Malta! how celebrated Beloved isle of the Mediterranean sea!
– Lord Byron
Malta is having a moment in the clear Mediterranean sunshine.
International Living named the country a premier destination for retirees and expats in 2026 highlighting the island’s English-speaking population, warm year-round temperatures, high-quality, affordable healthcare and friendly bank laws that leave foreign accounts and income untaxed. On June 7, Delta Air Lines will launch non-stop flights from the U.S. to Valletta, Malta with three weekly departures out of JFK through October 23.
While Malta may seem like a new discovery across the pond, Europeans have always known the island’s allure. When Robie and I talked about spending three months in Sicily, his only request was that we find a way to visit the tiny country. But when I sat down to plan a trip, I struggled to find Malta on the map. After all, the rocky outcrop is one of more than 10,000 islands in the vast expanse of the blue between Europe, Asia, Africa and the Strait of Gibraltar. But where?
Sitting 60 miles south of Sicily off the east coast of Tunisia, Malta lies in the narrow strait of any east-west passage through the Mediterranean. With its central location, the island has been at the crossroads of history, fought over by world powers and financed by pirates.
Colonized by Phoenicians, Carthaginians and eventually Romans, Malta became a Byzantine naval base. During the Arab conquest of North Africa, the island came under Moorish domination alongside Sicily and Spain. While locals elsewhere were assimilated, on Malta the Moors killed or enslaved everyone replacing them with their own religion, language, culture and cuisine.
Following two hundred years of Arabic rule, Normans reclaimed the Mediterranean for Christianity uniting southern Italy and Malta under the Kingdom of Sicily. Then for centuries the region became a chess piece in European politics until 1530 when Malta was offered to the Knights of St. John.
Founded in Jerusalem, the Knights of St. John were a monastic organization pledged to poverty, chastity and the aid of Christians traveling in the Holy Land. Called Knights Hospitallers, the Order offered shelter, medical care and military protection to pilgrims on the road to Jerusalem.
After Muslims recaptured Jerusalem, the Order moved to Acre then Cyprus and finally Rhodes where they remained for 200 years. When Suleiman the Magnificent ousted them from Rhodes, the Knights of St. John went searching for a new home.
Offered Malta by the Holy Roman Emperor, the strategically important rock wasn’t simply handed over. An agreement set the Order up as feudal lords responsible for maintaining the island for Christendom with an annual tribute of one Maltese falcon, a reminder to the knights that they held the island as a fief, not landowners.
The knights turned their small, barren rock into a ‘corsair state’ launching sanctioned Christian raids on Ottoman ships to capture their cargo and ransom any prisoners. But with Muslim armies located 200 miles offshore, the knights were soon faced with an armada of 40,000 Ottomans determined to retake Malta. Despite overwhelming odds, the island’s 8,000 defenders, mostly made up of a few hundred knights, some Spanish mercenaries, Italian and Greek soldiers and the local population, defeated the Sultan’s great army.
In the wake of victory, the Order ushered in a golden age on Malta. Choosing Valetta as the site for their new capital, they erected defenses, invested in urban development and constructed grand, Italian-style residences, churches and palaces. The knights commissioned artists like Mattia Pretti and Caravaggio to create works to adorn St. John’s Co-Cathedral. Then holding true to their original mission, the Order established one of the most advanced hospitals on the island.
For two centuries, the Knights of St. John turned a neglected outpost into a vibrant European center and Mediterranean superpower. But when Napoleon attacked Malta on his way to Egypt, the Order’s ban on fighting Christians led to their surrender.
The French rule on Malta was brief but transformative. After ousting the Knights of St. John, Napoleon abolished feudal privileges, established French-style administration, introduced reforms and seized Catholic treasures to fund his Egyptian campaign. But such rapid, radical changes quickly led to widespread uprisings.
With the countryside in the hands of the Maltese people, French forces found refuge in the fortified capital. Unable to take Valletta, the people turned to the British for aid as Admiral Nelson formed a blockade. For two years the siege of Valetta decimated the population. When the French finally capitulated, the city’s population was reduced from 45,000 to just 9,000.
Following the French surrender, Malta became an English protectorate and crucial naval base linking British Gibraltar with their colonies in Egypt, India and the Far East. During World War II, Malta played a crucial role as an Allied base. In late 1941 the island sank 60% of Axis ships bound for North Africa leading directly to Rommel’s defeat.
The German response was to fly more than 11,000 sorties over Malta in a single month. From March 20 to April 28, 1942, the Luftwaffe dropped 6,700 tons and began an intensive, sustained air campaign lasting 154 days that turned Malta into one of the most heavily bombed places on Earth. By the middle of 1942, Malta was cut off, starving and lacked the power to fight back. As the island neared submission, the English “Santa Marija Convoy” fought its way through with lifesaving supplies. A year later, Allied troops on Malta helped break into Fortress Europe by leading the successful invasion of Sicily.
In recognition of their courage and resilience, King George VI awarded the island the prestigious George Cross, the highest civilian honor and an emblem proudly displayed on the Maltese national flag. After gaining independence on September 21, 1964, Malta became a republic and later joined the European Union.
Located at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, modern Malta blends the bastions and churches of the Knights of St. John with Italian Baroque art and architecture and flavors of North Africa. All with a friendly, English-speaking population that drives on the left. With easier access than ever before, there’s never been a better time to experience the island’s unique place in history.
Reid & Robie 