Valletta, Malta’s capital, a fortified city is located on a hilly peninsula between two of the finest natural harbours in the Mediterranean.

Valletta was founded soon after the Great Siege of Malta of 1565. The Order of Saint John, aided by the most respected European architects of the 16th century, conceived and planned the city as a single, holistic creation of the late Renaissance, with a uniform, Hippodamian grid plan within fortified city walls. The fabric of the city includes a compact ensemble of 320 monuments that encapsulate every aspect of the civil, religious, artistic and military functions of its illustrious founders. These include the 16th century buildings of the late Renaissance, such as Saint John’s Co-Cathedral and the Grand Master’s Palace, as well as the improvements attributed to the military engineers and architects of the 18th century such as the Library and the Manoel Theatre.

The combined wealth of art, architecture and concentrated historic areas in Valletta makes this magnificent city an incomparable cultural experience.