Portal:Malta

Jean Parisot de Valette (born in 1494[?]; died in Malta, 21 August 1568) was born into a noble family in Quercy. He was a Knight of St. John all his adult life, joining the order in the Langue de Provence, and fought with distinction against the Turks at Rhodes and again at Malta. He became Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller on 21 August 1557.Universally referred to as "La Valette," he was never actually called that during his lifetime. He was simply Jean de Valette, nicknamed Parisot.(The mistake arose some decades after his death when people began to confuse him with the city named in his honor, "La Citta Valletta.") Although his birth year is usually given as 1494, both chroniclers of the Great Siege of Malta, Francisco Balbi di Correggio and Hipolito Sans, say he was 67 at the time, implying that he was born in 1498. In his history of the Order of St John, the 18th-century historian, the Abbe Vertot (whose history is largely based on - but often confuses - the earlier one of Giacomo Bosio), indicates that Valette was indeed the same age as both Suleiman I and Lala Mustafa (the commander of the Ottoman land forces), which would mean that he was actually 70 years old at the time of the Siege. (more...)

Mellieħa (pronounced me-lee-ha), also called Il-Mellieħa, is a large village in the northwestern part of Malta. It is a popular tourist destination during the summer months. Mellieħa as a village developed under the British colonization. The British started proposing people to settle in this area by giving leases to the population. It was only during this time that it started to be inhabited again as for two centuries it was abandoned due to fear from attacks of corsairs and Saracens, and beforehand there were only some villagers used to live in the area. After the British encouraged Maltese to settle in Mellieħa, the village kept on flourishing. Nowadays, the village also includes a large number of villas. Many foreigners choose to settle in Mellieħa. (more...)

The Dwejra Tower was built in 1652. Its role was the defence of Dwejra Bay and the guarding of Fungus Rock (were there is a type of fungus which was thought to cure many diseases). During the course of history there were a small number of alterations in the building itself. In both World Wars it served as an Observation Post. This tower was recently restored.

• ...that Malta gained independence in 1964?

• Ġgantija
• Ħaġar Qim
• Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni
• Mnajdra
• Megalithic Temples of Malta
• Valletta