We awoke bright and early after a wonderful first day in Valletta. Now of course, after our morning walk, the question arose…..we're here, now what? I had made a few plans, but nothing for this day. So we decided to go ahead and catch the bus to Mdina, called "the Slient City" a walled city with a history going back to 4000 B.C. and first fortified by the Phoenicians as far back as 700 – 1000 B.C.. That's Malta, they talk about things based on centuries.
The bus bays are located right outside the City Gate of Valletta. The city of Floriana basically starts right where Valletta ends.
Finding your bus is easy. Go ahead and get tickets at the booth, ask the very nice lady for the bus going to Valletta, and walk to the bay, in this case #9, where the buses to Rabat go.
While waiting you can take in the Triton Fountain and the various statues like "Christ the King" (to the right) which was designed Maltese sculptor Antonio Sciortino.
Since only residents, emergency, and government vehicles are allowed within the wall of Mdina, you'll get off a short walk away, in the city of Rabat, which is right outside the walls of Mdina.
We saw quite a few tour buses out side the city walls. So, on this day, the "Silent City" wasn't so silent.
Because of the location, high on a hill, Mdina had a strategic significance. When under the rule of the Roman Empire, Mdina was where the Governor built his palace. The Normans conquered Malta in 1091 and further fortified the city with a large moat and thicker walls.
One of the main reasons we visited Mdina was to see St Paul's Cathedral. We were told that it was the equal of St John's Co-Cathedral and also had some historic significance. Supposedly, the Cathedral is built on the spot where Governor (now Saint) Publius met the Apostle Paul who was shipwrecked on Malta. The original cathedral was of Norman design and was destroyed in an earthquake in 1693. The current structure was designed by Lorenzo Gafa and finished in 1702.
Like St John's Co-Cathedral, one of the more interesting features were the tombs laid in the floor. Most of these were of various clergymen.
The Missus noticed something interesting about the tombstones; the Galero and Tassels. We both had no idea what it represented.
We queried one of the very friendly attendants on the significance of the hat and tassels. We were told these represented clergy; the tassels represented their rank and accomplishments within the church. A single tassel would be a priest, two tassels represented a rector, six tassels on each side is a bishop. interesting, huh?
When did find quiet backstreets, less than 300 people live within the walls of Mdina, the place did take on a mysterious air.
Most street were busy, though not extremely so. Another one of our favorite places was the Carmelite Church and Priory. The monks of this priory follow a strict rule of separation from the external world. In other words, it's a cloistered order. We were told that the monks still live in the buildings and above the priory. It's an interesting view into a different world and definitely worth your time if you're in Mdina. During the French occupation, all the silver was removed from the church. In September of 1798, the French returned to finish off the job. The story goes that a young boy climbed to the top of the belfry to sound the alarm and Maltese Rebels locked the doors of the church, starting the Maltese Revolt.
By now, more tourists had arrived. So we did a quick walk and took some photos of Malta from the city ramparts.
I believe we found the only cloud over Malta on this day!
It was getting hot and crowded, so we decided to depart. But not without first taking a short walk around Rabat. We found the streets interesting….everyday life happens here. We had a cup of coffee at one of the shops and when we saw what looked like the trimmings of a recent festival…we followed.
And ended up at St Paul's Church and Grotto.
The church is built on the site where St Paul stayed and preached when shipwrecked on Malta.
From here we walked back to the bus stop and headed back to Valletta. It was pretty warm and we wanted something light to eat. On one of the sloping side streets I located one of the places I had read about named Piadina Caffe. A Piadina is an Italian flatbread. Considering Matla's location relative to Italy, I thought this would be a nice little stop.
This tiny shop specialized in Piadinas (of course), foccacia's, salads, and coffee.
It would turn out to be a favorite of the Missus who just really wanted a salad as an alternative to all the rather heavy food we'd been eating on this trip.
She got a quinoa salad….strange I thought, but well priced. She loved it….I guess She had been missing salad.
I had the Prosciutto, mozzarella, and rocket (gotta love the British influence) piadina (4 Euros), which was surprisingly good.
I love the ratio of ingredients on this one…the salty and savory prosciutto, milky mozzarella, the peppery bite of the arugula. The flatbread had been pressed and was crisp. This was just what I wanted and needed…something not too heavy, but satisfying.
The Missus enjoyed this so much…..we ended up returning later on our trip.
Piadina Caffe
24 Triq Santa Lucija
Valletta, Malta
Bolstered by caffeine……we were ready to do a bit more exploring.
Thanks for reading!
I really enjoy Belgian's and they always have La Chouffe and a couple of dubbels/tripels so I can get my fix. Or perhaps a Pliney the Elder. The Missus can always find something She enjoys like a nice Flanders Red, a sour, or even like the 21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon (you can now get cans at TJ's) which she loved.
