Malta - Knights' Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta

"Geographic location has an emphatic habit of influencing the course of history. The story of Malta is an important case in point. Sited practically in the centre of the Mediterranean, its important strategic position was such that none of the maritime powers then vying for the control of this sea could have afforded to ignore it. The island's position was ideal, for apart from commanding the narrow waters between the two great basins of the Mediterranean, it also possessed excellent natural harbours, secure havens for battle fleets. It was, above all, the presence of the Grand Harbour that was to prove so instrumental in attracting foreign occupation. And once occupied, the need to secure this anchorage from attack was to dictate the scope and form of the island's defenses. Thus, over the centuries, the harbour area has witnessed the building of great works of fortification designed by engineers from most of the major military power: Spanish, Italian, French and British, the result of which is one of the finest collections of military architecture in the world. In the words of Prof. Quentin Hughes, "a monumental heritage... for sheer concentration and majesty quite unmatched". The process was set in motion with the coming of the Knights of the Order of St. John to Malta in 1530. Although some medieval fortifications already existed inside the Grand Harbour, it was the Hospitaller Knights who set out to establish the harbour as a fortified naval base...." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

Postcard 1
A multi-view of Fortresses of the Knights in the Maltese islands including the fortress in Valetta, Malta shown in the bottom right corner. Thanks to Jean-Pierre of France. Postmarked 12-12-2012.

Postcard 2

Fort St Angelo is one of the fortified position in the Grand Harbour in Malta. Thanks to Henrik of Sweden visiting Malta.

Malta - Maltese Catacomb Complexes

"The Paleochristian heritage of the Maltese Islands rates as the fourth most important cluster of such monuments in the Mediterranean Region following those of the Italy, Israel and of the Maghreb. The most prominent feature of Malta's Paleochristian archaeology consists of an extensive concentration of subterranean burial grounds (OI catacombs) located under the modern town of Rabat and the surrounding rural districts. The Maltese catacombs are hewn out of the live rock and the majority were originally located on the outskirts of the ancient Roman town of Melite (today's Rabat) in a period covering the mid-Third to the early Seventh Century AD - Melite being in antiquity the administrative capital of the Maltese islands. These burial grounds developed from a tradition of simple rock-cut tombs of the Phoenician and Hellenistic eras (7th cent BC -1st cent AD). Such older tombs were composed of simple pits cut into the rock, at the bottom of which a chamber would be scooped out. In later centuries more complex solutions were attempted, resulting in the catacomb typology used in Malta during the Imperial Roman and Byzantine period...."
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative ListCatacombs of St Paul and St Agatha in Rabat, Malta with agape tables, fresco paintings and funerary furniture. Thanks to Nathalie of France who visited Malta.

Malta - Qawra/Dwejra

"DescriptionThe Qawra/Dwejra site combines interesting geology, both on land and under the sea, rich diverse wildlife and habitats, dramatic seascapes dominated by a rocky shoreline, cultural elements spanning from the 3rd century BC to the 19th century AD and a general wilderness feel. Both the inland sea (Qawra) and Dwejra Bay are excellent examples of large-scale circular subsidence structures and associated infill sediments with clear fossil beds. In fact, on western Gozo one finds an impressive number of solution subsidence structures in a relatively small area. These geological formations were formed as underground caverns through a dissolution process which could only have taken place on land. During the Miocene, seafloor collapse created 12 initial structures whereas many others originated from Quaternary subaerial collapse during the Pleistocene, when the emergence of the Maltese Islands reactivated the process. These various structures, some of which are completely submerged, clearly explain the geological history of the Pelagian Block (Central Mediterranean). Superimposed on the geological processes is the geomorphological one with evidence of marine erosion on the subsidence structures. In fact, very good examples of marine erosion processes at work are present at Qawra/Dwejra, with the whole sequence of features being present - sea-caves, tunnels, arches, stacks and reefs..."
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

Fungus Rock and Azure Window of Dwejra, Gozo, Malta. Thanks to Nathalie who visited Malta and mailed 3 wonderful postcards of Malta using different nice stamps.

Malta - Cittadella (Victoria - Gozo)

"The Cittadella is in the centre of Gozo, Malta's sister island. The small fortified town is situated on a promontory sited over the town of Victoria (also known as Rabat). This vantage point was obviously chosen because it was a naturally fortified hill which dominated the surrounding countryside and provided visual control of the coastal areas. The geological and geomorphological characteristics were ideal to support ancient settlements and provide a foundation for town development. The Cittadella was referred to as Gaulcouis Civitas (possible after the Roman settlement) before the arrival of the Knights of the Order of St. John. The archaeological record of the Cittadella Fortifications indicates that this naturally defended hilltop hosted a small urban or proto-urban settlement at least as early as the Bronze Age. Given its central location within Gozo, this settlement grew to become the administrative center of the island in Phoenician and Roman times. In classical times the hill top appears to have housed some form of monumental public building or temple. However the town is known to have grown in size well beyond the original hill-top setting to spread onto the underlying plain. In the Middle Ages, the area's human settlement appears to have been restricted back to the hill-top, although a suburb appears to have continued functioning at its base. The Medieval township at the Cittadella is documented to have thrived up to the 16th Century, and included a densely packed urban settlement. Most of the Medieval heritage at Cittadella survives today only as archaeological deposits, although survival of medieval buildings up to two metres in height is not uncommon..."
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List The Citadel of Gozo, Malta. Thanks to Nathalie.

Malta - Coastal Cliffs

"The coastal cliffs of the Maltese Islands are characterised by vertical or near-vertical rock faces rising from the sea to heights of up to 70-130m above mean sea level and continuing below it down to depths of 80m in places. Steep slopes which are often terraced and which have been under cultivation for hundreds of years cap parts of these cliffs whereas spectacular boulder screes (known locally as rdum) dominate others. Coastal rdum landscapes typically consist of an Upper Coralline Limestone block overlying Blue Clay. Erosion and recession of the latter causes the cliff edges to collapse under their own weight resulting in massive boulders which then move downslope over the mobile clay, particularly when this is wet and plastic. A boulder scree thus results at the foot of the escarpment and, where the rdum is close to sea level, extends downslope to the sea where it may form a boulder shore in places. A perched aquifer is present in the permeable Coralline Limestone, supported by the Blue Clay aquiclude. Seepage from this, in the form of scarp-foot springs, results in the slopes below the rdum receiving abundant water during the wet season and beyond. Because of their relative inaccessibility both the vertical cliffs rising from the sea and the rdum with their boulder screes provide important refuges for many threatened and/or specialised species of Maltese flora and fauna, including many endemics. 

Within the cliff systems are found examples of many unusual central Mediterranean coastal habitats, including clay slopes, boulder screes, and rocky ledges on the cliff faces and karstic limestone plateaux beyond the cliff edge. Gorges cut by extinct streams interrupt the cliffs in places and where these dry valleys (known locally as widien) open on the coast, they occasionally give rise to saline marshlands and sandy and shingle beaches. Away from the mouth of these valleys are found characteristic watercourse and spring habitats. With these habitats are associated rupestral, steppic, garigue and maquis assemblages, as well as those of temporary rainwater rock-pools that form on the karstic rock, and those of watercourses and freshwater wetlands. Because of the heterogencity of the terrain, mosaics of assemblages form, giving rise to a very rich biodiversity The fauna of the coastal cliffs includes some of the rarest of Maltese animals. 

For example, the endemic snail Lampedusa melitensis occupies a very precarious habitat of a few tens of square metres on a small area of boulders on the south-west cliffs of Malta, while two other rare, endemic snails (Lampedusa imitatrix and Trochoidea gharlapsi) are found in just a few cliffside localities. The cliffside vegetation is dominated by shrubs and is especially important due to the presence of a large number of endemic plant taxa, including the Maltese Rock Centaury (Palucocyanus crassifolius - the National Plant of Malta), the Maltese Salt Tree (Darniella melitensis) and the Maltese Cliff-Orache (Cremnophyton lanfrancoi).... Locations include Malta, Ghawdex, Kemmuna, Kemmunett islet and Filfla islet (Central Mediterranean)."


Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

Aerial view of Filfra - area of 60,000 m2, a small uninhabited islet 5km south of Malta supporting large colonies of seabirds. Thanks to Jean-Pierre of France.

Malta - Mdina (Citta' Vecchia)

"Mdina is situated high above terraced fields thus dominating the rural skyline. It attracts large amounts of visitors mostly foreigners (about 80,000 each year). Mdina contributes greatly to the glorious heritage of the Maltese Islands with its original setting of Baroque palaces and churches and so it deserves every degree of protection possible to ensure its survival for the benefit of both future generations and national pride. Mdina is only one of the surviving place names. The city has been renamed according to the various periods in local history. Other names were Melita (Roman occupation), Medina (Arabic occupation), Citta Notabile (Knights of St. John) and Citta Vecchia (after Valletta was built). This city was the home town of the Maltese nobility before the 1565 Siege as well as the capital city of the Islands. Considerable building took place during the reign of Grand Master Vilhena. The urban form it was built upon is the one still standing to the present day. Today it is also referred as the Silent City since it inspires tranquillity at any time of the day or night. The origins of Mdina are attested in ancient texts and identified with Roman Melite. The township of Mdina is a fortified hill-top urban settlement located at the very heart of the Maltese Islands. In existence since the Bronze Age, Mdina has acted for almost two millennia as the administrative and political capital of the Maltese Islands. It is to this day the scat of the Malta episcopacy."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

Postcard 1
Mdina, formerly known as Notabile - Citta Vecchiia, is the old capital of Malta. It is a medieval walled city in the middle of Malta island. Thanks to Julie who was visiting Malta.





Postcard 2
Nice postcard of architecture views of the ancient town of Mdina. Thanks so much to Anne Marie of Mqabba, Malta.