Valletta: Heritage Malta
By (author): Godwin Vella
City of Valletta
Inscribed on UNESCOs World Heritage List in 1980, Valletta is the capital city of the small island-state of Malta. The foundation stone was laid on 28 March 1566, and although still under construction, it was adopted as convent of the Order of St John on 18 March 1571. The Office of the Head of State and the legislative, judiciary, fiscal and executive arms of the Maltese Government have been amassed within its modest footprint ever since. In addition to housing hundreds of noble Knights from the major kingdoms of the Christian West, and a sizeable contingent of foreign administrators, thriving maritime activity connected Valletta with the entire Mediterranean littoral and further afar.
Heritage Malta
Heritage Malta is the national agency of the Government of Malta set up in 2002 and entrusted with the management of national museums and heritage sites in Malta and Gozo, including seven sites inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List.