Attractions
6 places in Malta that showcase the island’s connections to other places and people
With its location at the crossroads of cultures and civilizations, Malta exhibits myriad influences!

Rebecca Anastasi

1. Some parts of Valletta could stand in for Rome…

Double take? These places in Malta showcase the island’s connections to other places and people

Left: Lower Barrakka Gardens, Valletta, by cliftonfar / Instagram; Right: Greek monument in Rome, by turismoromaweb / Instagram

With its myriad churches, green gardens and quaint corners, Valletta could double for many quarters of Rome, as indeed it has in many feature films shot on the islands. Some of the most striking spots are Upper and Lower Barrakka Gardens, filled with tourists and locals sipping a spritz or just enjoying the warmth of the sun. Independence Square, with its limestone terraces, flanked by the neoclassical façade of St Paul’s Anglican Pro-Cathedral, also springs to mind. The only thing out of place is the bright red phone booth, which recalls Malta's British colonial past. 

2. …while Rabat has...

Double take? These places in Malta showcase the island’s connections to other places and people

Left: Rabat Cathedral by vikkihague / Instagram; Right: Rome Spanish Steps by turismoromaweb / Instagram

In Steven Spielberg’s Munich, most of which was shot across Malta, the protagonists - a gang of Mossad agents - met up in a café by the church in Rabat’s main square, which doubled as a Roman piazza, to discuss their next moves. In real life, restaurants, shops, a post office, the police station and a traditional kazin (bar) – all the markers of life on these islands – surround the square, giving it much verve and life.

3. And the aqueducts in Gozo mirror those just outside Italy’s capital

Double take? These places in Malta showcase the island’s connections to other places and people

Top: British aqueduct, Gozo by Visit Gozo / Instagram; Bottom: Roman aqueduct, Rome by giansnow_ / Instagram

The first Roman aqueduct was built way back in 312BC, and it’s difficult to overestimate the significance of this achievement. Before then, sewage water would flow into the same rivers people would drink from, resulting in many deaths from water-borne diseases. Later, aqueducts would transport clean water from higher land to the cities, which were growing in size. And though this aqueduct in Gozo is not actually Roman in provenance – the British built it in the early 1840s – the principle was the same: it provided clean water to all those living in the capital of the island, Victoria. 

4. Do the villas in Santa Maria Estates in Mellieha look like those in Tarifa, Spain?

Double take? These places in Malta showcase the island’s connections to other places and people

Left: Santa Maria Estates, Mellieha by stephengaleaphotography / Instagram; Right: Tarifa, Spain by tarifadirect / Instagram

With its terracotta-tiled villas and rolling green hills, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the exclusive Santa Maria estate in Mellieha is a sure-fire ringer for Tarifa, on the southernmost tip of Spain. A drive through the area here in Malta, accessed from the hilltop of Mellieha, will take you down a picturesque valley, descending to the seashore, with white-washed villas giving you a taste of how the other half live.

5. There are parallels between Sliema Seafront and the promenade in Thessaloniki

Double take? These places in Malta showcase the island’s connections to other places and people

Left: Sliema Promenada by lovemaltatv / Instagram; Right: Thessaloniki Promenada by thessaloniki.travel / Instagram

If you’re familiar with films from Greece – such as Theo Angelopoulus’ Eternity and a Day – you would not have failed to notice the similarity between the modern rise (and rise) of both cities. Here in Malta, Sliema is a hectic hub of entertainment and shopping, mirroring the newer and contemporary nature of one of Greece’s foremost spots. 

6. Our honeycombed old capital of Mdina almost doubles for the old city of Jaffa in Israel

Double take? These places in Malta showcase the island’s connections to other places and people

Left: Mdina side streets by herflis / Istagram; Right: Jaffa side streets by mcodern / Instagram

One of the most important sites of ancient Palestine (located in an area now forming part of Israel), Jaffa is biblically and historically significant, having been conquered and reconquered several times over the centuries. Mdina also encapsulates this sense of history impacting on the landscape: the ancient capital, built by the Phoenicians in the 8th century, becoming the capital during the Arab period, until the arrival of the Knights of St John, who used the port area around Valletta and the Three Cities as their base. 

Have you come across any spots in Malta that remind you of somewhere else? Let us know in the comments below!


Rebecca Anastasi
Written by
Rebecca Anastasi
Rebecca has dedicated her career to writing and filmmaking, and is committed to telling stories from this little rock in the Mediterranean.

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