It is unfortunate that I am unable to share all my photo memories of our Malta adventure so I leave you with these final glimpses from our holiday.

I captured some lovely moments walking around Valletta; a lizard playing hide and seek with me in the upper Barraka Gardens, hidden gems of history, birds with their aerobatics around Triton’s fountain, harbour views, fortifications and the gaudy interior of St John’s Co-Cathedral. And, perhaps, I shouldn’t mention the indulgent Pistachio Wonder for lunch in the Haagen-Dazs Cafe.

My biggest regret is being unable to share the wonders of Gozo; The views, the saltpans, Fontana’s wash house, Ta’ Pinu Basilica (the miracle church), the Citadella along with the amazing views over the island of Gozo.

Those memories along with others will remain as ‘a memory’ for me until (maybe?) the next time I visit Malta…

On our last day in Malta we had just enough time to visit this museum which houses some lovely artworks.

MUZA is the National Museum of Art, branded as the Malta National-Community Art Museum. The word MUZA us a translation of the Maltese word for ‘inspiration’ and also stands as an acronym for MUZ(ew NaZZjonali tal-) A(rti), in English – Nationa Museum of Art. It also refers to the muses, the mythological figures from Classical Antiquity inspiring creativity and, in effect, the etymolobical source of the word, ‘museum’.

Ħaġar Qim, over 5000 years old, is found at the top of a promontory with a fertile plain to its east and garrigue sloping down to the sea to the west. 500m downhill from Ħaġar Qim one finds Mnajdra, a contemporary building, probably used by the same community given its proximity.

The late-Neolithic site of Ħaġar Qim consists of a group of monumental megalithic buildings, located on the crest of a ridge. To the west, the site commands views over the open sea, while to the east, it overlooks the edge of a large plain.

The main building of Ħaġar Qim is unusual with features and doorways along its external wall. The floor of the central passage inside the building is paved in stone slabs while the floors in the chambers branching off this passage are made from beaten earth. The original low-relief carvings, copies of which are nowadays in this building, are displayed at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta. Doorways inside the buildings are either trilithon, built of two upright stone blocks with a lintel and threshold, or an opening cut into a single megalith, known as a ‘porthole’ doorway. Parts of these buildings were originally covered by a corbelled roof, made of successive courses of megaliths, each one smaller than the one below.

Mnajdra consists of three buildings, constructed in both globigerina and coralline limestone. The first and oldest structure is the small three-apsed structure. The South building, with its concave façade was next to be completed followed by the Central building which was constructed on an artificial platform between the two earlier buildings. The South building’s doorway is aligned with sunrise during the Spring and Autumn equinoxes. During the Winter and Summer solstices, the beams of the rising sun pass along the sides of the main doorway hitting two decorated slabs within the first chamber. Apart from the central passage leading to chambers on either side, the buildings at Mnajdra also include tiny chambers constructed within the thickness of the walls.

Both Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra are protected from the elements by shelters. Since these sites were excavated less than two centuries ago, their slow deterioration has been witnessed at first hand. Shelters were therefore constructed in 2008 and are intended to slow down the impact of natural elements on the rate of deterioration of these sites until alternative means of preservation are tested and implemented.

The Malta National Aquarium has 51 tanks including reptiles, insects and amphibians, amongst others, Mediterranean fish, including fish commonly found in Maltese waters together with replicas of historical artefacts that one can find in the seas around the Maltese islands.

The main tank of the aquarium houses species from the Indo-Pacific Ocean, including black tip sharks, zebra sharks, leopard sharks, bamboo sharks, rays, eels and other exotic species. The main tank is approximately 12 meters in diameter and has a walk-through tunnel that allows visitors to experience the fish at a much closer range.

All tanks are expertly themed to replicate the underwater environment.

The Wignacourt Collegiate Museum at Rabat Malta was formerly the baroque residence of the Chaplains of the Knights of St. John.  Originally inaugurated by Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt (1601-1622), it has recently reopened after a thorough refurbishment of the whole building together with the restoration of most of the artworks which it presently hosts.

Initially located outside the former Roman City of Melite, the Wignacourt Museum forms part of a Pauline complex as it is materially linked to St Paul’s Grotto, the cradle of Christianity in Malta. This is the place where St Paul the Apostle, in A.D. 60, is believed to have founded the first Christian Community on the island.

The building, fully completed in 1749, is on three levels: the underground level consists of a labyrinth of Punic, Roman and Christian Hypogea with interesting architectural features as well as a complex of World War II shelters with two main corridors and about fifty rooms.

The ground floor level consists of a corridor with a number of rooms used as offices and minor collections whilst on the other side is a spacious garden with a built area which once included the refectory of the Chaplains of the Order and an oven which during World War II provided daily more than 2000 loaves for the population of Rabat.

The first floor is the main exhibition space, as it has an impressive picture gallery with works by Mattia Preti, Antoine Favray, Francesco Zahra and other Maltese as well as European Artists. It also comprises a collection of 17th- 19th century Spanish, Italian and Maltese silver; a unique wooden altar used for the celebration of Mass on the galleys of the Order of the Knights of Malta; a collection of old relics and reliquaries, sculptures in wood, alabaster and bronze, including a medallion by Alessandro Algardi; maps, coins, prints and rare books among which is King Henry VIII’s ‘Septem Sacramants” written to confute Martin Luther and above all a baroque chapel for the private devotions of the residing chaplains.

Mdina is a fortified medieval town enclosed in bastions, located on a large hill in the centre of Malta. The town was the old capital of Malta, and with its narrow streets, few inhabitants and beatuful views over the Island it is truly a magical town. Mdina is referred to as the “Silent City” by Maltese and visitors alike – no cars (except those of a limited number of residents) have permission to enter Mdina and the town provides a relaxing atmosphere among the visitors walking its narrow streets and alleyways.

Mdina was first inhabited and fortified around 700 BC by the Phoenicians and was at that time called Maleth. Mdina benefits from its good location on the island’s highest point, far away from the sea. Under the Roman Empire the Roman governor built his palace in Mdina and it is said that even St. Paul stayed there after he was shipwrecked in Malta.

It was the Normans who surrounded the city with its thick defensive fortifications and they also widened the moat around Mdina. After an earthquake in 1693, there was the need to redesign parts of the city. This introduced Baroque designs within the city, and the Knights of Malta rebuilt the cathedral as well as the Magisterial Palace and Palazzo Falzon.

The Mdina Cathedral Museum is housed within a magnificent baroque building, on the right-hand side of the Cathedral, in Archbishop’s Square. This imposing edifice was built by Bishop Alpheran de Bussan, with the first stone being laid in 1733. This building was to serve as the seminary for the Diocese of Malta.

There are many beautiful and interesting exhibits within the museum. I share only a few photographs of items that I could photograph easily.

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Paul (Maltese: Il-Katidral Metropolitan ta’ San Pawl), commonly known as St Paul’s Cathedral or the Mdina Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral in Mdina, Malta, dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle. The cathedral was founded in the 12th century, and according to tradition it stands on the site of where Roman governor Publius met St. Paul following his shipwreck on Malta. The original cathedral was severely damaged in the 1693 Sicily earthquake, so it was dismantled and rebuilt in the Baroque style to a design of the Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafà between 1696 and 1705. The cathedral is regarded as Gafà’s masterpiece.

The cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta, and since the 19th century this function has been shared with St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta.

The fountain consists of three bronze figures of mythological Tritons holding up a platter. Two of the Tritons are sitting, while the third one is kneeling, and they are balanced on a seaweed base. The face of each Triton is visible when viewed from City Gate. Their posture gives a sense of strength as well as spiral movement, which contribute to the monumentality of the fountain. The water jets were also designed in order to convey the sense of movement.^[4] The figures of the Tritons represent Malta’s links with the sea, and their design was inspired by the Fontana delle Tartarughe in Rome.^[5] After the fountain’s platter was damaged in the 1980s, a bronze pillar depicting a flight of seagulls was added to the fountain to support its weight.^[4] This was not included once the restoration was completed in 2018.^[6]

The Parliament House (Maltese: Dar il-Parlament) is the meeting place of the Parliament of Malta located in Valletta, Malta. The building was constructed between 2011 and 2015 to designs by Renzo Piano as part of the City Gate Project, which also included building a new City Gate and converting the ruins of the Royal Opera House into an open-air theatre. Construction of the Parliament House generated considerable controversy, mainly due to the modern design of the building and the cost of construction, which amounted to around €90 million.

From 1921 to 1976, the meeting place of the Parliament of Malta had been the Tapestry Chamber of the Grandmaster’s Palace, also in Valletta. In 1976, the former armoury of the same palace was converted into a new parliament, and meetings were held there until the opening of the purpose-built Parliament House on 4 May 2015.