Valletta : city profile

Abstract

Valletta, the capital city of the Maltese islands, is examined in historical and contemporary perspectives. The origins of the city are explained and the strategic military function of the settlement is traced from its foundation to the modern, post-colonial, post second-world-war era of the Maltese Republic. Problems of the modern era are discussed and evaluated focusing especially on the difficulties of grafting the dynamic of contemporary urban form and function onto a city that remains enshrined in the historical and geographical contexts and circumstances from which it grew. The profile concludes by identifying issues at the heart of Valletta's transition to administrative and commercial hub of a modern and thriving economy.