The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (not to be confused with the Republic of Malta) is an entity with observer status at the United Nations, maintaining diplomatic relations with 113 countries.
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is the only UN-recognised country in the world without any land!
So, always up for something beyond mainstream destinations, my backpacking journey took me to Fort St. Angelo and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. It is one of my 7 Top Places in Malta.
Fort St Angelo as viewed from Valletta:
Many call Transnistria, the country that doesn’t exist, but that’s bollocks. I went there. I backpacked it. It exists all right. Just because no one recognises it doesn’t mean to say it doesn’t exist.
But the Sovereign Military Order of Malta is a country without land.
A country without land?
What? Please explain:
This country leases properties.
They lease three properties around the world:
Two in Italy, both in Rome: Palazzo Malta and Villa Malta
And one here in Malta: Fort St Angelo.
Jonny Blair managed to backpack all 3. He also wrote this great article on The Culture Trip, which explains it all much better than I could ever do, so I am happy to refer my readers.
Where is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta?
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta in Malta occupies the top floor of Fort St. Angelo, which is what ultimately brought me to Malta.
I was staying at the Boho Hostel in St. Julians (one of my Happy Places) and with my Canadian buddy, Ryan, who I met at the Andaina Hostel in Oaxaca, back in the Covid era, we went exploring together.
How to get to The Sovereign Military Order of Malta
Well, as I said, this nation within a nation occupies the top floor of the Fort St Angelo:
We travelled by bus from St. Julians to Valletta bus station, which is the central hub for all bus routes in Malta. We both had the Explore Card, which offers unlimited bus travel in Malta and on Gozo Island for 7 days for 25€. A pretty good deal when every single trip would set you back 2.50€:
From Valetta bus station, you can take bus 2 or 4 to Birgu, alighting at Riche, from where it’s a 15-minute walk to Fort St Angelo.
I had booked the tickets the day before on the Heritage Malta Website
Entrance Fees for Fort St Angelo:
These are the entrance fees:
- Adults (18+): €10.00
- Youths (12-17): €6.00
- Senior Citizens (60+): €6.00
- Concessions & Students: €6.00
- Children (6-11): €4.00
- Infants (1-5): Free
- Heritage Malta Members: FREE
- Heritage Malta Passport Holders: FREE
And is currently open from 10 am to 6 pm, Monday to Sunday.
So you can explore Fort St Angelo (not included in the blog post) and then go and backpack the top floor, The Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
You need to follow the signs to “Upper Fort St Angelo”:
“Upper Fort St. Angelo is administered by The Sovereign Military Order of Malta for 99 years as agreed with the Maltese Government in 1998. In collaboration with Heritage Malta, this section is accessible as part of the visitor’s experience in the Fort.
The current knight is Fra’ John Dunlap, and it is his private residence, so you just can’t go and expect to get invited in for a cup of tea, not like you could at Buckingham Palace when the Queen was at home. You are limited to exploring the outside area.
There is a beautiful garden:
With an awesome patio:
The Statue of Saint Jean Baptiste:
With the 2 flags: the white cross on a red background is the flag of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the other being the flag of the Republic of Malta:
The Chapel of St Anne which dates from the 15th century (and replaces the original Chapel of St Mary):
Some of the photos didn’t come out so well. As you can see from my constant grimacing, the light is blinding, so apologies.