Day 59 ~ Valletta, Malta or "Oh, What a Knight!"

 March 9, 2022

51 degrees with a lying sun. It may seem warm & sunny, but the wind is sharp enough to cut leather.

NAUTICAL TERM OF THE DAY ~ Start Over with a Clean Slate

On a slate tablet kept near the helm, the watchman recorded the speeds, distances, headings, and tacks of the ship. If there were no problems during his watch, he wiped the slate clean for his replacement. 

Valletta, Malta has an unparalleled natural harbor, deep and with many twists and turns. A harbor pilot is a must for every port we visit, but maybe especially this one!

We visited Malta on the Pacific Princess in 2018 (click to my post from that visit!) and were enchanted by the place. It claims to be European and is a member of the EU, but there's an exotic quality to Malta that's rooted in its history, its language (which is based on Arabic with a smattering of Italian and French), its unique location in the middle of the Med very close to Africa. We were fascinated by this island that seemed to have its feet in several worlds.

The Cathedral of Mdina behind its stern walls

We weren't supposed to call on Malta in our original itinerary with Viking, but were delighted when it was added to our final schedule. It was our chance to finally visit Mdina, the old capital of Malta. Thanks to a recommendation by #1 Daughter, we've read Empires of the Sea by Roger Crowl, a well-written history in which he detailed the siege of Malta and how the residents of Mdina helped the Knights of St. John defend the island against an overwhelming Ottoman force. 

The two-towered cathedral is built of the ubiquitous butter yellow limestone like most other structures on Malta. It's mined on the island in several quarries. The right tower houses a clock and the left, a calendar in the round. 

Mdina was fascinating, though not the Silent City we were expecting. It does allow cars inside the walls, but they have to be pretty small vehicles. Now the "silent" bit is probably because there are only about 300 residents. There are several large convents, one which houses only 4 nuns, 3 of which are bedridden.

The cathedral is dedicated to St. Paul, the island's patron saint. This stained glass depicts Paul's sight being restored after his conversion by Ananias, who had to be convinced by direct revelation from God to trust that Paul, who'd previously been persecuting the Church, wasn't there to arrest the whole Christian community.

The interior of the Cathedral is designed to inspire with it's high vaults and dome. There are a number of memorials on the floor that seem to indicate that they are covering graves, but at some point the bishop put a stop to burials inside the church. You can, however, for a fee, have a grave-sized marker installed in your honor.

 

 Viking had arranged for two concerts for its guests. We signed up for the evening concert, so we had to vacate the sanctuary. Our guide gave us about 20 minutes of free time, during which she suggested coffee and people watching, but I'd spotted the Cathdral Museum so we ducked in there. It was filled with amazing liturgical treasures, croziers and censers, communion cups and plates. 

There was also a rather gruesome reliquary in one of the rooms. I believe this is supposed to be the skull of St. Publius, the governor of the island when Paul was shipwrecked there. He converted to Christianity and was later martyred under the persecution of Christians under Emperor Hadrian.

On the upper floor of the museum housed a wonderful  collection of paintings on Christian subjects. There was a nearly wall-sized rendering of the shipwreck of Paul, several versions of John the Baptist and other saints. 

There was an entire room dedicated to the woodcuts of Albrecht Durer, fifteenth century master of print-making. This image is of Christ in Emmaus, breaking bread with the disciples and in that moment revealing himself as the risen Lord. The detail in all these prints is breathtaking. 

But because we were limited on time, I felt we only scratched the surface. I could've made a meal of it, happily spending the entire afternoon there. Instead, we only managed a hazy sense of the collection. 

Kristy and Dave with a...I'm guessing a lion sculpted by someone who's never seen a real one. It reminds me more of one of those flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz!

One of many small details that make the church at Mosta an amazing sacred space.

Our next stop on the tour was the church in Mosta, which survived the direct hit of a bomb during a raid on April 9, 1942. The German bomb crashed through the enormous dome of the church while there were 300 worshippers gathered. Amazingly enough, it did not detonate and no one was injured.  When we arrived at the church, we discovered there was a funeral in progress. I felt very strange intruding on a family's private grief, but the interior of the church was so huge, we were able to stand silently at the back without being noticed. 

After Mosta, we hurried back to the Star because we had to prepare for the evening concert in the Cathedral of Mdina. We were greeted by porters in Renaissance costume to light our way with torches as we walked through the twisting lanes of the ancient walled city. As about 250 of us gathered outside the Cathedral, we were offered champagne or orange juice while we waited for the doors to open. It was cold, but the wind had settled down and we were bunched together like a flock of penguins in Antarctica. As long as we remained in the sheltered center, it wasn't bad at all. 

The concert was a deeply satisfying experience. A chamber orchestra and small vocal ensemble with excellent tenor and baritone soloists performed a program of sacred music. The DH and I recognized and had sung a number of the pieces and we had to keep from humming along on Mozart's Ave or Bach's Gesu, Joy of Man's Desiring . I love my church choir and all the people in it, but I wish there was an opportunity for the DH and me to sing this type of music again.

This was the type of special experience I expected from Viking and they did not disappoint! And tomorrow is another day on the exquisite island of Malta! 

Photo montage from the DH:

More soon...