On Malta, each stone brings back the past

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The globigerin limestone used in Valletta gives the city its characteristic color.

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Malta and its two satellites, Gozo and Comino, are confetti of bare rocks on which Man has persisted in living since time immemorial.

Strategic lock of the Mediterranean, these “tiny magic pebbles”, dear to Winston Churchill, fell under the successive yoke of the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Arabs, the French and the English.

However, the name of the small archipelago remains above all linked to the military exploits and architectural masterpieces of its Christian knights.

The Maltese archipelago seen from Gozo.

- Jean-Claude Urbain

The epic of the Order of Malta began in the Holy Land at the beginning of the 12th century, with the creation of a hospice dedicated to the care of Crusaders and pilgrims.

The “Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem” brothers only form a military order to respond to Muslim aggressions.

But the Crusades came to an end.

Driven from Jerusalem by Saladin, the soldiers of Christ fall back on Acre, then in Cyprus, and finally in Rhodes.

They remained two hundred years on the Greek island, illustrating themselves in their triple vow of chastity, obedience and poverty, until another setback.

The fall of Rhodes in 1523 offered the Eastern Mediterranean to the Ottoman fleet.

And, after seven years of wandering, the Knights Hospitaller found asylum with the Emperor Charles V, who offered them Malta.

First dreaming of finding Rhodes, the order ended up adapting to its new stronghold, whose name it adopted, and over which it would reign in splendor for two and a half centuries.

Impregnable walls

It is in Valletta, in the shadow of Saint John's Co-Cathedral, that one gets caught up in the history of the Knights of Malta.

The capital of the archipelago is, in fact, rooted in the invulnerable fortress desired by the Grand Master Jean of La Valette, after his decisive victory against the Ottomans in 1565. Not a lane, not a house, not a door that does not recalls that glorious time.

Reaching the Three Cities in a traditional dgħajsa is the opportunity for a panoramic mini-cruise around Valletta.

- Jean-Claude Urbain

Represented by the eight points of the Maltese cross, Germany, Aragon, England, Auvergne, Castile, France, Italy and Provence rivaled each other in prestige within the order.

In town, each of these eight feudal entities strove to have the finest inn.

And in the co-cathedral, the most beautiful of chapels.

Each Grand Master of the order thus had to bring his touch to the building.

The result is a profusion of gold and works of art, which can be admired as you step on the polychrome tombstones of four hundred knights.

The interior exuberance of the Saint-Jean Co-Cathedral contrasts with the sobriety of its exterior architecture.

- Jean-Claude Urbain

Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Valletta ultimately succumbed to only one invasion, that of the automobile.

Once you have passed the gates of the city, it is therefore better to be a pedestrian to climb to the assault of its relief crisscrossed with very lively arteries.

In the tumult of taverns, demonstrations of joy fuse in a Maltese with Arabic and Italian tones.

This Semitic language is the only one written in Latin characters.

But it is nonetheless enigmatic.

Fortunately for travelers, English is the country's second official language.

The British did not leave the area until 1964, after 150 years of presence.

In the streets descending in stairs towards the walls, the

of the facades and a few red telephone boxes still bear witness to this bygone era.

Legendary shipwrecks

There is said to be a church in Malta for every day of the year.

Brightening up a monotonous countryside, these buildings raise their oversized domes skyward like so many shields against the former Muslim rival.

Throughout the archipelago, life is still punctuated by the religious calendar today.

Built around 1600, the Citadel of Victoria, which houses Gozo Cathedral, was the refuge of the inhabitants of the island against Arab incursions.

- Jean-Claude Urbain

The Catholic fervor of the Maltese encourages them to celebrate with fanfare, and with great fireworks displays, all the saints of the Church, from June to September.

A saint, however, is distinguished by his importance.

Around the year 60, during his transfer from Judea to Rome, where he was to be tried, the apostle Paul of Tarsus was shipwrecked on the island of Gozo.

The mark left here by the evangelist is indelible.

Not a ceremony, profane or sacred, without it being honored!

Legend has it that Odysseus ran aground in Ramla Bay, on the north coast of Gozo.

It is in the cave dominating this red sand beach that he would have remained captive of Calypso.

- Jean-Claude Urbain

This deep devotion is rooted in a thousand-year-old tradition.

From 4000 to 2000 before our era, the archipelago was already covered with megalithic temples, dedicated to a goddess of fertility, ancestor of the beautiful Calypso.

The latter is another legendary figure of Gozo.

In

, Homer tells how Ulysses, stranded on the island, was held back by the nymph.

Wishing to keep him with her after saving him, Calyspo offered to share an elixir of immortality.

Ulysses refused the divine brew, but it took seven years before he could resume his journey.

By visiting the bay of Dwejra, the cove of Mġarr ix-Xini, the Roman saltworks of Qbajjar or the temples of Ġgantija, erected a millennium before the pyramids, we can better understand what held Ulysses so long with Calypso.

Like him, it is very difficult to free oneself from the charms of the Maltese archipelago.

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Very well served from France by Air Malta or other low-cost companies, Valletta is three hours from Paris.

Very hot during the summer, the archipelago is appreciated especially in spring and autumn, when the first rains wash the atmosphere laden with white vapors.

Valletta can be discovered on foot, but it is necessary to board a dgħajsa, a kind of gondola, to cross Grand Harbor towards the Three Fortified Cities of Birgu, Bormla and Senglea.

To explore the rest of the archipelago, a rental car is essential, or the services of a driver if you do not want to try driving on the left, inherited from the English.

Housing

In the heart of the pedestrian zone of Valletta, opposite the open-air theater and a stone's throw from the new Parliament, the Domus Zamittello hotel is a 17th century palace where it is good to sip a cocktail after a day of sightseeing.

Decorated with chic, in a very aristocratic style, the establishment multiplies the attentions to make the stay in Malta unforgettable.

In Gozo, on the heights of Munxar, Viewpoint Boutique Living is housed in a venerable family house with eight rooms, all different and recently renovated respecting the original noble materials.

The little extra of the address: the view from its swimming pool, clinging to the cliff, over the azure of the Mediterranean.

Restore

The

marinated fried rabbit

and

sheep

are two

of Maltese cuisine, for which the Ta 'Rikardu restaurant has become the specialist in Gozo.

Rikardu indeed produces its own wines and fresh cheeses at the foot of the Citadel of Victoria.

Like any self-respecting archipelago, Malta is also generous in fish.

From August to September, its fishermen bring back from the sea a kind of sea bream, the

, to taste with your feet in the water on the picturesque port of Munxar, at the Ta 'Karolina restaurant.

Finally, the Harbor Club is our favorite address in Valletta.

In the evening, its view of the illuminated Marsamxett harbor is ideal for sipping an orange-based Kinnie soda, cinnamon coffee, or a cactus liqueur called

.

Information

The Maltese Tourist Office website in French allows you to virtually explore the archipelago and organize your visit.

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