Valletta

Valletta (vəlĕt`ə), city (1994 est. pop. 9,129), capital of Malta, NE Malta. It is strategically located on a rocky promontory between two deep harbors. Dockyards line the harbors and employ more workers than any other industry. Tourism is also an important industry. A 16th-century town, with many relics of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem (the Knights Hospitalers, or Knights of Malta), Valletta contains a 16th-century cathedral, the old governor's palace, the Royal Univ. (1769), a National Museum of Fine Arts, and a library with a museum of antiquities. The city was severely damaged by air raids in World War II.

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Valletta

Seaport city (pop., 1999 est.: 7,100), capital of Malta. It is located on a rocky promontory with harbours on either side. Built after the Great Siege of Malta (1565), which checked the advance of Ottoman power in southern Europe, it was named after Jean Parisot de la Valette, grand master of the Knights of Malta. It became the Maltese capital in 1570. After 1814 it was made the principal base of the British Mediterranean naval fleet and remained important through World War II, during which it suffered heavy damage from bombing raids. Several 16th-century buildings still exist. The city's economy relies mainly on trade and tourism.