Malta climate

The climate is Mediterranean, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. There is no real thermal dormant season for plants, although plant growth can be checked briefly by abnormal cold in winter (patches of ground frost may occur in inland locales), and summer heat and aridity may cause vegetation to wilt. Effectively there are only two seasons, which makes the islands attractive for tourists especially during the drier months. However, strong winds can make Malta feel cold during the spring months.

Water supply poses a problem on Malta, as the summer is both rainless and also the time of greatest water use, and the winter rainfall often falls as heavy showers and runs off to the sea rather than soaking into the ground. Malta depends on underground reserves of fresh water, drawn through a system of water tunnels called the Ta' Kandja galleries, which average about 97 m. below surface and extend like the spokes of a wheel. In the galleries in Malta's porous limestone, fresh water lies in a lens upon brine. More than half the potable water of Malta is produced by desalination, which creates further issues of fossil fuel use and pollution.

In January 2007, International Living chose Malta as the country with the best climate in the world.

Lowest temperature ever recorded was in January 1905, at +1.1C, and the highest temperature was +43.8C recorded in August 1999. Snow is virtually unheard of, with very few and brief snowflurries recorded in February 1895, January 1905 and March 1949.

List of Valletta main sights

Churches

• Our Lady of Victories Church
• St. John's Co-Cathedral
• Carmelite Church
• St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral
• Our Lady of Pilar Church
• Our Lady of Liesse Church
• St. James Church
• St. Francis of Assisi Church
• St. Barbara Church
• St. Catherine d'Italy Church
• Parish Church of St. Augustine
• Christ the Redeemer Church
• Church of the Jesuits
• Collegiate Parish Church of St. Paul's Shipwreck
• St. Lucy Church
• St. Roch Church
• St. Nicholas Church (Known as Church of All Souls)
• Parish Church of Saint Mary of Porto Salvo and Saint Dominic (first basilque in Malta according to the Bolla Pont by Pope Pius V)
• St. Catherine of Alexandria Church
• Franciscan Church of St. Mary of Jesus (Ta' Ġieżu)
• St. Andrew's Scots Church (Presbyterian and Methodist)

Palaces

• Grandmaster's Palace - houses the Parliament of Malta
• Auberge de Castille - houses the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta
• Auberge d'Aragon - houses the Ministry of Finance
• Auberge d'Italie - houses the Malta Tourism Authority
• Auberge de Provence - houses the National Museum of Archaeology
• Auberge de Bavière - houses Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs
• Casa Rocca Grande- houses the German-Maltese Circle
• Casa Rocca Piccola - private residence open to the public
• Palazzo Francia - houses a number of offices and shops
• Palazzo Parisio - houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Palazzo Castellania - houses the Ministry of Health, the Elderly and Community Care

Museums

• St John's Co-Cathedral Museum
• Grandmaster's Palace Armoury Museum
• Malta War Museum - Housed at Fort Saint Elmo
• National Museums of Archaeology - Housed at Auberge De Provence.
• National Museum of Fine Arts
• Manoel Theatre Museum
• Toy Museum
• Domus Pauli - An extension of the Chapter Hall of the Collegiate Church of St. Paul’s Shiprwreck Valletta

Piazzas

• St John's Square (Misraħ San Ġwann)
• St George's Square (Misraħ San Ġorġ)
• Queen's Square (Pjazza Reġina)
• Great Siege Square (Misraħ l-Assedju l-Kbir)
• Freedom Square (Misraħ il-Ħelsien)
• Castile Square (Misraħ Kastilja)
• Independence Square (Pjazza Indipendenza)
• National Museum of Fine Arts

Valletta Main Roads

• Misraħ Kastilja (Castille Place)
• Misraħ Sant' Iermu (St. Elmo Place)
• Triq il-Fran (Old Bakery Street)
• Triq il-Lanċa (Boat Street)
• Triq il-Lvant (East Street)
• Triq il-Punent(West Sreet)
• Triq il-Mediterran (Mediterrean Street)
• Triq ir-Repubblika (Republic Street)
• Triq it-Teatru l-Antik (Old Theatre Street)
• Triq l-Assedju l-Kbir (Great Siege Road)
• Triq Marsamxett (Marsamxett Street)
• Triq Melita (Melita Street)
• Triq San Bastjan (St. Sebastian Street)
• Triq San Kristofru (St. Christopher Street) §
• Triq San Mark (St. Mark Street)
• Triq Spur (Spur Street)
• Xatt il-Barriera (Quarry Wharf)
• Triq San Duminku (St. Dominic Street)

The city life in Valletta

Valletta is a busy city during the day with lots of maltese shoppers and tourists visiting the interesting sites.  It is completely the opposite in the evening when it is transformed into a quite city.

Band Clubs
King's Own Band Club (L-Għaqda Mużikali King's Own)
La Valette National Philarmonic Society (Is-Soċjetà Filarmonika Nazzjonali La Vallette)

Music
The capital city was the mecca of jazz music in Malta, introduced in the lively Strait Street area frequented by Royal Navy sailors. The famous Cafe Premier in Republic Square hosted many jazz formations. Valletta was also the host of the esteemed Malta Jazz Festival up to 2005.

Carnival
Valletta is the scene of Malta's boisterous annual Carnival held in February leading up to Lent.

Feasts
The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel are celebrated with devotion every 16 July, Saint Dominic is celebrated in Valletta on August 4 or before, whilst the feast of Saint Augustine is celebrated on the third sunday after easter. A procession of St. Rita is also carried out. The renowned feast of St.Paul's Shipwreck also takes place every year on the 10th of February.

Sports
Valletta is also renowned for its football club, Valletta FC, one of the top football clubs on the Maltese island.

Valletta also has its own Basketball team, Valletta Ballers.

Marsamuscetto (Marsamxett) also has its "Regatta" (Rowing) Team, which takes part in the annual traditional Regatta on Victory Day (8th September).

In 1980, Valletta played host to the many nations attending the 24th Chess Olympiad.

Valletta Transport

Valletta is served by Malta International Airport, which is located 8 km from the city. Malta's public transport system, which uses buses, operates mostly on routes to or from Valletta, with their central terminus just outside the city's entrance. Traffic within the city itself is restricted, with some principal roads being completely pedestrian areas.

Park and ride system was implemented in order to increase the availability of parking spaces in the vicinity of the city. People can leave their personal vehicles in a Floriana parking lot and transfer to a van for the rest of the trip, which takes a mere few minutes.

Congestion pricing scheme was implemented, the Controlled Vehicular Access system, in order to reduce long-term parking stays and traffic while promoting business in the city. An ANPR-based automated system takes photos of vehicles as they enter and exit the charging zone and vehicle owners get billed according to the duration of their stay. Various exemptions and flexible billing rules make the system the next evolutionary step of systems like the London congestion charge program.

Valletta Forts

Fort Saint Elmo stands on the seaward shore of the Sciberras Peninsula, dividing Marsamxett Harbour from the Grand Harbour. Since the mid-20th century, Fort Saint Elmo has housed Malta's police academy. The War Museum also occupies part of the Fort. It commands the entrances to both harbours and prior to the arrival of the Knights of Malta in 1530, a watchtower existed on this point. Reinforcement of this strategic site commenced in 1533.

By the time of the Ottoman Siege of Malta in 1565, this fortification had been reinforced and extended into a modest star fort. Fort Saint Elmo was the scene of some of the most intense fighting of the siege, and withstood massive bombardment from Turkish cannon deployed from batteries on the north arm of Marsamextt Harbour, present site of Fort Tigne.

During the bombardment of the fort, a cannon shot from Fort St Angelo across the Grand Harbour struck the ground close to the Turkish battery. Debris from the impact mortally injured the corsair and Admiral Turgut Reis, an Ottoman hero. Though the fort was reduced to rubble during the bombardments, when the Ottomans abandoned the siege the fort was rebuilt and reinforced, becoming partially incorporated into the seaward bastion of the fortress city of Valletta.

Faced with the continuing threat of Turkish attack and the weaknesses caused by the Great Siege of Malta (1565), the Knights of Malta were made to decide whether to abandon the island or attempt its restoration. Grandmaster Jean Parisot de la Valette preferred to stay and ask for aid, which promptly arrived from several quarters, most notably Pope Pius V, who sent not only financial assistance but also the famed military engineer Francesco Laparelli de Cortona. It is Laparelli, succeeded by Maltese architect Gerolamo Cassar, who masterminded the plan of Valletta as we see it today.

Saint James Cavalier was designed by Laparelli and Cassar, as a raised platform on which guns were placed to defend the city against attacks from the land side. As well as prohibiting entry, St James could threaten those who had already breached the city's defences. Under the British, St. James was converted into an officers' mess. During the latter part of British rule, St. James was turned into a food store, known as the NAAFI.

St James is now a "Centre for Creativity", hosting various theatrical and musical performances, also providing installation and gallery space. Its interior was extensively renovated by Maltese architect Richard England alongside Michael Ellul. The design received a mixed reception from the Maltese public. The national heritage organization Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna protested against the removal of a rare World War II gas shelter and other historical remains from the British period. While the restoration of St James Cavalier was intended as the first phase in a larger project aiming to radically alter Valletta, it has so far been halted at planning stages and is the subject of much local controversy.

Marsaxlokk Photos

Valletta Gardens

The Upper Barrakka Gardens offer a panoramic view of the Grand Harbour. They were first constructed in 1661 for the private use of knights from the Italian langue. It was not before 1824 that the gardens were opened to the public. The garden suffered extensive damage throughout the Second World War.

The garden paths are lined with busts, statues and plaques illustrating various personalities and significant events from Maltese history. Of special interest are the bronze group by Maltese sculptor Antonio Sciortino, entitled Les Gavroches. Its depiction of three running children reflects those extreme hardships faced by the people of Malta at the turn of the 20th century.

Also overlooking the Grand Harbour and Breakwater, the Lower Barrakka Gardens (Maltese: Il-Barrakka t'Isfel) offer views of Fort Ricasoli, Bighi Palace, Fort St Angelo and the creeks of Vittoriosa and Kalkara. The gardens contain two major monuments, one dedicated to Sir Alexander Ball and another in remembrance of the Great Siege of Malta. Sir Alexander Ball led Maltese insurgents against the French in the 1798 uprising, and went on to become the first British Governor of Malta.

Located on top of the bastions on the west side of City Gate, Hastings Gardens affords clear views of Sliema, Manoel Island and Marsamxett Harbour. The garden houses a monument built by the Hastings family dedicated to Francis, Marquis of Hastings, also Governor of Malta. He died in 1827 en route to Naples and his body was returned for burial in this garden.

Valletta Theatres

Manoel Theatre is Europe's third-oldest working theatre. Located on Old Theatre Street, it is now Malta's National Theatre and home to the National Orchestra of Malta. The Manoel is a small, six-hundred and twenty-three seat venue with a lavish, oval-shaped auditorium, three tiers of boxes constructed entirely of wood and decorated with 22-carat gold leaf and a pale blue, trompe-l'oeil ceiling that resembles a rounded cupola. Manoel Theatre is located on Old Theatre Street in Valletta. It considers itself as the country's national theatre and the home of Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. Originally called the Teatro Pubblico, its name was changed to Teatro Reale, or Theatre Royal, in 1812, and renamed Manoel Theatre in 1866. The first play to be performed was Maffei's Merope. The theatre is a small, 623 seat venue, with an oval-shaped auditorium, three tiers of boxes constructed entirely of wood, decorated with gold leaf, and a pale blue trompe-l'oeil ceiling that resembles a round cupola. The building is a Grade 1 listed building as noted by Malta's Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, and is also scheduled by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

Countless celebrities have graced its stage, including Boris Christoff, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, John Neville, Magda Olivero, Michael Ponti, Mstislav Rostropovich, Dame Margaret Rutherford, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Sir Donald Wolfit. Visiting companies have included Nottingham Playhouse, the Comédie-Française and the Staatsoper Unter den Linden.

The Royal Opera House was an opera house and performing arts venue designed by English architect Edward Middleton Barry, erected in 1866. The theatre was bombed to the ground during World War II in 1942. The space is still used for present day performances and plans to re-build or somehow renovate the area are at a stalemate.

St James Cavalier also serves as a theatrical space and is a popular venue for local performances. The Old University Theatre is sometimes used by Maltese troupes or drama institutions.