Easter in Malta, plus other things!

A NOISY, VIBRANT, JOYFUL CELEBRATION

Easter Sunday morning church bells started early and continued until noon, it was almost like the three or four churches in our neighbourhood were trying to out ring each other. There were also the cannons firing at the Saluting Battery in Valletta as part of the ceremonial and religious celebration of Easter Sunday and the fireworks on the harbour front. Then we heard a marching band and caught the traditional Easter procession with the “Risen Christ” statue coming by on our street. Of course, we had to go out to watch and become part of the procession. People were throwing confetti and balloons from their balconies. It was a festive crowd.

First came the officials of the church, 

then a marching band,

then eight men carrying a statue of Jesus.

Then around the corner to the church where the procession ended were the guys that were tasked with running the last block up the street with the statue to symbolize the resurrection, and into the church!

These guys were good, not only did they run up the street, but up a flight of stairs and into the church, after spinning it around in the street a half a dozen times! 

Valletta, the capital of Malta is within the walled city first constructed in the 16th century by the Knights Hospitaller. Originally established as a religious order to supply medical aid to the crusades, they soon had to establish themselves as a military force for their own protection. They built Valletta to defend Malta from an Ottoman invasion. 

Valletta is the smallest capital city in the European Union and the most southernly capital. During WWII it was in British control and was bombed heavily by the Italians. 

Although Valletta was recognized as a World Heritage site in 1980 and named the European Capital of Culture in 2018 we found our day tour of Rabat and Mdina to be extremely interesting. 

It is an ancient fortress city on the west side of Malta, originally established as a stronghold by the Phoenicians the city and fortress has been destroyed and rebuilt many times, the last by the Knights of Saint John in the 1550’s. The whole are is an archeological site, just dig down a meter or so and you find the ruins of the last civilization that was destroyed and built over. As there has always been a water shortage in Malta, unlike other fortress cities, there is no moat, just a really deep ditch now turned into a garden walk.

It has a few plazas, mostly at church sites and the larger streets are wide enough for vehicles and horse drawn carriages.

The main entrance 

But many streets are just about wide enough to walk down 

Maybe one of the most interesting parts of the day, at least to me, was a tour of St. Peter’s Monastery Museum. Established in the year 1455 by the pope, it is the oldest female monastery in Malta, and continues on the original site. The monastery not only had professed nuns but was also accepted and trained novices. At one point in the past there were 50 nuns and novices living here. It had its own gardens, kitchens, worship rooms and work areas, as the nuns produced every thing they needed.

I wonder what they made in this room?

Dormitory and their own place of worship 

Today the monastery is occupied by one nun, who has disobeyed the church to remain at the monastery. Apparently there is a rule that when there are less than four nuns in a monastery they are to be reassigned to a different location. This nun refused to leave as instructed and stayed there to turn the monastery into the museum it is today.

Rabat is the city that grew outside the fortress walls of Mdina.