Stone upon stone: an Italian sojourn: Valetta, a visual feast

We really needed longer in Malta: a week does not do the island justice. It has so many tales and influences, from so long ago, that are so very interesting that we are now reduced to prioritising our bucket list, then resigning ourselves to the fact that we will only be able to cover a tiny portion of that.

Today we walked Valetta. This is the capital built by the Knights Hospitallers who formed into a powerful influence around the Mediterranean beginning in the Crusades when they first formed in the Holy Land to care for maimed and diseased pilgrims.

We first took a bus, just to see more of the glorious views from Sliema around the harbour to the gates of Valetta. Everywhere seems to be under construction, or just newly renovated: adding to the gorgeous golden stone walls that protect the perimeter of the entire city as they drop a hard angular cut face sharply and vertically down to the sea on all sides, or restoring the imposing Triton fountain and vast tiled piazza near the entrance gates.

Even the stark modern city gate is new. It looks as though a giant flung down two great cavaliers of stone in the middle of this ancient city bastion, then cleaved it with a giant fist to breach an opening -- a sharp reminder, no doubt, of Malta's invaded history, by the architect, Renzo Piano, who also built the extraordinary Shard in London.

It is harsh, brutal, futuristic and not at all what one would expect as a UNESCO listed city gate: but it is as fascinating as it is controversial, as it seems to summarise Malta's invasion history in nothing but two simple blocks of cut stone. Amazing symbolism.

Inside the city gates we. again, we are faced with the unexpected. We come across more stunning and uniquely modern architecture in the city's new Parliament House, that, too, distinctively designed by Renzo Piano, also along the lines of a blocky cavalier leaning against the city walls, boldly shouting its history. The steel frame is like Malta's will: powerful, protective, strong, unbroken over time. The limestone cladding gouged from Malta's substrate, was sent to Italy to be minutely carved, then returned to the 150 workers to lay block on top of block until the work was done. Some of the faces of the freshly cut stone have been tooled, reminiscent of the erosion of stone over time: from new to old: as happened to the Knight's beautiful Valetta. The new build went overtime, and then took longer still, then longer. Critics hate it. They call it anything from 'the cheese grater' to a 'dovecote' to that 'ugly blocks on stilts'. But I am a fan. Its symbolism is superb.

Past this, we walked into old Valetta: the grid streets and layout here were designed by the Italian Pope's engineer, Laparelli, and his assistant, Cassar. Being a military engineer Laparelli was a mathematical man so he carved this barren and rocky tongue of land between two natural harbours into a gridded city. Long straight parallel roads were cut right through to the point, while narrower straight parallel lanes cut across them. Today, all we have time for is the long wide main street, but that seems to be where most of the action is.

To our right, for a brief magical moment in time stood a beautiful opera house which seated over a thousand people and allowed many more hundreds to stand for performances. But a fire, then Luftwaffe bombing, made a shell of it. Renzo Piano had the rubble removed and with a few strokes of stone and steel made of the ruins an open air theatre topping some alcove cafes, so now it is a uniquely useable space.

We were so absorbed in this that a local came and grabbed us by the hand, then led us into an exhibition, not far away, of his friend's work: building precise models showing how beautiful Maltese historic buildings once were, using small thin rectangles of cut limestone. His model of the Royal Opera House shows it in all its former glory. It must have been truly magnificent.

We move on slowly, like ants, because everywhere there is so much to see: something different and interesting is always going on: Valetta is such a visual feast.

The Ferreria Palace further on was actually built for a wealthy family on the site of the Knight's iron foundry: where their armour was actually fashioned. One or two of their very early pieces of armour are actually exhibited in the Palace Armoury. We simply have to find time for that. This palace, though, is famous as the first building in Malta to decorate the external facade with timber balconies. From little things big things grow.

Now, most buildings all over Malta wear some form of this attractive balcony enhancing its exterior. The most fashionable colour to decorate them at the moment seems to be this British Georgian green, tho' we have seen blue, we have seen stained wood, we have seen some unpainted. They make Malta unusual: a little like the decorative iron balconies that make New Orleans so picturesque.

Further down little lanes on either side of the main street are two blocky sixteenth century cavaliers that lean heavily up against the bastion and offer massive strength to the city walls, and certainly a sense of security to the beleaguered Knights, who were able to ramp their guns to the top and fire them over the bastion. These very likely operated as the design inspiration for Renzo Piano's modern works on the Parliament House and the City Gates.

These side lanes are narrow, yet there is a clothing market operating in one today. Nearly finishing, actually, as we negotiate a walking path through the squeeze to find the cavalier. One of the market stall ladies is trying to pack up, but rather than park her vehicle in the cramped lane to pack away her stall items, she closed her side mirrors and slid her van deftly between her market tent and a palazzo wall: all the better to pack her belongings out of the lane. Not touching anywhere. A feat even Laparelli with his military precision would have lauded.

We visit the Co-Cathedral of St John's, the premier church built for the Knights. The exterior is somewhat grim, almost austere, while the interior is unadulterated gilded Baroque: altars, chapels, art, ceilings, all heavily ornate and decorative: the carvings all completed in situ.

The crypt holds the tomb of some of the Grand Masters, while the entire heavily decorated floor of the Cathedral covers hundreds of tombs of the Knights who died and were buried here. Their resting place.

Further along the main street is what used to be the Grand Master's Palace, built in the very early days of the Knights settlement in Malta, around 1571. From here they governed the archipelago and negotiated with the rest of the world, situated as they were then, almost in the very heart of it. Today, the palace houses the offices of the President of the Republic of Malta, and doubles as the home of the House of Representatives.

Our walking legs are tired and we have done only a little of what we had hoped and planned but the evening is now closing in, so we must head back down the little lanes to the ferry to cross the harbour to Sliema.

And from our balcony, relaxing with a glass of wine, we will watch the lights come out on the Citadel of the Knights. So truly magical.