Pietà () is a small harbour town in the
Eastern Region of
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 ...
, located near the outskirts of the capital city
Valletta
Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...
.
Etymology
The name ''Tal-Pietà '' is derived from
Italian, and means "Pity", referring to the pity of
Our Lady of Sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows (), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows (), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are Titles of Mary, names by which Mary, mother of Jesus, is referr ...
. This name came about from a chapel and
rectory
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...
built in 1612 dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows.
Description
Pietà is the
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
next-closest to the capital after
Floriana.
Malta's former national hospital,
St. Luke's, is located in Tal-Pietà , and an old boathouse of notable historic interest, now in use as a restaurant, is located on the waterfront. The town is named after a
Church of Our Lady of Sorrows dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries which is still in active use today.
A couple of streets nearby bear the names of St. Augustine and his mother,
St. Monica. Tal-Pietà was a departure point for the
Gozo ferry before the construction of a
yacht marina. The
patrol boat depot of the
Armed Forces of Malta is located at the
Hay Wharf in nearby Floriana. Also within the boundaries of Pietà are St. Ursula's Orphanage;
PBS, the national broadcaster;
Villa Guardamangia
Villa Guardamangia (Italian language, Italian – 'look' and 'eat'), formerly known as Casa Medina and sometimes referred to as ''Casa Guardamangia'', is a townhouse in Gwardamanġa, Pietà , Malta, which served as the residence of Princess Eliza ...
, which served as the residence of then Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain (later
Queen Elizabeth II), when she lived in Malta between 1949 and 1951; the
Ta' Braxia Cemetery Complex is a
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...
site and where many World War I garrison veterans from the British army and navy are buried; and the headquarters of the
Nationalist Party. The party built its base here in 1969. Tal-Pietà is regarded as a suburb of
Ħamrun,
Msida, Floriana and Valletta. Most of its resident population over the past 50 years hails from this area.
The population of Pietà was 3,853 in November 2005, which had been an increase over previous years due to a new housing estate and the redevelopment of old homes over the past thirty years. In March 2014 the population stood at 4,020.
A large number of Maltese citizens have Tal-Pietà as their place of birth, because many women gave birth at St. Luke's Hospital. Tal-Pietà is not, however, considered by the Maltese born there to be their home town, that being considered instead the town or city they first lived in.
In August 2020, a group of enthusiasts formed the first band club in Tal-Pietà named Soċjetà Filarmonika Madonna ta' Fatima, Gwardamanġa - Pietà . The first General Meeting was in November 2021. By the first months, the band club had already nearly 100 members. The premises of the band club is at 231, Triq id-Duluri, Tal-Pietà .
Education
The
secondary school campus of
St. Augustine's College is located in Pietà and run by the
Augustinian Order.
St Augustine College
accessed 26 July 2023
Administration
The current Pietà local council members are:
*Keith Tanti (Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
, PL)
*Zoya Attard (Deputy Mayor, PL)
*Anthony Camilleri (PL)
*Josef Fitzpatrick ( PN)
*Annhelica Agius (PN)
*Simon Cauchi (Executive Secretary)
Locations within PietÃ
Zones in Tal-PietÃ
*Ta' Braxia
*Xatt it-Tiben
*Sa Maison
*Gwardamanġa
Gwardamanġa (English language, English: Guardamangia or sometimes incorrectly written as Gwarda Mangia) is a hamlet in Pietà , Malta, Pietà , Malta. Gwardamanġa is the home of St. Luke's Hospital, Malta, St. Luke's Hospital, Malta's former gene ...
Main roads in Tal-PietÃ
* Misraħ San Luqa (St Luke's Square)
* Misraħ il-Madonna ta' Fátima (Our Lady of Fátima Square)
* Telghet Gwardamanġa (Gwardamanġa Hill)
* Triq ix-Xatt (Marina Street)
* Triq il-Mimosa (Mimosa Street)
* Triq San Luqa (St Luke's Road)
* Triq Santa Monika (St Monica Street)
* Triq San Guzepp (St. Joseph Street)
* Triq id-Duluri (Our Lady of Sorrows Street)
* Triq Zammit Clapp (Zammit Clapp Street)
* Triq Hookham Frere (Hookham Frere Street)
* Triq San Girgor (St Gregory Street)
* Triq is-Sorijiet tal-Ursolini (Ursoline Sisters Street)
* Sqaq Borton (Borton Lane)
References
External links
Our Lady of Fátima Parish Feast Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pieta
Towns in Malta
Local councils of Malta