Vittoriosa | Senglea | Cospicua
Vittoriosa forms part of the three cities. They were known as the three cities as in earlier times a city was only called a city if it was fortified and irrespective of size. Vittoriosa was before named Birgu - coming from an Italian word Borgo, which means a little town. In reality Birgu was only a fishing village. The people of Birgu still like to call their town by its old name. The town was re-named Vittoriosa - the victorious city - after the success of the great siege of 1565 against the Turks. Vittoriosa enjoys a strategic position and has a safe harbor.
Fort St Angelo in Vittoriosa was known as Castello a Mare - the Castle by the Sea. It is a beautiful fort and completely surrounded by sea. Within the fortress a Roman temple has been traced. Later on it became the headquarters of the Knights of the Order of St John. That is why the Order of St John settled in Vittoriosa. They wanted to be close to their ships, as by now, they had organized themselves into a military order to keep out the Turks and the Moslems. When Fort St Elmo capitulated during the Great Siege of 1565, the fighting went on from Vittoriosa. From Fort St Angelo, La Vallette could watch the Harbor operations. The British referred to it as H.M.S. St Angelo as they too made good use of Fort St Angelo.
ST LAWRENCE PARISH CHURCH: The Knights of the Order of St John used the Parish Church of St Lawrence as their convent church. St Lawrence Church is said to be the oldest Church in Malta dating back to 1090. Tradition says that this Church was given to the Maltese by Count Roger the Norman when he came to Malta. It is a beautiful church from the outside and also from the inside. On the facade of the church is the eight-pointed cross - today known as the Maltese cross - signifying the eight lands where the Knights of the Order of St John came from. In front of St Lawrence Parish Church is a lovely monument dedicated to when the last British Troops left the Maltese Islands on 31st March 1979. An English sailor is shaking hands with a dry-docks worker. The Maltese worker seems to be saying to the British sailor 'You are leaving Malta but you are still our friends'.
THE MARITIME MUSEUM: This museum was set up and opened in 1992 and is housed where previously where the British naval bakeries were. It is an interesting museum and worth a visit especially when one remembers that Malta's history was always connected with the sea.
In the center of the square of Vottoriosa is a monument dedicated to the Great Siege of 1565. The lady clad in armor represents Malta and the statue marks the occasion when La Vallette led a procession of thanksgiving from the church right up to the square after the Siege of 1565. Further up in the square is a statue of St Lawrence, one of the early Christian martyrs, who was burnt at the stake. This is a typical square of our old towns. The square is a meeting place for young and old. In the square are the main political party clubs and the band club. Half way up the stairs, before one reaches the square is a small museum dedicated to La Vallette. Here one can still see his hat and sword. In this museum are also some old church vestments, some items and carriage used for the viaticum, as well as items used for the administering of sacraments during the plague.
Vittoriosa is a typical fortified town with narrow streets and many of the streets have steps. This was because it was easier for the Knights to go up and down the low steps, wearing their heavy armor, instead of the hilly streets.
Close to the square is the Inquisitors' Palace. On the outside one can still see several holes made by shrapnel during the second world. This Palace was used by 62 Papal delegates during their stay in Malta between 1530 - 1798. The Inquisition guarded against Christianity. But it is said that Malta's was not a harsh inquisition, like the Spanish Inquisition. This can be appreciated when one sees the cells, where the prisoners were kept. One can immediately see that the cells were not particularly small or somber. At the end of the last cell is a small door, where the prisoners used to be taken in and out of the building. The prisoners were never taken through the main door. Still intact in the Inquisitors Palace, is the room where the Inquisition was held. This is a beautiful room with a wooden ceiling. At the entrance to this room are two doors. One is a normal sized door, through which the Grand Master and his entourage entered and the other door is right in front of the Inquisitor's throne and is a very small door, like that the prisoner was forced to bow before the Inquisitor whether he liked it or not.
The Inquisitor was appointed by the Pope. Two Grand Masters later became popes - they are Innocent X and Alexander VII. In another room also with wooden ceiling is a portrait of all the Inquisitors. In this room on a beautiful chest of drawers are the three oldest Orders of Christian Knighthood. These are - The Knight Templars - Jerusalem with a white Mantel with red cross; the German Knights - these were fighters; and in the middle, the Knights of the Order of St John - red Mantel and white cross. In the Palace is also a tiny room used as the chapel, still complete with altar. Another two halls in the palace are dedicated to works by Maltese artists. In the town of Vittoriosa are also Auberges. Not all eight Auberges still stand today as some of them were bombarded during the second world war.
Senglea can be seen from Vittoriosa from across the harbor. Senglea is also known as Piccola Venezia as here like in Venice the houses are by the waterline. As in Vittoriosa, many of the streets in Senglea have steps. There were several bars, some of them still standing to this day, where the British sailor used to come when he came on land. Senglea got its name from the Grand Master who fortified it Claude de La Sengle. Before Senglea was known as L-Isla coming from an Italian word meaning isola, which means an island. Senglea stands on a peninsula. Senglea was the town that suffered most during the second world war. Suffice it to say that after the war only three houses and one church stood. The rest of Senglea was all razed to the ground. It was then re-built, but rather haphazardly. From the watch tower known as Gardjola one can enjoy a splendid view of the Grand Harbor. On the Gardjola (coming from the Italian guardare - to look at) in stone are carved the coat of arms of Claude de la Sengle plus an eye and an ear. This meant that the guard on watch had to be all eyes and ears. In Senglea is also a beautiful Church dedicated to the Nativity of Our Lady.
Before, Cospicua was known as Bormla. It was renamed Cospicua after the Great Siege of 1565, because it was conspicuous for its valor. In Cospicua there are the dry-docks. Before it was the dockyard and even in the 11th century the dockyard is mentioned. The Knights of the Order of St John made good use of the dockyard and so did the British. It was then sold to a certain Admiral Bailey, but like most dockyards in the world it was run at a loss. It was converted into dry-docks. It is now in the hands of the Maltese Government and employs approximately 4000 workers, who live mostly in the Three Cities area. There are seven docks. The largest is Dock No. 6 built by Chinese experts some years ago and can take the largest tankers and cruise liners in the world. The smallest Dock is No. 7 built by the Maltese. Regular callers to our dry-docks are the Cunard Princess, the Pacific Princess and the Vistafjord amongst others.