City of Valletta The capital of Malta is inextricably linked to
the history of the military and charitable Order of St John of
Jerusalem. It was ruled successively by the Phoenicians, Greeks,
Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and the Order of the
Knights of St John. Valletta’s 320 monuments, all within an area
of 55 ha, make it one of the most concentrated historic areas in
the world. Valletta is pre-eminently an ideal creation of the
late Renaissance with its uniform urban plan, inspired by neo-
Platonic principles, its fortified and bastioned walls modelled
around the natural site, and the voluntary implantation of great
monuments in well-chosen locations. The capital of Malta is one
of the rare urban inhabited sites that has preserved in near
entirety its original features. It is inextricably linked to the
history of the military and charitable Order of St John of
Jerusalem. It was ruled successively by the Phoenicians, Greeks,
Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and the Order of the
Knights of