Stopped on Malta for the night. At the
Xara Palace Hotel in
Mdina. Lovely. In the old walled city. Part of the Relais & Chateaux. Upgraded to a suite with a Jacuzzi and a rooftop terrace, overlooking the country side that gives on the ocean and a few villages in between (room 18). The palace goes back to the 17th century, was converted into a hotel some 60 years ago, but restored to its original state only in the late ‘90s. Very meticulous in its accessories, some going back to its ancient times, such as the lamps, the desk and the chairs. Enjoyed the view…and the Jacuzzi! We were told this is the most exquisite hotel in the whole country, and they are probably right (I had changed our hotel reservation for that reason!)
Went to
Valletta for lunch (at
Ambrosia where we had the asparagus again – from Gozo – and the goat cheese soufflé, along with a risotto, and a bottle of 2009 Antonin Chardonnay from Marsovin – “same” wine as the last time, in December 2009, with Josette and Jacques), a quick look en passant at
Caravaggio’s “Beheading of St-John the Baptiste” and “St-Jérome” in the Oratory of the St-John’s Co-Cathedral (see Bourlinblogue, October 2008 post), before taking a water taxi to Vittoriosa, across the harbour.
Vittoriosa (or
Birgu as the Malti call it) is one of the
“Three Cities” sitting across the Grand Harbour and Valletta. (Aside from Vittoriosa, there is
Senglea,
aka L-Isla, and Cospicua, aka Bormla. They are often referred to collectively as
“Cottonera”, a reference to the fortifications protecting their access from the land, built by Grand Master Nicolas Cotoner in the late 17th Century.) Vittoriosa advances in the harbour like a finger. This was where the
Knights first settled (their famous “auberges”) when they arrived in Malta in 1530, and that is where they pushed back the invading Ottomans in 1565 (the Great Siege). The Grand Master of the day, Jean Parisot de la Vallette, having foreseen the attack from the Turks, ordered the area to be fortified (
Fort St-Angelo on the tip of Birgu, Fort St-Michael on neighbouring Isla, and Fort St-Elmo on the, then uninhabited, Sceberras Peninsula, closer to the mouth of the harbour). Shortly after, the Knights moved to their new city, named after their victorious Grand Master, Valletta.
We spent a good part of the afternoon walking around Vittoriosa, and its very narrow and charming streets (went by the 5-star B&B that is being built, in a restored home, by a Dutch couple, known to our Fort-Chambray’s place decorator/supplier,
Palazzo Vittoriosa, on Triq Hilda Tabone). We stopped in the
Church of St-Lawrence (as we had time to kill waiting for our transportation!) across from the so-called
“Freedom Monument” (a few bronze statues commemorating the departure of the last British Forces from Malta in 1979). We went by Fort-St. Angelo, which was the headquarters of the Order until it moved to Valletta in 1571, but it is closed. The Fort was used by the Brits as the headquarters of their Mediterranean Fleet until they definitely left in 1979. Vittoriosa. Barely visited, a change from the tourist-teeming streets of Valletta!
Went back to the hotel, the Xara Palace, in Mdina. Second time in this walled city (visited first in September 2008 – see the bourlinblogue). Totally preserved in its medieval state – when it was known as
“Citta Notabile”, as it was the favourite residence of the Maltese nobility, and will remain so after the Knights arrived in the 16th Century, the latter preferring Valletta, built on the sea. Only a few hundred people can live there (the only ones that have access by car, I would think, except taxis going to the hotel as we were reminded by our drivers!) It’s very quiet when the hordes of day-trippers are gone – such as it was when we went around late after dinner, and even more so, in the morning after, around 6am when only a few older women are on their way to church (there are several of them!) It is also known nowadays as the “Silent City”. No time to visit much – had been to see the interior of
St-Paul’s Cathedral, and the beautifully preserved medieval mansion,
Palazzo Falson, now a museum – except to walk around: poke our head in the Carmelite Church, admired the architecture and enjoyed the incomparable view on the valley below, especially from the city walls at the
Bastion Square (Pjazza Tas-Sur) and also from the roof-terrace of our room at the hotel.
Had lunch in Mdina on our first visit in 2008, at
Bacchus, in the coolness of a stone Bastion. This time, dinner at the hotel restaurant,
De Mondion, on the rooftop. Dinned on venaison and pasta, with glasses of local wines and a Bordeaux. “Award-winning” restaurant…and the view on the valley and surrounding villages at night has also something to do with that! Early breakfast at the same location, with the same view and the sun shining – we are by ourselves. (Had we stayed for lunch the day we left, we would probably had tried the
Trattoria AD1530, sitting outside, under the large canopy, just at the entrance of the hotel).
The “real” town,
Rabat, sits next to Mdina. A mad dash in the morning to visit a furniture and decoration store Cynthia wanted me to see – she had gone there during our stay in Gozo to look at fabrics for the curtains at Chambray – barely made it, not without working out a sweat in that still rather warm early-morning sun…
Mdina, July 2, 2011
