Places to go in Valletta Malta
Some of the best places to go in Valletta are situated on and around Republic Street towards Fort St Elmo. Here you'll come to Great Siege Square with its power¬ful allegorical monument by Sciortino. Opposite are the Law Courts, an imposing neoclassical building on the former site of the Auberge d' Auvergne, destroyed during World War II.
Republic Street widens into Republic Square. Most of it is taken up by a spacious out¬door cafe and lined with little shops under the shady arcades. At the back of the square, the National Library, once the Library of the Order, was con¬structed in the late 18th cen tury to house the collection amassed by the knights, and the archives of the Order, which includes documents dat¬ing back to the 11th century.
From Palace Square, which adjoins Republic Square, you can go through a big archway into the first courtyard of the Grand Master's Palace, now the seat of the House of Representatives. In 1569 the nephew of Grand Master del Monte built here what was probably the first private house in Val¬letta. Later the knights com¬missioned Gerolamo Cassar to enlarge it into a palace. Today, some parts of the palace house museums, and some of the state rooms are used for Presi¬dential receptions and other na¬tional occasions.
Car hire in Malta
Visitors to Malta can take advantage of cheap car hire at Luqa Airport and take their time to look around this intriguing island, particularly Valletta, Medina and Sliema.
You'll find two cool, green courtyards nestled in the palace grounds, one of them called Neptune Court after its statue. In the other, Prince Alfred's Court, look up to see the clock installed by Grand Master Pin¬to de Fonseca (1741-73), with little figures who strike a gong on the hour. To visit the palace, take the staircase from Prince Alfred Court. In the council chamber, the meeting place of Malta's Parliaments from 1921-76, you can sit on one of the heavy bench seats and admire the beautiful Gobelins tapestries given to the Order by Grand Master Ramon Perellos in the early 18th century. Called Les Tentures des Indes, they repre¬sent all kinds of real and fanciful beasts and birds, with exotically clad Indians. The paintings depict the knights' naval victories.
The grandest of the public rooms is the Hall of St Michael and St George, or the Throne Room, with a beamed ceiling and frieze by Matteo Perez d' A1eccio. This is where the Supreme Council of the Order of St John used to meet. Scenes of the Great Siege fill the walls, and the carved gallery comes from the ship in which Villiers de l'Isle Adam sailed away from Rhodes in 1523. The damask curtained Hall of Ambassadors, or the Red Room, features heavy portraits of assorted monarchs: Louis XIV by De Troy, Louis XV by Van Loo, Catherine II of Russia by Levitsky.
The Armoury, upstairs from Neptune Court, is notable for its immense collection of suits of mail especially the one worn by Jean de la Valette and a gold inlaid ceremonial suit made for Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt. There is also some captured Turkish arms, including, it's said, the corsair Dragut's sword. Leaving the palace by the Neptune Court archway, you'll see the Greek Catholic Church on Archbishop Street unre¬markable except for a 12th¬century icon, called 'Our Lady of Damascus', which was brought by the knights when they came to Malta in 1530: it was well restored in 1966. Just a few steps away is the Gesu Church, built between 1592-1600, richly ornate in Italian baroque style.
The Mediterranean Conference Centre
Go down Merchants Street and you'll find yourself at the Mediterranean Conference Centre. The restoration of this former hospital is one of the finest achievements of inde¬pendent Malta. It was accom¬plished in' only a few months and the impressive inter¬national conference hall was opened in 1979. The centre has six well equipped conference rooms as well as a huge theatre and the beautiful 161m (525ft) vaulted hall that served as the Great Ward in the old hospital. A must for any visitor coming to Malta for the first time is the 45 minute multi screen docu¬mentary, The Malta Experi¬ence, shown at the centre several times a day. It's an excellent introduction to the history of the islands. Head¬phones carry the commentary in six languages.
Star shaped Fort St Elmo, so valiantly defended during the Great Siege though ulti¬mately lost occupies the whole of the end of the penin¬sula. You can enter the main part only if you have permis¬sion from police headquarters the fort is a police academy now. However, within the fort you can visit the National War Museum, reached by a separate entrance.
It contains mostly World War II relics, including Faith, one of the four Gladiator biplanes that were Malta’s air defence when Italy declared war in 1940. The jeep Husky was used by General Eisenhower and later by President Roosevelt during a visit. The George Cross, con¬ferred on Malta and the Mal¬tese in 1942 for their courage under bombardment, is one of the most treasured exhibits.
Republic Street widens into Republic Square. Most of it is taken up by a spacious out¬door cafe and lined with little shops under the shady arcades. At the back of the square, the National Library, once the Library of the Order, was con¬structed in the late 18th cen tury to house the collection amassed by the knights, and the archives of the Order, which includes documents dat¬ing back to the 11th century.
From Palace Square, which adjoins Republic Square, you can go through a big archway into the first courtyard of the Grand Master's Palace, now the seat of the House of Representatives. In 1569 the nephew of Grand Master del Monte built here what was probably the first private house in Val¬letta. Later the knights com¬missioned Gerolamo Cassar to enlarge it into a palace. Today, some parts of the palace house museums, and some of the state rooms are used for Presi¬dential receptions and other na¬tional occasions.
Car hire in Malta
Visitors to Malta can take advantage of cheap car hire at Luqa Airport and take their time to look around this intriguing island, particularly Valletta, Medina and Sliema.
You'll find two cool, green courtyards nestled in the palace grounds, one of them called Neptune Court after its statue. In the other, Prince Alfred's Court, look up to see the clock installed by Grand Master Pin¬to de Fonseca (1741-73), with little figures who strike a gong on the hour. To visit the palace, take the staircase from Prince Alfred Court. In the council chamber, the meeting place of Malta's Parliaments from 1921-76, you can sit on one of the heavy bench seats and admire the beautiful Gobelins tapestries given to the Order by Grand Master Ramon Perellos in the early 18th century. Called Les Tentures des Indes, they repre¬sent all kinds of real and fanciful beasts and birds, with exotically clad Indians. The paintings depict the knights' naval victories.
The grandest of the public rooms is the Hall of St Michael and St George, or the Throne Room, with a beamed ceiling and frieze by Matteo Perez d' A1eccio. This is where the Supreme Council of the Order of St John used to meet. Scenes of the Great Siege fill the walls, and the carved gallery comes from the ship in which Villiers de l'Isle Adam sailed away from Rhodes in 1523. The damask curtained Hall of Ambassadors, or the Red Room, features heavy portraits of assorted monarchs: Louis XIV by De Troy, Louis XV by Van Loo, Catherine II of Russia by Levitsky.
The Armoury, upstairs from Neptune Court, is notable for its immense collection of suits of mail especially the one worn by Jean de la Valette and a gold inlaid ceremonial suit made for Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt. There is also some captured Turkish arms, including, it's said, the corsair Dragut's sword. Leaving the palace by the Neptune Court archway, you'll see the Greek Catholic Church on Archbishop Street unre¬markable except for a 12th¬century icon, called 'Our Lady of Damascus', which was brought by the knights when they came to Malta in 1530: it was well restored in 1966. Just a few steps away is the Gesu Church, built between 1592-1600, richly ornate in Italian baroque style.
The Mediterranean Conference Centre
Go down Merchants Street and you'll find yourself at the Mediterranean Conference Centre. The restoration of this former hospital is one of the finest achievements of inde¬pendent Malta. It was accom¬plished in' only a few months and the impressive inter¬national conference hall was opened in 1979. The centre has six well equipped conference rooms as well as a huge theatre and the beautiful 161m (525ft) vaulted hall that served as the Great Ward in the old hospital. A must for any visitor coming to Malta for the first time is the 45 minute multi screen docu¬mentary, The Malta Experi¬ence, shown at the centre several times a day. It's an excellent introduction to the history of the islands. Head¬phones carry the commentary in six languages.
Star shaped Fort St Elmo, so valiantly defended during the Great Siege though ulti¬mately lost occupies the whole of the end of the penin¬sula. You can enter the main part only if you have permis¬sion from police headquarters the fort is a police academy now. However, within the fort you can visit the National War Museum, reached by a separate entrance.
It contains mostly World War II relics, including Faith, one of the four Gladiator biplanes that were Malta’s air defence when Italy declared war in 1940. The jeep Husky was used by General Eisenhower and later by President Roosevelt during a visit. The George Cross, con¬ferred on Malta and the Mal¬tese in 1942 for their courage under bombardment, is one of the most treasured exhibits.
posted by The Car Hire Guy at
01:33
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home