Click here to see the full post on the web with pictures.
Sunday, November 20, 2022
We started the day by taking the water taxi across The Grand Harbor. Our plan was to visit “The Three Cities”. Taxi costs just €2.80 per person each way. Credit cards are accepted. The three cities all seem to have alternate names so things can get a little confusing. There is Cospicua which is also called Bormla, Birgu referred to as Vittoriosa, and Senglea aka Isla. The ferry landed in the city of Cospicua (maybe it was Bormla, we’ll never know for sure 😎).
We walked over to the Immaculate Conception Church and hoped that a service wouldn’t be in progress. One had just ended. It was a typical Baroque church with lovely decorations. What was somewhat unique is that there were heavy velvet drapery separating the chapels and huge crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. It made an impression. As we were walking around the lights started turning off. It was a sign that we wouldn’t have a lot of time. We took our pictures and left.
A few blocks away we stopped to see Saint Helen’s Gate. It was listed as one of those things you just have to see. Well, we saw it. It was a typical city gate with two arches for cars and one in the middle for pedestrians. It also had several large coats of arms.
Afterwards we walked over to another islet to Fort Saint Angelo in the city of Birgu. Like it’s cousin, Fort Saint Elmo, it was built by the Knights in the mid 16th Century and was instrumental in repelling the Turks during the Siege of Malta in 1565. It’s likely that there have been fortifications on this site even before recorded history. Churches have been known to exist on the site dating from the 7th Century AD.
In 1912 the British Navy assumed control and treated the fort as a stone frigate. They renamed it HMS Egmont and always had an actual ship tethered to the fort to complete the illusion. The new name angered the locals so in 1933, when it became the base for the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean, it was again renamed to HMS Saint Angelo. Today the base provides a place to get fantastic views of the harbor and of Valletta. There is also a museum telling the history of the fort with emphasis on the time of the Knights and World War II. We had purchased a combination ticket to the fort which included The Inquisitor’s Palace and the Tarxien Temple. The cost was €9.00 per person. Credit cards were accepted.
On our way to The Inquisitor’s Palace we found an interesting restaurant for lunch. It had such a nice menu that we had trouble deciding. Finally we ordered ziti with smoked salmon and fish & chips. The portions were enormous. The pasta came with a white/cheese sauce. I would have said that the salmon was baked instead of smoked. In any event there was a lot of it and it was really fresh and tasty. The fish & chips were made from fresh fish and came with a Mediterranean salad and French fries. I don’t know how but we managed to eat it all.
Although there were previous forms of official punishment (also called Inquisitions) the Roman Inquisition was setup in 1542 by Pope Paul III as a bulwark against the Protestant Reformation. Emissaries were sent to just about every country to preside over these proceedings. The Inquisition officially started in Malta in 1561 with the appointment of Mgr Pietro Dusina.
The Inquisitor’s Palace here in Malta is one of the few remaining examples in Europe. It was originally built as a courthouse but was abandonned when the Knights moved the capital to Valletta. Subsequently it was offered to the The Inquisitor as his residence. A long line of Inquisitors expanded and upgraded the mansion. Many of them brought their own collections of art when they came. The upper floors resemble a typical ecclesiastic palace with a private chapel, fancy furniture, and beautiful works of art. The museum also contains quite a bit of information on people who were subjected to the Inquisition. Great lengths are taken to convey that the Maltese Inquisition was not nearly as harsh as some of the others – notably the Spanish Inquisition. It is, however, acknowledged that some people were tortured and a few were executed. Quite a few were jailed for years without convictions only to be let go without explanation.
The basement floors were for prisoners. We saw a number of small stone cells that would have held numerous people. The walls had carvings etched in them as a way to help the prisoners pass the time. Many of them produced calendars to count the days of their incarceration. Also on display was a primitive communal toilet that prisoners could use only when escorted by the jailer. There was also an interrogation room where prisoners would be questioned and possibly tortured. Torture was never used as a punishment; it was always used as an inducement to confess sins or report on others.
Our final stop of the day was at Our Lady of Victories Church in Senglea. Our path took us to The Fortifications of Senglea, a high Medieval wall that would have protected the town from invaders. When we arrived the church was closed. We took a few pictures of the outside and headed back to the ferry. We’d managed to visit all three cities.
Monday, November 21, 2022
The city of Mdina, the ancient capital of Malta, owes its roots to the 8th Century BC when it was settled by the Phoenicians. At that time it was called Maleth. When the Romans conquered the area the name was changed to Melite. Later, under the rule of the Arabs, it was given its present name – a name derived from the Arab word ‘medina’, referring to a walled city. When the Knights came in 1530 Birgu was made the administrative center. Later, when Valletta was built, it was designated at the country’s capital.
During our last trip we had a lot of fun tracking down places where Game of Thrones had been filmed. Many of those places were in Croatia. It has just come to our attention that the first season was actually filmed in Malta. We saw some of those places yesterday when we visited The Three Cities. Today we’re going to find some more.
We took the public bus to Mdina. It dropped us off just a couple of blocks from the citadel. Tickets cost €2.00 per person each way. Single tickets are normally purchased directly from the driver. According to what we read exact change is necessary because the drivers will not make change. We had a happy surprise: the busses take credit cards.
There is a narrow path that leads to the main gate and the entrance to the Medieval city. That gate was used as background in Game of Thrones. We crossed the threshold and started walking the streets. It was absolutely charming. It’s a real, live Medieval town come to life with stone streets, narrow winding alleys, and all sorts of charm. We were surprised to see that a number of buildings were private homes where people live. Imagine living in a genuine Medieval town?! Of course, many of the homes have been turned into storefronts, shops, and restaurants that cater to tourists.
We walked around for a bit and found an overlook near the far wall. There was a great view of the countryside. We ran into a shop called, “The Maltese Falcon”. Naturally we had to go in. There weren’t any falcons but there was a lot of very pretty jewelry. Then we went looking for Pjazza Mesquita. This was another place featured on GOT. It was the home of Petyr Baelish’s brothel and the place where Jaime Lannister stabbed Ned Stark in the leg. We took lots of pictures. Now, back to our regularly scheduled program: churches.
We purchased a ticket to see Saint Paul’s Cathedral. €8.00 a piece allowed us to see the Cathedral and tour the associated museum. Credit cards are accepted. We were encouraged to start with the museum.
We’ve seen bunches of church museums / treasuries so we weren’t expecting much. This one fooled us. It was rather large and had some very interesting displays. The first thing we saw was a series of 15 rather tall sculptures of saints made almost entirely out of silver. They had been produced in Rome between 1741 and 1743 for the Order. During the French invasion of 1798 they, along with many other church artifacts, were stolen with the intention of melting them down to pay the French soldiers. The church paid a large ransom to get them back.
Another display had the oldest bell in Malta. Dating from 1370 it was removed from its tower after the earthquake of 1693 (the one that destroyed Catania in Sicily). It is said that Medieval bells such as this were produced using an obsolete casting method and have a sound that is quite distinct from what we are used to. We didn’t get an opportunity to hear it.
Another usual thing to see was two sets of Capodimonte figures depicting mythological scenes. In spite of being all white they were quite elegant. One of the largest rooms, which had gorgeous marble tiled floors, held a large number of Medieval paintings and polyptychs. They were in excellent condition. Lastly, there was a large collection of paintings from the 18th-20th Century including religious, mythological, and secular themes.
The last section held a collection of prints by Albrecht Durer (1471-1528). There was a series of wood block prints and a series of copperplate prints totalling about 50 works in all. They had been donated by a single individual in 1833 with the proviso that they be exhibited in a museum.
It was an impressive museum.
Of course, we saw the church next. It, too, was impressive. Designed as a Latin cross style it was decorated in the Baroque style. All of the works were documented. The floor tiles were large inlaid blocks of polychrome marble. Some had actual burials and some were just memorials. This church replaced a smaller one that was destroyed by the earthquake. The heavily carved wooden door leading to the Sacristy was one of the few pieces that survived the disaster.
We found a nice little cafe just outside of the citadel. They had something we’ve been looking for since we came to Malta: lampuki pie. We got some – and some pasta with ricotta cheese. The pasta was nothing special but the pie was unbelievably good. It’s a traditional Maltese dish made with Mahi Mahi. This one had potatoes, onions, and capers. We shared a piece of lemon mouse cake for dessert. Yum!
When we took the walking tour our guide had shown us a traditional Maltese clock. It was gorgeous. They are made of wood, have painted dials, and are embellished with 24 gold leaf. I asked her where we could buy one. She said that normally you can only buy them as antiques but that there was someone in Mdina that still made them. We found that shop.
The shop both makes new and restores old clocks. They had samples of both for us to see. We were impressed. If we’d had a house we certainly would have ordered one. Maybe we will anyway because there is an 18 month wait to get one.
We walked on for a bit and crossed in to the neighboring town of Rabat and headed for Saint Paul’s (another church with the same name). This church was built over the grotto where Saint Paul reportedly lived and preached for three months. When we got there the church was closed. We could have purchased tickets to see the grotto and catacombs but declined the opportunity.
Now we had another GOT site to find: Saint Dominic’s Priory. Several scenes were shot in a garden there. When we arrived the church was closed. Off to the right, behind a locked fence, we could see a small, overgrown garden. We snapped some pictures but wasn’t sure it was the right place. Walking back past the entrance of the church we noticed an open door by the priory. We went in. There was a desk where a greeter might have been but it was unattended. Beyond was a cloister. It looked familiar. As quickly and quietly as we could we walked the perimeter and snapped a bunch of pictures. This was the place we’d been looking for. When we were finally out the door we laughed like giddy kids. We felt like we’d gotten away with something.
Before taking the bus back we stopped off at a bakery we’d seen. We bought a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza and a bunch (I won’t tell you how many because it’s embarrassing) of pastries. We also found a stand that had homemade Maltese treats. We were offered samples of quite a few. Naturally we bought some. It was all for dinner later.
To sum up we visited two new cities, explored a genuine Medieval town, ate some great food, saw some very interesting things, had a great time at the clock shop, stalked Saint Peter some more, found three Game of Thrones sites, and brought home all sorts of interesting things for dinner. It was a great day!
Tuesday, November 22, 2022