He placed the first stone in what later became Our Lady of Victories Church. The foundation stone of the city was laid by Grand Master de Valette on 28 March 1566. Pope Pius V sent his military architect, Francesco Laparelli, to design the new city, while Philip II of Spain sent substantial monetary aid. The Grand Master asked the European kings and princes for help, receiving a lot of assistance due to the increased fame of the Order after their victory in the Great Siege. The city took his name and was called La Valletta. The victorious Grand Master, Jean de Valette, immediately set out to build a new fortified city on the Sciberras Peninsula to fortify the Order's position in Malta and bind the Knights to the island. In the Great Siege of 1565, Fort Saint Elmo fell to the Ottomans, but the Order eventually won the siege with the help of Sicilian reinforcements. In 1552, the Aragonite watchtower was demolished and the larger Fort Saint Elmo was built in its place. Back then, the only building on the peninsula was a small watchtower dedicated to Erasmus of Formia (Saint Elmo), which had been built in 1488. The building of a city on the Sciberras Peninsula had been proposed by the Order of Saint John as early as 1524. The city is noted for its fortifications, consisting of bastions, curtains and cavaliers, along with the beauty of its Baroque palaces, gardens and churches. Valletta is also the sunniest city in Europe. Sometimes called an "open-air museum", Valletta was chosen as the European Capital of Culture in 2018. The city has 320 monuments, all within an area of 0.55 square kilometres (0.21 sq mi), making it one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world. The city was officially recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980. The city is Baroque in character, with elements of Mannerist, Neo-Classical and Modern architecture, though the Second World War left major scars on the city, particularly the destruction of the Royal Opera House. The city was named after Jean Parisot de Valette, who succeeded in defending the island from an Ottoman invasion during the Great Siege of Malta. Valletta's 16th-century buildings were constructed by the Knights Hospitaller. Valletta is the southernmost capital of Europe, and at just 0.61 square kilometres (0.24 sq mi), it is the European Union's smallest capital city. According to the data from 2020 by Eurostat, the Functional Urban Area and metropolitan region covered the whole island and has a population of 480,134. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 was 6,444. Franzoni’s death came as Italy was already mourning the death of ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi, long the leader of Italy’s center-right.įranzoni is survived by Prodi and their sons, Giorgio and Antonio, and grandchildren, according to a statement from Prodi’s office, which announced the death.Valletta ( / v ə ˈ l ɛ t ə/, Maltese: il-Belt Valletta, Maltese pronunciation: ) is an administrative unit and the capital of Malta. He was European Commission president for five years starting in 1999.Ĭondolences poured in from across the political spectrum, including from the Italian president and interior minister. Long a figurehead of Italy’s center-left, Prodi served two stints as premier starting in 1996, after he founded the center-left Olive party, and again in 2006. The statement noted that the resuscitation efforts occurred during a violent thunderstorm that prevented a helicopter from landing and evacuating Franzoni.įranzoni, a professor of social work at the University of Bologna, was often at Prodi’s side during his political career. Medics tried to resuscitate her, but “there was nothing more to be done” and a doctor pronounced her dead at the scene, the corps said. The Umbrian branch of the national Alpine rescue corps said two teams responded to an emergency call and found Franzoni unconscious. The Prodis and others were walking along the Via di Francesco, a popular pilgrimage route between Gubbio and Assisi, when Franzoni collapsed, news reports said. ROME (AP) - Flavia Franzoni, a professor of social work and the wife of former Italian Premier Romano Prodi, died Tuesday during a hike in Umbria, Italy’s rescue service said.
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