THEMATIC ITINERARIES - VALLETTA, MALTA MALTA The Island THEMATIC ITINERARIES EXPLORED IN MALTA Behind the Myths N°1 Discovering the Malta Story under the Plangent Rain N°2 In memoriam of Simshar N°3 Valletta in the II World War: Malta’s story & best kept war secrets N°4 Ħaġar Qim & Mnajdra Archaeological Park - UNESCO world Heritage site 45 FAMOUS - FILM FESTIVALS AND MOVIE TOURISM ACROSS UNESCO SITES Christina Guan www.happytowander.com elegant church domes and spires piercing its skyline, richly This massive fort has several rooms that reflect its crucial role embellished palazzos and towering townhouses with bright in the Maltese history. Beneath the fort lies a prison which was green wooden balconies. greatly feared and housed many high-ranking offenders within the order. In 1609 the famous painter Caravaggio was MALTA imprisoned at St Angelo after found guilty of injuring a knight Locations from the following films are included in this itinerary: during a quarrel. - Plangent Rain (2008) Speaking of knights, it is mandatory to bring into the The Island - Malta Story (1953) discussion some of the history of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, also known as the Knights of Mata. The order was Behind the Myths constituted around 1085, to look after the sick in Jerusalem, Malta’s Seaside, under the Plangent Rain and it wasn’t until the crusades that they started to be a This route is dedicated to the short film Plangent Rain (watch military corps. The knights settled in Malta in 1530 (after here). Through an adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy leaving Jerusalem, Rhodes, and Cyprus), thanks to the mercy Hamlet, Plangent Rain comprises the essence of the island in of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who gave them the Malta’s origins as mythical land, therefore, come from afar. With a story that shows La Valletta as a site tainted by the anguish lands and the authorization. By then, Malta was a frontier 7.000 years of culture and history, Malta is home to many of its protagonist. The silent bells that warn of the nearness of between the Christian and the Muslim alliance. myths and legends. The islands of Gozo and Malta have death, the smell of the sea, the yells of a man who seeks logged appearances in Homer’s Odyssey and The Bible, and In the act of donation of Malta, Charles V also included the revenge... Who said you can’t have Byron and Shakespeare at Malta itself has even been proposed as the site of Atlantis. islands of Gozo and Tripoli. In exchange, the Order obliged the same time? itself to make an annual tribute to the emperor and his mother, These stories have been a source of inspiration for artists for The main character in the film is a young man who is torn Joanna of Castille. Payable every All Saints day, the tribut centuries. This attraction intensified during the period when between his natural ineptitude and the need to break away consisted in the delivery of a falcon. Malta was under the British colonial rule, and the island, more from the clutches of his bleak environment. As the son of a than a bastion or citadel, became considered an exotic enclave The history of the Maltese falcon has inspired many works. Thematic itineraries sailor, the boy lives a mockery of his father's life, rowing a in the middle of the Mediterranean, halfway between the East Among them is the first John Houston film, starring Humphrey rotting boat across an ancient harbour. and the West. Malta’s intimidating fortifications suddenly were explored in Malta Bogart, which was shot in 1941, to adapt a novel of Dashet seen as a vestige of a past from where medieval knights Plangent Rain explores the man’s frustration with his life, and Hammett with the same name. In the film, considered the first defended the values of their civilization against the dangers the union between his overbearing mother and his devious of noir cinema, the gift falcon was actually a piece covered in lurking across the ocean. Inspired by the islander way of living, uncle. Soaked in a dark, liquefied decrepitude, La Valletta goes jewels and diamonds. N°1 Discovering the Malta Story under the Plangent Rain from being the idyllic, sunny and warm place we are used to Romantic poet Lord Byron, for instance, described La Valletta According to historians, the great grand entrance in Malta of N°2 In memoriam of Simshar contemplating in postcards and advertisements, to a as an island of "bells, yells and smells”. the first commander of the kinghts of St John, Philippe Villiers N°3 Valletta in the II World War: Malta’s story & best kept suffocating scenario implacably whipped by the rain. Valetta, the City of Knights, situated on the Sceberras de l’Isle-Adam, took place ion 26 October 1530, day in which peninsula divides into two areas; the Grand Harbour on the war secrets Prisoner of his torment, the man reaches Forti Sant' Anġlu he sailed into Malta's Grand Harbour to take claim of the southwest and the Marsamxett Harbour on the northwest. The N°4 Ħaġar Qim & Mnajdra Archaeological Park - (Fort Saint Angelo), one of Malta’s most well-known landmarks. island. It was fortified in 1530, when the Order of Saint John came to city is listed under UNESCO-world-heritage for its harmonious UNESCO world Heritage site Malta’s Grand Harbour commands the respect of many sailors, the island. collection of baroque architecture, imposing military forts, visitors and historians of all nationalities. This deep natural 46 harbour has been regarded as a safe refuge since ancient times. Breathtaking views of Fort St. Angelo, Fort Ricasoli and the historic Three Cities of Bormla, Birgu and Isla, on one side and the magnificent re-developed Pinto Vaults on the other. As you might be expecting, being a story whose protagonist is a fisherman, this harbour also appears in Plangent rain. The life of sailors and fishers of Malta might be full of the wonders of the sea, but also of its dangers, as the exhibitions at the Malta Martitime Museum show. In 2008, the boat Simshar departed the coast of Malta on a fishing trip, expected to return on 11 July. The boat was carrying five people, among the crew, its relatives and a Somali man. At some point, a blast took place on board, destroying the boat. The five people on board survived the blast and survived for several days adrift a makeshift raft made of floating debris from the blast. This incident was dramatized in the film Simshar (2014). THEMATIC ITINERARIES - VALLETTA, MALTA This massive fort has several rooms that reflect its crucial role N°1. Discovering the Malta in the Maltese history. Beneath the fort lies a prison which was Story under the Plangent Rain greatly feared and housed many high-ranking offenders within the order. In 1609 the famous painter Caravaggio was imprisoned at St Angelo after found guilty of injuring a knight Locations from the following films are included in this itinerary: during a quarrel. - Plangent Rain (2008) Speaking of knights, it is mandatory to bring into the - Malta Story (1953) discussion some of the history of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, also known as the Knights of Mata. The order was constituted around 1085, to look after the sick in Jerusalem, Malta’s Seaside, under the Plangent Rain and it wasn’t until the crusades that they started to be a This route is dedicated to the short film Plangent Rain (watch military corps. The knights settled in Malta in 1530 (after here). Through an adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy leaving Jerusalem, Rhodes, and Cyprus), thanks to the mercy Hamlet, Plangent Rain comprises the essence of the island in of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who gave them the a story that shows La Valletta as a site tainted by the anguish lands and the authorization. By then, Malta was a frontier of its protagonist. The silent bells that warn of the nearness of between the Christian and the Muslim alliance. death, the smell of the sea, the yells of a man who seeks In the act of donation of Malta, Charles V also included the revenge... Who said you can’t have Byron and Shakespeare at islands of Gozo and Tripoli. In exchange, the Order obliged the same time? itself to make an annual tribute to the emperor and his mother, The main character in the film is a young man who is torn Joanna of Castille. Payable every All Saints day, the tribut between his natural ineptitude and the need to break away consisted in the delivery of a falcon. from the clutches of his bleak environment. As the son of a The history of the Maltese falcon has inspired many works. sailor, the boy lives a mockery of his father's life, rowing a Among them is the first John Houston film, starring Humphrey rotting boat across an ancient harbour. Bogart, which was shot in 1941, to adapt a novel of Dashet Plangent Rain explores the man’s frustration with his life, and Hammett with the same name. In the film, considered the first the union between his overbearing mother and his devious of noir cinema, the gift falcon was actually a piece covered in uncle. Soaked in a dark, liquefied decrepitude, La Valletta goes jewels and diamonds. from being the idyllic, sunny and warm place we are used to According to historians, the great grand entrance in Malta of contemplating in postcards and advertisements, to a the first commander of the kinghts of St John, Philippe Villiers suffocating scenario implacably whipped by the rain.