Along the walls overlooking Valletta's harbor is an unassuming bell tower with a single bell inside. The bell was unveiled in 1992 by
Queen Elizabeth II and the President of Malta as a tribute to the 8000 Maltese and British who died during the
1940-1942 Siege of Malta.
When the Axis powers opened up a new front in North Africa, the
strategically important islands of Malta (which are between Sicily and
North Africa but were at the time British possessions) became the target
of a massive bombing campaign (3000 raids in two years). The Royal Air
Force and the British Navy defended the island and held out until the
Allied Forces landed in Morocco and Algeria in November 1942. The Axis
powers redirected their focus to Northern Africa and Malta was soon able
to join the Allied offensive.
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Siege Bell, Valletta |
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Memorial plaques |
The bell has a warning sign that it is rung at noon every day and people had best beware of the loud noise. We visited long after noon so we were okay.
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The bell |
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Not the warning plaque |
The siege bell overlooks the harbor in two directions, giving a view of one of the forts as well as the inner harbor.
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Looking out into the Grand Harbor and the Mediterranean beyond |
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The end of the memorial area |
By the inner harbor another statue has been erected in honor of those lost. The plaque says, "At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them" in English and Malti.
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Statue |
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Side view of the statue |
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The statue's plaque |
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