Hastings Gardens is a public garden in Valletta, Malta. It is located on top of St. John's Bastion and St. Michael's Bastion, on the west side of the City Gate. The garden offers views of Floriana, Msida, Sliema, and Manoel Island. [1] Inside the garden is a monument placed by the Hastings family in honor of Francis, Marquis of Hastings, who was a governor of Malta. Lord Hastings died in 1826 and is buried in the garden. [2]
There is a Maltese legend that the gardens took only 4 hours to be built. This legend comes from the fact that the Maltese people are hard workers. Adriano De Vina is the only known architect of the gardens.
On 22 December 2009, a khachkar was unveiled at Hastings by the Armenian community in Malta. The khachkar was specially made in Armenia and delivered to Malta. Members of Maltese Parliament, the Mayor of Valletta and other guests were present at the ceremony. The memorial board at the khachkar says:
In token of friendship between the Maltese and Armenian people.
Armenia thanks Malta for its support to Armenians who found refuge in this island in the tragic years of 1375 and 1915
The Sette Giugno Monument, originally located in St. George's Square, next to the Inquisitor's Palace, was moved to storage in June 2009 after works were being made in the square. [3] A year later, in 2010, the monument was moved to Hastings Gardens. It was planned to be placed near the new Parliament House, [4] but it was instead put back in its original location. [5]
Valletta is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 was 6,444. According to the data from 2020 by Eurostat, the Functional Urban Area and metropolitan region covered the whole island and has a population of 480,134. Valletta is 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.
San Anton Palace is a palace in Attard, Malta that currently serves as the official residence of the President of Malta. It was originally built in the early 17th century as a country villa for Antoine de Paule, a knight of the Order of St. John. It was expanded into a palace following de Paule's election as Grand Master in 1623.
Casa Rocca Piccola is a 16th-century palace in Malta, and home of the noble Maltese family de Piro. It is situated in Valletta, the capital city of Malta. There are daily tours from 10am till 5pm. The palace includes a restaurant called La Giara Restaurant.
City Gate is a gate located at the entrance of Valletta, Malta. The present gate, which is the fifth one to have stood on the site, was built between 2011 and 2014 to designs of the Italian architect Renzo Piano.
Fort Saint Elmo is a star fort in Valletta, Malta. It stands on the seaward shore of the Sciberras Peninsula that divides Marsamxett Harbour from Grand Harbour, and commands the entrances to both harbours along with Fort Tigné and Fort Ricasoli. It is best known for its role in the Great Siege of Malta of 1565.
Sette Giugno is a Maltese national holiday celebrated annually on 7 June. It commemorates events which occurred on that day in 1919 when, following a series of riots by the Maltese population, British troops fired into the crowd, killing four peoples. This led to increased resistance to the colonial government and support for the pro-Italian irredentists that had challenged the British presence on the island.
Saint James Cavalier is a 16th-century cavalier in Valletta, Malta, which was built by the Order of St John. It overlooks St James' Bastion, a large obtuse-angled bastion forming part of the Valletta Land Front. St James was one of nine planned cavaliers in the city, although eventually only two were built, the other one being the identical Saint John's Cavalier. It was designed by the Italian military engineer Francesco Laparelli, while its construction was overseen by his Maltese assistant Girolamo Cassar. St James Cavalier never saw use in any military conflict, but it played a role during the Rising of the Priests in 1775.
The Grandmaster's Palace, officially known as The Palace, is a palace in Valletta, Malta. It was built between the 16th and 18th centuries as the palace of the Grand Master of the Order of St. John, who ruled Malta from 1530 to 1798, and was also known as the Magisterial Palace. When the knights were expelled by Napoleonic France, it became the National Palace. During the period of British rule beginning in 1800, it was the Governor's Palace.
This page list topics related to Malta.
Republic Square is a piazza in Valletta, Malta. The square was originally called Piazza Tesoreria or Piazza dei Cavallieri, since the treasury of the Order of Saint John was located in the square. After a statue of Queen Victoria was installed in the square in the 19th century, it became known as Queen's Square or Piazza Regina. Although its official name is Republic Square, it is still commonly referred to as Piazza Regina.
Din l-Art Ħelwa is a non-governmental and non-profit, voluntary organisation founded in 1965 by Maltese Judge Maurice Caruana Curran to safeguard Malta's cultural heritage and natural environment. Since its foundation, Din l-Art Ħelwa has restored numerous cultural sites of historic and environmental importance. The organisation promotes the preservation and protection of historic buildings and monuments, the character of Malta's towns and villages, and places of natural beauty. They stimulate the enforcement of existing laws and the enactment of new ones for the protection of Malta's natural and built heritage.
The Malta Railway was the only railway line ever on the island of Malta, and it consisted of a single railway line from Valletta to Mdina. It was a single-track line in metre gauge, operating from 1883 to 1931. The railway was known locally in Maltese as il-vapur tal-art.
The Wignacourt Aqueduct is a 17th-century aqueduct in Malta, which was built by the Order of Saint John to carry water from springs in Dingli and Rabat to the newly built capital city Valletta. The aqueduct was carried through underground pipes and over arched viaducts across depressions in the ground.
Saint John's Cavalier is a 16th-century cavalier in Valletta, Malta, which was built by the Order of St. John. It overlooks St. John's Bastion, a large obtuse-angled bastion forming part of the Valletta Land Front. St. John was one of nine planned cavaliers in the city, although eventually only two were built, the other one being the identical Saint James Cavalier. It was designed by the Italian military engineer Francesco Laparelli, while its construction was overseen by his Maltese assistant Girolamo Cassar.
The Parliament House is the meeting place of the Parliament of Malta located in Valletta, Malta. The building was constructed between 2011 and 2015 to designs by Renzo Piano as part of the City Gate Project, which also included building a new City Gate and converting the ruins of the Royal Opera House into an open-air theatre. Construction of the Parliament House generated considerable controversy, mainly due to the modern design of the building and the cost of construction, which amounted to around €90 million.
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.
Palazzo Ferreria, officially Palazzo Buttiġieġ-Francia, is a palace found near the entrance of Valletta, the capital city of Malta. It was built in the late 19th century. Designed by Architect Giuseppe Bonavia, it makes use of an interesting concept of adding local timber balconies to a design inspired from that of buildings in Italy. It is protected as a Grade 2 national monument.
Ponsonby's Column, also known as Ponsonby's Cenotaph, was a monumental column in Valletta, Malta. It was built in 1838 as a memorial to Major-General Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby, a former Governor of Malta, but it was destroyed by lightning in 1864. Its plinth survived, and is now located near Hastings Gardens.
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 it included a summer residence for the Grand Master. The garden included several Baroque elements designed by Francesco Buonamici.
Close to the Valletta Grand Harbour, St. Barbara Bastion is a flat-faced bastion with a low parapet overlooking the Grand Harbour Area, Valletta, Malta.