embracing a reboot while holding fast to a formidable heritage. Storied land of the Knights of Malta, home to three World Heritage sites—including the capital, Valletta—and a recent headline-grabber as a setting for the television phenomenon Game of Thrones, Malta pivoted toward the future with the 2015 inauguration of architect Renzo Piano’s reimagining of Valletta’s old City Gate, Parliament building, and Opera House. “I like the idea of joining past and future, history and modernity,” Piano noted. So do the visitors drawn to this storied republic as it embarks on a new era. –LISA ABEND
