The descent starts with a door that looks like part of the bastion wall. Then the air cools and the light drops, and you are walking along a corridor cut into the rock, with a telephone switchboard at the end and a map table in the next room.
Tunnels with a long history
The underground spaces below Lascaris Bastion have been known since the 17th century, when the Knights of St John used them as slave quarters. Grand Master Giovanni Paolo Lascaris ordered a garden to be planted nearby, and his name was given to the garden. In the middle of the 19th century an artillery battery was built on the site, also named after the Grand Master.
A secret headquarters
When Italy entered the war in 1940, the British command of the Maltese garrison began building a secret complex in the tunnels beneath the bastion. It was meant to house the fighting services involved in the defence of the island and in operations in the Mediterranean. The war rooms were equipped with automatic ventilation, cryptographic devices, telephones and other tools for collecting and analysing information quickly and for coordinating action between services.
Eisenhower in Malta
By 1943, British military engineers had expanded the tunnels to house the Allied headquarters under General Dwight Eisenhower, who later became the 34th President of the United States. With other supreme commanders he directed the invasion of Sicily from here, an operation that led to the liberation of the island from German and Italian troops.
Eisenhower’s room is among the spaces you can visit. Standing in the room where those decisions were made is a vivid way to connect Malta’s wartime role with the larger story of the war.
The visit
The museum recreates the wartime atmosphere with care. Visitors walk along dim underground corridors, through heavy doors and down steel ladders to multiple operations rooms. The rooms hold information boards, military maps, telephone switchboards and mannequins dressed in uniforms. The scene feels cramped and purposeful, as it would have in 1943.
Guided tours are available for visitors who want to learn more about Malta’s contribution in the Second World War. The guides add stories that the displays alone cannot convey, and they handle questions well.
What makes it different
Many war museums rely on objects behind glass. Here the place is the exhibit. The tunnels were built to be used, and the cramped rooms, the heavy doors and the telephone equipment show how information moved before computers. Visitors tend to notice small details: the labels on the maps, the arrangement of the desks, the sound of their own footsteps on the steel. These details make the story concrete in a way a written panel rarely does.
Practical points
The last tour of the day starts about three quarters of an hour before closing, and the museum closes on several holidays, including Christmas and Good Friday. Fees are listed for adults and children, with a family rate. Check the current details on the museum’s own website.
The tunnels are cool in summer but narrow and damp in places. Steep ladders and stairs make access difficult for people with mobility problems. Wear flat shoes and leave bulky bags outside. Claustrophobic visitors should know that some passages are tight.
Nearby
The Upper Barrakka Gardens and the Saluting Battery are a few steps away, and the Upper Barrakka Lift runs down to the waterfront. Auberge de Castille, the seat of the prime minister’s office, stands on the high ground nearby. A morning here followed by the noon gun at the gardens is a classic Valletta combination.
The Siege Bell memorial and the Malta at War Museum in Vittoriosa complete the picture for anyone interested in the island’s wartime story.
Making the most of it
Read a short summary of the siege of Malta before you go; the displays assume some background, and a minute of reading beforehand makes names like Eisenhower and Sicily click into place. Go early on weekdays, when groups are smaller, and give yourself time to stay in the operations rooms rather than hurrying through. The quiet of the tunnels, after the noise of the city above, is part of the experience.
