Baroque Architecture - Malta

Malta

The island of Malta contains a variety of Baroque architecture, most importantly the capital city of Valletta. It was laid out in 1566 to fortify the Knights of Rhodes, who had taken over the island when they were driven from Rhodes by Islamic armies. The city, designed by Francesco Laparelli on a grid plan, and built up over the next century, remains a particularly coherent example of Baroque urbanism. Its massive fortifications, which were considered state of the art until the modern age, are also largely intact. Valletta became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.