Malta

Malta is a small island-state in the central Mediterranean Sea.  It has had a succession of rulers, including the Romans, Moors, Knights of St John, French and British. It became an independent state in 1964 and a republic in 1974. It is now a member of the European Union, uses Euro as its currency, and has Maltese as its official language.  Remains of megalithic temples at Hagar Qim have been dated to almost 4000 BC, before the pyramids of Egypt or Stonehenge were built.

Malta has beautiful golden limetone buildings, terraced hillsides, and a walled city of Mdina, where cars are prohibited.  It is 94% Roman Catholic and has many Baroque-style churches and cathedrals. The most ornate of these churches is St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta. The Church of the Assumption of Mary in Mosta boasts the 3rd largest unsupported dome in Europe.

streets of Valletta

St Paul's Cathedral in Mdina, the walled city of Malta

interior of St Paul's Cathedral in Mdina

interior of St Paul's Cathedral

between Mdina and Valletta

looking toward Mosta (domed church in center)

looking from Barraka gardens toward the harbor of Malta

St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, Baroque style

Caravaggio's painting of the beheading of St John the Baptist
found in the Oratory at St John's Co-Cathdral

the spectacular and ornate interior of St John's Co-Cathedral

interior of St John's, the most ornate church I've ever seen

Hagar Qim, remains of stone temples from around 3500 BC

Hagar Qim

Hagar Qim, older that the Egyptian pyramids or Stonehenge

Pedestrian streets in Valletta, very busy with tourists

the outside of Mdina, the walled city and old capital of Malta

Church of the Assumption of Mary in Mosta

interior of Mosta church, has the 3rd largest unsupported dome in Europe