This month there are two exhibitions of beguiling maps in the heart of Valletta that look at Malta and beyond through historic collections revealing extraordinary details of the places they show.  

The first, Cartographia: Map Treasures of the National Library of Malta, at the National Library, includes the oldest known map by a Maltese cartographer, Giovanni Miriti, dating back to 1590. Other exhibits include a stunning world map by Gozitan scientist Antonio Saliba, a philosopher versed in mathematics, astronomy and astrology and a contemporary of Galileo Galilei, and maps depicting the Great Siege of 1565. Astonishingly, this is the “most cartographically represented event in the world”, says Joseph Schirò, president of the Malta Map Society. A full-colour catalogue has been published with the exhibition (80pp; €8).  

The second exhibition, British Maps of Malta, at MUŻA, co-curated by Schirò and Bernadine Scicluna of Heritage Malta, presents a selection of maps of the Maltese islands made by Britons, drawn from MUŻA’s Cartographic Collection, the National Library of Malta and several private collections. These are only half of those gathered into a giant publication by Emmanuel Chetcuti and Schirò, which includes the whole corpus of British maps of Malta so far identified.  

William Henry Smyth, Plan of the Harbours and Fortifications of Valletta in the Island of Malta, copper engraving, 1823. Photo: Courtesy of the Malta Study Centre at The Hill Museum And Manuscript Library, MUŻA and Heritage Malta

The earliest map on display dates back to 1615, and many predate the period when the British were in Malta.  

“Interestingly, British maps are less ornate than some of their European counterparts,” Schirò says. “After King Henry VIII’s religious beliefs diverged from those of the Catholic Church, British links with the Order of St John were severed.

“As a result, until the late 19th century, Britain and Malta had a limited relationship, and British maps of Malta in this era are rather neutral. They are mainly taken from travel guides and historical and geographical descriptions of journeys to Europe and the Middle East.” 

George Bridges Black, Malta, lithograph, 1866, in Portrait of William Scamp. Photo: Courtesy of The Malta Maritime Museum

The exhibition also includes several maps from the time of the French blockade of Malta and very early British rule, 1799-1804, after which the nature of the maps changes radically. 

With a chronological collection of maps at its core, the exhibition takes visitors on a journey from one topic to another, with some surprises along the way. See, for example, a panoramic view of Valletta shown in the round, the virtual reality experience of its day! 

As well as recording geology and topography, they’re a miscellany of interesting information in many disciplines, from military and social history to planning and development

“As we were sorting through the collection and choosing which maps to include, certain themes emerged clearly,” Scicluna notes. “Maps can lead you in many different directions, so we have allowed them to tell their own story. As well as recording geology and topography, they’re a miscellany of interesting information in many disciplines, from military and social history to planning and development. For example, in one section of the exhibition, ‘Maps for Epidemics’, you can explore the outbreak of plague here in 1813.” 

Henry Aston Barker, Explanation of A Grand View of La Valetta, The Capital of Malta, wood engraving, 1810-1811. Photo: Private collection, Malta

“The ‘Maps of Administration’ are a reflection of urban infrastructure and maritime projects in which the British chose to invest – or perhaps didn’t!” continues Schirò. “We have a map showing the Malta Railway, both the route it took and another that never materialised. Another, shown by engineer William Scamp in an 1866 lithograph, records a plan to build a ship canal from Marsamxett to the Grand Harbour. There’s also cartographic evidence that in 1861 Malta was a telecommunications hub with a direct line to Russia.”  

The sea is also an important element, and hydrographical maps record the depth of the water and areas that are safe to navigate, while other maps focus on the dockyard.  

More unexpected, an exhibit in the ‘Maps for Leisure’ section is a 19th-century board game for children that follows a panoramic route through Europe from Portugal to London. Its hand-coloured engraved panoramas include a bird’s-eye view of Valletta. In addition to noting the island’s fortifications, it adds that the island is so rocky that shiploads of earth are frequently brought from Sicily, to make it more fruitful.  

Alexander Briarly, A Chart of the Shoal of the White Cliff on the Island of Malta, copper engraving, 1798. 

It’s also fascinating to spot the difference between paired maps of the same place, and you’ll see that, in one comparison, Gozo is missing! 

“In an ‘improved’ version by James Wyld Jr of an earlier map of Malta and Gozo by William Faden, only Malta and Comino are shown,” comments Schirò, musing that at the time Gozo wasn’t perhaps considered important enough to merit the extra work to engrave extra place names.  

Exhibition publication of the show at MUŻA.

“In contrast, in the third edition of the book, Ancient and Modern Malta by Boisgelin, published in 1805, the map of Malta simply disappears from the key map ‘A New Sea & Land Chart of the Sovereign Principality of Malta’. It is believed that the copperplate from which the Malta map should have been printed had been irreparably damaged in a fire, with only the Gozo map surviving. It isn’t only the social and geopolitical stories of the times that influence these old maps: the tales of individuals, engravers and publishers emerge too,” Schirò adds.  

While captions in the exhibition are succinct, full explanations about the maps and mapmakers – cartographers, engravers, geographers and publishers – can be found in the comprehensive full-colour catalogue (300pp; €45).  

Cartographia, at the National Library of Malta, runs until November 16, and British Maps of Malta, runs at MUŻA until November 17. Entrance for both exhibitions is free.