This escutcheon with the Coat of Arms of one of the Cotoner Grand Masters is on top of a pair of stores/shops now derelict and closed along the steps leading from the harbour to the centre of Valletta.
The Cotoner brothers, both elected Grand Masters of the Order of St John, Nicholas succeeding Raphael, dominated the Maltese Scene between 1660 and 1680. They were born in Mallorca to Marc Antoni Cotoner i de Santmartí. Grand Master Raphael Cotoner (1660-63) was a prudent and a religious man. He commissioned the celebrated Mattia Preti to paint the vault of St. John's but he was not destined to see the magnificent pictures of this genius who in 13 years turned the conventual church into a gem of art. Nicholas Cotoner (1663-80) was quite a different character. He was stubborn, impetuous and quick-tempered. He took great interest not only in St John's but also improved the Sacra Infermeria and built vast fortifications which still bear his name. During the reign of the Cotoner brothers, Valletta became a centre of continuous feasting, and its Carnival outlived those of Rome and Venice. They were both great builders and their escutcheon is over the facades of most palaces, churches and fortifications in Valletta and other parts of the island. However, St John remains their greatest contribution which they both loved and beautified. Theirs was a period of prosperity in the islands but their mania for building and extravagant tastes was a drain on the Treasury.
