F ounded by the Knights of Saint John in the mid-1500's, Malta's walled capital city is considered a baroque masterpiece. The city was named after Jean Parisot de la Valette, one of the prominent knights, and the religious-military order was required to pay a rent of one falcon to Spain for the islands. Valletta's buildings remain much as they were 400 years ago with the Saint John's Co-Cathedral by Gerolamo Cassar the centerpiece of this architectural delight. It was originally the regular church of the Hospitalers (Knights of Saint John) but grew to equal prominence with the archbishop's cathedral at Mdina. Cassar went on to design many important buildings in Valletta, including the Palace of the Grand Masters (now the president's home and seat of the House of Representatives), the Aragon Auberge (now the Ministry of Education and Culture), the Provence Auberge (now the National Museum), and the Castile and León Auberge.
Valletta is classified as a World Heritage City.
La Valette was Grandmaster of the Knights.
~3600bc - Neolithic settlers come ashore from Sicily.
~1600bc - Phoenicians settle on Malta.
~400bc - Carthaginians settle on Malta.
~800-1200 - Arabs from North Africa settle on Malta.
1249 - Last Arab rulers driven from Malta.
~1300 - Swabian, Angevin, and Aragonese dynasties rule Malta.
23 March, 1530 - Spain grants Malta to the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem.
1566 - Valletta founded.
1570 - Valletta becomes capital of Malta.
1798 - France seizes Malta.
1800 - Malta becomes part of the British Empire.
1964 - Malta gains independence.
1974 - Malta becomes a republic within the British commonwealth.
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