2 On the Road: Valletta, Malta

Click on the photo to enlarge for reading. Here is what Viking had to say about this port.

We both did the Birgu by Boat and Foot excursion. Take a Traditional Water Taxi and Visit the Inquisitor’s Palace. Journey across the Grand Harbor to Birgu, where you will explore the sights of this old, fortified city. A short distance from your berth, you will board a dgħajsa, a traditional Maltese water taxi that traces its roots back to the 17th century. Set out on a scenic boat ride across the Grand Harbor to the vibrant marina of Birgu, located on the harbor’s southern shores and teeming with sailing boats and super yachts. Here, enjoy a guided walk down ancient alleys and past sights such as the Freedom Monument, which commemorates the withdrawal of British troops in 1879, and the 18th-century baroque St. Lawrence Church. Visit the Inquisitor’s Palace, the seat of the Maltese Inquisition for 200 years. View its restored rooms and learn more about Maltese society through the centuries, before boarding your dgħajsa and passing by the medieval Fort St. Angelo en route to your ship.

GoZo Highspeed operates this fast ferry out of Valletta to Mgarr in less than 45 minutes. Mgarr is located on the north side of the island of Malta. Malta is the largest and most populous of the three major islands that constitute the Maltese Archipelago.

The boat is situated parallel to shore, so this panoramic shot takes in most of Valletta, although in a distorted way.

The view to the south with a street called triq l-Ghassara ta' l-Gheneb leading into the city. I wonder how they shorten that street name when giving someone directions. The photo also shows the buses lined up to take people on excursions.

Valletta is surrounded by defensive walls and forts. The ship is docked approximately in the middle of the bottom.

Fort Lascaris is built out almost to the water line, so the road is under it. On the level just to the left of the crane in the distance, is the Saluting Battery, where the canons are fired at noon and 4 pm. The gray, cylindrical object to the left of the Saluting Battery is the top of the Barrakka Lift, an elevator from street level to above the Saluting Battery.

Looking to the north, you can see St Paul of the Shipwreck Church, a Roman Catholic Church built in the 1570's. Saint Paul the Apostle is considered the spiritual father of the Maltese. His shipwreck on Malta is described in the New Testament.

From the ship looking straight down at the gangplank and Viking port tent. Viking has apples and hand sanitizer there when we get back on the ship. Crew also stands by when we exit to greet us.

I would read this bus company's name as Cop Taco but I'm sure it has a different meaning from that.

The tour we are taking is a walking tour, so we don't get on any bus. We walk the Xatt Lacaris Street and admire the Maltese balconies. The Maltese Planning Commission has this concise description. "The Maltese closed wooden balcony is one of the most traditional elements within our historic urban landscape and a vital and influential feature within the local streetscape. However, the closed wooden balcony is not only found in the Maltese Islands but also in other Mediterranean countries. Its lineage is attributed to North African countries especially Morocco since it is here that the closest resemblance can be established. The ‘Muxrabija’ window is another element considered to be the predecessor of the closed balcony and which also has its origins firmly rooted in Arabic and North African custom."

Some are definitely in better shape than others.

To take the lift to the upper part of town, you would go through this entrance and pay €1 before approaching the elevator.

A stone statue of Maltese bishop, saint, and martyr St. Publicus depicts the Maltese saint wearing ecclesiastical garments of a bishop with a miter headdress and staff. He is standing on a circular 8' high base. Translation of the inscription on the base, "It is here that Count Publico Maria Sant, Archbishop of Malta, gives a 40-day indulgence to whom that recite a pater ave before this effigy of Saint Publico M. Image 1857"

There is a walking tunnel alongside the car tunnel.

Within the tunnel is a chapel. Notice the Maltese Cross on the alter.


Wikipedia tells us that the Maltese cross is a cross symbol was originally associated with the Knights Hospitallers who were involved with the Crusades during the medieval period. The Knights went to Malta and carried this cross with them. The Maltese cross symbolizes courage, honor, and bravery, due to its associations with the Knights. It is used around the world on medals of honor

We boarded a dgħajsa, a traditional Maltese water taxi that traces its roots back to the 17th century.

We would embark at Valletta (top left blue X) and debark at Birgu (bottom blue X).

As we leave shore, we see some colorful doors on the Valletta wharf.

Another side of St Paul of the Shipwreck Church

Crossing the Grand Harbour, we see Fort St Angelo on the left. It is in Birgu. Birgu is the Maltese name of this peninsula while Vittoriosa is its English name.

On the right is Senglea

Closer look at Fort St Angelo

Yachts docked at Birgu.

Birgu waterfront. As we approached Birgu, we could hear fireworks set off to observe the feast day of St. Lawrence, an early Christian martyr from Spain.

In front is a stored Maltese water taxi, with more examples of Maltese balconies on the buildings.

We departed the main channel and headed toward the waterfront. The church on the right is St. Lawrence's Catholic Church.

Water taxis waiting to pick up passengers.

St. Lawrence's Catholic Church was built by Lorenzo Gafa between 1681 and 1697. It is a fine example of Roman baroque architecture.

We went around the left side of the church and saw this memorial.

Looking up the street we see yet another entrance to the church.

The Oratory of the St Joseph.

This was another building across the alleyway.

Next stop was a plaza with two statues. Due to construction in the area, the Statue of Victory was completely covered. We did get to see the statue of St Lawrence.

Home of the Vittoriosa Stars Football Club, a Maltese football club from Birgu founded in 1906.

Old phone booth maintained as a piece of history.

Thrift shop.

Time to visit the Inquisitor's Palace. The Inquisition was a powerful office set up within the Catholic Church to root out and punish heresy (going against church teachings) throughout Europe and the Americas. It began in the 12th century and continued for hundreds of years. The Inquisition is infamous for the severity of its tortures and its persecution of Jews and Muslims.

The Inquisitors came to Malta in 1574, taking up residence in this palace that was built in the 1530s. The building became the headquarters of the Maltese Inquisition, serving as both a palace for the inquisitor and also housing the tribunal and prisons.

After the inquisition was abolished during the French occupation of Malta in 1798, the palace was used for a number of purposes, including as a military hospital, a mess hall and a convent. It has been a museum since 1966, being known as the National Museum of Ethnography since 1992. The building is one of the few surviving palaces of its kind in the world, and the only one which is open to the public.

Upon entering the building, we saw this marble plaque from 1749 that was once fixed on top of Giuseppe Cohen's house on Merchants Street, Valletta. The house was a reward from Grand Master Pinto for revealing the conspiracy of 1749. More on that later.

Ground floor layout of the Inquisitor's Palace.

One of two Inquisitors that became Popes many became cardinals.

Model of the town of Birgu

Timeline of the building's history.

Items left from the ground floors use as kitchens

I'm assuming this symbol on a table in the courtyard was from the time of the Inquisition

First flight of steps of the main staircase in the area where the Inquisitors lived.

Ceiling over staircase.

Main staircase looking down.

The Inquisitors did not climb the stairs, they were carried in litters such as this one.

Diagram of what we in the US would call the 2nd floor.

I believe the top of the wall in the Chancery is ringed with the names and shields of each Inquisitor.

The Ruffo Apartments contained many different displays.

Carnival costume

Inquisitor's bed chamber

There was a large room detailing the timeline of the slave revolt of 1749. The Conspiracy of the Slaves was a failed plot by Muslim slaves in Hospitaller-ruled Malta to rebel, assassinate Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca and take over the island. The revolt was to have taken place on 29 June 1749, but plans were leaked to the order before it began; the plotters were arrested and most were later executed.

Inquisition process

This short door was made this way so that everyone coming into the Tribunal room had to bow.

Tribunal

From the Tribunal, we headed down the stairs to the prison.

Torture room.

On the left (where the noose is located) is the most common instrument of torture, the strappado, also known as the corda. The accused was tied with his hands behind his back and hoisted off the ground with a rope to hang there for a quarter or half an hour. He would then be lowered back to the ground and if he did not admit his guilt the same treatment would be repeated to augment the discomfort and pain.
The middle instrument of torture was the cavalletto. This was a kind of high standing bench that had a triangular shape on which the accused was forced to sit on for period of time. The accused was meant to slowly suffer pain as he sat on the sharp edge that pressed up against his groin. Sometimes heavy weights were tied to his feet so that the pressure would be increased, and the admittance of guilt would be extracted sooner.

Prisoner's courtyard.

Looks mighty comfortable, doesn't it?

Male urination could take place here.

On leaving the prison, prisoners had to take an oath not to reveal anything they had seen or heard in the prisons.

Inquisitor's garden

The overall contribution of the Inquisition was to introduce the concept of the prisoners’ reform whereby prisoners were made to pay for their misdeeds. The emphasis of most Inquisitors was on the reformation of the prisoner not on his elimination as was usually the case in the civil prisons of the time.

After the Inquisitor's Palace we walked back to the waterfront to reboard the boats for a harbor tour.

There was time to explore so I walked around the roundabout in front of St Lawrence's Church

Freedom Day Monument in middle of roundabout symbolizes the British Forces leaving Malta on March 31, 1979, now known as Freedom Day. The Royal Navy were the last to leave and a sailor can be seen shaking the hand of a Maltese man, whilst the Maltese flag is raised to a bugle call.

I couldn't see the monument from the front due to the foliage.

Looking to the waterfront taxi stand from the steps of St Lawrence.

Smallest ice cream truck I've ever seen.

We're back on the water for our harbor tour. First we travel back toward Valletta to get to the main part of the harbor.

Back past the fancy yachts

The Viking Saturn at port.

Headed north toward Kalkara (next peninsula over) and The Ricasoli Fortifications.

A great way to see what this harbor looks like is to go to Google Maps and drop the Streetview guy on one of the dots in the middle of the harbor. These are drone shots from up high. Wonderful!

EsploraPlanetarium at Kalkara

Head of Kalkara peninsula.

The Harbour entrance looks quite small, but this photo is deceiving. They are angled so that one is approximately 2,000' further north than the other.