island escape
In silence, we descend into the dimly lit halls of the Hypogeum. Carved columns stretch down from ceilings, ghostly chambers pockmark walls – all of it hewn from subterranean limestone by ancient hands, 6,000 years ago. Our small group pauses to take in the mysterious underground necropolis, mind-boggling in both scale and sophistication. Standing in stillness, it’s hard to compute that just two hours ago, above ground, I was ogling painted masterpieces by Renaissance artist Caravaggio – or that, in another two, I’ll be lying by my hotel poolside. Malta really does have it all.
A mere 316 square kilometres cast off south of Italy, the island of Malta packs big short-break appeal into small stature. Set at the crossroads of Europe and Africa, its sun-baked
