Recently returned from a week in Malta. We stayed in the seaside town of St. Julian’s and made several day trips. The first was to Valletta, the compact yet richly historic capital of Malta, perched on a peninsula between two natural harbors along the Mediterranean Sea. Founded in the 16th century by the Knights of St. John after their victory in the Great Siege of Malta, the city was designed as a fortified stronghold with a precise grid layout. Today, Valletta is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, celebrated for its dense concentration of Baroque architecture, grand palaces, and historic churches built from golden limestone.

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