Valletta on Malta
Saturday, 13 December 2014 - 04:54 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische Union Category/Kategorie: General , European Union , European Capital of Culture , UNESCO World Heritage
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Grandmaster’s Palace © Zairon/cc-by-sa-3.0
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Valletta is the capital of
Malta , colloquially known as
Il-Belt (English:
The City ) in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the
island of Malta , and the historical city has a population of 6,966. Valletta is the second southernmost capital of the EU member states after
Nicosia .
Valletta contains buildings from the 16th century onwards, built during the rule of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, also known as Knights Hospitaller . The city is essentially Baroque in character, with elements of Mannerist , Neo-Classical and Modern architecture in selected areas. The City of Valletta was officially recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980.
Republic Street, the main shopping area © Kramer96/cc-by-3.0
The city was named for
Jean Parisot de la Valette , who succeeded in defending the island from an
Ottoman invasion in 1565 . The official name given by the Order of Saint John was
Humilissima Civitas Valletta –
The Most Humble City of Valletta , or
Città Umilissima in Italian. The
bastions ,
curtains and
ravelins along with the beauty of its
Baroque palaces, gardens and churches, led the ruling houses of Europe to give the city its nickname
Superbissima –
Most Proud .
On Friday, 12 October 2012, Valletta was unanimously named
European Capital of Culture (ECoC) for 2018, by a jury of experts, following a presentation by the Valletta 2018 Foundation. The official declaration of the title is expected to take place at the next EU Council of Ministers meeting, some time around May 2013. ECoC jury chairman Manfred Gaulhofer, during a live-broadcast press conference in St John’s Co-Cathedral’s oratory, said the jury was convinced that Valletta had the will, motivation and the required ambition to receive the title.
Read more on
VisitMalta.com – Valletta ,
Wikitravel Valletta ,
Wikivoyage Valletta and
Wikipedia Valletta . Learn more about the
use of photos . To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (
Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State -
Weather report by weather.com -
Global Passport Power Rank -
Travel Risk Map -
Democracy Index -
GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank -
Global Competitiveness Report -
Corruption Perceptions Index -
Press Freedom Index -
World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index -
UN Human Development Index -
Global Peace Index -
Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index ). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at
comment@wingsch.net . Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.
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