It was our last day in Rome but flights from Rome to Valletta are only one and a half hours long, so we still had time for one more museum! Coincidentally, we also spent about an hour and a half at the Museum of the Liberation of Rome. The museum is located at the very same building which the SS used to hold and torture Italians who resisted Nazi rule during WWII.
The building seems small but there were a couple of floors to explore, as well as numerous exhibits and rooms. Although most of the words were in Italian, we were provided with an audio guide.
In the above picture, there this exhibit next to the picture of a tank in the streets. It contained a message that a resistance fighter by the name of Ignazio Vian had carved into bread, and his message was "Courage, Mamma". (Bread reminds me of the film I had to watch for class: Rome, Open City)
Of course, resistance fighters were arrested, interrogated, tortured and killed. Before their deaths, many prisoners scratched out messages and left graffiti on the walls of their cells. There was a prisoner who counted the number of days he was imprisoned for, and another who wrote long paragraphs of Italian words. (I wish I could read them!)
According to the audio guide, there was a prisoner who believed that the traitor who betrayed them was the one nicknamed "rabbit".
This is a reproduction of the jail cards of the Jews who were killed during the Ardeatine massacre or Fossa Ardeatine massacre on 24 March 1944.
On 4 June 1944, Nazis who were fleeing Rome massacred more prisoners. Most of the prisoners were identified except for one. Finally, in 2009, the last man was identified as a British officer. On the left of the exhibit, there is a picture of the memorial that they added for him.
Just a picture of the buildings nearby! I learnt a lot from this museum and I think that it was worth the visit.
We had breakfast at a random cafe (and lunch at a different restaurant) before heading to the airport.
Our train tickets!
It's nice to look at the black departure board and feel this sense of anticipation, wondering what the next destination has in store for you.
When we reached Malta, someone was sent to drive us to the hotel. By the time we checked in at Hotel Osborne, the sky was already dark.
The lobby! Okay, so I think that the best hotel, out of the three hotels that we stayed in during our trip, was the Hotel Olimpia in Venice! But my boyfriend preferred Osborne Hotel.
The hotel in Rome was the smallest, and that's to be expected since, well, it's Rome. So our larger room at Osborne Hotel was a welcome change!
Time for dinner at a random restaurant! I ordered meat that I didn't like again. (I have to stop doing that)
After dinner, we took our time to explore our surroundings and to familiarise ourselves with the streets of Valletta!
I really wish to go back to Malta! But I wouldn't visit the country in winter again. I'd like to take a dip in the ocean in summer.
That's all for day 7! Malta is amazing, so please stay tuned!
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