Valletta, Malta

... More

world. The peninsula, 2mi/3km long and up to 770yd/700 m wide, extends between the country's two largest and economically most important harbors, Marsamxett Harbor and Grand Harbor-long inlets which reach far into the interior of the island and enclose the town on the north, east and south. These are the best and most beautiful natural harbors in Europe.

As capital of the Maltese Archipelago, Valletta is the country's administrative center, the seat of its parliament (House of Representatives) and Supreme Court. It is also the cultural center of the Republic, with the see of a bishop, a University (founded 1769), the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, the Malta Cultural Institute, the Agrarian Society, the Observatory and a number of higher educational establishments. The National Museum of Malta is an institution of recognized status.

The urban region of Valletta, with its two harbors, is the economic center of the Maltese islands. The main source of employment is the former British naval dockyard, which was converted to civilian use in 1958 and nationalized in 1968. There are five dry docks in which passenger vessels are built and overhauled and tankers of up to 300,000 tons are repaired and cleaned. The shipyards provide employment for more than 5,000 people. The Grand Harbor, modernized in 1961, handles almost the whole of the country's commercial and passenger traffic. It has a deep-water quay which can take vessels of up to 92,000 GRT, with a large grain elevator (capacity 12,500 tons) and many transit warehouses. The harbor has an annual turnover of more than 400,000 tons of freight.

In recent years efforts have been made to restructure the country's economic life, which in the past was exclusively centered on the British naval base, and the phased British withdrawal gave rise to an acute shortage of jobs. Even after their conversion to civilian use the two harbors have retained their dominant place in the economy; but in addition it has been possible to develop other industries, in particular foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles and engineering. Most of the new industrial undertakings have been established in Marsa, at the innermost tip of the Grand Harbor. The former over-concentration of employment in the services sector has been much reduced in the course of time by the promotion of the tourist trade.

Valletta was named after a Grand Master de la Vallette and was devised, in the wake of his victory against the Turks in the Great Siege of 1565 with two aims: to be a Christian fortress able to withstand the forces of Islam and to be a congenial home for the Order of the Knights of St John.

The parliament, the judiciary and the government are all located within its bastion walls as are most of the main tourist attractions.

The city is a historically impressive fortress, with a commercial center that resembles a miniature New York City, mingling Baroque architecture with soaring skyscrapers.