated to the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus.  During the French occupation of Malta between 1798 and 1800, French forces looted valuables from the Church of the Annunciation and many other churches in Malta to help fund Napoleon's war effort.

The interior of the Church of the Annunciation features a number of baroque sculptures and paintings by notable artists.  Above the main altar hangs Stefano Erardi's 'The Annunciation of the Lord' (1677), while paintings of the Carmelite saints Albert of Trapani, Angelo of Sicily, Peter Thomas, and Andrew Corsini hang above the small chapels inside the church. 

A quaint residence on Saviour Street with characteristically colourful doors and shutters.

Located on Bastion Street, in the Shadow of St Paul's Cathedral, is the house in which Joseph De Piro was born in 1877.  De Piro was a Catholic priest and missionary who founded the Missionary Society of St Paul in 1910; he died in 1933.  The plaque to the left of the door, inscribed in Maltese, commemorates De Piro.

Bastion Square, located at the northern end of Mdina.  In the centre of the photo is Casa Mdina, a former residential villa from the medieval period now housing a shop selling Maltese glassware.  

A building comprising part of the St Mary Bastion now houses shops selling ceramics and artworks in Bastion Square.

A panoramic view from Mdina's ramparts at Bastion Square, looking north over the Maltese countryside.  On the far left, the tall clocktower in the city of Imtarfa can be seen, while in the centre the large domed Catholic church in the city of Mosta can be seen.  On a clear day such as this, even Sliema and Valletta can be seen on the far right. 

A closer view of the city of Mosta, located only 3.2 kilometres north of Mdina.  Mosta's most famous landmark is the Sanctuary Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady, commonly called the Rotunda of Mosta.  The Rotunda was built between 1833 and the 1860s and features the third-largest unsupported dome in the world, measuring 40 metres (130 feet) in diameter.  The Mediterranean can be seen beyond. 

Looking down Bastion Street.  The dome of St Paul's Cathedral can be seen above the archway. 

The Casa Del Tesoriere, a restored palazzo now used as an Airbnb with five bedrooms.  The ground floor of the palazzo dates back to the 14th century, while the upper floors were added in the 16th and 17th centuries.  Some elements of the building are over 500 years old. 

A blue door and a mass of vibrant pink bougainvillea climbing the front of this holiday rental accommodation located off Bastion Square make this one of the most popular spots for tourist photos.

St Nicholas Street, looking south toward Greeks Gate.  This gate was originally built in the medieval period and though its outer portal was rebuilt in the Baroque style in 1724, the inner portal retains it original medieval styling.  The gate derives its name from the fact that a small Greek community once lived close to the gate.  Greeks Gate was also the only entrance to the city which could be used by slaves.

The Magazine Curtain, a casemated rampart running along the western side of Mdina's defensive walls, was built in the 1720s to replace a section of obsolete medieval wall.  It features 12 barrel-vaulted casemates designed by Charles François de Mondion, the Order of St John's resident military engineer at the time.  The casemates were intended to provide Mdina with badly-needed storage space; an opening in the curtain wall was constructed in the late 1800s to provide convenient access to the railway station built immediately outside Mdina.  

Another view along St Nicholas Street, looking toward Greeks Gate.  The brass dolphin door knockers seen on the right are quintessentially Maltese. 

Looking north up St Nicholas Street towards its termination at the intersection with St Peter Street. 

As the sun begins to set in the west, Mdina's narrow streets and alleys are thrown into shadow and the iron lamps, like those seen here on Inguanez Street, come to life. 

Ornate iron lamps hang from the walls along St Sofia Street. 

A rear entrance to the former Palazzo Gatto Murina, located on Gatto Murina Street, near the intersection with Mesquita Street. 

Mesquita Square, located in the southwest part of Mdina.  Mesquita Street runs the entire east-west length of the city and the square serves as a hub, connecting different parts of Mdina.  The square is home to a variety of medieval buildings housing private residences, a restaurant, and The Mdina Experience, a 30-minute 'audio visual spectacular' recounting the city's 7,000 years of history. 

One of the austere medieval private residences located on Mesquita Square. 

The late afternoon sun brings out the golden hue of the limestone used to construct this Baroque residential building at the eastern end of Mesquita Square.  Mesquita Street leads east toward Mdina's main thoroughfare, Villegaignon Street.

Mdina Dungeons Museum

The entrance to the Mdina Dungeons Museum, located beneath the Vilhena Palace in St Publius Square, just inside Mdina Gate.  This museum bills itself as 'Malta's only dark walk attraction of crime and punishment' and depicts the various forms of torture employed by Malta's Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Order of St John, and French rulers over the centuries using life sized mannequins and audio-visual effects. 

Visitors descend into the dimly-lit underground passageways, cells, and chambers beneath the Vilhena Palace where prisoners were once incarcerated, tortured, and executed.  Hidden speakers play the sounds of victims screaming and sobbing to create a spooky ambiance.  

In this scene, a woman prisoner chained to the wall has her breast cut off by iron tongs heated in a fire while another prisoner lies bound on the cell floor.  It was in 218 BC, during the Second Punic War, that Malta fell under the influence of Rome, with the island's Roman rulers imposing heavy taxation on the inhabitants.  It has been speculated that the Romans may have exiled their enemies to Malta and used the island as a base for slaves and the incarceration of criminals.  Following the breakup of the Roman Empire, Malta fell under eastern Roman (Byzantine) rule between 535 and 870 AD.  Punishments during this time included the amputation of noses and feet; both of these were performed on Teodorious, the nephew of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, who was exiled to Malta after taking part in a failed conspiracy against the Emperor in 637 AD. 

An incarcerated monk sits chained in a prison cell.

During the period of Arab occupation of Malta (870-1249 AD), a popular type of punishment employed by the Muslim rulers was 'pressing'.  This involved tying a victim spreadeagled on the ground and crushing him under large stones, as depicted in this scene.  

The Bubonic plague swept through Malta several times during the medieval period, brought by visiting ships and spread as a result of the populace's poor hygiene and malnourishment.  Criminals serving as corpse-bearers loaded plague victims' corpses onto mule-driven death carts or uncovered stretchers to be buried. Plague victims were given Holy Communion by Catholic priests using long pincers to avoid making contact with the infected, as depicted in this scene. 

A victim chained to the wall of a prison cell awaits his punishment.  In 1749, Muslim slaves led by Pasha Mustafa plotted to revolt and assassinate Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca.  The plot was exposed by one of Pinto's bodyguards and successfully suppressed, with 38 of the presumed ringleaders brutally tortured.  Those condemned to death were transported through the streets of Valletta, periodically stopping to permit the executioner to tear off chunks of flesh using red hot pliers and pour boiling pitch onto the open wounds.  Two of the conspirators were drawn and quartered in the Grand Harbour.

A scene depicting the branding of one of the captured Muslim slaves who participated in the failed revolt of 1749.  Eight of these conspirators were branded with the letter 'R' for Ribelli (Rebels).

While some of the slaves who participated in the 1749 revolt against Grand Master Pinto were hanged from scaffolds, others were beheaded following excruciating torture, as depicted in this scene. 

A scene depicting the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, known as the Rosarians.  This religious order was established in Valletta in 1575 and based in the Church of Our Lady of Porto Salvo.  Its members walked the streets of Valletta dressed in white habits with black rosary beads tied round their waists, collecting donations.  Half of the money collected was given to the next-of-kin of condemned prisoners, with the other half used to celebrate mass for the repose of the souls of the those executed.

A prison official uses a long, sharp iron needle to pierce the tongue of a prisoner condemned for committing blasphemy.  This was a typical punishment for a first offence of blasphemy. 

A scene depicting the torture of a prisoner using a triangular wooden device known as 'Cumbo's Horse' and named after the notorious 17th century judge Giulio Cumbo who sentenced 120 criminals to death during his time in office.  The accused was placed astride Cumbo's Horse and had weights attached to his feet, causing the sharp tip of the wooden box to press painfully into the prisoner's groin.

A prisoner has had his hand cut off as punishment for a criminal act, such as theft.  Malta's laws were harsh during the period of rule by the Order of St John, with crimes considered minor by today's standards being punished severely.  For example, slaves refusing to work had their ears cut off. 

This scene depicts Grand Master Jean de la Cassière imprisoned in Fort St Angelo following a revolt by rebel Knights on 11 July 1581.  It was La Cassière's stern and intransigent behaviour as Grand Master that fomented the resentment that led to the revolt; however, he was acquitted of the charges against him and re-instated as Grand Master by Pope Gregory XIII in Rome later in the year but died shortly thereafter before he could return to Malta.  

A prisoner executed and strung up on a hook on the wall. 

A display of masks used as a form of punishment in medieval times, which were designed to shame and degrade those sentenced to wear them.  Most of the masks were symbolic and referred to specific offences: a mask with big ears was used on people who eavesdropped; a mask with a big nose would be applied to someone who interfered in other people's business; a mask with a big mouth and long tongue signified that the wearer was a malicious gossip; and a mask in the shape of a boar's head was prescribed for men who behaved like a swine.  The masks never totally obscured the wearer's face and thus brought shame and ridicule from his or her neighbours.    

Burning at the stake was a popular punishment imposed by the Inquisitorial Tribunal on those found guilty of heresy, publicly dishonouring religion, reading forbidden books, or engaging in necromancy (witchcraft).  In 1545, an Mdina grammar school administrator was found guilty of propagating Lutheran doctrine among his pupils and friends and, according to some historians, was burned at the stake. 

Following the priests' failed revolt against the Magistracy of Grand Master Francisco Ximénez de Tejada in 1775, three of the rebels were executed and decapitated, with their heads being impaled on long poles displayed in public.  Execution by hanging was also a common practice in the Maltese Islands during medieval times.  Hangings were carried out at various outdoor locations on the islands until 1880 when they were conducted in a cell inside the Civil Prisons at Corradino.  The last execution by hanging in Malta was carried out in 1943 and Malta abolished the death penalty in 1971.

The Inquisition was organised by the Catholic Church as a special Ecclesiastical Institution to combat and suppress heresy.  In 1561, the office of the Inquisitor of Malta was established, with Bishop Domenico Cubelles being appointed as the Inquisitor General to the Maltese Islands.  All of the islands' inhabitants, including the members of the Order of St John, fell under the Inquisitor's jurisdiction.  The Inquisitor's headquarters was located in the Palazzo del Santo Uffizio in Vittoriosa, built in 1574 and housing a residence, court, and prison.

Punishments meted out to offenders by the Inquisition included numerous types of torture.  One such punishment involved tying the victim's hands behind his back, hoisting him high into the air and suddenly dropping him to within a few inches of the ground.  In other cases, victims could have a metal anklet (stangetta) applied to the leg, with wooden wedges driven between the anklet and the leg to cause pain and break the skin.

Another form of punishment ordered by the Inquisition was whipping, though this could only be administered to Muslims since whipping Christians was prohibited.  The Tribunal of the Inquisition was abolished by order of Napoleon Bonaparte following the capture of the Maltese Islands in 1798.

Witchcraft and superstition were viewed by the Inquisition as a malaise that undermined the Maltese people's deep Catholic faith and a threat to be kept in check.  Notwithstanding the influence of the Church, the Maltese people remained fearful of the evil eye and many sought talismans and amulets to protect them.  Others sought out women renowned for their healing powers.  Muslim slaves were the most common source of these potions and superstitious objects. 

Incensed by the conduct of French occupation troops, following Napoleon's invasion of Malta in June 1798, Maltese rebels rose up and blockaded French forces in Valletta on 2 September 1798. On 4 September, Friar Dominic Falzon D'Agosta was arrested for failing to disclose the plans of the insurrection.  Tried and found guilty, D'Agosta was sentenced to death and executed by firing squad in a public square adjacent to the Grand Master's Palace in Valletta.  In January 1799, 53 citizens of Valletta whose plot to attack French forces in the city had failed were arrested and executed by firing squad. 

During the two-year insurrection and blockade on Malta, assisted by the British Royal Navy, the besieged French troops were forced to eat donkeys, mules, horses, dogs, cats, and rats.  During a final hunt, 55 giant rats were caught in the military bakery of the Order of St John.

Domus Romana Museum, Rabat

The entrance to the Domus Romana (Roman House), housing the remains of the only substantial Roman structure in the ancient town of Melite (modern day Mdina) and the most lavish Roman house ever found in Malta.  After landscape workers unwittingly uncovered the ruins of this mid-1st century BC Roman townhouse in 1881, archaeological excavations were carried out and a museum was erected on top of the ruins, opening to the public the next year.  This was the first building in the Maltese Islands specifically built as a museum.  In 1922, the existing museum building was enlarged and the current neoclassical façade was added.  The remains of the Roman house feature elaborate mosaics, decorative architecture, and imperial statues.  Unfortunately, the 1899 construction of a road to the nearby Mtarfa railway station which cut through the site likely obliterated a significant portion of the Roman house and its surrounding structures.  Poor record keeping during the archaeological excavations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries has resulted in a limited understanding the of the site.  

A display of artefacts discovered on the site of the Domus Romana during excavations carried out in 1920-25.  The items include a zoomorphic green glazed spout (c. 1000s-1200s AD); fragments of glazed plates and bowls, and a strainer (c. 1000s-1300s AD); metal coffin clamps (c. 11th century AD); and an c. 11th century AD silver Islamic ring inscribed with Kufic characters reading 'Rabbi Allah Wahid' ('God alone is the Lord').

A display of Islamic tombstones dating from the 11th century AD, uncovered during archaeological excavations of the Domus Romana site in 1920-25.  The tombstones bear inscriptions in Kufic text and were part of an Arab cemetery built over the Roman ruins.  The scanty archaeological evidence of Malta's Muslim period suggests that although the Maltese Islands were conquered in 869-871 AD as part of the Arab expansion across the western Mediterranean, it was not until 1048-49 that significant Muslim settlement on Malta occurred.  It was from this time that Mdina was reduced to its present size and renamed Medina, again being used as the Islands' administrative centre.  While Malta's Muslim populace came under the control of Count Roger the Norman in 1091 AD, they were allowed to remain on the island and retain control of the administration.  It was not until 1249 AD that Emperor Frederick II, King of Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor, exiled Malta's Muslim populace, only allowing those converting to Christianity and Muslim slaves to remain on the Islands.

A marble statue dating from sometime between the 4th and 1st centuries BC and depicting a draped female figure.  The statue features surviving traces of an elaborate hairstyle and is thought to represent the goddess Astarte or Isis.  While the provenance of the statue is unknown, a 1647 book by Giovanni Francesco Abela describes a statue of Juno standing outside the gate of Mdina.  

A cabinet containing Roman artefacts dating from around the 1st century AD, including a selection of glass and ceramic bottles used to store oils, perfumes, and cosmetics, and a glass rod often used to mix and extract cosmetic substances or perfumes from the bottles.  The Romans, both men and women, devoted considerable attention to cleanliness and personal adornment. 

A large collection of Roman ceramic and metal items dating from the 1st to 2nd centuries AD and excavated at various locations on Malta, including the Domus Romana site.  The items include clay moulds likely used for melting metals; copper buckets perhaps used for smelting; fragments of a footed vessel and a bucket handle; a metal hammer; an iron hook and spearhead; and various terracotta kitchenware.  Roman houses featured well-equipped kitchens in which slaves were employed to cook; however, specialised cooks were also available for hire, to cater the lavish events favoured by Roman aristocrats.  Cooking was done on round cooking pots placed on tripods or on brick ovens.  While numerous cooking pots have survived on Malta, no ovens or cooking tripods have been discovered.  Food was usually stored in ceramic vessels and sealed with stoppers, and some of these containers were partly submerged below floor level.  The quality of serving plates depended on the host and the type of meal being served: commoners usually used simply clay plates while aristocrats served their guests on fine plates, along with glass cups and bowls.  Although utensils made of wood, bone, and metal were available, Romans preferred eating with their fingers.  

A closer view of Roman kitchenware from the 1st to 2nd centuries AD.  While the diets of common Romans were centred on olive oil, bread, and meat, wealthy Romans indulged in a wide variety of foods, with meals using a combination of sour and sweet flavours and making use of game, poultry, fruits, and honey, as well as exotic ingredients like eels, snails, and a fermented fish sauce called garum.  Wealthy Romans also enjoyed drinking before, during, and after meals, with aristocrats often importing good wine from faraway places, such as Spain.  However, wine during the Roman period was so strong that it often had to be diluted with water before being consumed.  

A marble portrait statue of a young girl dating from around the 1st century AD.  It is believed to represent Claudia Antonia, the daughter of Roman Emperor Claudius.  The statue was uncovered at the Domus Romana site along with three other imperial statues and may have served to represent the imperial family within this distinguished household.  Such statue groups of the imperial family were found in different places across the Roman Empire and were usually mounted in public places for their propaganda value rather than in private residences.

A view of one of the galleries inside the Domus Romana museum.  A number of the high quality marble portrait sculptures discovered on site can be seen.  Below the modern raised walkway are the sparse remains of the mosaic floor of the triclinium (dining room) used by the family for most, if not all, meals.  Diners would recline on couches placed on three sides of a low table.  Important business was also conducted in the triclinium by the man of the house (pater familias) and was usually restricted to high ranking persons and close friends.  The triclinium faced the internal garden (peristyle) and was heavily decorated to portray the family's power.  

A modern artist's impression of the floor plan of the Domus Romana.  The open-roofed peristyle is at the centre of the house, with a colonnaded porch running along the four interior sides.  Beside the peristyle, several other rooms of the house featured elaborate mosaic floors.  The layout of the Domus Romana appears to be based on the customs of a Domus Italica, a design originating in Italy and mainly used in the Republican and early Imperial periods.  The house's rooms were originally oriented around a central atrium, later supplemented by the addition of the peristyle which became a second focal point.  While the exterior of a Roman house was plain and unadorned by windows, the interior was carefully planned to create an intricate decorative scheme with a succession of rooms designed to cater to the lifestyle of a wealthy Roman aristocrat.  Rooms lining the atrium were used for everyday social needs, while the rooms around the peristyle were reserved for family and close acquaintances.

The peristyle, a courtyard at the heart of the Domus Romana, feaures an intricate mosaic floor.  Around the peristyle is a colonnaded covered porch.  The peristyle was one of the most important sources of light for a Roman house and also one of the most important areas of the house, being visually linked to other rooms.  The covered porch could also be used to display art works. 

Mosaics are common finds at important Roman sites and provide invaluable information on Roman art and culture.  The Domus Romana features some of the finest known mosaics in the Mediterranean, with imagery and styles heavily influenced by ancient Greek artistic trends.  Notwithstanding their decorative purpose, mosaic floors were meant to be durable and were carefully designed and built to withstand heavy foot traffic.  The first step was the laying of three supportive layers of increasing quality tiles; above the third layer, the mosaic artist copied the required design and laid the tiles (tesserae) one by one.  In the Domus Romana and some other sites, the three layers of supporting tiles were laid on whole amphorae (ceramic storage containers) in an effort to avoid structural dampness creeping into the floor.   

The central emblema of the peristyle's floor is laid in the opus tessellatum style and is decorated with a depiction of the 'drinking doves of Sosos', one of the most famous motifs of antiquity.  This design, copied from a painting by Sosos of Pergamon (modern day Anatolia in Turkey), was a favourite among rich and noble Romans.  Soso's original drinking doves design spawned many imitations, which can be found in Roman ruins in Malta, Pompeii (Italy), Rome, Ostia (Italy), Delos (Greece), Ankhialos (Greece), and Alexandria (Egypt).

An oscillum hangs in the main room of the museum, overlooking the mosaic floor.  The peristyles (gardens) of Roman houses were usually decorated with a variety of objects, including marble masks and oscilla.  The oscillum is a disc of marble, wood, or wax featuring carved reliefs on both sides.  These would have been hung between two columns of a peristyle, usually in honour of the gods.  Oscilla were common in the Western Roman territories but are rare finds in the Eastern Roman lands.  Most oscilla depict the god Bacchus, though examples with other icons have also been found.  This oscillum, found in Gozo, depicts a griffin on one side (seen here) and a theatrical mask on the other side.

A fluted corralline limestone puteal (wellhead) in one corner of the peristyle.  Collecting and storing rainwater and water from natural springs was important in a semi-arid Mediterranean country like Malta, where water was scarce, especially in the hot summer months.  While structures requiring large amounts of water, such as farms and public baths, were often built adjacent to an important spring, Roman houses were designed to collect as much rainwater as possible.  This was accomplished by channelling rain from the roof into sunken pools in interior courtyards and cisterns.  Rainwater was also directed through an intricate series of gutters, channels, and lead or terracotta pipes to tanks where the sediments in the water settled before it was channelled into rock-cut cisterns.  The cisterns were either bell-shaped, such as those found at the Domus Romana, or else square and topped by large stone slabs supported on stone pillars.  Reservoirs were usually lined with a fine layer of volcanic dust or hydraulic lime to help retain water. 

A display of the various types and styles of mosaic floors during the Roman period.  The most common form of flooring at Roman sites was cocciopesto, a mixture of crushed pottery and lime originating in Carthage in the 4th century BC.  This type of flooring was very cheap to build and maintain, and was also very durable.  As such, it was used widely in domestic, industrial, and public areas.  Cocciopesto floors were red in colour and sometimes combined with white marble tiles to create linear or simple geometric designs (opus signinum).  Another style was opus scutulatum, employing lozenge-shaped tiles to form simple patterns.  Perspective meander was another style of mosaic, often used to provide a colourful frame to the mosaic floors of large rooms.

An emblema laid in the opus scutulatum style, using lozenge-shaped tiles.  These could be laid to create a number of different patterns.  In Malta, the most common opus scutulatum patterns were a simple 'fish net' or a pattern forming a three dimensional cube (as seen here).  While tiles were normally ceramic, more expensive pavements, such as those found at the Domus Romana, could use marble of different colours and shades to create a more pronounced effect on the perspective cubes. 

A partly damaged emblema which was once the centrepiece of the mosaic floor in the room adjacent to the triclinium.  Information about the rest of the mosaic and the function of the room itself has been lost.  The emblema dates from the 1st century AD and its tiles are laid in the opus vermiculatum style, emphasising an outline around a subject.  It depicts a child with long wavy hair holding a bunch of grapes in one hand and a pomegranate in the other.  It is likely that the depiction represents abundance and harkens to the god of wine (Dionysus to the Greeks, Bacchus to the Romans), who was known as the 'Fruit Bringer' or 'Abundance of Life'.  The image is believed to be inspired by Rococo sculpture which was fashionable during the Hellenistic period of the 4th to 3rd centuries BC. 

An example of the theatrical masks motif used in some mosaics as a decorative element.  The masks formed part of a garland of fruits, flowers, and coloured ribbons framing a mosaic floor.  The masks were set at the corners and centre of each side of the floor.

A section of mosaic in the form of a three dimensional scroll.

A display of Roman oil lamps.  As Roman houses were designed with high walls and few windows to provide privacy and protect against burglary and hot or cold temperatures, every available source of natural light was exploited, such as the open peristyle and atrium.  Where natural light was not available, Romans made use of various types of lamps fuelled by olive oil and other flammable liquids.  Lamp styles changed over time, with Punic and early Roman lamps being open and having thicker walls and generally two wicks.  Later Roman lamps were closed off and lavishly decorated.  North African lamps were particularly popular and were exported throughout the Roman Empire.  Seen here are a double-spouted terracotta lamp (bilychnis) dating from c. 1st century BC to 6th century AD; and several terracotta single-nozzled oil lamps dating from between the 1st and 5th centuries AD.

Fragments of painted wall plaster from the Domus Romana, dating from the 1st century BC to the 2nd century AD.  These fragments show evidence of two different decorative motifs, likely from different periods.  Coupled with mosaics, sculptures, decorative architecture, works of art, and furniture, painted walls were part of a planned system to demonstrate the wealth and stature of the house's owner to visitors.  This interior decoration also helped guide visitors within the areas accessible to them.  Walls were painted in a variety of colours created mostly from minerals, including ochre (yellow and red) and oxidised copper (blue).  Wall plaster fragments found at the Domus Romana site range from paintings depicting stylised architectural elements to imitations of marble veneer.

A collection of ceramic water drain pipes, amphorae, and amphorae lids.  The amphora was a type of storage container used to transport both dry goods and liquids, notably wine and olive oil, throughout the Roman lands. 

A collection of Roman column fragments. 

These capitals, which would have topped stone columns, are examples of decorative architecture used in Roman structures.  During the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire period, these decorative elements would have been in the Doric style and carved in local stone.  In the late 1st century and early 2nd centuries AD, more elaborate Corinthian elements (such as those depicted here) carved in marble were favoured.  Given the scarcity of Corinthian elements in Maltese homes of the Roman period, it is believed that the simpler Doric style was preferred for domestic contexts.

Three fragments of the marble portrait sculptures found in the ruins of the Domus Romana.  These sculptures date from the middle of the 1st century AD, or about a century after the original construction of the house.  At least two of the sculptures depict members of the family of Roman Emperor Claudius and it is possible that all four sculptures comprised a collective of Imperial portraits.  In addition to the sculpture of Emperor Claudius are sculptures of his daughter, Claudia Antonia, and a young boy with an amulet around his neck who may be the young Nero, Claudius's adopted son and successor in 54 AD.  It was rare for such imperial statues to be placed in a private residence and may indicate that the house's owner was an important public figure, possibly the governor of the island.  Other, unidentified sculptural fragments were found during excavations of the Domus Romana site, suggesting that the house may have been adorned with numerous other statues.

A marble portrait sculpture of Roman Emperor Claudius, who ruled from 41-54 AD.  This is the best preserved of the four sculptures found in the ruins of the Domus Romana.

The mosaic floor in a room that either served as the oecus (a passageway and extension of the triclinium) or else as the tablinum (a reception room, study or office).  The mosaic survives almost entirely intact and features two different techniques: the external bands use small marble tiles while the central mosaic uses black, white, and green lozenge-shaped marble tiles to create a receding cubes motif.  Poor quality repairs to damaged sections of the mosaic indicate that the house's owner in the late 1st/early 2nd century could not afford a proper restoration.  The repairs used cheaper hexagonal ceramic tiles and, likely later, pieces of roof tiles, marble slabs, and painted plaster.

In the triclinium gallery, looking toward the peristyle. 

Exiting the rear of the museum buildings, visitors can look out over the archaeological site and its ruins.  This part of the site was excavated in 1920-25 and found evidence of a number of humble houses built around a street; these houses are of much poor quality than the Domus Romana and only three rooms show any signs of interior decoration, consisting of an opus signinum (a concrete made of crushed pottery mixed with lime) floor, plastered pilasters, and painted wall plaster.  

The extensive Islamic cemetery that was built atop these Roman ruins contained at least 245 burials.  The majority of graves were oriented from east to west and many of the the bodies were placed on their right sides with the heads turned to the south, facing Mecca; however, other bodies were placed in different positions, suggesting that the cemetery may have been used by other Islamic sects and, possibly, other religious groups.