I’ve now discovered that there are thirteen of these statues relating to old Maltese proverbs, and this is my fifth post and I know of one more. So just seven left to find in the city, and I don’t know where they are…. Oh well, I like the voyage of discovery, and I’ll try and find all thirteen.
The text for this one reads:
“The whole cow sells – different people have different tastes; what a person may like, another might not”.
Located on the first floor of the National Museum of Archaeology is the Grand Salon, a room once used by the Knights of St. John. They used it to discuss business and also to hold important functions and dinners. Unfortunately, other than for the corner I was standing in to take the photo, it’s closed due to an on-going restoration, part funded by the Bank of Valletta.
The walls are beautifully painted and there is a decorated wooden beamed ceiling, just one of five remaining from the period of the Knights. For those wanting an impressive backdrop, the room is now available to hire from Heritage Malta. There won’t be any more important dinners held here though, the organisation has banned any food and drink for the hall at any time.
The entrance to this church is quite small, hiding just how large the interior is behind it. Work, which took nearly forty years, started on the building in 1639 and it replaced a previous Jesuit church.
This is the first room that I saw when entering and it seems to be the sacristy or vestry, it’s a layout that I haven’t seen before though.
The photos rather stop here at the nave as I saw that there was a sign saying no photos, and I thought that I’d better obey the rules. Others were disregarding them, but I don’t want to run the risk of being complained at and seeming disrespectful. It’s a slight shame though, as there were some beautiful areas of the church that I’m now struggling to picture and remember. The Chapel of Our Lady of Charity was intriguing, it was given to the church when the Guild of Goldsmiths and Silversmiths closed.
There were also some impressive relics, including the right wrist-bone of St. Paul, which is one of the treasures of the church. There’s also half of the pillar on which St. Paul was beheaded in Rome, with the other half in the Tre Fontane church in Rome. The half that this church has was sent by Pope Pius VII in 1818 to thank it for the services rendered in the 1813 plague. St. Paul is very important to Malta, as it is said that he brought Christianity to the islands when his boat was shipwrecked off the coast.
There were some steps down to the crypt, rather elegantly carved.
There is a opening from the road down to the crypt, making it seem rather like a pub cellar with a convenient opening for the dray. I’m not sure why the church needs one, unless it was just to bring supplies up without traipising everything through the sacristy/vestry.
The cellar, with the door from the previous photo visible at the rear left.
And the crypt from the other side, with a dedication to Dun Karm Decelis, who lived from 1805 until 1865.
A legacy of British occupation, the red phone boxes designed for the Post Office by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. As well as across the UK, they’re apparently also in Gibraltar, somewhere else that I’d like to go, and the authorities here in Malta agreed in 2018 to ensure that some of the more neglected phone boxes in the country would be restored and repainted.
And another one from Valletta’s temporary art display, the meaning behind this one is:
“Better a bird in your hand than a hundred in the air – what we already own is certainly ours whereas the same cannot be said of the things we can only dream of having”.
This nativity scene was the first thing that I saw in Valletta after getting off the bus, and I’m rather used to the Christmas period being cold and wet, so the sunny weather initially made it feel just a little out of place to me. However, it’s a wonderful Maltese tradition and in the scene there is a traditional fishing boat, the Luzzu, representing the country’s fishing history. There are 17 figures in Maltese national dress and also a Girna to the left, which is an early farmer’s dwelling.
The whole thing is made of fibreglass to prevent it weathering and it was displayed at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican in 2016, where Pope Francis prayed in front of it on 31 December 2016. It’s designed by Manwel Grech, a Maltese artist, and this was the first foreign made crib to have be exhibited at St. Peter’s Square.
Paul Boffa has a nice spot for his statue, next to the first building which was constructed in Valletta. Born in 1890, Boffa served as the Prime Minister between 1947 and 1950, and achieved social reforms and the improvement in old age pensions. The statue was designed by the Maltese sculptor Vincent Apap and was erected here in 1976, fourteen years after Boffa died.
Named after the nearby museum, which is now called MUZA, this is a little cafe, bar and restaurant in central Valletta. The interior is small, there are around eight tables which are quite tightly packed in, so I was fortunate to get a table. It was quite busy when I went, so I didn’t want to take a photo of a load of diners, as it would be hard to take a photo without everyone noticing.
Some of the hot food at the counter.
A display case near to the front door.
The food options were mostly burgers, but there were also salads and some pasta dishes. The burger was simple in its presentation, it had a depth of taste, but personally I’d have liked a little more seasoning on the meat. The salad was fine, well, it was a salad, and the chips were cooked well and had a firm exterior and fluffy interior. All very serviceable and everything was at the appropriate hot temperature.
The accompanying latte, which was excellent, but we are very close to Italy here, so that’s not a great surprise. And I got a biscuit, I very much like getting a biscuit with coffee…..
The service was warm and personable, I ordered at the counter and the staff member was helpful and keen to offer assistance. I suspect that he was the owner, as he seemed in control of the service and everything was organised and efficient. The prices were also fair, just under €8 for the burger, chips and latte, which js competitive for the country’s capital.
Another in the temporary art installation series in Valletta, this is one of my favourites of the collection so far. The text of this one reads:
“It’s the eye that eats first – people tend to judge things by first impressions so outward appearances count, just as food must be presented attractively.”
Another from the temporary art installation in the city….
This one in perhaps a little less subtle than the others, the text reads:
“Those who insert themselves between the onion and its skin will be marked by its odour – those who poke their noses in other people’s affairs are asking for trouble.”
