The Maltese Archipelago and Baroque Festival

Malta’s fascinating and complex history spans a staggering 7,000 years, with the first humans, most likely arriving from the shores of Sicily, settling around 5,200 B.C. It was these early settlers who were responsible for megalithic wonders such as the Ggantija temples, which, constructed before Stonehenge and the earliest Egyptian pyramids, are among the oldest free-standing structures on earth. Such marvels alone might be enough to recommend Malta as a fascinating destination for cultural study, but subsequent history has bestowed upon the country many further treasures besides. This is thanks in part to the location of the Maltese archipelago; positioned between the wrestling cultures of Africa, the Middle East and an emerging Europe, Malta has long been a strategic pawn in the struggle for domination in the Mediterranean. Consequently, the country has been shaped by waves of influential rule, from the Phoenicians and Romans to the Arabs and Normans. Perhaps most notable were the Knights of St John Hospitaller, who ruled over Malta from 1530 to 1798, leading the country through a new golden age and establishing the charming capital city of Valletta, today a World Heritage Site and our base for this tour. Under the rule of the Knights, luminaries such as Caravaggio were commissioned to embellish churches, palaces and auberges. More recently, Valletta’s status as European City of Culture in 2018 has seen a fresh injection of art, design and innovation, galvanising Malta’s status as a cultural paradise.