Valletta's star shines again, writes Brett Atkinson.
Valletta at night has more dimly-lit, honey-coloured stone and long shadows than the opening stanzas of a Dan Brown novel. Laneways cobbled with limestone steps worn shiny and smooth from centuries of use lead down to the moonlit waters of the Med, as wider avenues linked by grandiose squares bisect at right angles in a perfect grid system. Palaces and churches are close neighbours to vintage shopfronts unchanged since the early 20th century, and framing the precision of this improbable cityscape is an imposing outer wall of forts, cannon batteries and historic barracks.
The shadowy Knights Templar were at the heart of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, but their partners in crusading, the Order of the Knights of St John, were responsible for building the ultimate fortress city to repel further Turkish attacks following 1565's withering Great Siege.
Now almost 500 years later the perfectly proportioned city, measuring just 1km by 600m, is a European Capital of Culture for 2018, and a cosmopolitan and stylish sheen is being overlaid on to Valletta's centuries of fascinating history.
The makeover including boutique hotels and a new after-dark energy is a relatively recent phenomenon, and just a decade ago its streets and laneways were relatively deserted after dark. Politicians, lawyers and business people adjourned to the oceanfront glam of more modern Spinola Bay, locals hunkered down in their fading 400-year old villas made of Malta's ubiquitous limestone, and the light play created by the waters of Valletta's Grand Harbour was the only regular source of movement. Now Europe's emerging chefs are opening venues, and there's a definite buzz around town to complement the launch of new galleries and the revitalisation of existing museums.
