Dotted across the Mediterranean between Libya and Italy, the islands of Malta were conquered by successive fleets of sea-farers: Phoenicians, Romans, Fatimids, Normans, Angevins, Aragonese and Castilians, Knights of St John, the French and the British. Malta has one of the richest, most eclectic (and least-known) cultures in Europe. With North African and Arabic influences in the local language, Sicilian-inspired cuisine, megalithic temples, Arabic town names, Renaissance and Baroque architecture, and red phone boxes, few European countries have such visible traces of history concentrated in so small an area. Its tiny capital, Valletta, has Unesco World Heritage status.

Long before the Great Pyramids in Egypt or Stonehenge the people of Malta and Gozo constructed enormous stone buildings. 6,000-year-old walls and furniture still proudly stand, the oldest free-standing structures in the world. We visit the Ggantija complex on Gozo, the temples of Hagar Qim and Tarxien, and the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum, a vast and mysterious subterranean necropolis.

St. Paul, then Paul of Tarsus in south central Turkey, was shipwrecked on Malta. In 1530 the Knights of St John arrived and immediately embarked on a massive building campaign. Reclaiming Catholic Europe from the perceived threats of Islam, Judaism, and Protestantism, they built the Cathedral with dazzling inlaid walnut choir stalls, silver chapel gates and dramatic ceiling paintings. In the Grand Master’s Palace Gobelins tapestries hang. Caravaggio, a fugitive from Rome, found refuge and new patrons in the Order of St. John. We see his extremely moving ‘Saint Jerome’ and the ‘Beheading of St John’ in the Oratory.

Itinerary

Day 1

Flight to Valletta, introductory walkabout

Day 2

Archaeological Museum, Hypogeum, Tarxien Temples

Day 3

St John’s Co-Cathedral, Grand Masters’ Palace, Museum of Fine Arts, free time

Day 4

Mnajdra and Hagar Qim Temples, Blue Grotto

Day 5

Mdina, Rabat, cliffs at Dingli

Day 6

Day excursion to Gozo (Ggantija Temple, Museum of Archaeology, Cathedral)

Day 7

Departure

Hotel
Our hotel, the five star Phoenicia Hotel Malta, is perfectly situated at the City Gates of the walled city of Valletta. A national treasure opened in 1947, Hotel Phoenicia has played a key role in Malta’s social and cultural history. Most of its elegant rooms have breathtaking views of the Grand Harbour.

Travel
Flight London/Valletta; private coach for transfers. There is a fair amount of walking on this tour. Because of uneven ground, some parts of this tour are inadvisable for people who rely on a stick. Please inform us of any mobility problems and we will do our best to accommodate you.

Price
£1695 members, £1745 non-members. This includes two evening meals with wine. No single room supplement.

Deposit
£175 per person