The Evolution of Valletta's Street Names

© John Cilia La Corte 2008 

Arms of Valletta

The strategic position of Mount Sceberras, on the promontory protected by  the sheltered waters of the Grand Harbour on one side and Marsamxett Harbour on the other, did not escape the notice of the Order of St John when it took up residence on the Maltese Islands in 1530 and a project to build a city thereon was considered shortly after. However, it was not until the end of the Great Siege of 1566 that the plan was put into effect and the foundation stone laid by Grandmaster Jean de la Valette on 28 March 1968 .

The city was built in the form of a grid and the names given to the streets lasted to 1798 when the Order was expelled by Napoleon Bonaparte. During the brief French occupation, new revolutionary names were assigned but, following the uprising by the Maltese and the subsequent absorption of Malta into the British Empire, the names were changed* once more and survive to this day with the exception of a handful. Some were renamed in the 1970s after Malta achieved independence.

The Italian version of the names persisted even during the British period and it was not until the rise of fascism in Italy, followed by World War II, that they were officially discontinued.

*It is worth noting however that three of the names given by the French were accepted and translated into Italian:

Rue de la Monnaie, formerly Strada San Sebastiano, became Strada Zecca (Old Mint Street).

Rue des Fours, formerly Strada San Gio Battista, became Strada Forni (Old Bakery Street) 

Rue des Merchands, formerly Strada San Giacomo, became Strada Mercanti (Merchants Street) 

The French also gave due recognition to the main street, formerly Strada San Giorgio to the Order, by renaming it Rue Nationale. Under the British, this recognition took the form of Strada Reale (Kingsway) and, following the republican constitution, Republic Street by the Maltese parliament.  

 

 

	Ref	Order of St John	French Occupation	British Period (Italian)	British Period (English)	Modern (Maltese)	Modern (English)
	1			Strada Marsamuscetto	Marsamuscetto Street	Triq Marsamxett	Marsamxett Street
	2	Strada San Michele9 11	Rue des Moulins au Vent9	Strada Ponente	West Street	Triq il-Punent	West Street
	3	-	-	Strada San Giorgio11	St George Street11	Triq San Ġorġ11	St George Street11
	4			Strada Ingenieri	Sappers Street	Triq l-Inġeniera	Sappers Street
	5	Strada San Michele9 11	Rue des Moulins au Vent9	Strada Scozzese	Scot Street	Triq MA Vassalli	MA Vassalli Street
	6	-	-	Strada San Patrizio11	St Patrick Street11	Triq San Patrizju11	St Patrick Street11
	7			Strada Soccorso7	Bounty Street7	Triq l-Għajnuna7	Bounty Street7
	8	Strada San Sebastiano8	Rue de la Monnaie8	Strada Zecca	Old Mint Street	Triq iż-Żekka	Old Mint Street
	9	Strada San Gio Battista10	Rue des Fours9	Strada Forni	Old Bakery Street	Triq l-Ifran	Old Bakery Street
	10			Strada Toro	Bull Street	Triq Gendus	Bull Street
	11			Strada Stretta	Strait Street	Triq id-Dejqa	Strait Street
	12	Strada San Giorgio10	Rue Nationale8	Strada Reale	Kingsway	Triq ir-Repubblika	Republic Street
	13	Strada San Zaccaria9	Rue de la Victoire9	Strada Zaccaria	Zachary Street	Triq San Żakkarija	Zachary Street
	14	Strada dei Francesi 5		Strada Sant'Anna	St Anne Street	Triq Sant'Anna	St Anne Street
	14	Strada dei Francesi 5		Strada San Giuseppe	St Joseph Street	Triq San Ġużepp	St Joseph Street
	15			Strada Fontana	Fountain Street	Triq il-Għajn	Fountain Street
	16			Strada Laparelli	Laparelli Street	Triq Laparelli	Laparelli Street
	17	Strada Tesoreria9	Rue de l'Égalité76	Strada Tesoreria	Treasury Street	Triq i-Teżorerija	Treasury Street
	18	Strada San Giacomo10	Rue des Merchands9	Strada Mercanti	Merchants Street	Triq il-Merkanti	Merchants Street
	19	Strada San Paolo10	Rue de la Constitution9	Strada San Paolo	St Paul Street	Triq San Pawl	St Paul Street
	20	Strada San Pietro10	Rue de la Barrague9	Strada Sant'Ursola	St Ursula Street	Triq Sant'Ursla	St Ursula Street
	21	Strada San Luigi10		Strada Levante	East Street	Triq il-Lvant	East Street
	22			Strada Batteria	Battery Street	Triq il-Batterija	Battery Street
	23			Strada Santa Barbara	St Barbara Bastion	Triq Santa Barbara	St Barbara Bastion
	24			Strada Pozzi	Old Wells Street	Triq il-Bjar	Old Wells Street
	25					Triq il-Mediterran	Mediterranean Street
	26			Strada Regina	Queensway	Triq Papa Piju V	Pope Pius V Street
	27			Strada Ordinanza	Ordnance Street	Triq l-Ordinanza	Ordnance Street
	28	Strada del Palazzo10	Rue du Genie8	Strada Mezzodì	South Street	Triq Nofs in-Nhar	South Street
	29	Strada Pia10/della Falconeria8	Rue de la Félicité Publique8	Strada Britannica	Britannia Street	Triq Melita	Melita Street
	30			Strada Carri	Carts Street	Triq il-Karri	Carts Street
	31			Strada San Marco	St Mark Street	Triq San Marku	St Mark Street
	32	Strada del Monte10	Rue du Peuple8	Strada San Giovanni	St John Street	Triq San Ġwann	St John Street
	33	Strada della Vittoria10	Rue des Defenseurs de la Patrie9	Strada Santa Lucia	St Lucia Street	Triq Santa Luċija	St Lucia Street
	34	Strada del Salvatore10	Rue de la Fraternité9	Strada Teatro	Old Theatre Street	Triq il-Teatru l-Qadim	Old Theatre Street
	35			Strada Felice	Felix Street	Triq Feliċ	Felix Street
	36	Strada del Popolo/dei Greci10	Rue des Liberateurs de la Patrie9	Strada Vescovo/Arcivescovo 1	Bishop/Archbishop Street 1	Triq l-Arċisqof	Archbishop Street
	37	Strada Fontana10	Rue des Droits de l'Homme8	Strada San Cristoforo 3	St Christopher Street 3	Triq San Kristofru 3	St Christopher Street 3
	38			Strada San Michele	St Michael Street	Triq San Mikiel	St Michael Street
	39	Strada San Marco10	Rue des Patriots8	Strada San Domenico	St Dominic Street	Triq San Duminku	St Dominic Street
	40	Strada San Pantaleone10	Rue des Deux Balles9	Strada San Nicola	St Nicholas Street	Triq San Nikola	St Nicholas Street
	41	Strada Fortuna10	Rue de la Reconaissance9	Strada Ospedale	Hospital Street	Triq l-Isptar	Hospital Street
	42	Strada Sant'Elmo10	Rue de l'Hôpital9	Strada Tramontana	North Street	Triq it-Tramuntana	North Street
	43	Strada San Simone10		Strada Scaloni	Steps Street	Triq it-Turġien	Steps Street
	44			Strada Sperone	Spur Street	Triq l-Ixprun	Spur Street
	45			Strada San Sebastiano	St Sebastian Street	Triq San Bastjan	St Sebastian Street
	46			Strada San Biagio	St Blaise Street	Triq San Bjaġju	St Blaise Street
	47			Strada San Carlo	St Charles Street	Triq San Karlu	St Charles Street
	48			Strada San Andrea	St Andrew Street	Triq Sant Andrija	St Andrew Street
	49			Strada Molini al Vento	Windmill Street	Triq l-Imtieħen	Windmill Street
	50			Strada Carmine	Carmelite Street	Triq il-Karmnu	Carmelite Street
	51			Strada Aquila	Eagle Street	Triq l-Ajkla	Eagle Street
	52	Piazza d'Armi10	Place de la Liberté9	Piazza San Giorgio/del Palazzo	St George/Palace Square	Misraħ San Ġorġ 2	St George Square 2
	53	Piazza Tesoreria10	Place de l'Égalité9	Piazza Regina	Queen Square	Misraħ ir-Repubblika	Republic Square
	54			Piazza del Gran Assedio	Great Siege Square	Misraħ l'Assedju l-Kbir	Great Siege Square
	55	Piazza San Giovanni10		Piazza San Giovanni	St John Square	Misraħ San Ġwann	St John Square
	56			Piazza Castiglia	Castile Square	Misraħ Kastilja	Castile Square
	57			Piazza Celsi	Celsi Square	Misraħ Indipendenza	Independence Square
	58	-	-	-	-	Misraħ il-Ħelsien 4	Freedom Square 4
	59	Strada San Federico9	Rue de Brutus9	Strada Federico	Frederick Street	Triq Federiku	Frederick Street
	60			Piazza Vittoria	Victory Square	Misraħ  il-Vittorja	Victory Square
	61			Strada Vittoria	Victory Street	Triq  il-Vittorja	Victory Street
	62	Porta San Giorgio9	Porte Nationale9	Porta Reale	Kingsgate	Bieb il-Belt	City Gate

 

 Notes:

 1. The name was changed when Malta was elevated to an Archbishopric in 1944

 2. Although officially St George Square, it is popularly known as Misraħ il-Palazz or Palace Square

 3. This street is also known as just Triq Kristofru or Christopher Street

 4. A new square created following the redesign of City Gate after Independence

 5. St Anne Street and the contiguous St Joseph Street were regarded as one street by the Order and was called Strada dei Francesi

 6. The street name can still be seen, if palely, above the flower kiosk not in French but in the Italian version of "Strada dell'Uguaglianza" ⁷ lt is likely that the French gave both French

    and Italian names, in keeping with their policy of publishing  their first newspaper in Malta entitled "Journal de Malte" both in French and Italian - two columns side by side.⁹

 7. I am indebted to Mr & Mrs Walter Camilleri for this information and photo.

 8. V.F.Denaro

 9. Dr J.F.Grima

10. P.P. Castagna

11. West Street and MA Vassalli Street were originally considered one road (Strada San Michele) interrupted by the Manderaggio, a small port later filled in and built over to form a ghetto-like slum. The area was rebuilt in the 1950s when St George Street and St Patrick Street were created.

 

Any correction or relative information will be gratefully accepted. Please e-mail:  

 

Sources:

Castagna, P.P.: L-Istorja ta' Malta bil-Gzejjer taghha, 3 volumes, 2nd edition, Stamperia ta C. Busuttil, Valletta, 1890

Denaro, Victor F. Houses in Merchants Street, Valletta.  Melita Historica : Journal of the Malta Historical Society v. II n. 3 y. 1958 pp. 158-171

ibid: Houses in Kingsway and Old Bakery street, Valletta. Melita Historica : Journal of the Malta Historical Society v. II n. 4 y. 1959 pp. 201-215

ibid: More houses in Valletta. Melita Historica : Journal of the Malta Historical Society v. III n. 2 y. 1961 pp. 1-8

ibid: Still more houses in Valletta. Melita Historica : Journal of the Malta Historical Society v. III n. 3 y. 1962 pp. 42-58

ibid: Yet more houses in Valletta. Melita Historica : Journal of the Malta Historical Society v. III n. 4 y. 1963 pp. 15-32

Grima, Dr Joseph F., PhD, MA, BA (Hons), Dip.Educ(Adm.&Mgt), MIM: Malta u Franza 1798-1800 (Kullana Kulturali 2006)