WAYS THE WORLD’S 10TH SMALLEST COUNTRY WILL SURPRISE YOU
MOVIE TRAGIC
Photogenic walled cities, a protected harbour and 300 sunny days a year have made Malta a go-to location for films including Napoleon, Gladiator, Troy and more than 200 others.
TALK THE TALK
The Maltese language is a cross between Arabic and Italian, but because it was a British colony for 150 years most residents also speak English.
SWEET AS
The Romans called the island Melite, likely a reference to the honey that is still gathered by locals.
FAMOUS VISITOR
Christianity arrived in the archipelago with one of Malta’s first recorded visitors – St Paul was shipwrecked here in 60AD.
SMALL FRY
With a population of just under 6000, Valletta is the smallest capital city in Europe.
Hidden wonder
The vast majority of Malta’s 530,000 residents live in the urban area surrounding the northeast coast capital of Valletta. Built on an exposed peninsula after the Ottomans tried to wrest the island from the Knights of St John in 1565, many of the city’s early structures have a simple mannerist style that betrays the gold-plated opulence within. The austere façade of St John’s Co-Cathedral hides a glittering interior that’s lavish to the point of ostentation, with nine magnificent baroque chapels and a floor made up of nearly 400 marble tombstones.
In the dimly lit oratory, five spotlit characters huddle in the corner of The Beheading of St John the Baptist, a barely legible signature painted in the blood running from the slain man’s neck. “Caravaggio was revolutionary for his time because of the realism and use of light and darkness that inspired many other artists,” explains Chantelle. The canvas is so rich in detail I could spend all afternoon admiring his masterpiece. But, much like the building we’re standing in, there’s more to Malta than meets the eye, and many more layers of history to uncover.
The writer travelled as a guest of Explore!