Malta Culture 365

The Auberges were buildings which were used as hostels by knights of the same langue or language. In some cases, there were more than one auberge for knights from the same country especially in cases where there were many knights coming from disparate parts of the country such as in the case of France and Spain. The surviving buildings in Valletta are all used for some form of public office as explained further below. Auberge de Castile y Leon Auberge de Castille as it is  The building was originally constructed in the late 16th century by Girolamo Cassar originally for the langues of Castile and Leon. It was extensively remodelled by Grand Master Emanuel Pinto de Fonseca between 1741 and 1744. The auberge is built on the highest point of Valletta and is one of the most recognisable buildings locally. The site was originally planned to host the Magisterial Palace, but it was deemed to be too exposed and thus the palace was shifted closer to the centre of the city. The buildin...

At the end of 2021, we saw the very welcome news that Palazzina Vincenti , considered by most architectural experts and those who study the subject to be amongst the best examples of residential Modernist architecture on the Islands, has been temporarily protected . This wonderful building is one of the few examples when the designer and owner are one and the same and thus the normal constraints did not apply, hence the resultant building which has been revered or reviled since its construction. There have been commendations in the past going back at least 2 years. The fact that some action on this was finally taken may signify some change in mentality . ..  or the power of social media.  Palazzina Vincenti, currently temporarily protected. This brought to mind other buildings which are or merit protection and have not yet been afforded this status. The following is the list of these buildings, which will be amended an updated as necessary. Villino Grech, Triq in-Naxxar, Birki...

Borgo Vilhena as Floriana was originally known is many times considered a suburb of Valletta. Possibly owing to this it is significantly under appreciated and many times seen as little more than a thoroughfare through which one travels to get to one's ultimate destination. Nevertheless, Floriana is a gem in its own right as hopefully this trail will show.  Floriana's name came from that of Pietro Paola Floriani, an Italian military engineer who was commissioned to design the Floriana Lines after in 1632, Grand Master Antoine de Paule received credible information that the Ottomans were preparing themselves for another attack on Malta. Floriani's design resulted in a massive system of multi tiered fortifications which are still largely visible, if not completely accessible. Although there were many objections to his project, mainly based on the expense and huge garrison required to defend it, Floriani defended the project by confirming that it could shelter the entire popula...

Large ship graffito on a chapel in Mosta Graffiti is normally thought of as being street art or vandalism, making use of spray or other paints. It is a means of expression that has been around for a while however, albeit making use of different means. The older version of graffiti we have in Malta are scratches on the local limestone, which being rather soft, lends itself quite easily to this. The majority of historic graffiti consists of ships and other sea vessels on chapel facades, however there are other examples of graffiti such as individuals, ensigns and coat of arms and others.  Three small graffiti of maritime craft. The most common type of historic graffiti consists of ships, the majority of which have been dated to the Knights' period. In the same way that we now use social media to expose things we like or experiences to our friends, in the past the same process was followed making use of the means available. Thus graffiti were mainly a means of showing other people new...

Salt is one of the ancient commodities such that it brought prosperity to places where it was available. It was deemed to be so important that Roman legionaries were given part of their wages in salt, resulting in a word we still use to this day: salārium or salary. The origins of salt production around the Maltese Islands are unknown, which leads one to assume that the production of this primary good from a renewable source has been established from well before the formalisation of its production by the Knights. The name of the locality of Mellieħa comes from the salt pans originally extant in the vicinity of Għadira which are denoted as saline vecchie (old salt pans) in maps produced during the time of the Knights in Malta. Gian Franġisk Abela refer to them as primitive pans in his 1647 publication and from the description it appears they were located more or less where the bird sanctuary is today. One of the fresco paintings of the Great siege by Perez d'Aleccio  in the Grandma...

Mosta is in the geographic centre of Malta. Some say that the name Mosta or Musta as it used to be pronounced until fairly recently is derived from the Arabic root W-S-T which means centre. Others are of the opinion that the name is derived from the Arabic adjective mistur or hidden. Whatever the source of the name, modern day Mosta has grown into one of the more popular towns in Malta, not only owing to its being well connected and well served with amenities, but the people it has produced are amongst the most patriotic of the Maltese Islands. For a map of the walk, scroll down to the bottom of the page or access it directly here . Mosta is most known for its Rotunda, Giorgio Grognet de Vasse's masterpiece which is visible from a significant distance away from Mosta proper. This church which replaced a typical Latin cross planned church design by Tumas Dingli started off  in a quite controversial manner. The design is strongly inspired by the pantheon in Rome as th...