September 25, 2022: Exploring Some Ancient Cities of Malta

September 25, 2022 cjbishop@yahoo.com

We were met promptly at 9AM by our local tour guide (Agnes, if memory serves me) and a driver who would be taking us to see several small ancient cities outside of Valletta. Our first stop was in Naxxar, where we would be visiting a palace (Palazzo Parisio) now open to the public. There was originally a hunting lodge at this site built in 1733 for the Grand Master of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly know as the Knights Hospitallers, an organization dating back to the first crusade when it was established to provide care for the sick and poor people going on pilgrimages to Jerusalem. In 1898 Marquis Giuseppe Scicluna bought the property and built the home that is there today. Needless to say it is elegant!

Our local Valletta tour guide. I think her name was Agnes.

There are hundreds of boats of all sizes in marinas around Valletta.

The Carrara marble bannister is one piece!

The original owners who built the current palace.

One of several suits of armor in the home.

Any good palace needs its own private chapel where the local priest can come and say mass.

The owners were important enough to be invited to a queen’s inauguration.

Each chair is decorated with a different instrument.

View of the extensive gardens from a second floor balcony.

From there we made a quick stop at the Dingli cliffs, at 250 meters above sea level, to take in the views of the coastline of Malta before driving on to the town of Rabat (Population 11,470) to see the famed catacombs of St. Paul located there and then used as burial grounds during Roman times. According to the bible, St. Paul was shipwrecked in Malta for three months. I was rather amazed at how extensive the caves and burial sites are. It took a lot of digging and carving to create this labyrinth of tunnels and tombs.

The view at Dingli cliffs, the highest point in Malta.

Entry to the St. Paul’s Catacombs in Rabat.

Note the short lifespan of medieval humans.

What a typical burial site would look like.

Corridors throughout the catacombs leading to avenues of burial sites.

It took a lot of rock carving to create them.

Inside the church. Mass was going on so we only could stand in the back for a short time.

Another popular snack-a bread filled with anise filling similar to poppyseeds. I was not overly impressed.

Finally, a bit of color in the white city.

Many street corners have statues of saints.

Before leaving Rabat we were treated to a local popular pastry called “pastizzi”, which is usually eaten warm. We could not get seating in the local shop selling them so Agnes purchased them along with a popular local soda called “Kinnie” and we retired to the nearby park to leisurely eat our snack before moving on. The pastizzi are made from thin, flaky dough (like phyllo) and typically stuffed with ricotta cheese. Kinnie is a popular Maltese carbonated soft drink made from bitter orange and extracts of wormwood. In my opinion it is an acquired taste.

Tour guide bringing us a snack of pastizzi and Kinnie soda.

The savory ricotta filled “pastizzi” pastry.

Popular with locals is Kinnie soda. I was not overwhelmed.

We next went to the ancient city of Mdina (population 243). This fortified city dates back to the 8th century BC and was the early capital of the island until 1530 when the Order of St. John arrived. It was a cool place to wander around and we were given ample time to do so. Like most of the buildings on Malta the buildings are made of ivory colored stone.

One of the side streets leading to the residential area.

The flowers soften the appearance of the harsh stone buildings.

Views of the countryside from Inside the walled city of Mdina.

Our last stop of the day was to see and experience St. Mary’s Church in Mosta. The design of the church is based on the Pantheon in Rome. It sports the third largest unsupported dome in the world and is Malta’s largest and most famous church. The church narrowly avoided destruction during WWII when on 9 April 1942 a German aerial bomb pierced the dome and fell into the church during Mass, but failed to explode. Obviously parishioners considered it a miracle. There is a special display in the church showing pictures of the damage caused by the bomb.

St. Mary’s church in Mosta, with the third largest unsupported dome in the world. Yes, that is a hole in the top.

The German WWII unexploded bomb that hit the church.

It was then back to Valletta where we wandered the busy streets in the late afternoon, stopping for a drink and some people watching. Dinner was on our own this evening and we all wanted meat so off we went for a delightful dinner in a second story, outdoor restaurant overlooking one of the squares of Valletta.