94-525: Kalkara ( Maltese : Il-Kalkara ) is a village in the South Eastern Region of Malta, with a population of 3,014 as of March 2014. The name is derived from the Latin word for lime (Calce), and it is believed that there was a lime kiln present there since Roman times. Kalkara forms part of the inner harbour area and occupies the area around Kalkara Creek. The town has its own Local Council and
188-592: A British protectorate . The Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet established its base in Birgu, and British forces remained stationed in Birgu until 1979. In 1806, Birgu's gunpowder magazine exploded , killing over 200 people. Birgu was heavily bombed during World War II due to its proximity to the Malta Dockyard . A number of historic buildings were destroyed, including the Birgu Clock Tower and
282-574: A festive atmosphere that was organised. In 1895, the construction of the Church, which was decided to be dedicated to Saint Joseph Patron of the Universal Church, had been finished, and hence in 1896 decorations in stone began to be done. Some paintings were also commissioned, among which one may mention: the painting of Saint Philip commission by F. Cilia & Co. (the masons of the Church) to
376-469: A hotel, residential units, catering establishments, and landscaped areas open to the public. According to the government this project will not only create around 7,000 new jobs when completed but will also inject new life in the area. In keeping with Kalkara's maritime tradition, in 2010 the government announced the setting up of a temporary marina in Kalkara creek in order to provide more berthing spots for
470-416: A large number of borrowings from Romance sources ( Sicilian , Italian , and French ) and, more recently, Germanic ones (from English ). The historical source of modern Maltese vocabulary is 52% Italian/Sicilian, 32% Arabic/Siculo-Arabic, and 6% English, with some of the remainder being French. Today, most function words are Arabic, so despite only making up about a third of the vocabulary, they are
564-423: A lesser degree. A new housing estate was built by the government in the area close to Bighi Hospital, while further development included the construction of large terraced houses and small villas along the area flanked by Triq il-Missjoni Taljana. Nevertheless, Kalkara still retains a charming and quiet atmosphere and constantly features in many paintings and postcards that highlight its picturesque location. Kalkara
658-495: A new lease of life into the Grand Harbour area, the site formerly occupied by the former Ricasoli Industrial Estate in the outskirts of Kalkara was earmarked to host the construction of Smart City Malta, which will be built on the same lines of Dubai Internet City. Construction began in 2008 and SCM1, the first office block, was completed and work is currently ongoing on the rest of the project, which will include office space,
752-486: A new statue of Saint Joseph from Agostino Camilleri. In 1923, the first stone of the belfry was collocated, and after this was duly finished, the bell made by Julius Cauchi in 1896 sounded its first motives. In 1925, Fr. Eleazzaro Balzan became the new Parish Priest. In 1933 he commissioned a superbly designed organ balcony. However, on 10 April 1942, the Parish Church was heavily assaulted by enemy bombardments from
846-526: A public library. At the centre of the Grand Harbour, the 16th-century Fort St Angelo still stands and is currently undergoing restoration. The central piazza in Birgu was badly damaged by bombing during World War II, but one 19th-century palace thought to have been designed by Giuseppe Bonavia survives, and is used as the headquarters of the St Lawrence Band Club. In 1901, Birgu had a population of 6,093 people. After falling slightly over
940-1108: A sample of 1,821 Quranic Arabic roots were found in Maltese, considerably lower than that found in Moroccan (58%) and Lebanese (72%) varieties of Arabic. An analysis of the etymology of the 41,000 words in Aquilina's Maltese–English Dictionary shows that 32% of the Maltese vocabulary is of Arabic origin, although another source claims 40%. Usually, words expressing basic concepts and ideas, such as raġel (man), mara (woman), tifel (boy), dar (house), xemx (sun), sajf (summer), are of Arabic origin. Moreover, belles-lettres in Maltese aim to maximise their use of vocabulary belonging to this group. Notes: * from Arabic استقصى ( istaqṣā ) "to investigate", ** from Arabic اشتاق ( ištāqa ) "to yearn for ". Birgu Birgu ( Maltese : Il-Birgu [ɪlˈbɪrɡʊ] , Italian : Vittoriosa ), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ('Victorious City'),
1034-598: A small yet charming seaside resort while its waterfront and historical centre acquired its current layout. During this period Cottonera was a major residential, commercial and industrial hub especially due to the presence of the Drydocks, which were used by the British Royal Navy since the very beginning of their stay in Malta. Initially most of the new houses in Kalkara were built as summer residences by people from
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#17327807875651128-428: A temporary church was inaugurated in the ex-Malta Gas Works stores. During this period, a new design for the new Parish Church was approved. This was made by Chev. Vincenzo Bonello with the necessary help of Ġużè Damato . Having a neo-classical design, the new Parish Church was to be built in another place from where it previously stood. Thus, Archbishop Mons. Michael Gonzi bought a piece of land known as tal-Għeżieli near
1222-694: A temporary hospital. However, through a decree by King George IV, on 23 March 1830, Vice-Admiral Sir P. Malcolm laid down the foundation stone of a Naval Hospital on the site where Villa Bighi was situated after it was pulled down. Bighi Naval Hospital took two years to be completed and figured £20,000 of capital expenditure. During the British reign it was used extensively, and nowadays it is serving as an International School of Restoration. After an extensive restoration and modernisation Villa Bighi now hosts am Interactive Centre for Science and Innovation known as Esplora. Villa Portelli Overlooking Kalkara Creek there
1316-453: A traditional Maltese timber balcony, stone slab ceilings supported by wooden or iron beams and Maltese patterned floor tiles. Some of these houses, especially along the waterfront, are more elaborate than others and include three or four floors and also intricate stone carvings. This increase in population led to the elevation of Kalkara to an independent parish from Vittoriosa in 1897. Although not strategically important in itself, Kalkara bore
1410-469: A ḡ fir lanā ḏ unūbanā , kamā na ḡ firu na ḥ nu ʔ ay ḍ an lil-muḏnibīn ʔ ilaynā. wa lā tud ḵ ilna fī tajāriba , lākin najjinā min a š-š irrīr. ʔā mīn hab lan lahmo d-sunqonan yowmono washbuq lan hawbayn wahtohayn aykano doph hnan shbaqan l-hayobayn lo ta`lan l-nesyuno elo paso lan men bisho Amin Although the original vocabulary of Maltese was Siculo-Arabic , it has incorporated
1504-415: Is Villa Portelli , a large villa built by Sir Agostino Portelli as a summer residence. Through World War II this villa served as the residence of the flag officer, while in 1961 admirals began to use it as their residence. All above information was edited by Circolo San Giuseppe Filarmonika Sagra Familja, Kalkara (A.D. 1897) and taken from www.sagrafamilja.org. As part of the government's vision to breathe
1598-511: Is an old fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the South Eastern Region of Malta . The city occupies a promontory of land with Fort Saint Angelo at its head and the city of Cospicua at its base. Birgu is ideally situated for safe anchorage, and over time it has developed a very long history with maritime, mercantile and military activities. Birgu is a very old locality with its origins in medieval times. Prior to
1692-522: Is bordered by the cities of Birgu and Żabbar , as well as the town of Xgħajra . Since the enactment of the Local Councils Act in the year 1993, Kalkara has been the seat of a Local Council, which is responsible for an array of local matters including the general upkeep of the locality, maintenance and construction of residential roads, and the local environment. The Local Council is currently made up of 5 councillors who are: According to
1786-401: Is bordered by the cities of Birgu and Żabbar , as well as the town of Xgħajra . The village of Kalkara developed as a small fishing community around the sheltered inlet of Kalkara Creek. Some historians believe that the land that today is known as Kalkara, was one of the first to be inhabited by the initial dwellers of Malta that came from nearby island of Sicily. The idea behind this theory
1880-587: Is descended from Siculo-Arabic, a Semitic language within the Afroasiatic family . In the course of its history , Maltese has been influenced by Sicilian, Italian, to a lesser extent by French , and more recently by English. Today, the core vocabulary (including both the most commonly used vocabulary and function words ) is Semitic, with a large number of loanwords . Due to the Sicilian influence on Siculo-Arabic, Maltese has many language contact features and
1974-849: Is distinctive word-medially and word-finally in Maltese. The distinction is most rigid intervocalically after a stressed vowel. Stressed, word-final closed syllables with short vowels end in a long consonant, and those with a long vowel in a single consonant; the only exception is where historic *ʕ and *ɣ meant the compensatory lengthening of the succeeding vowel. Some speakers have lost length distinction in clusters. The two nasals /m/ and /n/ assimilate for place of articulation in clusters. /t/ and /d/ are usually dental , whereas /t͡s d͡z s z n r l/ are all alveolar. /t͡s d͡z/ are found mostly in words of Italian origin, retaining length (if not word-initial). /d͡z/ and /ʒ/ are only found in loanwords, e.g. /ɡad͡zd͡zɛtta/ "newspaper" and /tɛlɛˈviʒin/ "television". The pharyngeal fricative /ħ/
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#17327807875652068-493: Is housed at Auberge de France . The architects and engineers Girolamo Cassar , his brother Andrew Cassar, and his son Vittorio Cassar were all born in Birgu in the sixteenth century. The Cassar family moved to Valletta after the new city was built in the 1570s. Architect Lorenzo Gafà (1638–1703), who worked on a number of churches in Malta including St. Paul's Cathedral in Mdina , was born in Birgu. He also designed many of
2162-654: Is less distant from its Siculo-Arabic ancestor than is Standard Maltese. Voiceless stops are only lightly aspirated and voiced stops are fully voiced. Voicing is carried over from the last segment in obstruent clusters ; thus, two- and three-obstruent clusters are either voiceless or voiced throughout, e.g. /niktbu/ is realised [ˈniɡdbu] "we write" (similar assimilation phenomena occur in languages like French or Czech). Maltese has final-obstruent devoicing of voiced obstruents and word-final voiceless stops have no audible release , making voiceless–voiced pairs phonetically indistinguishable in word-final position. Gemination
2256-528: Is located on the eastern coast of Malta and forms part of the inner harbour area of the Grand Harbour. It occupies the area around Kalkara Creek and extends to both valley sides around the creek. Rinella Bay, the only sandy beach in the Grand Harbour, is found at the mouth of the Rinella valley. Kalkara is one of the few localities within the Grand Harbour area that still has relatively large open spaces that naturally divide it from other towns and villages. The town
2350-747: Is most commonly described as a language with a large number of loanwords. Maltese has historically been classified in various ways, with some claiming that it was derived from ancient Punic (another Semitic language) instead of Siculo-Arabic, and others claiming it is one of the Berber languages (another language family within Afroasiatic). Less plausibly, Fascist Italy classified it as regional Italian . Urban varieties of Maltese are closer to Standard Maltese than rural varieties, which have some characteristics that distinguish them from Standard Maltese. They tend to show some archaic features such as
2444-402: Is open to the public regularly and its greatest attraction is the world's largest cannon – The Armstrong 100-ton gun – which is also fired during historical re-enactments. Villa Bighi In 1650, together with the chapel of Our Saviour, Fra Giovanni Bighi erected near the same site a large villa overlooking the entrance of the Grand Harbour. During the plague of 1813 this villa was used as
2538-404: Is part of the supercontinent of Eurasia'), while not understanding a single word of a basic sentence such as Ir-raġel qiegħed fid-dar ('The man is in the house'), which would be easily understood by any Arabic speaker. At that time Malta was thoroughly Arabized. The conquerors brought to the island the vulgar (colloquial) variation of Arabic, not the classical one (Classical Arabic), Therefore
2632-459: Is said to them in Maltese. This reported level of asymmetric intelligibility is considerably lower than the mutual intelligibility found between other varieties of Arabic. Maltese has always been written in the Latin script , the earliest surviving example dating from the late Middle Ages . It is the only standardised Semitic language written exclusively in the Latin script. The origins of
2726-598: Is that the inlets of the Grand Harbour could have provided these primitive emigrants with the needed shelter after having endured their long voyage in the Mediterranean Sea. Nevertheless, such theories cannot be proven and Kalkara's early history will remain largely unknown. The Christian era in Kalkara presumably began with the construction of the Palaeochristian hypogea in the zone known as Xagħra ta' Santa Duminka situated in its parish boundary. In them,
2820-860: Is the Lord's Prayer in Maltese compared to other Semitic languages ( Arabic and Syriac ) with cognates highlighted: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen Ħobżna ta' kuljum agħtina llum . Aħfrilna dnubietna , bħal ma naħfru lil min hu ħati għalina . U la ddaħħalniex fit-tiġrib , iżda eħlisna mid-deni. Ammen ʔabāna , alla ḏ i fī as-samāwāt , li- yataqaddas ismuka , li- yaʔti malakūtuka, li-takun ma šī ʔatuka, kamā fī as-samāʔi ka ḏ ālika ʕa lā al-ar ḍ . ḵ ubzana kafāfanā ʔaʕṭi nā alyawm , wa
2914-425: Is velar ( [ x ] ), uvular ( [ χ ] ), or glottal ( [ h ] ) for some speakers. Maltese has five short vowels, /ɐ ɛ ɪ ɔ ʊ/ , written a e i o u; six long vowels, /ɐː ɛː ɪː iː ɔː ʊː/ , written a, e, ie, i, o, u, all of which (with the exception of ie /ɪː/ ) can be known to represent long vowels in writing only if they are followed by an orthographic għ or h (otherwise, one needs to know
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3008-632: The Castrum Maris . Many inhabitants of Birgu, and the neighbouring villages argued that they were not liable to pay taxes to the Mdina town-council, as they fell within Castrum Maris jurisdiction. For example, this was the case with the inhabitants of Żejtun , who refused to pay the taxes due to the Mdina council in 1473, even if as late as 1494 they were expected to take refuge in Mdina, rather than Birgu. After being driven out of Rhodes by
3102-657: The Auberge d'Allemagne . In recent years, due to an agreement made by the Maltese Government with Sovereign Military Order of Malta , this Catholic Order of Knighthood has returned to the Island. This agreement, which has a duration of 99 years, grants the Knights of Malta the exclusive use of Fort St. Angelo in Birgu. Birgu is the location of several tourist attractions. The historic Vittoriosa Waterfront contains
3196-540: The Dominican Order . This church is also known as St. Dominic's Church. The feast of Saint Dominic is held every last Sunday of August. The Freedom Monument commemorates the departure of British forces from the island in 1979. Birgu also contains five Auberges of the Knights, including the Auberge d'Angleterre , for some time the home of the English Knights of St John on the island, which now contains
3290-536: The Emirate of Sicily between 831 and 1091. As a result of the Norman invasion of Malta and the subsequent re-Christianization of the islands , Maltese evolved independently of Classical Arabic in a gradual process of latinisation. It is therefore exceptional as a variety of historical Arabic that has no diglossic relationship with Classical or Modern Standard Arabic . Maltese is thus classified separately from
3384-666: The Italo-Normans ended Arab rule of the islands, a written form of the language was not developed for a long time after the Arabs' expulsion in the middle of the thirteenth century. Under the rule of the Knights Hospitaller , both French and Italian were used for official documents and correspondence. During the British colonial period , the use of English was encouraged through education, with Italian being regarded as
3478-573: The Ottoman Empire , the Order of Saint John were granted Malta as their new home. In 1526, the Order sent a commission made up of eight knights to Malta, representing each of the langues . They described Birgu as a small defenceless town with old houses in poor condition. When they arrived in 1530, they decided to make Birgu the capital city of Malta, since the former capital, Mdina , was inland and did not suit their naval requirements. The city
3572-527: The diaspora . Most speakers also use English. The largest diaspora community of Maltese speakers is in Australia , with 36,000 speakers reported in 2006 (down from 45,000 in 1996, and expected to decline further). The Maltese linguistic community in Tunisia originated in the 18th century. Numbering several thousand in the 19th century, it was reported to be only 100 to 200 people as of 2017. Maltese
3666-450: The 1980s, together with a grammar, the Regole per la Lingua Maltese , attributed to a French knight named Thezan. The first systematic lexicon is that of Giovanni Pietro Francesco Agius de Soldanis , who also wrote the first systematic grammar of the language and proposed a standard orthography . Ethnologue reports a total of 530,000 Maltese speakers: 450,000 in Malta and 79,000 in
3760-409: The 30 varieties constituting the modern Arabic macrolanguage . Maltese is also distinguished from Arabic and other Semitic languages since its morphology has been deeply influenced by Romance languages , namely Italian and Sicilian . The original Arabic base comprises around one-third of the Maltese vocabulary, especially words that denote basic ideas and the function words , but about half of
3854-469: The Cottonera area where they enjoyed a respite from their busier lifestyles but as time went by and land for development in Cottonera itself became very limited, more people started to settle permanently in Kalkara itself. Many of these houses, built between the 1850s and the 1950s, stand to this very day and are locally referred to as Town Houses, which are essentially terraced houses with two floors having
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3948-462: The Knights together with the Maltese and one of their commanders went to Kalkara to see the Muslims leave Malta and the commander grabbed his sword, put it in the ground where it took on the form of a Cross and fell to his knees whereupon he thanked God that this land had once again became Christian land under the rule of knights. Later to commemorate this event, a cross was built but was destroyed in
4042-549: The Levant. The Norman conquest in 1091 , followed by the expulsion of the Muslims , complete by 1249, permanently isolated the vernacular from its Arabic source, creating the conditions for its evolution into a distinct language. In contrast to Sicily, where Siculo-Arabic became extinct and was replaced by Sicilian , the vernacular in Malta continued to develop alongside Italian, eventually replacing it as official language in 1934, alongside English. The first written reference to
4136-508: The Maltese language are attributed to the arrival, early in the 11th century, of settlers from neighbouring Sicily, where Siculo-Arabic was spoken, reversing the Fatimid Caliphate 's conquest of the island at the end of the 9th century. This claim has been corroborated by genetic studies, which show that contemporary Maltese people share common ancestry with Sicilians and Calabrians , with little genetic input from North Africa and
4230-508: The Maltese language differs from Classical Arabic in the same way as the Arabic dialects differ from Classical Arabic. the Maltese language also comprises a considerable number of Maghrebi features, in other ways it can be closer to other Arabic dialects, or closer to Classical Arabic than to the other dialects as in the word ra ('to see'). Arabic supplies between 32% and 40% of the language's vocabulary. Żammit (2000) found that 40% of
4324-485: The Maltese language is in a will of 1436, where it is called lingua maltensi . The oldest known document in Maltese, Il-Kantilena ( Xidew il-Qada ) by Pietru Caxaro , dates from the 15th century. The earliest known Maltese dictionary was a 16th-century manuscript entitled "Maltese-Italiano"; it was included in the Biblioteca Maltese of Mifsud in 1764, but is now lost. A list of Maltese words
4418-660: The Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail. L-Unjoni hija bbażata fuq il-valuri tar-rispett għad-dinjità tal-bniedem, il-libertà, id-demokrazija, l-ugwaljanza, l-istat tad-dritt u r-rispett għad-drittijiet tal-bniedem, inklużi d-drittijiet ta' persuni li jagħmlu parti minn minoranzi. Dawn il-valuri huma komuni għall-Istati Membri f'soċjetà fejn jipprevalu l-pluraliżmu, in-non-diskriminazzjoni, it-tolleranza, il-ġustizzja, is-solidarjetà u l-ugwaljanza bejn in-nisa u l-irġiel. Below
4512-708: The Ottoman Empire during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565. After four months of successful defence by the Knights, the city was almost captured by the Ottoman army in August, but was recaptured by the Knights under Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette . Reinforcements from Sicily arrived a month later, and the siege was abandoned by the Ottomans. After this, a new capital city was built on Mount Sceberras, bearing
4606-576: The Patron Saint of the Universal Church, was finished by 1898, and the first processional feast was done during that year. In 1899, the sacred reliquary came from Italy. In the beginning of the 20th century, the pulpit, a statue of Our Lady of the Rosary, and a girandola, among other things, emerged in the Parish Church, through the great zeal of the parishioners. The church was consecrated on 30 January 1921, and in 1921 Circolo San Giuseppe commissioned
4700-454: The Universal Church arrived in Kalkara through a pilgrimage from nearby Cospicua. This statue is also a masterpiece in wood and was sculptured by the renowned artist Ferdinando Stuflesser in Bolzano, Italy through a design of Chev. Vincenzo Bonello. With this statue, another one representing Our Lady of Lourdes was also commissioned. The new church was duly finished by 7 September 1952 when it
4794-497: The air in the Second World War. Unfortunately, the Church was fully demolished through these bombardments, and tragically enough, all its treasures were lost including the titular statue, which was found in pieces. However, the destiny of the paintings was different, since these were saved by Mons. Michael Gonzi, Gozo's bishop, who had taken them to the sister island of Gozo for refuge some time before. To commemorate where
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#17327807875654888-408: The brunt of World War II due to its close proximity to Cottonera and its Drydocks. The first parish church, which was located close to the present parish church, was completely destroyed during an air attack on 10 April 1942. Following the gaining of Independence by Malta in 1964, the whole country witnessed a period of high development and construction, which also left its impact on Kalkara, albeit to
4982-401: The building up of this Church. The committee members were: Mr. Carmelo Bugeja, Mr. Fortunato Gulia, Mr. Gio Batta Farrugia, Mr. Orazio Agius, and Mr. Paolo Debono as Secretary. Fr. Joseph Azzopardi commissioned Guglielmo Attard as Architect of this project, and instantly donations began to be collected. It was on 22 June 1890 that the bishop solemnly blessed the first stone of the Church, during
5076-517: The businessman Fortunato Gulia donated a piece of land that he owned in Kalkara for the building of a new church. The bishop entrusted this piece of work to Fr. Joseph Azzopardi, who at that time was Rector of the Chapel of Our Saviour. Another piece of land was bought from the Chapter of Cospicua so as to be added to the one donated by Gulia, and on 13 September 1884, Fr. Azzopardi set up a committee for
5170-877: The collaboration of the Restoration Directorate and the Kalkara Local Council. The Kalkara Naval Cemetery on Triq San leonardu contains 1085 graves of military personnel killed in the country in World War I and World War II and 1,445 non-war burials. Many graves are marked by Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) gravestones. The Japanese Naval Memorial commemorates the death of Japanese submariners who were killed defending Malta in World War I. Due to its location, one may find various important examples of fortifications in and around Kalkara. Fort Ricasoli The design of this fort
5264-470: The construction of Fort Ricasoli at the mouth of the Grand Harbour. As the years went by, corsair and Turkish attacks on the Maltese Islands came to a virtual end, and this newly found feeling of safety ensured that Kalkara developed as a suburb of Cottonera, and most especially the city of Vittoriosa (Birgu). The population slowly increased and in the 19th and 20th century Kalkara developed into
5358-673: The early 20th century, Birgu had a population of over 6000 people. Over the years this decreased, and stood at 2,629 in March 2014. The local population speaks the Cottonera dialect , which is, however, most limited in Birgu. Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, the Angevines, the Aragonese and the Order of Saint John all contributed to the development of Birgu. Birgu
5452-413: The establishment of Valletta as capital and main city of Malta, military powers that wanted to rule the Maltese islands would need to obtain control of Birgu due to its significant position in the Grand Harbour. In fact, it served as the base of the Order of Saint John and de facto capital city of Malta from 1530 to 1571. Birgu is well known for its vital role in the Great Siege of Malta of 1565. In
5546-594: The ever-increasing demand from this sector. The town also hosts the Malta Film Commission and the main facilities of the Malta Film Studios . Maltese language Maltese (Maltese: Malti , also L-Ilsien Malti or Lingwa Maltija ) is a Semitic language derived from late medieval Sicilian Arabic with Romance superstrata . It is spoken by the Maltese people and is
5640-440: The first Christian cults began to be performed and this is today attributed to the depiction of an Orant inside the hypogea. The name given to this village, Kalkara, comes from the Latin word calce literally meaning lime (in Maltese ġir), the reason for this being that in this locality lime-kilns were usually found. Thus, its motto is A Calce Nomen. The emblem is a green scutcheon, divided into two parts: half being blue representing
5734-453: The following 20 years, this figure had increased to 6,673 in 1931. However, in 1948 the population stood at just 3,816, although it had increased slightly by 1957. The city's population fell in the following four censuses, and in 2005 was recorded as 2,701. By 2011 the estimated value had risen slightly to 2,758. In March 2013 the population stood at 2,673, and it was slightly lower in March 2014, when it stood at 2,629. Birgu's local council
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#17327807875655828-702: The former Palace of the General of the Galleys and the Order of St John's treasury. The area was refurbished in the early 2000s, and both buildings are used for other activities: the former is now a casino , while the latter is home to the Malta Maritime Museum . A second museum, the Vittoriosa 1565 Museum, is also located in the town and is dedicated to the siege and the battle in the town in 1565. St. Lawrence's Church , one of several churches in
5922-614: The historic buildings in the Vittoriosa Waterfront area, some of which have recently been restored. Paul Boffa (1890–1962), the Prime Minister of Malta between 1947 and 1950 and the country's first Labour Party Prime Minister, was also born in the city. Sr. Beniamina Portelli , founder and director of the St. Monica Choir was born in Birgu. Prospero Grech (1925–2019) was an Augustinian friar, who co-founded
6016-527: The increasing influence of Romance and English words. In 1992 the academy issued the Aġġornament tat-Tagħrif fuq il-Kitba Maltija , which updated the previous works. The National Council for the Maltese Language (KNM) is the main regulator of the Maltese language (see Maltese Language Act, below). However, the academy's orthography rules are still valid and official. Since Maltese evolved after
6110-458: The latest records as of March 2014, Kalkara's population stood at 3,014, having risen from 2,856 in December 2009. Its pleasant and quiet surroundings coupled with relatively lower real estate prices make Kalkara an ideal location in which to reside, making Kalkara one of the localities that are witnessing an increase in its population. Band Clubs Local NGOs Early historians state 1487 as
6204-541: The most probable date when a chapel dedicated to Jesus Christ under the title of Our Saviour was founded in the area known as "la punta sottile della Rinella". However, from pastoral visits that were done during the time of the Knights of the Order of Saint John, this chapel was pulled down on the orders of the Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette during the Great Siege of 1565. The given reason
6298-466: The most used when speaking the language. In this way, Maltese is similar to English , a Germanic language that has been strongly influenced by Norman French and Latin (58% of English vocabulary). As a result of this, Romance language-speakers (and to a lesser extent English speakers) can often easily understand more technical ideas expressed in Maltese, such as Ġeografikament, l-Ewropa hi parti tas-superkontinent ta' l-Ewrasja ('Geographically, Europe
6392-598: The name Valletta . In 1571, the Knights transferred their convent and seat to the new capital and Birgu lost some of its importance. Despite this, after the siege, Birgu was given the title Città Vittoriosa , Italian for "victorious city". After the taking of Malta by Napoleon in 1798, French forces were garrisoned in the city. Soon after the Maltese rebelled and the Grand Harbour area was blockaded by Maltese rebels aided by Britain, Portugal and Naples. The French eventually capitulated in September 1800, and Malta became
6486-555: The national language of Malta , and the only official Semitic and Afroasiatic language of the European Union . Maltese is considered a North African dialect of Colloquial Arabic that was brought to Malta by Arab and Berber ( Aghlabids ), who in 869/870 CE seized control of the island from the Byzantine Empire. It is also said that it descents from Siculo-Arabic, which developed as a Maghrebi Arabic dialect in
6580-405: The next-most important language. In the late 18th century and throughout the 19th century, philologists and academics such as Mikiel Anton Vassalli made a concerted effort to standardise written Maltese. Many examples of written Maltese exist from before this period, always in the Latin alphabet, Il-Kantilena from the 15th century being the earliest example of written Maltese. In 1934, Maltese
6674-473: The old church once stood (in Saint Michael Street), a marble plaque was erected by Circolo San Giuseppe Filarmonika Sagra Familja. The Present Parish Church On 21 November 1943, Rev. Carmelo Xuereb was officially installed as the third Parish Priest of Kalkara. His main duty was to rebuild the Parish Church and the community of Kalkara after these were destroyed through World War II. In 1944
6768-485: The painter Lazzaro Pisani, and the painting of Our Lady of the Rosary. A statue of Saint Joseph made by Etienne Puccini was brought by Fr. Azzopardi from Toulouse, France. On 10 December 1897, Kalkara became an independent Parish, and from that date onwards, the Parish Church began to be enriched with other magnificent pieces of sacred art. The first Parish Priest was Fr. Joseph Ciangura of Senglea. The titular painting, commissioned to Giuseppe Calì and showing Saint Joseph as
6862-586: The parish, was once the Conventual Church of the Order of St John. It is dedicated to St. Lawrence of Rome , and the feast is very popular among locals for the decorations in the local streets. The celebrations start on 31 July and continue till 10 August, the saint's feast day. Other churches in Birgu include the Monastery of St. Scholastica and the Our Lady of Annunciation Church which is run by
6956-486: The pronunciation; e.g. nar (fire) is pronounced /nɐːr/ ); and seven diphthongs , /ɐɪ ɐʊ ɛɪ ɛʊ ɪʊ ɔɪ ɔʊ/ , written aj or għi, aw or għu, ej or għi, ew, iw, oj, and ow or għu. The original Arabic consonant system has undergone partial collapse under European influence, with many Classical Arabic consonants having undergone mergers and modifications in Maltese: The modern system of Maltese orthography
7050-570: The realisation of ⟨kh⟩ and ⟨gh⟩ and the imāla of Arabic ā into ē (or ī especially in Gozo), considered archaic because they are reminiscent of 15th-century transcriptions of this sound. Another archaic feature is the realisation of Standard Maltese ā as ō in rural dialects. There is also a tendency to diphthongise simple vowels, e.g., ū becomes eo or eu. Rural dialects also tend to employ more Semitic roots and broken plurals than Standard Maltese. In general, rural Maltese
7144-482: The sea, and the other being gold with a burning flame. When in 1530 the Knights of St John came over to Malta and established their headquarters at nearby Birgu, they initiated a process of development and fortification of the area, which culminated with the construction of the Cottonera Lines ; a massive line of fortifications enclosing the cities of Birgu, Bormla and Isla into the area known as Cottonera, and
7238-524: The second world war, only some old photographs remain. Interestingly the Chapel of the Redeemer was demolished by the Knights to prevent the Ottomans to hide behind it and later rebuilt after the siege, this cross was erected to commemorate this event. The reconstruction of the Kalkara cross was inaugurated by Hon. Glenn Bedingfield and the Assoċjazzjoni Wirt il-Kalkara on Friday 6 September 2019 with
7332-399: The strand of Kalkara. The first stone of the new church was blessed on 13 October 1946 and it took nearly six years to be fully built up. All the residents of Kalkara gave a helping hand in this project, even women and children. The building is a masterpiece in sculpture in Maltese globigerina limestone. Meanwhile, on 13 March 1949, the new titular statue representing Saint Joseph as Patron of
7426-479: The structure of the Maltese language are recorded in the official guidebook Tagħrif fuq il-Kitba Maltija (English: Knowledge on Writing in Maltese ) issued by the Akkademja tal-Malti (Academy of the Maltese language). The first edition of this book was printed in 1924 by the Maltese government's printing press. The rules were further expanded in the 1984 book, iż-Żieda mat-Tagħrif , which focused mainly on
7520-540: The using Romance loanwords (from the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe Archived 2015-12-29 at the Wayback Machine , see p. 17 Archived 2020-08-04 at the Wayback Machine ): The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to
7614-535: The vocabulary is derived from standard Italian and Sicilian; and English words make up between 6% and 20% of the vocabulary. A 2016 study shows that, in terms of basic everyday language, speakers of Maltese are able to understand around a third of what is said to them in Tunisian Arabic and Libyan Arabic , which are Maghrebi Arabic dialects related to Siculo-Arabic, whereas speakers of Tunisian Arabic and Libyan Arabic are able to understand about 40% of what
7708-479: Was again rebuilt, this time to the design of the Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafà. The commission came from Fra Mario Bichi, who was the nephew of Fra Mario. The titular painting of this chapel showed the Transfiguration of Our Lord and was painted by Mattia Preti. Unfortunately, this painting was stolen in 1798 by the invading French, so a replacement was painted by Francesco Madiona. The feast of Our Saviour
7802-576: Was blessed by Mons. Gonzi. The same Archbishop celebrated the first mass in it few moments after the blessing. However, after 1952, the new Parish Church began to be decorated by other works of art. In 1953 Mr. Loreto Mintoff donated a fine marble high-altar for the church from Pietrasanta in Italy. Other works of art such as the marble pulpit, the marble pavement of the church, the Via Sacra, among others were duly blessed in future years. The new Parish Church
7896-437: Was celebrated annually on 6 August. On this day and till 1811, local bread was shared out among the villagers. This chapel had large amounts of land in its possession, among which the land on which Bighi Naval Hospital was built. The Chapel of Our Saviour served as the Parish Church of Kalkara in the 1940s, after the first Parish Church was totally destroyed in the Second World War. The First Parish Church On 23 August 1884,
7990-554: Was consecrated on 12 December 1954. In future years further works of art have been made to decorate "one of the most splendid churches built after World War II". A cross made out of stone stands out in Rnella Street Kalkara. The cross commemorates the event marking the end of the Great siege of 1565 – when the Ottoman Empire at war with the Knights, lost their posts from where they attacked Vittoriosa. Legend has it that
8084-477: Was done by Count Valperga in 1670. Previously on the same site of its erection, there was a tower known as "Torri Orsi", but Grand Master Nicholas Cottoner decided that a new fort should be built on the Rinella Peninsula so as to safeguard the entrance of the Grand Harbour from the invading Turks. Comm. Giovanni Francesco Ricasoli donated a large sum of money for its completion, and due to this after it
8178-423: Was duly finished, the fort was given the name "Ricasoli". The fort was extensively used both by the Knights of Saint John and even by the British, who also used it as a prison. In this fort there is a Chapel of St Nicholas . Rinella Battery Rinella Battery was built by the British in the nineteenth century and is being professionally restored and administered by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna, a local NGO. The battery
8272-431: Was established by the Local Councils Act of 1993. The first election was held on 19 February 1994 and John Boxall was elected as mayor. In 1995 Joseph C. Azzopardi took over as mayor but in the 1998 local elections Boxall became the mayor once again. He contested in later elections in 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2012 and has held the office ever since. The present council is made up of the following people: The Birgu Local Council
8366-456: Was fortified in the 1530s and strengthened in the 1550s in preparation for an attack by the Ottoman Empire. This included the construction of the Castle of St Angelo , a large fortification separated from the city by a narrow channel, instead of the ancient Castrum Maris . The castle was connected to the city by means of a drawbridge. Birgu was the site of major battles between the Knights and
8460-606: Was included in both the Thesaurus Polyglottus (1603) and Propugnaculum Europae (1606) of Hieronymus Megiser , who had visited Malta in 1588–1589; Domenico Magri gave the etymologies of some Maltese words in his Hierolexicon, sive sacrum dictionarium (1677). An early manuscript dictionary, Dizionario Italiano e Maltese , was discovered in the Biblioteca Vallicelliana in Rome in
8554-404: Was introduced in 1924. Below is the Maltese alphabet, with IPA symbols and approximate English pronunciation: Final vowels with grave accents (à, è, ì, ò, ù) are also found in some Maltese words of Italian origin, such as libertà ' freedom ' , sigurtà (old Italian: sicurtà ' security ' ), or soċjetà (Italian: società ' society ' ). The official rules governing
8648-493: Was part of a town named Birmula. When the order of St John came to Malta they planned to build 3 cities from this land. It started from Senglea, then Vittoriosa and Cospicua. The rest of the land was named Cottonera and it was surrounded with the Cottonera lines. In the Middle Ages, the islands' communal organisation in this period pitted the Mdina town-council, or Universitas , against the independent entity centred around
8742-500: Was recognised as an official language. Maltese has both Semitic vocabulary and words derived from Romance languages , primarily Italian . Words such as tweġiba (Arabic origin) and risposta (Italian origin) have the same meaning ('answer') but are both used in Maltese (rather like 'answer' and 'response' in English. Below are two versions of the same translations, one with vocabulary mostly derived from Semitic root words and
8836-502: Was that through being demolished, it would not provide any shelter for the invading Turks. In 1580, Claudio Abela and Davidde Burlò received permission from the Grand Master La Cassiere to build a chapel in the same site where the mentioned chapel stood. In this chapel, bailiff Fra Giovanni Bichi, nephew of Pope Alexander VII, was buried in 1676 after having died in a plague epidemic . Meanwhile, in 1680 this chapel
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