Valletta is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital city, it is a commercial centre for shopping, bars, dining, and café life. It is also the southernmost capital of Europe, and at just 0.61 square kilometres (0.24 sq mi), it is the European Union's smallest capital city.
Gżira is a town in the Central Region of Malta. It is located between Msida and Sliema, also bordering on Ta' Xbiex. It has a population of 11,699 as of January 2019. The word Gżira means "island" in Maltese, and the town is named after Manoel Island which lies to the east of Gżira, between the Sliema peninsula and Valletta. The seafront of Gżira has views of the walled city of Valletta, which is illuminated at night, forming a backdrop to Manoel Island, the yacht marina and a seafront public garden. The hamlet of Kappara is located close to Gżira. The Orpheum Theatre is located in Gżira.
Pietà is a small harbour town in the Eastern Region of Malta, located near the outskirts of the capital city Valletta.
Senglea, also known by its title Città Invicta, is a fortified city in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It is one of the Three Cities in the Grand Harbour area, the other two being Cospicua and Vittoriosa, and has a population of approximately 2,720 people. The city's title Città Invicta was given because it managed to resist the Ottoman invasion at the Great Siege of Malta in 1565. The name Senglea comes from the Grand Master who built it Claude de la Sengle and gave the city a part of his name. While Senglea is the 52nd most populated locality on the island, due to its incredibly small land area, it is the 2nd most densely populated locality after Sliema.
Paola is a town in the South Eastern Region of Malta, with 8,706 inhabitants as of 2019. The town is a commercial centre in the Southern Harbour area of Malta, about 5 km from the capital Valletta, contiguous to Tarxien and Fgura, with which it forms a single urban area. Paola is named after Grand Master Antoine de Paule, who laid the foundation stone in 1626.
Gudja is a village in the Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 3,148 as of March 2017. The village is located on high grounds, south of the capital Valletta. It is administered by the Gudja Local Council. A number of schools, clubs, public gardens and recreation places are found around the village.
Fort Manoel is a star fort on Manoel Island in Gżira, Malta. It was built in the 18th century by the Order of Saint John, during the reign of Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena, after whom it is named. Fort Manoel is located to the north west of Valletta, and commands Marsamxett Harbour and the anchorage of Sliema Creek. The fort is an example of Baroque architecture, and was designed with both functionality and aesthetics in mind.
The Our Lady of Victory Church, formerly known as the Saint Anthony the Abbot Church, was the first church and building completed in Valletta, Malta. In 1566, following the Great Siege of Malta, Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette and his Order showed interest to build a church in the name of the Nativity of the Virgin as a form of thanksgiving; the construction was funded by de Valette.
Maltese architecture has its origins in prehistory, and some of the oldest free-standing structures on Earth – a series of megalithic temples – can be found on Malta. The islands were colonized by the Phoenicians and later the Romans, who established the cities of Melite and Gaulos. Although these were substantial settlements and are known to have had numerous temples, churches and palaces, few remains have survived apart from some architectural fragments.
The Church of the Circumcision of Our Lord, also known as the Church of the Jesuits or the Church of the University, is one of the oldest and largest churches in Valletta, Malta. It was originally built between 1593 and 1609 by the Jesuit order, and it is located adjacent to the Old University Building, which originally housed a Jesuit college known as the Collegium Melitense. The church was rebuilt in the Baroque style by Francesco Buonamici after suffering extensive damage in an explosion in 1634. The church remained in use after the Jesuits were expelled from Malta in 1768, and it is also used for Masters and Doctoral graduation ceremonies of the University of Malta, the successor to the Collegium.
The Nibbia Chapel was a Roman Catholic chapel in Valletta, Malta, which was dedicated to Our Lady of Mercy. It was originally built in 1619 by Fra Giorgio Nibbia, a knight of the Order of St. John, and it was located near a cemetery where deceased patients from the nearby Sacra Infermeria were buried.
The Church of Saint Nicholas, also known as the Church of All Souls, is a Greek Catholic church in Valletta, Malta, dedicated to Saint Nicholas. Originally built as a Greek Orthodox church in 1569, it was conceded to the Confraternity of the Souls in Purgatory in 1639, who rebuilt the church in the Baroque style in 1652. The church was passed back to the Greek Catholic congregation in 2014 however the church is used from Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The Basilica of St Dominic or also known as the Basilica of Our Lady of Safe Haven and St Dominic is one of the three parish churches of Valletta, Malta. It is administered by the Dominican Order whose convent is located behind the church.
The Church of Our Lady of the Pillar is a 17th-century church located in Valletta, Malta. The church was built as the church of the Aragonese knights and modeled according to the plans of the architect Romano Carapecchia. The church is listed on the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.
The Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a Carmelite Roman Catholic minor basilica dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, located in Valletta, Malta. It is one of the major churches of Valletta, and it forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site which includes the entire city. The present church was constructed between 1958 and 1981 on the site of a late 16th century church which was destroyed during World War II.
The Church of the Flight into Egypt is a Roman Catholic church located at the Valletta Waterfront in Floriana, Malta. The church was built in the 18th-century on the baroque design of Andrea Belli for spiritual service of the workers at the Pinto Stores. The church was hit by aerial bombardment in World War II in 1941 and it was then restored in 1989 but it remained unconsecrated. It was opened for church service again in 2006 together with the Valletta Waterfront. The current rector is Paul Attard.
The fortifications of Valletta are a series of defensive walls and other fortifications which surround Valletta, the capital city of Malta. The first fortification to be built was Fort Saint Elmo in 1552, but the fortifications of the city proper began to be built in 1566 when it was founded by Grand Master Jean de Valette. Modifications were made throughout the following centuries, with the last major addition being Fort Lascaris which was completed in 1856. Most of the fortifications remain largely intact today.
Ġnien is-Sultan, also known as the Giardino della Marina, the Grand Master's Garden or Lascaris Garden, was a garden in Valletta, Malta. It was established in the 17th century by Giovanni Paolo Lascaris, and included a summer residence for the Grand Master. The garden included several Baroque elements designed by Francesco Buonamici.
The Church of Our Lady of Sorrows is a Roman Catholic church in Pietà, Malta. It was established in the late 16th or early 17th century near a cemetery in which victims of the 1592–1593 Malta plague epidemic were buried. It was originally dedicated to Saint Roch, but after a convent was built next to it in the early 17th century it was rededicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. The church later gave its name to the town of Pietà which developed nearby, and the present building dates back to the mid-18th century when it was reconstructed. Both the church and the convent are currently in the hands of a Catholic youth ministry.
St Catherine's Monastery is a monastery in Valletta, Malta which houses cloistered nuns of the Second Order of Saint Augustine. It incorporates the Church of the Presentation of Our Lady, which is more commonly known as the Church of St Catherine. The church and monastery were built in the 18th century and they replaced a previous monastery which had been housed in a 16th-century palace.
