MALTA. 
confidered at Malta as one of the neceffaries of life. It 
is brought from Sicily, and adminiftered to the fick; and, 
whenever there is a fcarcity, all that remains in the ice- 
lioufe is entirely referved for the ufe of the hofpitals. 
Cold bathing is alfo fuccefsfully ufed as a prefervative 
againft the ill effefts of the firocco. 
The capital of the ifland is La Valetta, or Citta Nuova, 
which is fituated on the eaft coaft, and was founded, as 
we have already obferved, in 1566, on an elevated penin- 
fula, having at its extremity the caflle of St. Elmo. This 
town contains the palace of the grand matter, the arfenal, 
the infirmary, the church of the prior of St. John, and 
.hotels for the knights of different languages. On either 
fide of the peninfula is a good harbour. Citta Vittoriofa is 
a fortified town on a narrow point of land that projects 
into the Marza, or great harbour, oppofite to Valetta ; and 
is defended by the ftrong cattle of St. Angelo, Handing 
on a high rock, and communicating with the town by a 
bridge. In this town was the palace of the inquifition, 
an arfenal, and a lodgment of flaves; the Greeks have alfo 
a church here. Senglea, or the Ifle of St. Michael, is a 
confiderable town on a peninfula, feparated from Citta 
Vittoriofa by the canal Porto della Galere, and joined to 
the harbour by the canal Porto della Rennella. But we 
mutt not confound this Malta with Old Malta, called Ct- 
vita Vecchia. Melita, or Medina, the capital, was a confi¬ 
derable town previous to the arrival of the knights of 
Rhodes; it is now a. fmall fortified place, and a.bifhop’s 
fee, containing a cathedral and feveral religious houl'es, 
on an eminence near the centre of the ifland. Barmola 
is a little town of 700 houfes behind Senglea. Citta 
Nuovo Cottonera is a regularly fortified town, including 
the old fort of St. Margherita. The five towns above 
enumerated, may be confidered as portions of one large 
city, feparated from each other by havens, and containing 
30,000 inhabitants. The houfes are built of ftone, flat- 
roofed, and covered with platter. The harbours are ca¬ 
pable Gf receiving whole fleets; and, as the fituation is 
naturally ftrong, no art is wanting to render the fortifica¬ 
tions impregnable. Forte di S. Thom a (To (tands on a point 
of land projefting into the fea, about two miles fouth-eaft 
of the capital, Malta. Forte Roffo ftands on a peninfula 
oppofite to the ifland of Comino. 
“The ifland (fays Brydone) is covered over with coun- 
try-houfes and villages; and every little village has a no¬ 
ble church, elegantly finifhed, and adorned with ftatues of 
marble, rich tapeftry, and a large quantity of filver plate. 
The city of Valetta has certainly the happieft fituation that 
can be imagined. It ftands upon a peninfula between two 
of the fineft ports in the world, which are defended by al- 
moft impregnable fortifications. That on the fouth fide 
of the city is the largelt. It runs about two miles into 
the heart of the ifland ; and is fo very deep, and furrounded 
by fuch high grounds and fortifications, that they affured 
«s the largeft (hips of war might ride here in the moft 
Itormy weather, almoft without a cable. This beautiful 
bafon is divided into .five diftinff harbours, all equally 
iafe, and each capable of containing an immenfe number 
of (hipping. The mouth of the harbour is fcarcely a quar¬ 
ter of a mile broad, and is commanded on each fide by 
batteries that would tear the Itrongeft {hip to pieces be¬ 
fore {he could enter. Befides this, it is fronted by a qua¬ 
druple battery, one above the other, the largeft of which 
is on a level with the water. Thefe are mounted with 
about eighty of their heavieft artillery : fo that this har¬ 
bour, may really be confidered as impregnable; and in¬ 
deed the Turks have ever found it fo. The harbour on 
the north fide of the city, although they only ufe it for fifli- 
ing, and as a place of quarantine, would, in any other part 
of the world, be confidered as ineftimable. It is likewife 
defended by very ftrong works ; and in the centre of the 
bafon is an ifland on which they have built a callle and a 
lazaret. The fortifications of Malta are indeed a moft ftu- 
pendous work. AH the boafted catacombs of Rome and 
Naples are a trifle to the immenfe excavations that Ijave 
223 
been made in this little ifland. The ditches, of a vaft 
fize, are all cut out of the folid rock. Thefe extend for 
a great many miles, and raife our aftonifhment to think 
that fo fmail a ftate has ever been able to make them. 
One fide of the ifland is fo completely fortified by nature, 
that there was nothing left for art. The rock is of a great 
height, and abfolutely perpendicular from the fea for fe¬ 
veral miles. _ It is very Angular, that on this fide there are 
{fill the veftiges of feveral ancient roads, with the tracks 
of carriages worn deep in the rocks. Thefe roads are now 
terminated by the precipice, with the fea beneath ; and 
fhow, to a demonftration, that this ifland has formerly 
been of a much larger fize than it is at prefent; but the 
convulfion that occafioned its diminution is probably much 
beyond the reach of any hiftory or tradition. It has been 
often obferved, notwithftanding the very great diftance of 
Mount JE tna, that this ifland has generally been more or 
lefs afteffted by its eruptions ; and they think it probable, 
that on fome of thefe occafions a great part of it may have 
been fhaken into the fea. One half of Mount AJtna is 
clearly difcovered from Malta. They reckon the diftance 
near 200 Italian miles. And the people of Malta affirm, 
that, in great eruptions of the mountain, their whole ifland 
is illuminated, and from the reflexion in the water there 
appears a great traCt of fire all the way from Malta to Si¬ 
cily. The thundering of the mountain is likewife dif- 
tinftly heard. 
“ The catacombs, not far from the ancient city of Me¬ 
lita, are a great work ; they are faid to extend fifteen miles 
underground. Many people, they allure us, have been 
loft in them by advancing too far; the prodigious num¬ 
ber of branches making it next to impoflible to find the 
way out again. The great fource of water that fupplies 
the city of Valetta takes its rife near to this place; and 
there is an aqueduft, compofed of fome thoufand arches, 
that conveys it from thence to the city. The whole of this 
immenfe work was finifhed at the private expenfe of one 
of the grand-mafters. Not far from the Old City there is 
a fmall church dedicated toSt.Paul; and juft by the church 
a miraculous ftatue of the faint, with a viper on his hand 5. 
fuppofed to be placed on the very fpot where the houfe 
flood in which he was received after his fliipwreck on the 
ifland, and where he fhook the viper off his hand into the 
fire without being hurt by it; (Afts xxviii.) at which 
time the Maltefe affure us, the faint curfed all the veno¬ 
mous animals of the ifland, and baniflied them for ever.. 
Whether this be the caufe of it or not, the faCl is certain 
that there are no venomous animals in Malta. They af¬ 
fured us, that vipers had been brought from Sicily, ami 
died almott immediately on their arrival. Adjoining to 
the church is the celebrated grotto in which the faint was 
imprifoned. It is looked upon with the utmoft reverence 
and veneration ; and, if the ftories they tell of it be true 
it is well entitled to it all. It is exceedingly damp, and 
produces (I believe by a kind of petrifaftion from the wa¬ 
ter) a whitifh kind of ftone, which, they affure us, when- 
reduced to powder, is a fovereign remedy in many difeafes, 
and faves the lives of thoufands every year. There is not 
a houfe in the ifland that is not provided with it; and 
they tell us there are many boxes of it fent annually, not 
only to Sicily and Italy, but likewife to the Levant, and 
to the Eaft Indies; and (what is confidered as a daily 
Handing miracle) notwithftanding this perpetual confump- 
tion, it has never been exliaufted, nor even fenfibly dimi- 
nifhed 5 the faint always taking care to fupply them with 
a frefh quantity the day following. I tatted fome of it 
and believe it is a very harmlefs thing. It taftes likeexl 
ceedingly bad magnefia; and, I believe, has pretty much 
the fame effefts. They give about a teafpoonful of it to 
children in the fmall-pox and in fevers. It produces a 
copious fweat about an hour after; and, they fay, never 
fails to be of fervice. It is likewife efteemed a certain re¬ 
medy againft the bite of all venomous animals. There is 
a very fine ftatue of St. Paul, in the middle of this grotto, 
to which they afcribe great powers. 
3. Notwithftanding 
