Parish Churches of Malta and Gozo

Parish churches in Malta and GozoHere is a list of all the parish churches in Malta, listed by village or city name,

It is the local parish church that organizes the religious events in the village as well as the famous and traditional festas.

Attard Parish Church (Attard)
Balluta Parish Church (St. Julian's)
Balzan Parish Church (Balzan)
Birkirkara Parish Church (Birkirkara)
Birzebbuga Parish Church (Birzebbuga)
Burmarrad Parish Church (Burmarrad)
Cospicua (Bormla) Parish Church (Cospicua)
Dingli Parish Church (Dingli)
Fgura Parish Church (Fgura)
Floriana Parish Church (Floriana)
Gharghur Parish Church (Gharghur)
Ghaxaq Parish Church (Ghaxaq)
Gudja Parish Church (Gudja)
Gwardamangia Parish Church (Gwardamangia)
Gzira Parish Church (Gzira)
Hamrun Parish Churches (Hamrun)
Iklin Parish Church (Iklin)
Kirkop Parish Church (Kirkop)
Lija Parish Church (Lija)
Kalkara Parish Church (Kalkara)
Luqa Parish Church (Luqa)
Manikata Parish Church (Manikata)
Marsa Parish Churches (Marsa)
Marsaxlokk Parish Church (Marsaxlokk)
Mdina (Mdina)
Mellieha Parish Church (Mellieha)
Mgarr Parish Church (Mgarr)
Mosta Parish Church (Mosta)
Mqabba Parish Church (Mqabba)
Msida Parish Church (Msida)
Imtarfa Parish Church (Imtarfa)
Naxxar Parish Church (Naxxar)
Paola Parish Church (Paola)
Pembroke Parish Church (Pembroke)
Qawra Parish Church (Qawra)
History of Qormi Parish Church (Qormi)
Qrendi Parish Church (Qrendi)
Rabat Parish Church (Rabat)
Safi Parish Church (Safi)
San Ġwann Parish Church (San gwann)
Santa Luċija Parish Church (Santa Lucija)
Santa Venera Parish Church (Santa Venera)
Senglea Parish Church (Senglea)
Siġġiewi Parish Church (Siggiewi)
Sliema Parish Churches (Sliema)
St. Julian’s Parish Church (St. Julian's)
St Paul’s Bay Parish Church (St. Paul's Bay)
Ta’ Xbiex Parish Church (Ta' Xbiex)
Tarxien Parish Church (Tarxien)
Valletta (Valletta)
Vittoriosa Parish Church (Birgu)
Żabbar Parish Church (Zabbar)
Żebbug Parish Church (Zebbug)
Zurrieq Parsh Church (Zurrieq)
Gozo - Fontana Parish Church (Fontana)
Gozo - Għajnsielem Parish Church (Ghajnsielem)
Gozo - Gharb Parish Church (Gharb)
Gozo - Ghasri Parish Church (Ghasri)
Gozo - Kercem Parish Church (Kercem)
Gozo - Munxar Parish Church (Munxar)
Gozo - Nadur Parish Church (Nadur)
Gozo - Nadur Parish Church (Nadur)
Gozo - Qala Parish Church (Qala)
Gozo - Rabat Parish Church Katidral (Rabat)
Gozo - Rabat Parish Church San Gorg (Rabat)
Gozo - San Lawrenz Parish Church (San Lawrenz)
Gozo - Sannat Parish Church (Sannat)
Gozo - Xaghra Parish Church (Xaghra)
Gozo - Xewkija Parish Church (Xewkija)
Gozo - Zebbug Parish Church (Zebbug-Gozo)

Maltese Nationality 'on sale' by Ann Fenech

Saturday, November 16, 2013, 00:01 by

Ann Fenech

Our nationality ‘on sale’

Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

In a matter of a few short weeks, the Government presented and passed a Bill in Parliament enabling it to literally sell Maltese passports, not even to the highest bidder, but for a measly €650,000 and €25,000 for wives and children and so many other relations – the list is endless.
It is outrageous and because the Labour Party in Opposition knew that the majority of the population would find it outrageous it kept it under wraps throughout its electoral campaign.
Did we know that if Labour were elected they would start to sell the epitome of our statehood - our passports - like cheesecakes? No, of course, not!
So Labour in government sprung it upon its unsuspecting citizens half expecting us all to take it in our stride as though it is the most normal thing for a government to do.

We are selling our citizenship as though it were a sack of potatoes

No it is not. Not unless you live in a banana republic in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, that is. And the Maltese people 10 years ago decided that they did not wish to be compared to, live like or emulate the nationals of St Kitts and Nevis. They wanted instead to confirm their European roots and become full members of the European Union.

Qormi Bread and Wine Festival 2008

http://www.qormilocalcouncil.com/default.aspx?MDIS=49

http://youtu.be/dcvWAZZHMTA


The best time to visit Qormi is during one of its many cultural events such as the Malta Springfest, the Qormi Wine Festival and the Qormi Bread Festival. Qormi also organises many sports events including the Qormi Road Race, various Fun Runs and others. The residents have much pride in their locality, so much so that they even have their own official anthem since 2002.
Although a thriving city by now, village life can still be felt in Qormi. There are several sports clubs, music and band clubs, religious clubs and a variety of others ranging from fireworks and festa-related associations to politics clubs and social circles keeping the residents involved with the city's traditional activities. The older generation of “Qormizi” speak a thick Qormi dialect, although this is now in decline.
The rivalry between the village festas of Qormi's two patrons is rather interesting to witness! The first parish was that dedicated to St George.

Maltese Lace Making

Maltese Lace Making
http://youtu.be/3EMsn7rgcEo

 http://lace.lacefairy.com/Lace/ID/MalteseID.html

Ruzar Briffa - Poet

Rużar Briffa

 (1906 – 1963) was a Maltese poet and dermatologist, and a major figure in Maltese literature.
“I never thought of publishing these poems in a book. Some were written in hard times, others in moments of joy. And I wrote them for myself.” These were the poet’s words as they appeared in his first collection of poetry, Poeżiji, published in 1971 thanks to his second wife Louisette and his friend P. Valentin Barbara’s constant encouragement.

Life

He was known as the poet "of smallness and simplicity". Rużar Briffa studied at the Saint Elmo elementary state school and at the Valletta Lyceum. Having obtained his matriculation certificate, in 1923 he started teaching at elementary schools. In 1924, he began his studies in medicine at the University of Malta and completed them in London in venereology and dermatology. In 1932 he became a specialist in skin diseases. He was known for his humility and his greatheartedness in dealing with his patients, especially those suffering from leprosy.
According to his wife Louisette, he dreamed of beautifying disfigured and suffering patients through his medical work. This aesthetic concern emerges frequently in his literary work, so much so that he was known as the "Poet of Beauty" amongst his contemporaries.
In 1931, together with his friend Ġużè Bonnici, he founded the Għaqda tal-Malti Università, which is active to date, and started issuing the magazine Leħen il-Malti ("Voice of the Maltese").
Rużar Briffa died on 22 February 1963. His full biogra phy was released in 1984 by Professor Oliver Friggieri. The Maltese town of Mosta contains a road named in his honour, Triq Rużar Briffa.

Guze Chetcuti - Poet, Novelist, and Playwright

Novelist, poet and playwright Ġuże’ Chetcuti will be remembered for his significant contribution to the Maltese literature scene, as well as for the love for his country’s language and his involvement in the Akkademja tal-Malti (Maltese Language Academy).

Ġuże’ Chetcuti, was born into a generation of other deeply influential contributors to the Maltese literature scene such as Malta’s National Poet Fr. Karm Psaila, Rużar Briffa and Ġuże’ Aquilina.

Born on the 11th August 1914, Ġuże’ Chetcuti spent several years teaching the Maltese language in schools, while writing a number of novels, including “L-Isqaq”, which formed part of secondary school’s Maltese curriculum for a number of years. Ġuże’ Chetcuti also wrote a number of poems, along with plays for both the stage and television.

Guze Cassar Pullicino

Guze Cassar Pullicino

ĠUŻÈ CASSAR PULLICINO twieled Birkirkara fil-21 ta' Settembru 1921 u daħal fis-servizz ċivili fl-1940 u rtira bħala Direttur fil-Ministeru tal-Industrija fl-1979. Answer CASSAR PULLICINO born Birkirkara on 21 September 1921 entered into the civil service in 1940 and retired as Director in the Ministry of Industry in 1979. Għamel żmien bħala bibljotekarju fil-Fakultà tat-Teoloġija (Fondazzjoni tal-Istudji Teoloġiċi). On a Librarian at the Faculty of Theology (Foundation of Theological Studies). Kien ingħata scholarship mill-British Council għat-taħriġ bħala bibljotekarju f'Leeds u Londra (1950); inħatar Associate of the Library Association (1952); membru tal-Akkademja tal-Malti u membru tal-kumitat tagħha (1942-45) u tal-Għaqda tal-Malti (Università); Assistent Editur tal- Melita Historica (1952-61); u tal- Maltese Folklore Review (1962-73). Was awarded a scholarship from the British Council training as a librarian in Leeds and London (1950); appointed Associate of the-Library Association (1952), member of the Academy of Malta and a member of its committee (1942-45) and of the Association of Maltese (University), Assistant Editor Melita Historica (1952-61) and Maltese Folklore Review (1962-73).

Gabriel Caruana - Artist

Gabriel Caruana is a Maltese born ceramist and sculptor who has exhibited his work in various countries including Great Britain, USA, Germany, Holland and Italy. Gabriel Caruana studied in Malta, Italy and the USA, and also under the well known British artist Victor Pasmore. His works are represented in various collections and Museums both in Malta and in other countries. The Maltese Government honored him with the presentation of a Medal for Artistic Achievement in 1999.

The artist was born in Balzan, Malta in 1929, his career spans thirty years of intensive artistic activity and travels. Early in his artistic career he showed a marked preference for the international modern art movement and as a result the traditional element has never been part of his work. He works in a variety of media exploiting their possibilities to the fullest extent but he truly excels in the medium of ceramics. He was among the pioneers of modern art in Malta and his works have found recognition both in Malta and abroad. He has held solo exhibitions in Malta, England, Italy and Switzerland and has shown his work in group exhibitions in Osaka, Detroit, Munich, Tripoli, London, Israel, Melbourne, and several times in Malta. He has participated several times in the International Competition of Artistic Ceramics in Faenza, Italy and his works can be found at the International Museum of Ceramics of Faenza, at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, at City of Manchester Art Gallery, and, at the National Museum of Fine Arts Malta. He has a studio in Rome and another one in Malta http://focusonmalteseart.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html

Charles Camilleri Concertino (2nd Mvt)

Michele Gingras (clarinet faculty Miami University Ohio) and Brenda Wristen (piano faculty at U. Nebraska-Lincoln) perform Charles Camilleri's Concertino (2nd mvt)


http://youtu.be/-qCfdYnwuu8
 

Malta Suite IV - Village Festa - The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Mro Charles Camilleri

http://youtu.be/z3jU0yUBBrE

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Mro Charles Camilleri plays Malta Suite IV - Village Festa.

Charles Camilleri

 

Malta can boast a few fine classical composers whose work is known abroad, including the classical-era Francesco Azopardi and Nicolò Isouard, and, in recent years, Ruben Zahra. However, Charles Camilleri, who has died aged 77, stands out in this company, because his music, comprising more than 300 compositions written over 65 years, is known around the world. In the UK, it has been played on Radio 3 and Classic FM, and a 1968 concert at the Royal Festival Hall, London, was devoted to his output. He should also be remembered for helping to revive traditional Maltese and Mediterranean folk styles.

A self-taught pianist and accordionist, Camilleri, who was born in Hamrun, came from a musically talented family. At 11, he composed his first work, a band march. By the age of 15, he had finished a series of compositions, including the much-loved Malta Suite, which were inspired by Maltese folk singing, known as ghana. He developed an interest in Stravinsky and Stockhausen (both of whom he later met), Bach, Chopin and north African music.

When he was 18, his family emigrated to Australia, but Camilleri did not take to it and left for London, where the impresario Harold Fielding snapped him up. Soon, he was touring with top names such as Hoagy Carmichael, Frank Sinatra, Tommy Steele and Frankie Laine. His abilities were also recognised by Malcolm Arnold, whom he helped with the score for the soundtrack of the 1957 film The Bridge On the River Kwai.

Camilleri left London for Canada, to study composition at the University of Toronto. He viewed the ensuing years as the most exciting of his life. "To be in New York in the 1960s was electrifying," he said. "In the United States and Canada I did everything. I conducted, I wrote film scores, I was published and then I was appointed conductor with CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). Naturally I loved the money: however, around 1965, I decided to quit and dedicate the rest of my life to composition." He flew back to London and became a full-time composer.

Camilleri's fascination with Maltese and Mediterranean music can be felt in his Piano Concerto No 1, the Mediterranean, which he wrote aged 16 and revised in 1978. He also wrote the first-ever opera in Maltese, Il-Weghda (1984), and the language's first oratorio, Pawlu ta' Malta (1985), in honour of the island's patron saint. His second oratorio, Dun Gorg (2001), celebrated the life of a 20th-century Maltese saint. Jimmy Page approached him with the idea of commissioning a guitar concerto in 1981, but the project never came about.

From 1977 to 1983, Camilleri was professor of composition at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and from 1992 to 1996 professor of music at the University of Malta. He also co-wrote two books: Mediterranean Music (1988) and The Folk Music of Malta.

Between 2003 and 2006, Camilleri was a member of the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts. In 2003, his opera Maltese Cross was performed in Paris; his last work, the New Idea Symphony - commissioned by his compatriot, the author Edward de Bono - was premiered in Brussels on 13 January this year.

He is survived by his wife, Doris, a writer, and their daughter Anja and son Charles.
• Charles Camilleri, composer, born 7 September 1931; died 3 January 2009

Song of the Wooden Flute - Charles Camilleri

 Song of the Wooden Flute by Malta's famous composer, Mro Charles Camilleri.

We're showing video clips and photos taken around Malta and Gozo, all taken by my wife, Choy Hong (Jasmine) Grech.

Mro Camilleri, who has made a name for himself and for Malta all over the world, embarked on his career in his teenage years composing a number of works based on Maltese folk tales and legends.

Later on in life he conducted, wrote film scores, operas, orchestral works, chamber ensembles, concertos, operas, a ballet, the oratorio Pawlu ta' Malta and the famous Malta Suite.

He has over 300 compositions, half of which are recorded on some 36 CDs, sold all over the world.

Antoine Camilleri - Artist

Antoine Camileri - Artist

(Excerpts from the book "The Maltese" by Tony S. Mangion)

Antoine Camilleri was born in Valletta on the 5th of February 1922.  He studied at St. Aloysius College and the Government School of Art.  He completed his studies at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts in Paris (1948-50).  In 1960 he was awarded a scholarship to the Bath Academy of Arts, UK and he won another scholarship in 1964 to the Accademia Pietro Vannucci in Perugia.  

Camilleri taught Art with the Education Department (1956-76) until he was appointed Education Officer for Arts and Crafts (1976-79).

He was one of the founder members of the Artists Group Atelier '56 and of the Artists' Guild.  He exhibited regularly in Malta and has presented his works in Paris, London, Edinburgh, New York, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Tripoli and the Biennale di Venezia in 1950.

Camilleri, who was engaged in a continuous process of introspection and experimentation, has won a number of prizes including the first prize for a self-portrait and two other first prizes awarded by the Malta Government Tourist Board for Poster designs.  He was also awarded second prize in the Homage in Dante competition (1966) and third prize in the Human Rights Art Exhibition held at the National Museum, Valletta (1968).

His first exhibition was held in 1947 at the British Council, Valletta while his latest entitled "Le Cri et Le Silence' was held  together with his family at the St. James Cavalier-Center for Creativity, Valletta in 2002.  He has participated in the Contemporary Maltese Art Exhibition (1980), the Maltese Landscapes Exhibition (1981), the Exhibition of Eleven Artists (1982) and the International Graphics II (1983).  All these exhibition were held at Gallerija Fenici.  In 1984 he also participated in Art '84 - Malta and Ghajta Siekta and at the Malta Arts Festival, New Gallery, Auberge de Provence in 1992.  The President of the Republic of Malta awarded Camilleri the Midalja Ghall-Qadi tar-Repubblika (MQR) in 1996.  

Carmel Busuttil

Carmel Busuttil (born 29 February 1964 in Rabat, Malta) is one of Malta's most experienced football players. Now retired from playing, he is assistant coach of the Malta national football team.

Career[edit]

Busuttil started his career with Rabat Ajax and won 2 titles there. He then went on to have a short one year spell at Verbania Calcio in Italy, where he was capped 20 times and scored 8 goals. He then moved on to spend 6 years playing for Belgian Club FC KRC Genk (322), four of them as captain, and finishing as the club's top scorer for three seasons. In 1994 he returned to play for the Maltese club Sliema Wanderers, where he scored 78 goals, helping his team to win the Maltese Premier League and also the Maltese Cup. He was capped 113 times for the Malta national football team and was their top scorer with 23 goals, until recently Michael Mifsud broke Busuttil's record.

He is known as 'Il-Bużu', an abbreviation of his surname. After he retired, he was football coach at a couple of respected Maltese private schools, most notably St. Michael's Foundation for Education. He then formed his own youth training academy, The Buzu football school. In November 2003, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of UEFA, he was selected as the Golden Player by the Malta Football Association as the most outstanding player of Malta in the last 50 years. Busuttil has also won wider acclaim. In 2000 he received the prestigious Order of Merit of the Republic from the then president of Malta, Professor Guido de Marco, for his contribution to Maltese sport.

As a coach, Busuttil had a stint with the Maltese Football League side Pietà Hotspurs, and assisted Horst Heese in the guidance of the Maltese national team between 2003 and 2005. He return to the position in 2009 as assistant to John Buttigieg. They are both on a 5-year contract. However, in 2011, they were both sacked and replaced by the Italian Pietro Ghedin.

Giovanni Bonello

Judge, Human Rights Expert, Author and Historian

(an excerpt from The Maltese by Tony S. Mangion)

Giovanni Bonello was born on 11th Jun 1936, in Floriana and educated at Lyceum and the Royal University of Malta from where he graduated LP (1954) and LL.D. (1958).

He is judge of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.  He has specialized in human rights and defended 170 cases before the Maltese Courts, the European Commission and the European Court of Human Rights.  He has contributed extensively to the development of the law protecting human rights in the islands.

Bonello is also an authority on Maltese history and history of art in Malta.  His large number of articles on these themes, scattered in local newspapers and academic journals, are ample proof of his dedication to this boyhood love.  He is also a postal history expert and the owner of a huge collection of about 20,000 antique Maltese postcards.  He co-authored with Graham Smeed Maltese Picture Postcards, 1898-1906 (1985) and edited Girolamo Gianni in Mata (1994).

He recently published Art in Malta--Discoveries and Recoveries (1999);  Histories of Malta-Deceptions and Perceptions (2001) and Histories of Malta -- Versions and Diversion (2002) he also writes on the history of antiques.

Bonello is Cavaliere della Republica, an honor bestowed upon him by the Italian President, and Knight of Magisterial Grace of Sovereign Military Order of St. John.  Bonello is also a committee member of Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti.

Karmen Azzopardi

Karmen Azzopardi is a leading actress in Malta. She trained for the stage at the Actor’s Studio in London and for broadcasting at the BBC. In a long career she played roles in both English and Maltese ranging from comedy to classical drama including the Greek Tragedies of Women of Trachis, Medea, Hecuba  and the Phoenician Women.

 

She is co-founder of Atturi Theatre Productions, the Company which introduced

 audiences in Malta to international playwrights such as Eduardo de Filippo,
Tennessee Williams and Luigi Pirandello. She led the Company to Moscow to
 perform two plays, one by Azbuzov and the other by Eduardo de Filippo, under
 the direction of Sergei Yashin and Anthony Bezzina at the Gogol Theatre. She
 was a member of the Malta International Arts Festival Committee and has
 adjudicated various drama festivals and scripts for the stage.She was awarded
the Manoel Theatre Award for the Best Actress, the Malta

Drama League Award and twice the Golden Star for Best Actress on Radio.
She has played numerous parts on radio and television and has appeared in
various teleserials with Lino Farrugia as director. On December 13, 2002 she
 was awarded the Medal for Service to the Republic by the then President of
the Republic, Professor Guido De Marco. She was awarded the Cultural
Awareness Award by the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts. In 2005
the Manoel Theatre presented her in a one-woman show entitled ‘An Evening
 with Karmen Azzopardi’ with Jon Rosser as director. She was married to the
late Chev. Paul Naudi, formerly Malta’s Ambassador to the Russian Federation.

Charles Arrigo

  Even at his funeral, the doyen of Maltese broadcasting Charles Arrigo, who died at the age of 76, managed to accomplish a feat no one else managed to realize in a lifetime. “In his death he succeeded in putting together in one place, the crème de la crème of broadcasting,” the former Labour minister Joe Grima says. “These people’s talent and sacrifice laid the foundation for what we should be having today. Unfortunately what we have today does not reflect the dedication and effort applied by these pillars.”

A Valletta man through and through, Arrigo was the first male announcer to be employed with the Rediffusion. Along with Effie Ciantar, Victor Aquilina and Victor Galdes, Arrigo was one of the “four columns” of broadcasting. “Each one of them had their own speciality and Charles’s was obviously the commentary.”

Television veteran Mary Grech compered the thirtieth anniversary for the Valletta Dramatic Company with “the irreplaceable Charles”. Several prominent presenters had called company director George Micallef to replace Arrigo, but both Grech and Micallef confirmed that it would have been nonsensical, as well as impossible, to replace him.

“I envisaged the celebration to be sealed off by him and Mary Grech,” Micallef says. “Mary was there in persona and Charles was remembered by the portrait that we will leave hanged at the Catholic Institute.”

Grech was full of emotion yesterday as she placed a gladiola in front of his portrait and tenderly kissed it. A week on, she was still sounding distraught as she recounted that the last time that she spoke to him was last Sunday – the day before he died. “I just wanted to ensure that everything was running smoothly for last Wednesday’s rehearsals with the orchestra, but as it turned out I had to show up alone.”

Grech met Arrigo before television was even heard of in Malta. Their friendship goes back to the times when she and Charles Abela Mizzi were auditioning for what would turn out to be a defining moment in their career.

Arrigo’s pleasant disposition meant that whomever he met ended up becoming a lifelong friend. Micallef first met him 40 years ago and they had since collaborated in several diverse artistic scenes including theater, television and radio. “We also used to travel together regularly as I worked as a tour leader. Two trips I remember fondly are of Portugal and the Mediterranean resort of Antalya in Turkey,” Micallef says, who was present when Arrigo had to be carted off to hospital for an urgent bypass during the rehearsals for the operetta the Merry Widow.

That he insisted on dedicating his time to the PBS long after he retired did not surprise anyone. A serious operator in every project that he touched upon, Arrigo still had time to joke and when working with Xandir Malta, he loved to recount funny anecdotes about his time spent at the Rediffusion office in Valletta.

Joe Grima chuckles as he remembers Arrigo describing the people who used to walk in the offices and beg him to say hello to their relatives. They would wait until the end of the program and he would introduce them before they started shouting with glee: “Hey ma, are you hearing me? It’s your son.”

The environment that Arrigo worked in was poles apart from what is considered the norm in broadcasting in present times. There were no recordings back then and every moment was a point of no return. At the time, the only recording apparatus would be found at BBC.

Irrespective of the primitive technology that Arrigo had to work with in Malta, he kept the impeccable standards that he had learnt during his various training sessions with the BBC. He had trained as an announcer and newscaster with the BBC World Service in 1959 and returned in 1962 for training for television. He also had a part in the Alec Guinness film, The Malta Story. Until the end of his life, Arrigo kept himself busy at the Public Broadcasting Services assisting in the vetting of programs. He was also President of the National Council of the Elderly.

Michaela Muscat (source: Malta Today, 19 Feb 2006)

http://www.ianwaugh.com/waugh-in-malta/ian-and-xandir-malta/charles-arrigo-tribute/

Jews of Malta

Arrival of the first Jews

The history of the small Jewish Community of Malta goes back to the arrival of the Semitic Phoenician settlers over three thousand five hundred years ago. It is believed that they were accompanied by Israelite mariners from the seafaring tribes of Zevulon and Asher. At the time in the city of Tyre lived Princess Jezebel, who in 906BCE married the Jewish Sultan Omri’s Ohab. After this marriage relations between the Jews and the Phoenicians grew so warm and cordial that they began to sail the seas and occupy various lands together. Some of them stayed in our islands.

The First Evidence

We have evidence that at the time the Phoenicians were occupying Malta, the first Jews landed on Gozo and there they left behind the first signs of their presence. You can find this near the inner apse of the southern temple of Ggantija in Xaghra, one cannot fail to notice that on the ground under your feet is scratched the first Jewish evidence on Gozo.
This Jewish evidence is an inscription in the Phoenician alphabet, discovered and made known in 1912 by Ms N. Erichson and Ms. R. Cleveland. This inscription is in two lines and has ten words: seven in the first line and three in the second. Translated this inscription reads,
"To the love of our Father Jahwe".
On the other hand the discovery of carved menorahs (candlesticks with seven branches) and Hellenistic inscriptions in a number of Jewish catacombs at Rabat and Tabja attests to a community living here in Grecian and Roman times.

Famous Visitors

The most renowned Jewish visitor to our islands was none other than St. Paul, a Jew from Tarsus, who lived in Malta for some three months. Making Malta famous with the Christian world and bringing the new religion to the inhabitants.
One of the most remarkable figures in Medieval Jewish history, Avraham Ben Shmuel Abulafia, lived for many years in Malta, to be exact on the small rocky isle of Comino. Born in Saragossa, Spain, in 1240, Abulafia, visionary and prophetic cabbalist, proclaimed himself the Messiah and predicted the messianic era would begin in the year 5050 (1290). Abdulafia dreamed of dissolving the differences between Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
On the day between Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), 5040 (1280) he set out to Suriano to convince Pope Nicholas III to heed his ideas and ease the suffering of the Jews. His efforts ended with the Pope sentencing him to death by fire.
With the pyre prepared, the pope suddenly died of a heart attack and Abulafia was subsequently freed. He settled in Malta, where he wrote many cabalistic, philosophical, and grammatical works, including Sefer Ha'ot (Book of the Sign), many mystical essays on prophetic cabbalism and his greatest book Imre Sefer (Goodly Works). He died some time after 1291.
Mdina seems to have harboured an important Jewish community until the expulsion edict of 1492. During the Muslim occupation (870 - 1090) under the rule of the Abbasside and Aghlabide caliphates, members of the Jewish Community are known to have served as civil servants and one was even elected to the highest rank of Vizier.
When the Normans seized the archipelago, in 1090, there was a mixed population in our islands, consisting of Muslims, Christians and Jews. From 1091, the Jewish community of Malta ‘s history, now integrated with nearby Sicily, can be clearly traced. For example in 1240 according to the Abbot Gilbert’s report to the Emperor Frederick II, there were in the Maltese islands.
47 Christian Families and
25 Jewish Families
Whilst in Gozo there were
200 Christian Families and
8 Jewish Families
Which makes a total of approximately 250 Jewish persons. Although the majority of the population up to 1249 was still Muslim. In 1282 the Maltese islands became a Spanish possession.
That the Jewish Community prospered there is no doubt, their number increased and this is evidenced by the nominations of the new bishop of Malta at the time.
In 1370 Francesco Papalla (the new bishop) from Messina was elevated to the dignity of "Custos Rotellea", so that he would follow more closely the orders and commands of Frederick II, that of "Contra Judeos ut in Differentia Vestium Et Gestorum Discernatur". This order was well laid down by Bishop Papalla, as he was able to order Jews (as Frederick desired) to wear a "Red Badge" on their clothes, and all Jewish men had to remain unshaven to distinguish them from Catholics.
In 1390 a number of Gozitans Catholics and Jews were taken as slaves after Tunisian corsairs launched a sudden attack on the island of Gozo. Among the captives were six poor Jewish persons. There were a certain Machullaf or Micallef, Sadum or Sajdum, Coftura, Jakobb, David and Sabbeus.
These six Jews, because of poverty, had to remain in captivity as slaves for at least 13 years. The fact that they were not extradited during those 13 years in slavery, does not mean that there were no initiative to free them.
In fact three years after being captured as slaves, the Jewish Community of Trapani was able to collect a sum of money for their freedom. Yet in spite of this, for reasons unknown, the six unfortunate Jewish slaves were not freed. Another appeal to free them was attempted later on by Moses Mason who pleaded with King Martin I for their freedom. The King offered 300 Doubloon if their freedom would be met. Whether these six poor Jews were released or not remains a mystery.
In the year 1393, the Bishop of Malta, Bishop Giovanni De Pino from Catalan was nominated as "Bishop Rotellae" for the Maltese islands. King Martin’s attitude towards the Jews was sympathetic, in fact in 1400 he pardoned all Jews on these islands and ordered the Bishop and his inquisitor not to meddle in the Jews’ affairs in Malta and Gozo. Consequently the Jews of our islands began to make a lot of progress.
In fact, in 1403, they were able to lend the Viceroy the sum of 30 ounces of gold to equip militarily a new galley. In 1435, we have indication about a certain rich Jew called Mose` Arnocrani living in Gozo near the church of St. Paul.
In the same year (1435) the Universita demanded the abolition of a tax which was due to be imposed on the Jews. This was well appreciated by the Jewish Community in Malta and Gozo, since the Universita released them from the tax burden, and as time passed the relations between the Jewish Community and the Maltese grew cordial and a certain Gozitan Jew named Xilorun was chosen as an ambassador of the Maltese Deputies to the court of Sicily.
However, relations between Jews and Maltese had not always been so happy: since the islands were dependencies of the Aragonese crown, Jews had been officially expelled from them in 1492, and their property confiscated:
It appears from a notarial deed of 2 June 1496, that the monastery of St. Scolastica had just been founded...The monastery was then occupying what had once been the synagogue of the Jews that had been expelled from the island only four years earlier. The monastery of St. Scolastica eventually moved to Birgu.

Jewish Place Names

During the early part of the middle ages, the Jewish population of Mdina constituted roughly a third of the inhabitants of that city. Where they were regarded as citizens, occupying a comfortable position, having fields and properties in the countryside. To a lesser extent this also holds true for the smaller community of Jewish inhabitants of Birgu, the port. In both Mdina and Birgu one can still find reference to the Jews’ stay in our islands. At Mdina one finds the place where the "Jewish Silk Market" was and there is a Jews’ Gate and Jews sally port in both towns. At Birgu one can also find "Jewry Street", whilst at Zejtun there is "Jewry’s square". Whilst at Valletta there is to this day a place known as "Jews Sally port" very near to where the Jewish Slave prison was to be found. We also still have "Jewish Caves" at BinGemma and "Jewish Caves" at Xatt il-Qwabar as the wharves of Marsa were previously known by.
In neighbouring Gozo, they lived mostly in the suburbs of the Citadella, the small capital of this island primarily rural and poorer that its larger sister island of Malta. But in none of the islands did they live confined in Ghettos or enclosed neighbourhoods. but their houses were situated next to those of Christians. This all changed later on. The presence of the Jewish Community on the island of Gozo is also indicated by the number of nicknames or names which still exist. For instance, "Ghajn Lhudi" (Jew’s Cave) near Wied Sansun Samson’s Valley), "Wied Sansun" (Samson’s Valley) itself, "Ghar Lhudin" (Jewish Fountain), and "Misrah Lhudi" Jew’s Square. About Ghajn Lhudin we know that it existed at Xaghra, but there is no evidence exactly where it might have been.
Further names such as "Wied il-Gharab" in the areas around Xlendi, - That up to 1555 was still know as "Wied il-Lhudi" (Jew’s Valley) and the hill know as "Ta’ Gordan" are a good testimony of the Jewish Community’s presence in Gozo.
Old Jewish notarial manuscripts written in the colloquial Maltese of those days but using the Hebrew alphabet from the XV century preserved in the Cathedral library of Mdina confirm the above.
When compared to other Catholic lands, for long periods during the Middle Ages the Jews of Malta, who had settled here from Sicily, Sardinia, North Africa and Spain, lived a fairly independent and prosperous life.
Although some Jews held prestigious posts, such as Avraham Safardi, the islands' Chief Physician, (a profession monopolised by the Jews of Malta at that time) and Xilorum, a diplomatic envoy to the court of Sicily others were agricultural land owners and import-export agents, Whilst the majority were shopkeepers and itinerant merchants.
There were times when the community at large was subjected to restrictions. Yet a degree of tolerance and privilege also prevailed. Jews in prison for civil debts were allowed home for the Sabbath and Holy Days. On Friday nights Jews were exempted from carrying mandatory torches, a precaution required of all citizens to protect the island against surprise attack after dark. Whilst Jewish communal elections were conducted with no outside interference by the local authorities.

1492 - Expulsion

This situation changed in the second part of XV (15th) Century, when the religious authorities, of Spanish origin, worried about the joint ownership of certain houses inhabited by the Jews next door to the churches, appealed to the Spanish throne to do something about the Jews. This reaction developed with the rise on the throne of Spain of Ferdinand d' Aragon (1479).
The Inquisition struck the Jews and the Moslems who still lived the archipelago.
The decree of expulsion was signed in Palermo on June 18 1492. It gave three months to the Jews of Sicily and Malta to leave the country (or else to convert to Christianity and forfeit 45% of their possessions). In Spain, they were considered with suspicion, as well as the Moslems in the midst of which they lived and also spoke their language.
In Palermo, the local government sent a protest to the Spanish sovereigns making the point that if one expelled the Jews of the kingdom, where they were many and commercially active, in particular in Malta and Gozo, the economy would be adversely effected and the islands would be depopulated.

Conversos

A rather significant number of Sicilians Jews accepted the edict proposed by the Spanish royalty and converted. The Maltese historian Profs. Godfrey Wettinger thinks that, on their side, it would be astonishing that no Maltese Jew succumbed to this temptation. In fact, in the years which followed the application of the decree of expulsion, Malta counted several tens of conversos whose names were found in the files.
The surnames of our archipelago carry the trace of this heritage; thus, Attard, Ellul, Salamone, Mamo (name of first independent president of Malta) and Meli would be names of Jewish origin. It appears that Azzopardi, a very widespread name in Malta, would mean Séphardi (One who originated in Spain (Sefarad).

Intelligent people

As already said the Jews were known as an intelligent people. Since early Temple times it was a Jewish tradition that all Jewish males must begin learning Hebrew from the age of 3 so as to be able to read from the Torah Scrolls during synagogue services - hence giving them an edge on their contemporaries.
Among the intelligent Jewish families living in Gozo was the popular Safaradi family, a well respected family on the island not only for goodness but also for its intelligence. In fact in 1446, the family Safaradi boasted two doctors, one was Bracone Safaradi and the other was the already mentioned Rabbi Abraham Safaradi. The latter was a famous doctor paid from Mdina (the ancient Capital) in Malta.
Bracone was also famous as a doctor, and later on he was nominated a Deputato of the "Dienchele Joshua Banartini" for Malta and Gozo to execute the "Mosaic Law". Evidence of this nomination of Bracone is the following (edited) letter:-
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But proof exists that this Safaradi family continued to take care of all the Jewish Spiritual interests in Gozo. In 1485, apart from being a Rabbi (Teacher), Abraham Safaradi was also nominated by the Viceroy as the most preferred Jewish person in the islands in Medicine and for the interpretation of Mosaic Law. Apart from being a doctor, Abram Safaradi served also as a well known public notary up to the expulsion of the Jews from the Maltese islands in 1492.

The Coming of the Knights

To defend the archipelago threatened by the Ottoman Turks, Charles V of Spain offered Malta to the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem (1530). Remembering the relatively liberal policy followed by the Knights towards the Jews of Rhodes, many of the (Jewish) Sicilians "conversos" as the forcibly converted Jews were known - who kept the Jewish religion at home but outwardly appeared acted as Catholics - decided to settle in Malta.
After their installation in Malta, the Knights who had a fleet of galleys, launched out, like the Turks, in the taking of hostages and their release against ransom. The Jewish merchants, who were about the only ones to ensure their risk and dangers the exchanges between two banks of the Mediterranean, were particularly aimed.
During the reign of the Knights of St. John, the only Jews (with a few exceptions) who lived in our islands were slaves. A prison to hold these Jewish slaves had been built with this intention in Valletta. The Knights waged continual maritime warfare, hardly distinguishable from piracy, against the Moslem powers. Seaports were raided and their inhabitants carried off.
Shipping was preyed on indiscriminately, captured vessels being brought to Malta, and crew and passengers sold into captivity. Throughout the rule of the Knights, which lasted until they capitulated to the French in 1798, the islands were thus a last European refuge of slave traffic and slave labour.
The victims were any persons, of whatever standing, race, age or sex, who happened to be sailing on the captured ships. Jews made up a large proportion of the Levantine merchant class and were hence peculiarly subject to capture. Because of their nomadic way of life, disproportionately large numbers were to be found in any vessel sailing the Eastern ports.
They also formed a considerable element in the population of the Moslem ports subject to raids. So, soon after the establishment of the Knights in Malta, the name of Malta begins to be found with increasing frequency in Jewish literature, and always with an evil association.
The islands became in Jewish eyes a symbol for all that was cruel and hateful in the Christian world. Whatever the truth of the contemporary rumour that the Jews financed the great Turkish siege of Malta in 1565, certainly they watched with anxious eyes and their disappointment at its failure must have been great. "The monks of Malta are still today a snare and trap for the Jews", sadly records a Jewish chronicler at the end of his account of the siege. A messianic prophecy current early in the seventeenth century further expressed the bitterness of the Jewish feeling, recounting how the Redemption would begin with the fall of the four kingdoms of "ungodliness", first amongst which was Malta.
A typical capture, and one of the earliest mentioned in Jewish literature, is related in the "Vale of Tears" by Joseph ha-Cohen: `In the year 5312 (1552), the vessels of the monks of Rhodes, of the order of Malta, cruising to find booty, encountered a ship coming from Salonica, wheron where seventy Jews. They captured it and returned to their island. These unhappy persons had to send to all quarters to collect money for the ransom exacted by these miserable monks. Only after payment were they able to continue their voyage.’ In 1567, large numbers of Jews, escaping to the Levant from the persecution of Pius V, fell victims to the Knights. "Many of the victims sank like lead to the depths of the sea before the fury of the attack. Many others were imprisoned in the Maltese dungeons at this time of desolation," writes the chronicler. It was not only those who went down to the sea in ships over whom the shadow hung. Of the Marranos (Crypto-Jews) of Ancona who fell victims to the fanaticism of Paul IV, thirty-eight who eluded the stake were sent in chainsto the galleys of Malta, though they managed to escape on the way.
Arrived in Malta, the captives were only at the beginning of their troubles. A very graphic account of conditions is given by the English traveller, Philip Skippon, who visited the spot in about 1663:
`The slaves’ prison is a fair square building, cloister’d round where most of the slaves in Malta are oblig’d to lodge every night, and to be there about Ave Mary time. They have here several sorts of trades, as barbers, taylors &c. There are about 2,000 that belong to the order, most of which were now abroad in the galleys; and there are about three hundred who are servants to private persons. This place being an island, and difficult to escape out of, they wear only an iron ring or foot-lock. Those that are servants, lodge in their masters’ houses, when the galleys are at home; but now, lie a-nights in this prison. Jews, Moors and Turks are made slaves here, and are publickly sold in the market. `A stout fellow may be bought (if he is an inferior person) for 120 or 160 scudi of Malta. The Jews are distinguih’d from the rest by a little piece of yellow cloth on their hats or caps, &c. We saw a rich Jew who was taken about a year before, who was sold in the market that morning we visited the prison for 400 scudi; and supposing himself free, by reason of a passport he had from Venice, he struck the merchant that bought him; where-upon he was presently sent hither, his beard and head were shaven off, a great chain clapp’d on his legs, and bastinado’d with 50 blows.'

Ransom

The mechanism of release was not always simple. The Jew was rarely as rich as he was reputed to be, but his reputation for wealth was greatest precisely were he was least known. The usual price standard of a slave was tended, therefore to disappear whenever a Jew was concerned.
He was worth not his value but whatever could be extorted from his brethren ransom degenerated into blackmail. Fifteen centuries earlier, the rabbis of the Talmud had realised that this was a case in which it was necessary to turn for once a deaf ear to suffering, lest a premium be put on the enslavement of Jews. They ordained, accordingly, that no captive be ransomed for more than his economic value. This was a rule to obey which was hard for Jews, " compassionate sons of compassionate sires," and generally the price paid for a Jew was higher by far than that of a Moslem. On occasion, the Jews were mercilessly exploited.
The owner of one Judah Surnago, a man of seventy-five whose value in the open market was negligible, was unable to obtain the sum which he demanded in ransom. Thereupon he shut him up naked in a cellar for two months, giving him nothing to eat but black bread and water. The old man came out blind and unable to stand.
While waiting for their repurchase they were allowed to work downtown to make ends meet. They could sell in the streets, but before evening they had to return to the prison. This absence of community made up did not prevent the English writer Christopher Marrow from publishing, into 1590, the Jew of Malta, a topic close to the Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare, evoking a Jewish rich person of Malta. According to Profs. G Wettinger the Jews then present at Malta, prisoners for the majority, who as we said could devote themselves occasionally to trade, could not arrive to the point to constitute a fortune.

Jewish Heroism

In her history of the Order of St. John, Claire-Eliane Engel comments that during the Great Siege, 'les juifs de Malte avaient ete d'une loyaute au-dessus de tout eloge' [the Jews of Malta had behaved with a loyalty above all praise].
In the last days of St. Elmo, the Grand Master allowed one final volunteer force to attempt to force their way to the relief of the doomed fort. Anyone who went on such a mission faced certain death, but nevertheless two Jews of the island chose to join the relief expedition, although in the event the boats carrying the would-be volunteers were unable to get past the Turkish cannon and were forced to turn back to Birgu. We must also not forget Joseph Cohen, a Jewish slave who was also a tavern keeper in Valletta. Who overheard Muslim slaves conspiring against the knights in his tavern. The mutiny was to start with the murder of the Grand Master. With great peril of his being found out by the conspirators, he gained an audience with the Grand Master and told him what he had overheard. For his loyalty he was set free from bondage and a house (Monte di Pieta) in Merchants street, Valletta awarded to him in recognition.

Rebirth of the community

1798 was a blessing for the Jewish nation living in Malta! On the road to Egypt, Napoleon Bonaparte seized the archipelago and applied the laws of the French Republic, i.e. equality and the abolition of slavery.
Finally the Jews became free men in our islands. No longer did they have to wear the shameful distinguishing round red circle on their clothes nor if they so desired could they no longer shave their beards.
The community of the Jews of Malta could reconstitute itself again as freemen.
Nothing changed in this respect when two years later the English drove out the French. Indeed Valletta became an important stopover on the road of to the Middle and Far East. Several Jews from Gibraltar immigrated to Malta and established business concerns. They were soon followed by Jews coming from North Africa and other Mediterranean cities. The inventory of the surviving old cemetery of Kalkara, created in 1784 by a donation from the Jewish community of Leghorn (Livorno - Italy)in the suburbs of Vittoriosa for the Jewish slaves who died in the islands, is revealing. Two studies on the three surviving Jewish Cemeteries of the community of Malta conducted by Derek Davis, and Lawrence Attard Bezzina, show that many of the residents died in the archipelago were originated from Gibraltar, London, Ragusa (Dubrovnik), Tunis, Tripoli, Ragusa (Italy), Lisbon and Turkey.
In 1998, the number of local "Maltese" Jewish families who identify themselves as Sepharadim (coming originally from Spain), as against the Ashkenazim (coming from Eastern Europe) do not exceed thirty families, reduced sometimes to one or to two individuals, generally old. Most are Polypots speaking several languages Others - the Ashkenazim are people installed here for a few years, the time of a contract with a multinational. Some are refugees, Lebanese Jews, Factory Owners, tradesmen, British pensioners. And what not . We meet twice every month for the celebration of the Shabbat - there are usually between fourteen to twenty men . We celebrate the Jewish festivals. And we also organise a communal seder (celebration of Passover) in a local restaurant every year, attended by all the Jews who have no family or relatives living in Malta.
The community boasts of three Jewish cemeteries in Malta. The oldest, that of Kalkara, goes back to the XVIII century. Then next door to the " Turkish cemetery " with a very ornamental entrance, the small current Jewish cemetery, in the suburbs of Marsa, which dates from the middle of the last century. The third is the neglected cemetery at Tal-Braxja overgrown by grass, is found desecrated by unscrupulous builders and MSU employees who damp empty Pepsi bottles and other garbage on top of this sacred ground.
Most of the inscriptions are in Italian - for the oldest - perhaps there was nobody to write in Hebrew. On the other hand, the most recent ones are in Hebrew. Some, which date from the First World War, are in French: dedicated to the soldiers fallen at the time of the war of the Dardanelles. In these holy grounds lie side by side Jews who escaped from concentration camps, from Budapest or from Tunis, Oran or a German village, it is in this Jewish ground, away from the promised land, that they met their destiny.
Today most visitors to this sun-drenched island-republic inevitably find their way to the imposing, fortress-like Co-Cathedral of St. John in the heart of the baroque-style capital of Valletta. Under the gilded buttresses and orange vaulted ceiling, visitors gaze in awe at the high altar overlaid with lapis lazuli, marble and bronze; they marvel at the opulence of the religious art treasures - frescoes, tapestries, masterwork paintings by Caravaggio and Preti. In this grandiose church, erected by the Knights of St. John in the sixteenth century, scarcely a foot of space remains unadorned by a painting, wood carving or sculpture.
Few visitors to Malta, however, ever found their way to another house of worship, a few minutes away from the world - famous church of the Order of St. John or as they are better known the Knights of Malta.
Inside an unobtrusive apartment house on narrow St. Ursula street, Valletta, in an unmarked ground floor flat, simply furnished with several rows of straight-backed chairs, was a synagogue. A minyan (Jews pray in a congregation of at least 10 Adult males over 13 years of age) drawn from Malta's hundred or so Jews gathered here every firsat and third Shabbat of each month for morning service and on holidays.
Saturday morning at the synagogue on St. Ursula street - the atmosphere was always welcoming and intimate. When any worshipper arrives he / she is greeted warmly by the congregants already inside.
While a lay reader (the community has no serving rabbi) chanted familiar prayers at the makeshift bima in the centre of the patterned tile floor, the shammas (beadle) bustled about, offering siddurim (prayer books), and arranging aliyot (when a Jewish male is called up to read from the Torah Scroll) . Joe Reginiano and Lawrence Attard Bezzina (Ariel Ben Attar) took it in turns to open and close the blue and gold velvet curtain at the Holy Ark. George Tayar, the genial Sefardi community president, whose rabbinic ancestors settled in Malta some 200 hundred years ago from Libya, now sadly gone always invited me to sit alongside him.
In late morning, after we had chorused the closing lines of Adon Olam, to the Scottish rolling of Dennis Miller, a table magically appeared laden with wine, delicious home-made pastries and savoury snacks, prepared by a trio of hospitable ladies. In between bites of fruity strudel and sips of Italian or Israeli kosher wine everyone recounted recent gossips.
George Tayar could be seen proudly pointing out to some Jewish tourists that the "born again" congregation was not only now blessed with several enthusiastic and knowledgeable lay readers, but boasted among its members several converts to Judaism and a devout family of nine, the Ohayons. The father - Avraham has recently been elected as the president of the Community replacing the much loved George Tayar. He would start recounting how the community had been without a synagogue for several years after the old premises at Spurs street in Valletta, were torn down to construct a new roadway. During that interim, Holy Day services were held in the then Israeli embassy at Ta' Xbiex. The Maltese Government through some coercion by the Attard-Bezzina family who had good political contacts with the Labour Government (One was speaker to the House of Representatives, Acting President of the Republic and later Plenipotentiary Ambassador to several European countries) had been helpful in ultimately locating a new site. the congregation sold one of its venerable Torah to the Jewish Museum in New York, to acquire funds for furnishing the new synagogue (at St. Ursula street). After several years of faithfull joyous service, which ushered in a few Bar mitzvahs and the only Bat Mitzvah (to my memory) and two Brit Milahs in its short existence as the Jewish House of worship, this small apartment has sadly been evacuated. No not by a pogrom - Heaven forbid but due to the state of disrepair of the adjacent building and sadly enough the Maltese Jewish community found itself again without its beloved synagogue and community centre. Representations with the government at the highest level have been made and promises by Government ministers made that the synagogue will be re-built.
The country's President Dr. U. Mifsud Bonnici has graciously put pressure on the government and offered his help but nothing came about. Until the Jews of Malta finally decided to do something concrete themselves. After a long meeting it was decided to collect money to buy an apartment, which after a few years materialised in the new synagogue now situated at Ta' Xbiex
Is it has then for thousands of years..... Jewish Life in the Maltese islands still goes on albeit at a smaller pace.
Every Year on the Jewish feast of Tu BeShvat, tree planting ceremonies are conducted. The first time this was conducted in one of Malta's newest towns. That of Fgura where on the initiative of Lawrence Attard Bezzina, the president and founder of the Malta-Israel Cultural & Friendship Society, sixty three palm and olive trees and several oleanders were planted in the newly refurbished Reggie Miller town square cum garden. In honour of this, Fgura's Local Council named the garden "The Jewish Community Grove" (Mixtla Komunita Lhudija)and a suitable marble plaque has been erected. The importance of these occasions is that the small Jewish community has been official recognised as an ethnic minority in our country. Another important event took place when, Lawrence arranged for the Prime Minister of Malta to make an official visit to the new synagogue and community centre. In May 2006. the Hon. Dr Lawrence Gonzi and Mrs Gonzi visited the synagogue. They were very warmly welcomed and applauded by all the members of the Jewish community and several visiting Jewish & Israeli tourists.

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Bibliography
Cecil Roth’s The Jews of Malta
The Slave Community
Derek Davis The Kalkara Cemetery
Lagumina Bros. Codice Diplomatico dei Giudei di Sicilia.
Profs. Godfrey Wettinger’s Joseph Ha-Cohen. - Vale of Tears. Dipt. Ta’ l-Eduk. Grajjiet Malta l-ewwel ktieb Lawrence Attard Bezzina’s The Jewish Community of Malta The Tal Braxja Jewish Cemetery Il-Komunita Lhudija ta’ Malta Ic-Cimiterji Lhud gewwa Malta The Jewish Catacombs The Jewish Slave Community Claire-Eliane Engel History of the Order of St. John,

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If You want more information about the Jews of Malta, Please email me at sabra@keyworld.net Thanks for visiting the Jewish Community of Malta. This page was last modified on 3rd December 1999

Famous Maltese Artists

Famous Maltese Artists 

Three Famous Maltese Sculptors

ANTONIO SCIORTINO 1883 - 1947

Sciortino was born in Zebbug, Malta. He was one of the best Maltese sculptors of the twentieth century. When he was 17 years old he went to study in Rome at the Istituto Delle Belle Arti. He worked for a period of time in Rome but his fame and works can be found also in the The United States and in Russia. The following are some of his works which one can see in Malta.

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This is the monument of Christ the King. Malta is represented by the woman kneeling beneaththe statue of Jesus.
This monument can be seen in Floriana in front of the Phoenicia Hotel.

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Monument commemorating The Great Siege Of Malta of 1565 which can be seen in front of the Court in Valletta

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The Les Gavroches, definitely one of Antonio Sciortino`s best-known masterpieces,  can be admired in the  Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta. It represents three Parisians street urchins tugging at each other.

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                                                                                                                             VINCENT APAP 1909 - 2003

Vincent Apap was born in Valletta. He studied in local Art Schools and in Rome under Antonio Sciortino. I  have the honor to say that when I was in my early teens he was my  drawing teacher at the School of Arts in Valletta.
From a very early age he showed his talent and could turn a mass of clay it into a fine piece of art. His numerous works include monuments, statues and several busts of famous people. Through his art he made many friends from foreign countries including the British Royal Family. Needless to say that his works are also appreciated abroad.

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The Triton Fountain  which is found just outside Cite Gates in Valletta

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Statue of Fra Diego which Apap made when he was 22 years old. This was the result of a competition which he won. It can be seen in the main square in Hamrun.

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When just fourteen, Vincent Apap made this work of art representing one of his brothers and his sister. He had a great ability to capture exactly the facial expression of his models.

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Galloping horses

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ANTON AGIUS  1933 - 2008

Anton Agius was born in Rabat in 1933.  He studied in Malta, in Rome and in London. He was a teacher and may I say that we taught Art for several years at the same school, so he was a colleague and a good friend. In our free time at school we often talked about our passion  for art. I sincerely can say that I learned a lot from him.  He also did some work while he was at school and it was a pleasure for me to watch him work. Anton  used to do the preliminary work in clay. He was an excellent wood carver. But he excelled in making big monuments as you can see (just some of many) in the following photos.

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Monument to honor those Maltese who died during the uprising against the British on the 7th June 1919
in the Main Guard Square in Valletta

                                   Monument in honor of the Maltese Worker; can be seen in Msida

                      Monument to commemorate  Malta on becoming a Republic; to be found in Birgu

Monument in honor of President Anton Buttigieg            Monument in honor of Mikiel Anton Vassalli  

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