"Visiting Vittoriosa" a Vittoriosa Travel Page by lawrencesaliba

Visitors joining a group lead by Professional Guide react different from those who prefer to come along and pay a visit to the city on their own initiatives. I had pinpointed individuals, as well as couples and sometimes small groups within the group, who are at arms length away from their tour leader.

Probably they have lost any hope of coping with the frustrating situation. Maybe because they cannot follow because the group was too large, or felt that the information was too generic and they had missed too much and therefore they lost any hope of coping with the tour leader.

Maybe they want to take pictures and cannot keep track of what is coming next... The result is that they are unsatisfied because the return for what they had paid for, does not meet their expectations.

On the other hand, those who come along on their own, are burdened with heavy books, maybe having too small site maps to be sure that what they had previously read about in their history books correlate to what they are viewing.

The sense of disorientation is vivid in their eyes and in the way they comport themselves. The result is that they have not gained their full accomplishment from their visit.

As human beings, by nature we want to maximise in all aspects of life. We do not just want to walk aside the attractions, we want to discover the city, feel good about how we spent our time and money. We want to listen to legends and myths that characterize the city. Take pride of it, be excited and tell others about our accomplishment.

Being an engineer by profession, I wondered of how the latest technology could assist in this. So I came up with the initiative, of developing Interactive DVDs for Vittoriosa.

The DVD has also inbiult features to download the MP3 content instantly on an availble mp3 gadget, iPod ... Once uploaded you are free to roam around the city with confidence as if you were a local.

Vittoriosa Booklet The Audio guide walk will help you discover the rich history of the city step by step; at your own pace. Each section will end with a jingle. This indicates the end of that part of the tour and instructions as to how to get to the next attraction will follow. As we wanted to be sure that you do not feel disorientated, each DVD includes a booklet.

Cottonera encloses the three cities of Birgu (also Vittoriosa), Bormla (Cospicua) and Isla (Senglea). Grand Master Nicole Cottoner surrounded the three cities with sturdy fortifications that to this day bear his name: the Cottonera Lines. This is the best evidence of the unflagging importance the Knights of Saint John gave to the defense of the cities. So impressive are the bastions of Cottonera that they continue to attract scholars of military architecture from around the world.

Both Senglea and Vittoriosa are built on peninsulas whose tips are guarded, respectively, by Fort Saint Michael and Fort Saint Angelo. These two forts afford an obviousshield to the city of Cospicua, huddled between Vittoriosa and Senglea. The geographical layout of Cottonera, with the city of Valletta on the opposite side of the harbour, as well as the other peninsula of Kalkara, enfold what is undoubtedly one of the most amazing natural harbours in the Mediterranean.

The Knights, governors of Malta between 1530 and 1798, prized the strategic importance of this side of the island. Upon their arrival in Malta, the Knights were fascinated with the area and its coast, and immediately established their base at Vittoriosa. They embarked on their great building programme that conformed to their philanthropic and military raison-d’être. We have evidence of this in Vittoriosa with the presence of the Collachium, a quarter that is also found in Palestine and Rhodes. The Collachium is a group of close-knit streets, in which the Knights built their auberges and private residences. Here, in Saint Scholastica Street, they also founded their first hospital, which nowadays serves as a nuns’ monastery. The Great Siege of 1565 is closely connected with the streets of the Collachium. These parts witnessed, between May and September 1565, the fiercest fighting of the Siege. Indeed, the three cities are full of memories harking back to the unforgettable events that shaped the Great Siege.

In the harrowing times of World War II, Cottonera was reduced to a scene of devastation and the casualties were many. Each one of the three cities has its own artistic memorial recalling these innocent victims of war. Many historical buildings were destroyed: in Vittoriosa, the Grand Master’s first Palace, the Church of the Annunciation, and the Clock’s Tower were all razed to the ground, while in Senglea the Church of Victory suffered the same fate; not to mention numerous houses, auberges and other buildings that were no more by the end of the war.

Nowadays, the collegiate churches in these cities are considered as centres of culture, history and art. Moreover, these magnificent places of worship testify to the Christian faith among the people of Cottonera, who erected and enhanced them with some stupendous works of art.