7 Historic Treasures Destroyed in Wars that Travelers Will Never Get to See

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4Royal Opera House — Valletta, Malta

Designed by English architect Edward Middleton Barry and opened to the public in 1866, the neo-Classical Royal Opera House was one of Valletta’s most beautiful buildings.

Just seven years after its inauguration, a fire broke out during rehearsals of Giuseppe Privitera’s opera La Vergine del Castello, causing extensive damage that required four and a half years and an investment of 4,000 British pounds — equivalent to more than $300,000 in today’s money — to repair.