Vittoriosa represents a treasure trove of history and culture waiting to be discovered. Wandering out of Locanda La Gelsomina boutique hotel in Malta, historical relics such as Fort St Angelo, the jewel in the crown of The Maltese Islands’ military heritage can be found. According to legend, the fort stands on the site of a fortified Roman settlement.
Back in 2015, as Fort St. Angelo was being restored, a clay smoking pipe was found hidden in one of the walls, still filled with tobacco, with a matchbox wrapped in the 3rd March 1920 edition of ‘News of the World’, and a handwritten note dated 19th April of that same year.
Written by a stone mason who was working on the construction of the cinema all those years ago, the note revealed the mason had left the pipe hidden there on purpose for it to be found by a lucky antique lover in the future.
This is just one of the fascinating relics you can see in person until September 8th at 'Behind Closed Doors' an exhibition at Fort St Angelo marking the 40th anniversary since the departure of foreign military forces from Malta.
For more information can be found by visiting Heritage Malta: http://heritagemalta.org/whats-on/