Upper Barracca Gardens

This is one of two gardens offering a panoramic view of the Grand Harbor. The Upper Barracca Gardens offer the better view because of their central location and higher elevation. The garden was the gift of an eighteenth-century knight. The Anglican Garrison Church cuts into a part of it. The garden is built over a half-bastion. A wrought-iron fence encloses the Grand Harbor side of the Gardens. The view of the harbor from this vantage point is splendid, attracting many site-seers and photographers.

There are numerous statues, monuments and plaques in the gardens. A small fountain feeds into a pool with water-lilies and goldfish in the center of the garden.

Auberge de Castille, Castille Place

Visitors arriving in Valletta via Triq Girolamo Cassar are greeted by the Auberge de Castille et Leon. The auberge was designed by Girolamo Cassar but later remodeled under Grand Master di Pinto, the Portuguese Grand Master of the Order of Castille et Leon. His architect, Domenico Cachia, educated in Catania and Lecce, started work in 1744. It is symmetrical and uniform. The building incorporates parts of Cassar's original building. The Auberge de Castille is one of the finest buildings constructed in 18th century Malta. The Prime Minister's offices now occupy the auberge.

St. John's Co-Cathedral

St. John the Baptist is the Patron Saint of the Order. This was the Order's church and was granted the status of Co-Cathedral in 1882 together with the Cathedral at Mdina. The Cathedral's construction began in 1573, sponsored by Grand Master La Cassiere. The architect was Gerolamo Cassar.

The plain and uninteresting exterior of the building belies the majesty of the Cathedral's interior. Cassar died in 1586 before the wings were built (1598 and 1604). Sir Walter Scott described the interior of the Cathedral as the most striking he had ever seen. The Cathedral's high altar attracts one's attention upon entering.

The plan is rectangular, 56.7 by 35.4 meters. On either side of the nave, supporting buttresses are concealed in walls which divide the sides into a number of Chapels. Under the buttresses, the walls of the Chapels are pierced by arched openings, aligned to create token aisles. The nave vault is supported by massive, four-sided pilasters. The interior is comparatively low but massive.

Almost all the faces of the stone walls are carved in high relief and covered in rich colors and gold leaf. Each order was allocated a chapel of its own in 1604. The chapels contain monuments - usually tombs - of the later Grand Masters of the orders. Earlier Grand Masters are buried in the crypt.

The spectacular Cathedral floor is covered in colorful marble slabs, each covering a tomb of a knight, his arms indicated in elaborate inlay.

The vault's frescoes were done by Calabrian master Mattia Preti. The paintings were commissioned by the Cotoner brothers, Raphael and Nicholas. Preti worked on them from 1662 until 1667.

During the feast of St. John (June 21), priceless tapestries from the time of Grand Master Ramon Perellos are hung along the nave half-way down the side arches. The fourteen panels were made in Belgium by Judocus de Vos in 1697 and are based on paintings by Rubens and Poussin. During the rest of the year the tapestries may be viewed in the adjoining Museum.

Oratory and Museum

Caravaggio's masterpiece, The Beheading of St. John, painted in 1608, is the Oratory's main attraction. The Museum can be reached from the Oratory. The Gobelin tapestries hanging in the museum should not be missed. Caravaggio is represented by another of his works, featuring St. Jerome.

Church of St. Paul the Shipwrecked, St. Paul Street

Cassar originally built this church, one of the first to be erected in Valletta. It has been remodeled and redecorated twice since. Its Blessed Sacrament chapel was designed by Lorenzo Gafa in 1680. Gafa's brother, Melchiorre, executed the image of St. Paul. The statue is carved from wood, painted and covered with gold leaf.

In keeping with a building dedicated to one of Malta's patron saints, it is lavish, and it holds some valued possessions. In the form of a Latin Cross, its dome is elliptical. Gafa's statue is solemnly carried through the streets on February 10 every year, marking the anniversary of St Paul's shipwreck.

Fort St. Elmo, Bottom of Republic Street

This was one of the first forts built by the Knights when they arrived in Malta. Prado, a Spanish engineer, was appointed with the task of building the fort. The star shape was used for St. Elmo. Work began in 1533, three years after the knights arrived in Malta.

Completely destroyed during the Great Siege of 1565, the fort was rebuilt by Laparelli in 1567. The fort was renovated, with additions being made, in subsequent years. These include a low wall, casements and outer bastions. Deep pits with stone lids for grain storage were also dug in the rock in front of the Fort.

Grand Master's Palace & Armory, Republic Street and Palace Square

The palace was built on the site occupied by one of the first houses in Valletta. The house belonged to Eustachio del Monte, the Grand Master's nephew. Built in 1569, the order bought the house in 1571. Gerolamo Cassar was commissioned to build the palace. The palace incorporates Eustachio's house in the southwest corner.

The exterior is quite imposing. The original iron balconies were replaced by wooden balconies towards the middle of the 18th century. There are two entrances in the front. The building has two interior courtyards. A statue of Neptune focuses the visitor's attention in one of the courtyards. Access to the state rooms from the Neptune Courtyard is by a spiral staircase. The ceiling of the entrance corridor was painted by Nicolo Nasini da Siena in 1724.

The Hall of St. Michael and St. George was the throne room. The ceiling, as in all the upper rooms, is of timber supported by beams whose great span is supported by carved corbels. The ceiling was painted by Matteo Perez d'Alessio before 1600. Scenes of the Great Siege adorn the walls. Relics from the Order's galley which brought them from Rhodes decorate the hall.

The Council Chambers, now used as the Maltese Parliament, display Gobelin tapestries which were presented to the order by Grand Master Perellos. The panels represent the riches of the Caribbean and South America.

The Armory runs the width of the back of the palace. Entry to the Armory is from the second courtyard. The Armory houses one of the finest weapons collections of the period of the Knights of Malta in Europe. Spears, swords, shields, heavy armor and other weapons are displayed here. The sword used by the Ottoman admiral, Dragut (Turgut Reis), during the Great Siege, is also exhibited.