MUSEUMS
Having a rich past, Malta understandably has
plentiful archeological remains and historical and cultural
artefacts inherited from diverse past civilizations. The National
Museum of Archaeology in Valletta houses an extensive collection
of artefacts that cover the history of the country from prehistoric
times to the present day. The Mdina Cathedral and Museum in
Mdina house some of the finest 16th and 17th century paintings
and art in the world. The National Museum of Art has an impressive
collection of old masters as well as works by renowned contemporary
Maltese artists. St John's co-cathedral in Valletta as well
as the Grand Master's Palace in Valletta are the foremost
two inherited buildings from the era of the Knights of the
Order of St John of Jerusalem which vouch to their legacy.
Both baroque in style, the former, with its walls covered
with carved gilded limestone and its sepulchral memorial floor
is living testimony to riches of the Order. The adjoining
museum houses large tapestries dating from this era (1530-1799)
depicting episodes from the history of the Knights. One can
also find priceless paintings by the famous Caravaggio and
Mattia Preti.
THEATRES
The fabulous old Manoel Theatre in Valletta
is said to be the oldest theatre in Europe still functioning
within its original structure. Built during the time of Grand
Master Manoel de Vilhena in 1731, this magnificent building,
with its 22-carat gilded ceiling, hosts numerous performances
and exhibitions every year. It was originally intended to
be used as an all purpose theatre staging tragedies, religious
plays, comedies, cantatas and operas. On its opening night
the Italian Knights performed the Scipiones tragedy Merope.
The Manoel theatre is now home to the resident National Orchestra,
which has an all year-round programme. With the building of
the new Opera House in the early 20th century, the Manoel
theatre had started to play second fiddle. Indeed, the new
Opera House on Republic Street was renowned throughout Europe
with a packed programme throughout the year. Unfortunately,
it was destroyed by heavy air raids during World War II and
attention once again focused on the Manoel theatre which was
painstakingly restored so that today you can again marvel
at the Manoel in all its glory.
LOCAL ARCHITECTURE
The splendid Maltese architecture provides reason
enough to wander through the streets of Valletta, Mdina, Victoria
and many other Maltese cities and towns. The flat-topped roofs
typical of Mediterranean buildings stand is sharp contrast
to those on mainland Europe. Many Maltese villages still retain
their original structure with their narrow winding streets
and alleys. Built to maximise shade and breeze from the scorching
Summer sun as well as to confuse the often attacking Ottoman
Turk pirates and invaders, they offer days of exploring. Local
renowned architects include Gerolemo Cassar, Lorenzo Gafa,
Tommaso Dingli and more recently Richard England.
CRAFTS
Malta is noted for its fine crafts - particularly
its handmade lace, handwoven fabrics, glass-blowing and gold
and silver filigree. These can be bought at nearly all souvenir
shops at very fair prices, while one can venture to the Ta'
Qali Craft Centre near Rabat, a craft-making community to
see the worksmen in action.Particularly impressive is the
art of glass blowing, producing coloured fine decorative mouthblown
glass ornaments.
MUSIC
Folk traditions in music are very strong, with
Malta holding a folksong competition every year. Ghana,
meaning 'song', is the traditional music of Malta. It sounds
like something between a Sicilian ballad and rythmic Arabian
wailing. The first known study of this form dates back to
1792 during the final years of the rule of the Knights of
St John. Initially initiated by peasants, the music has become
an all round form of popular entertainment and is strongly
evocative of a distant time strongly echoing Malta's Arabic
past. Romance is a popular theme in these ballads, while another
style of ghana is that called 'Spirtu pront' (meaning on the
spur of the moment), with two or more ghannejja (singers)
performing a duet in such a style, often degrading into a
rhyming war of words between the two, in typical Mediterranean
style.
Besides folk songs, Malta enjoys a vibrant local
modern music scene. Malta constantly qualifies in good standing
in the European-wide Eurovision contest with locally composed
music. Nightclubs and discotheques mostly play European music
making the charts in the international arena.
CUISINE
The strongest influence on typical Maltese cuisine
is Sicilian, though the popularity of grilled chops and roast
and three veg reveals a strong partiality to all things British.
Local specialities include pastizzi (savoury cheese
pastries), timpana (a macaroni, cheese and egg pie),
and fenek (rabbit), which is usually fried or baked
in a casserole or pie. Another delicious dish is Bragioli
(meat with an internal stuffing of ikkapuljat (minced
meat) and herbs, and cheese.)
[Go to the Restaurant
section for a more indepth look at Maltese cuisine]
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