By 1571, Valletta was already capable of receiving its first inhabitants, the Knights transfered from Birgu to their new capital. La Valette died in 1568, before the city was completed. This is even more impressive considering that the rocky Mount Sceberras was not an easy location and substantial levelling was needed. The construction of Valletta started in 1566 and lasted only 15 years! This was the time it took to build the city, its bastions, forts and cathedral. Innovations like pipes for fresh water and sanitation was provided for knights, their servants and trades people in Valletta.The stairs in some streets in Valletta are big enough to allow knights in heavy armour to climb the steps.Strong bastions and deep moats were built.The same grid let fresh air from the two harbours circulate easily in the narrow streets, keeping the city cool.Designed in an almost uniform grid, Valletta’s streets fall steeply as you get closer to the extremity of the peninsula giving defenders the best position.Here are some important features and advances in the planning and construction of Valletta with its strategic defence in mind. When you visit Valletta you will not consider it a modern city but it was one of the first examples of town planning based on a grid pattern of streets. Laparelli could then create the perfect fortress city, starting from scratch on the arid rock of Mount Sceberras peninsula, overseeing the two deep harbours of Marsamxett and Grand Harbour. The mastermind behind the design of the city of Valletta was Francesco Laparelli, a military engineer, later replaced by his assistant Gerolamo Cassar. With the mighty victory over the Muslims, the Knights would get essential financial aid from the grateful Pope Pius V and Philip II of Spain to build the city of Valletta, whose name was given after Grand Master La Valette, the hero of the Great Siege. This fort really came to prove its strategic position in the defeat of Suleiman, in the Great Siege of 1565, and the Knights realised that was the defensive point capable of keeping the Order safe in the island of Malta. Birgu was protected by the small watch tower of St Elmo, which stood on Mount Sceberras, then converted into Fort St Elmo. When the Knights of St John of Jerusalem arrived in Malta in 1530, they settled in Birgu (later Vittoriosa) one of the Three Cities of Malta. The history of Valletta is obviously closely related to the History of Malta. A visit to the capital city of Valletta is a trip to the past where you travel back time when the Crusaders Knights of Malta were still protecting the city. Since UNESCO’s recognition of Valletta, the city has flourished in terms of building and heritage conservation, presenting itself today as a beautiful and unique Mediterranean travel destination. Valletta is such an important city that, through times, it has been given titles like The Fortress City, Umilissima Civitas Valletta (The Most Humble City of Valletta), “a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen”, Masterpiece of the Baroque, European Art City and finally, in 1980, was considered one of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites in Malta. No wonder it is often called an open-air museum. In fact, Valletta is one of the most concentrated historic cities in the world as it contains more than 300 monuments within a small portion of land, surrounded by fortresses and defensive ramparts. Valletta is a fascinating city where you can spend an amazing couple of days surrounding by history, amazing baroque architecture, ancient fortresses, breathtaking cathedrals and some very fascinating museums.
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