Valletta is the Capital City of Malta. The Knights of St John built Valletta after the Great Siege of 1566 when the invading Turks shattered the fortifications of the existing cities of the time. Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette decided that a modern capital city with state of the art fortifications was needed. The new city was named after its founder Jean Parisot de la Valette who died before the city was completed in 1571. This remarkable fortified city with its massive bastions followed the most advanced Renaissance ideas in town planning, with streets laid straight on a strict grid plan looking over the Grand Harbour. Shortly after it was completed the governing powers where moved to Valletta replacing Mdina and becoming the new capital city of Malta.

Italian, late eighteenth century

This detailed, hand-colored map shows all the buildings of the city of Valletta, in enough detail to identify them. The map can be dated by the absence of the National Library, which stands today in the square between the Conventual Church (with the dome) and the Grand Master’s Palace (with the courtyard).