Travels in the 2nd half

  Due to its position in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, the island of Malta has always played a key role in the military and trade history of the region. Over its history it has been an outpost of ancient Greece, Rome, and the Ottoman Empire. In 1533, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, ceded control of Malta to the Knights of St. John the Baptist, also known as the Knights Hospitaller.   In 1572, following the Great Siege of 1565, the Knights commissioned the building of a church dedicated to their patron saint, in the newly rising city of Valletta. The church remained the primary church of the Knights until they were expelled from Malta in 1798 by Napoleon. After the French were removed power in Malta by the British, Valletta became the home of the British colonial government, and the church grew in prominence. In 1820 the archbishop of Malta, based in Mdina, agreed to designate Valletta’s church as a “co-cathedral” with the Cathedral of St. John in Mdina. Monument of Grand...

  One way to get to know a place you have never visited is by taking a “food tour.” It is a quick introduction to the history and culture of a city. So, when I visited the city of Valletta, on Malta, one of the first things I did was to sign up for a culinary excursion of the city. Valletta City Walls I used the Viator app and found the highly rated (4.9/5.0) Valletta Food Tour. Our guide was Romina, a Maltese native. She met us just outside the city gate, at the Triton’s Fountain. The fountain was finish in 1959, in conjunction with the construction of a new bus terminal for the city. It underwent restoration in 2017. The plaza is paved with limestone tiles that are chockfull of fossils. Triton's Fountain Fossils in the paving stones Romina started us off with two wonderful pastries called pastizzi. These are traditional Maltese treats made of a dough similar to Greek filo. They usually filled either ricotta cheese or mushy peas. Ricotta Pastizzi  Pastizzi with mushy peas We ...

  In 1977, the New Museum opened in The New School for Social Research. With the goal of giving space and attention to contemporary artists that have not yet been “discovered” by the traditional art world. Over the next thirty years it bounced around in several sites, but it always looked to bring forward “new artists and new ideas.” In 2007, The New Museum moved into its permanent home on The Bowery. Part of what drew me to visit now was the reopening of the museum after a two year renovation and expansion that has doubled the size of its exhibition space. To celebrate its new space, the New Museum has put together a fascinating exhibit that fills its entire space. New Humans: Memories of the Future (ongoing) “explores how technological developments have inspired evolving definitions of the ‘human’”(from the museum’s website). It brings together works that explore the ideas of humanity that span the past 120 years, from Jules Verne and H.G. Wells to ET to today. From the series ...