Stunning art and architecture
After arriving in the old town of Valletta and checking into my hotel, I went for a familiarisation walk of the local area. I was staying in the old town on Valletta and close by the Lower Barrakka Gardens, I walked along the harbourside and came across "The Malta Experience". I would highly recommend it to everyone on their first trip to Malta, it's an audio visual show held in a theatre and it runs through the history of the island of Malta. From 1530 to 1798, Malta was ruled by the Knights of St. John, also known as the Knights Hospitallar or Knights of Malta. For over 200 years a religious group ruled over Malta and they certainly left their mark in the type of buildings that can be found in the old town of Valletta. And they are stunning! I just basically went in whatever church I passed and had a look, I've since researched what I saw!
Basilica of Our Lady of Safe Haven and St. Dominic
The original church on the site was called the church of Our Lady of Safe Haven, after the chapel the Dominicans had built. Sailors would come and thank Mary that they returned safely back home after some rough and dangerous journeys. I thought that was a lovely origin story of the church. The parish was decreed in 1571 by Pope Pius V, and that's what makes it a 'basilica' I found out. A basilica has a connection with a pope, a cathedral is the home to the bishop. The first church was over the years, damaged by earthquakes and storms so was demolished and a new church was built and opened in 1815 and that's the church you enter now. At the time I visited work was being done to one of the domes, but the interior was well worth seeing. This was my favourite of the churches I saw, hence it's first!
Our Lady of Victory
This was a sweet little church just near the main gate to enter the old town, it had been set up for a recent wedding.
Having done some research I now know that it was the first church set up in Valletta after the Knights of St John had defeated the Ottomans. The foundation stone was laid on the 28th of March 1566, the Grandmaster (or leader) of the Knights funded the building of the church, as it was decided that the first building in the new town was to be a church to express gratitude for defeating the Ottomans after the Siege of Malta. The new town was named after the Grandmaster Jean Parisot de Vallette. This church has undergone some major restoration work which was completed in 2016.
St Paul's Shipwreck Church
St Francis of Assisi Church
The original church was built from 1598 to 1607, a few decades later it was found to have major structural faults and it was rebuilt thanks to the funds of Grandmaster Gregorio Carafa, so he got to put his coat of arms over the entrance! It was enlarged and a dome included in the 1920s, it seems work on opulent churches continued even in the British era.
The Basilica of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
This church surprised me when I walked in as it was so white! I had gotten used to all the colour of the frescos and decorations of the other churches. Its main feature is the dome, which isn't the normal circular shape but rather it's an oblong.
My next surprise with the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church came when I went to research it. The current church was built from 1958 to 1981, it was consecrated in 1981. After looking at the age of some of the other churches, this one was incredibly recent. It turns out the original church (built in the 1570s) was badly damaged during World War II and so had to be rebuilt. (It's a basilica as in 1895 Pope Leo XIII, elevated it to the level of a minor basilica, like the Basilica of Our Lady of Safe Haven and St Dominic. Apparently a city can have more than one basilica!)
There are more churches in the old town of Valletta, I didn't even manage to make it to the Cathedral, 2 basilicas must equal at least one cathedral?! These are just the ones that I happened across whilst walking around, generally to somewhere else!
The other thing that fascinated me about Valletta were the religious statues on street corners.
Walking around the old town is interesting, there's a lot to see and experience. I really loved the churches, each unique in their own way and each was a work of art.
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