In the middle of our three weeks in Rome, we popped over to Malta for a couple of nights to visit our niece and her family who live there. Two days in any place is just a taste, but that taste tells us we need to return. And, for those who wish to consider a visit, English is one of the island nation’s two main languages; the other language is Maltese. For a sense of the Maltese language, see the photo Mark took of a poster — it’s at end of this post.

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We found a small studio in Birgu, near our family’s home in Kalkara — just a 10-minutes walk. Both of these are centuries-old villages on the Grand Harbor, across which is Malta’s capital city, Valletta. Because of the harbor’s size, it might take 45 minutes or longer to drive around from Birgu to Valletta, but little motorized gondolas (water taxis) that hold up to six passengers take just minutes to cross. There is also a traditional ferry, but the gondolas are more expedient and, honestly, it’s quite fun to be close to the sparkling water while dodging massive ships.

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The areas we visited — the capital city Valletta and the cities of Birgu and Kalkara — are beautiful. The narrow buildings are built of golden limestone, and reminded us of Siracusa in Sicily. This makes sense geologically as Malta is directly south of that part of Sicily. Birgu, where we stayed, is one of the most historic cities on Malta and was the capital before Valletta was built. It is home to Fort St. Angelo, the Maritime Museum, and the Inquisitor’s Palace. The latter was directly across the narrow lane from our studio apartment. As shown below, you can see that many of the streets are narrow and often consist of many steps.

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We all went to Valletta to run some errands and, while there, we had lunch and visited Saint John’s Catholic Co-Cathedral, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It was built in the late 1570s, designed by Girolamo Cassar, and redecorated in the 1660s in the High Baroque style by Calabrian artist Mattia Preti, who also did many of the interior paintings. The Co-Cathedral has nine chapels, eight of which are dedicated the the langues (languages) of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, also known as the Knights Hospitaller, or the Knights of Malta. They were founded in the 11th century to provide medical care and aid to poor or sick Christian pilgrims, and this island eventually became their country. Just for fun, the various Langues are:  Auvergne; Aragon; Castile, Léon, and Portugal; Anglo-Bavarian; Provence; France; Italy; and Germany. Over time, the order militarized to defend Crusader territories, ultimately operating as an influential naval force in the Mediterranean.

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If you have been following our Rome adventures, you know that Mark can sniff out a painting by Caravaggio from a thousand paces; the Co-Cathedral has two. The most important is the “Beheading of Saint John the Baptist,” painted for the oratory within the cathedral, and the only painting signed by the artist himself. The other is “Saint Jerome Writing,” downstairs in a special exhibit about Caravaggio. 

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During our brief visit I saw very little street art (though there may well be more) but these two made me smile.

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And, of course, the whole reason we went to Malta was to visit family. After living there just four months, they are settled in and active, taking classes, joining local groups, and exploring everything Malta has to offer — and that is a lot. Here we are wandering through the cobbled streets. 

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The food in Malta was excellent and we were treated to several delightful meals. Two restaurants that I’d highly recommend are:

Chef Adrian Hili, who came from the River Café in London, offers a fresh, seasonal menu that changes weekly. Seating is available both indoor and waterside outdoors at the base of Fort St. Angelo, one of the area’s many towering ramparts. For our starter, we had the caponata for which eggplant was grilled and combined with fresh cherry tomatoes, golden raisins, salted capers, and pine nuts. For the main course, we had the spinach ravioli, filled with sheep ricotta, in a sauce of asparagus, fresh pea, wild garlic (ramps), lemon, and mint. We finished with the Maltese lemon tart. The food was exquisite, and the service perfectly attentive.

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Novità, Xatt Juan B. Azopardo, Senglea

In the city of Senglea, just southwest across the inlet from Birgu, Novițà sits on at the water’s edge with both indoor and waterside seating. The menu is Mediterranean, and combines local and Italian flavors. The food is quite good, as is the service. We started with the crispy octopus with burrata (their specialty), and continued with the fagotti — little pasta purses with candied pear and cheese in a cream sauce. We opted to skip dessert that evening. You can see the restaurant below behind our niece.

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