Gazing across Marsamxett Harbor at the skyline of Valletta is a surreal experience. The capital of the tiny island nation of Malta is itself minute, almost pocket sized, with a population of around 6,000. (However, the Valletta area contains the majority of the country’s residents, at about 400,000, and it feels like a single entity.) It features towers, domes, and some pretty awesome fortifications, all done in stone. It is beautiful.

And it hides within it a truly unique history. This is a country that was the property of an order of Christian knights. And those knights, along with a small number of locals, managed to hold off the advance of the most powerful military in the world in the 16th century. That history is why I’m here, and trust me, it and the remnants it left behind do not disappoint.

(Note: the history of Malta is super interesting both before and after the period on which we will focus in this article. From the oldest megalithic monumental temples in Europe to the island’s incredible holdout during World War Two, Malta’s timeline is fascinating from start to now. But those will be stories for a different trip. And yes, there will be a different trip.)

In the year 1530, the Knights of St. John, also called the Knights Hospitaller, were given the islands of Malta (the country is made up of three islands, with Malta itself being the largest) as their sole domain by the Spanish King Charles V and the Pope. This was partially to make up for the order having lost their prior base in Rhodes to the Ottomans in 1522, partially to have military leadership on the strategic island group just south of Sicily, and partially because the knights – thanks to their success in the Crusades and beyond – were obscenely wealthy and were worth having on one’s side. Regardless, the knights accepted vassalage to the Kingdom of Sicily, but otherwise ruled Malta independently.

The first item on the to-do list for the new rulers of Malta was to build up some defenses. After all, Ottoman expansion in the Mediterranean was not looking to be ending any time soon, and Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent was bound to send an army to Malta sooner or later. So that’s what they did, focusing on the twin harbors on either side of what is today Valletta. Fortifications were built here – and strategically in other places on the islands – with the centerpiece being the massive fortress of St. Elmo, occupying the end of the peninsula between the two harbors.

Construction of Fort St. Elmo began in 1533 by reinforcing a pre-existing tower. However, after a 1551 Ottoman raid, in which the tower proved totally ineffective, the decision was made to enlarge it into a proper set of fortifications featuring the top Spanish and Italian designs. It was built in a star pattern as was both effective and fashionable during the period, and finished (though additions and modernization would continue for centuries) in early 1565. Just in time, because later that year, in May, the Ottomans finally got around to fully attacking Malta.

The next few months would come to be known as the Great Siege, where a huge Ottoman army of almost 40,000 landed on Malta, facing a force of about 500 knights and 6,000 locals. The Ottoman forces quickly conquered most of the island, and laid siege to Fort St. Elmo and the other garrisons around the harbor area. On June 23, Fort St. Elmo fell. It would be the only fortress in the area the Ottomans would conquer, and by September, fearing European Christian reinforcements, they retreated, never again threatening the western Mediterranean.

The best place to learn about the Great Siege is at Fort St. Elmo itself. The complex is huge, and even with only part of it accessible to visitors, it can be a several hour long visit to try to experience it fully. Of course, this edition of the defensive centerpiece of Malta is much expanded from the era of the Knights of St. John, and was used as recently as World War Two, with many of its current features dating only to the twentieth century.

Once inside, head to the National War Museum to learn more about the Great Siege (and the military history of Malta as a whole), where interactive exhibits detail some of the fighting both here and around the island.

After the Ottoman withdrawal, the capital of Mdina was in ruins. The Grandmaster of the Knights of St. John, Jean Parisot de Valette, lent his name and brilliance to a new capital built in the shadow of Fort St. Elmo, where the fortress complex would be incorporated into the city defensive system. That capital is Valletta. With the new capital would come intensive fortifications, and a few awesome buildings that still exist today.

Chief among those is St. John’s Co-Cathedral, so named because it shares cathedral responsibilities with St. Paul’s in the former capital of Mdina. If you only have time and budget to enter a single remnant of the Knights of St. John and their Maltese rule, make this it.

Entry to St. John’s comes with an audio guide, which itself is pretty great. But even if that isn’t your favorite thing, you’ll just be amazed at the interior of the church, which stands in stark contrast to the plain exterior. Inside, every surface – literally – is covered with baroque adornment, much of that topped with gold leaf. The best place to see this is in the eight side chapels that line the main church, each of which was given to – and maintained by – one of the order’s eight geographically-based sub-orders. (Hence the logo of the knights being an eight pointed star.)

As tempted as you’ll be to just look up, looking down is just as important inside the cathedral. Knights Hospitaller are buried here beneath the floors, in tombs marked with lavish marble engravings.

St. John’s Co-Cathedral was built between 1573 and 1578, though adornments would be added later and in phases. But one of the most important additions to the spectacular church would come in 1607-08, when the artist Caravaggio would wind up here on the run from authorities in Rome. Two of that artist’s most famous works adorn the church, Saint Jerome Writing (which is downstairs in an exhibit dedicated to Caravaggio) and The Beheading of St. John the Baptist, which is Caravaggio’s largest work, as well as his only signed work; the signature is in the blood flowing from the saint.

Just down from St. John’s is the Grandmaster’s Palace. This 1574 palace (although additions would last until the 1740s) was originally designed to house the residence and offices of the Grandmaster of the Knights of St. John. (It has also hosted the British governors during that period of Maltese history, and some rooms are in use by the Maltese government for formal occasions today.)

While for many, the highlight of a visit is the armory, a huge room with literally hundreds of weapons and pieces of armor, or the ceremonial rooms themselves, I take another view.

For me, the best part of a visit to the Grandmaster’s Palace is the hallways. These are lined with portraits of past grandmasters and British monarchs, and adorned with beautifully painted scenes on the walls and ceilings detailing the history of Malta and the knights. Add to it some actually worn suits of armor, as well as some stunning furniture, and you, too, will slow down rather than rush from room to room.

The reign of the Knights of St. John on Malta would come to an end in 1798, when the island was taken by French forces. And while the locals would resist French rule, and that occupation would be lifted by the British in 1800, the knights never again oversaw the territory, as it was kept by the British until independence in 1964.

From 1530 to 1798, Malta was a country ruled by an order of Catholic knights. They built this tiny island nation into the fortress of the Mediterranean, holding off the world’s most powerful army in the process, and building a stunning new capital that stands as a UNESCO World Heritage Site today. The history here in Valletta is as incredible as its beauty, its unique place in the world being worth a pilgrimage for history lovers, and those just interested in the Mediterranean sun.

Note: thank you so much to the Malta Tourism Authority for hosting my visits to all three amazing sites mentioned in this article.

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