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Mdina
Mdina ( ; ), also known by its Italian epithets ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortifications of Mdina, fortified city in the Western Region, Malta, Western Region of Malta which served as the island's former capital, from antiquity to the medieval period. The city is still confined within its walls, and has a population of 250. A natural redoubt, the area of the city has been inhabited since prehistory. A Phoenician Phoenician colonization, colony known as Ann (, ) was established around the sharing its name with the island and presumably acting as its capital. During the Punic Wars, the town was acquired by the Roman Republic, Romans and renamed Melita (ancient city), Melita (, ) after the Greek and Latin language, Latin name for the island, probably taken from the Punic port at Cospicua on the Grand Harbour. Greco-Roman Melite was larger than present-day Mdina. It was reduced to its present size during the period of Byzantine Malta, Byzantine or History of Islam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Fortifications Of Mdina
The fortifications of Mdina () are a series of defensive walls which surround Mdina, the former capital city of Malta from antiquity to the medieval period. The city was founded as Maleth by the Phoenicians in around the 8th century BC, and it later became part of the Roman Empire under the name Melite (ancient city), Melite. The ancient city was surrounded by walls, but very few remains of these have survived. The city walls were rebuilt a number of times, including by the Byzantine Empire in around the 8th century AD, the Arabs in around the 11th century, and the Kingdom of Sicily in the medieval period until the 15th century. Most of the extant fortifications were built by the Knights Hospitaller, Order of Saint John between the 16th and 18th centuries. The city has withstood a number of sieges, and it was defeated twice – first by the Aghlabids in 870 and then by Maltese rebels in 1798. Today, the city walls are still intact except for some outworks, and they are among th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Mdina Gate
Mdina Gate (), also known as the Main Gate or the Vilhena Gate, is the main city gate, gate into the Fortifications of Mdina, fortified city of Mdina, Malta. It was built in the Baroque architecture, Baroque style in 1724 to designs of Charles François de Mondion, during the magistracy of Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena. History The city of ''Maleth'' was founded by the Phoenicians in around 700 BC, and it later became part of the Roman Empire under the name Melite (ancient city), Melite. The Punic-Roman city occupied all of present-day Mdina, and its walls also extended into part of Rabat, Malta, Rabat. The city was reduced to its present size sometime during the early medieval period, either by the Byzantines or the Arabs. By the 15th century, the city (now known as Mdina) was defended by a system of double walls on the land front, with the main entrance being located close to the southeast corner of the city, near a tower known as the ''Turri Mastra''. In the medieva ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
St Paul's Cathedral, Mdina
The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Paul (), commonly known as St Paul's Cathedral or the Mdina Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral in Mdina, Malta, dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle. The cathedral was founded in the 12th century, and according to tradition it stands on the site where Roman governor Publius met St. Paul following his shipwreck on Malta. The original cathedral was severely damaged in the 1693 Sicily earthquake, so it was dismantled and rebuilt in the Baroque style to a design of the Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafà between 1696 and 1705. The cathedral is regarded as Gafà's masterpiece. The cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta, and since the 19th century this function has been shared with St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta. History According to tradition, the site of the Mdina cathedral was originally occupied by a palace belonging to Saint Publius, the Roman governor of Melite who greeted Paul the Apostle after he was shipwrecke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Palazzo Vilhena
Vilhena Palace (; ), also known as the Magisterial Palace () and Palazzo Pretorio, is a French Baroque palace in Mdina, Malta. It is named after António Manoel de Vilhena, the Grand Master who commissioned it. It was built between 1726 and 1728 to designs of the French architect Charles François de Mondion, on the site of the meeting place of the Università. The palace was used a hospital in the 19th and 20th centuries, and it became known as Connaught Hospital after 1909. Since 1973, it has been open to the public as Malta's National Museum of Natural History. History Background and construction The site of Vilhena Palace has been inhabited since ancient times, and post-Punic remains have been found in the area. In around the 8th century, a Byzantine fort was probably built on the site, and in the Middle Ages it developed into a castle known as the ''Castellu di la Chitati''. The castle's inner walls were demolished in the 15th century, and the remaining part was built up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two official languages are Maltese language, Maltese and English language, English. The country's capital is Valletta, which is the smallest capital city in the EU by both area and population. It was also the first World Heritage Site, World Heritage City in Europe to become a European Capital of Culture in 2018. With a population of about 542,000 over an area of , Malta is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, tenth-smallest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population density, ninth-most densely populated. Various sources consider the country to consist of a single urban region, for which it is often described as a city-state. Malta has been inhabited since at least 6500 BC, during the Mesolith ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Palazzo Santa Sofia
Palazzo Santa Sofia is a palace in Mdina, Malta, located in Villegaignon Street, across the square from the cathedral. Its ground floor was built in 1233, and it is believed to be the oldest surviving building in the city. The upper floor is of a much later construction, being built in the 20th century. History The ground floor of Palazzo Santa Sofia was built in the 13th century, and the date 1233 is inscribed on the moulding of one of its windows. The upper floor was built sometime after 1938. The building was periodically rented and used as a school run by Roman Catholic nuns. Today, the palace is privately owned, and it is managed by a local heritage foundation ''Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti''. It is not open to the general public, although it can be hired for dinner or cocktail parties, lectures or other events. The palace is scheduled as a Grade 1 national monument, and also listed in the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. Architecture P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Western Region, Malta
The Western Region (Maltese: ''Reġjun Punent'') is one of the six regions of Malta. Spread over an area of , it is located in the southwestern part of the main island of Malta. The region borders the Northern and Southern regions. While the region is amongst the largest regions by land area, it is the least populated region in the main island. It was created by the Act No. XIV of 2019 and carved from parts of the Central Region in 2022. The region was one of the shooting locations of the popular television series Game of Thrones. History The region came under the Roman Republic after the Second Punic War in 218 BCE. The Romans established the city of Mdina in the region, and named it as "Melita" after the Greek name for the island of Malta. The region expanded significantly during the period, around the present day city of Rabat, which also served as the administrative center of the island. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the walls around the region were fortified. An i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Rabat, Malta
Rabat ( ) is a town in the Western Region of Malta, with a population of 11,497 as of March 2014. It adjoins the ancient capital city of Mdina, and a north-western area formed part of the Roman city of Melite until its medieval retrenchment. The Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See to the Republic of Malta is seated in this village. The Local Council of Rabat is also the administrator of Baħrija. Parts of the films ''Munich'' and '' Black Eagle'' were shot in Rabat. In December 1999, Mtarfa was split from Rabat to form a separate Local Council by Act XXI, an amendment to the Local Council Act of 1993 (Act XV). In 2021, Rabat was transferred from the Northern Region to the newly-created Western Region as part of a reorganization of the regions of Malta. Etymology Rabat is an Arabic word which can mean "fortified town" or "suburb". The Arabic term Ribat refers to a small fortification to host military volunteers. Catacombs Rabat is home to the Catacombs of St. Paul and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Local Councils Of Malta
Since June 30, 1993, Malta has been subdivided into 68 localities, governed by local councils, , meaning municipalities or boroughs, and considered by the Maltese as the equivalent to basic villages or towns, where appropriate. These form the most basic type of local government and are subdivisions of the country's first-level Regions of Malta, regions. According to the Local Councils Act (Chapter 363 of the Laws of Malta), Art. 3: (1) Every locality shall have a Council which shall have all such functions as are granted to it by this Act ... (5) Each locality shall be referred to by the name as designated in the Second Schedule and any reference to that locality shall be by the name so designated. List of Maltese local councils Political affiliation of mayors List of Maltese and Gozitan local communities councils Elections for these administrative committees were first ever held 2010 Maltese local elections, 27 March 2010, in the first 8 hamlets listed in this list, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Public Holidays In Malta
Malta is the country with the most holidays in the European Union. Since 2020, any holidays falling on Saturdays or Sundays add an extra day to the workers' leave pool, reverting to the pre 2005 system. National holidays * 31 March: Freedom Day (''Jum il-Helsien'') * 7 June: '' Sette Giugno'' * 8 September: Victory Day (''Jum il-Vitorja'') * 21 September: Independence Day (''Jum l-Indipendenza'') * 13 December: Republic Day (''Jum ir-Repubblika'') Public holidays * 1 January: New Year's Day ('L-Ewwel tas-Sena') * 10 February: Feast of Saint Paul's Shipwreck in Malta ('Nawfraġju ta' San Pawl') * 19 March: Feast of Saint Joseph ('San Ġużepp') * Friday before Easter: Good Friday ('Il-Ġimgħa l-Kbira') * 1 May: Workers' Day ('Jum il-Haddiem') * 29 June: Feast of Saint Peter; Saint Paul, patron saints ('L-Imnarja') * 15 August: Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady ('Santa Marija') * 8 December: Feast of the Immaculate Conception ('Il-Kunċizzjoni') * 25 December: Christm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Religion In Malta
Catholic Christianity is the predominant religion in Malta. The Constitution of Malta establishes Catholicism as the state religion, and it is also reflected in various elements of Culture of Malta, Maltese culture. According to a 2018 survey, the overwhelming majority of the Maltese population adheres to Christianity (95.2%) with Catholicism as the main denomination (93.9%). According to a Eurobarometer survey conducted in 2019, 83% of the population identified as Catholic Church, Catholic. Similarly, the 2021 census of the population found that 82.6% belonged to the Catholic church. Malta's patron saints are Paul the Apostle, St Paul, St Publius and Agatha of Sicily, St Agatha. The Assumption of Mary known as Santa Marija is the special patron of several towns in Malta and she is celebrated each 15 August. Combined survey figures suggest that around half the population are not practising Catholics, or adhere to a different religion, or to none. History of religion in Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Districts Of Malta
Malta is for non-local government purposes divided into districts as opposed to the local government Regions of Malta, regions at the same level. The three main types of such districts – statistical, electoral at national level, and policing – have no mainstream administrative effect as the regions and Local councils of Malta, local councils function as the only administrative divisions of the country. Statistical districts and regions Six districts exist, used for statistical purposes and which are, in turn, grouped into five Regions of Malta, regions: , Northern Region, Malta, Reġjun Tramuntana, Central Region, Malta, Reġjun Ċentrali (both of which were formerly part of Malta Majjistral region), Southern Region, Malta, Reġjun Nofsinhar, South Eastern Region, Reġjun Xlokk (both of which were formerly part of Malta Xlokk region), and Gozo Region, Gozo. Each district consists of several Local councils of Malta, localities. The Northern Harbour District, Western Dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
