59 Fun Facts About Malta

Malta lies in which sea?

The archipelago is 80 km south of Italy and about 284 km east of Tunisia.

What is the capital of Malta?

It is the smallest capital in the European Union by both area and population.

Besides Malta itself, which two islands of the archipelago are inhabited?

Gozo is the more rural second island; Comino sits between the two.

What are Malta's two official languages?

If the two texts of a law conflict, the constitution says the Maltese version prevails.

The Maltese language descends from which extinct dialect?

It is the only Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet, with 30 letters.

Malta is roughly how far from Italy?

Sicily is the closest neighbour; Tunisia lies 284 km to the west.

The Ġgantija temples on Gozo, built around 3500 BC, are notable as what?

They were raised before the Egyptian pyramids.

Which biblical figure was shipwrecked on Malta around AD 60, according to the Acts of the Apostles?

Saint Publius is said to have become the island's first bishop.

The Arabs conquered Malta from the Byzantines in which year?

The island was left almost uninhabited until Arabs from Sicily resettled it in 1048-49.

Which Norman leader attacked Malta in 1091 and is credited by legend with the colours of its flag?

The tale that he tore off part of his red-and-white banner is a myth, but it inspired the modern flag.

In 1530, Charles V handed Malta to the Knights Hospitaller in exchange for what annual tribute?

The Knights had been driven from Rhodes by the Ottomans in 1522.

Which Grand Master led the Knights during the Great Siege of 1565 and gave his name to the new capital?

He laid the foundation stone of the fortified city on 28 March 1566.

Which Ottoman sultan sent the fleet that besieged Malta in 1565?

He had already ejected the Knights from Rhodes in 1522.

How long did the Great Siege of Malta last?

It ran from 18 May to 8 September 1565, and 8 September is still a national holiday.

Which French general captured Malta from the Knights in 1798 on his way to Egypt?

He stayed only a week, at the Palazzo Parisio, but abolished feudal rights and slavery.

Malta formally became part of the British Empire under which 1814 treaty?

During World War I the island earned the nickname 'Nurse' for treating so many wounded soldiers.

Which award did the British king give to the whole island of Malta in April 1942?

It now appears on the flag and coat of arms.

The Maltese flag is unique among national flags for featuring what?

The words 'For Gallantry' appear on the medal in the canton.

Malta gained independence from Britain on which date?

It kept Elizabeth II as Queen of Malta until becoming a republic ten years later.

Which Labour prime minister led Malta to declare itself a republic in 1974?

The last British forces left in 1979, a date marked as Freedom Day.

Which two leaders held a 1989 summit in Malta that heralded the end of the Cold War?

Malta had adopted a policy of neutrality in 1980.

Malta joined the European Union in which year?

It adopted the euro four years later, on 1 January 2008.

What was Malta's currency before the euro?

Before 1825 the islands had used the scudo.

What symbol appears on Malta's €1 and €2 coins?

The Mnajdra Temples decorate the smallest copper coins.

What is the highest point in Malta?

There are no permanent rivers or lakes on the islands.

Malta's population of about 574,000 lives on how much land?

That makes it the tenth-smallest country in the world and one of the most densely populated.

What was Malta's ancient capital, and seat of the Phoenician government?

Its Phoenician port was at Cospicua on the Grand Harbour, which they called Maleth.

On which tectonic plate does Malta sit?

The islands are the high points of a drowned land bridge between Sicily and North Africa.

Which side of the road do Maltese drivers use?

The habit is a legacy of British colonial rule.

The traditional Maltese fenkata is a meal centred on which meat?

Stuffat tal-fenek may have begun as symbolic defiance of the Knights' hunting restrictions.

Pastizzi, Malta's favourite pastry snack, are traditionally filled with ricotta or what?

Ricotta ones are folded down the middle, pea ones down the side.

What is the name of Malta's common local beer?

Beer is not especially popular on the islands, but this brand is everywhere.

Girgentina and Ġellewża are Maltese varieties of what?

Local wines carry the DOK protected designation.

Which painter left The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist in Malta's Conventual Church of St John?

Preti later turned the same church's vault into a Baroque masterpiece.

Malta's capital was chosen as the 2018 European Capital of what?

The whole city has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980.

The Order of Malta, the modern Knights of St John, is unusual in international law because it is what?

Its two headquarters in Rome enjoy extraterritoriality and it has been a UN observer since 1994.

The Maltese parliament's House of Representatives has how many members?

They are elected by single transferable vote in 13 five-seat districts.

Which two parties dominate Maltese politics?

Labour has governed since 2013, led since 2020 by Robert Abela.

Which religion does Malta's constitution establish as the state religion?

A survey found only about 4.5 percent of Maltese identify as atheist or agnostic.

Malta and which other EU member have near-total bans on abortion?

A 2023 amendment allows termination only where the woman's life is at risk.

Malta was the first EU country to ban what?

It is regarded as one of the most LGBT-supportive countries in the world.

Both Gladiator films were partly shot in which country?

Film production is a significant earner alongside tourism.

Between 1948 and 1967, what share of Malta's population emigrated?

Most headed for Australia under an assisted-passage scheme.

Who is regarded as Malta's national poet?

He wrote in the Romantic tradition; Magri was the folklorist who compiled the island's fables.

Traditional Maltese għana is a form of what?

A few singers, usually men, take turns arguing a point in a sing-song voice.

In October 2022, what became free for residents of Malta?

The old vintage buses that ran until 2011 are now tourist attractions.

How many letters does the Maltese alphabet contain?

Maltese is written in a Latin-based alphabet, unusual for a Semitic language, and includes letters such as ġ, ħ and ż.

Which airline took over as the country's national carrier on 31 March 2024?

It replaced Air Malta, which had flown as the flag carrier since April 1974 and served 35 destinations from Malta International Airport.

The ancient Greek name for Malta, Melítē, literally means 'place of' what?

The Greeks may have named the island after its endemic subspecies of bees, though other scholars favour a Phoenician root meaning haven or port.

Malta International Airport was built on land formerly occupied by which RAF base?

It is the only airport serving the islands; Gozo makes do with a heliport.

In which year was the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum discovered by workers cutting cisterns?

The workers tried to hide the find at first; Manuel Magri began formal excavations for the Museums Committee in November 1903.

What is the name of the famous clay figure recovered from the Hypogeum's Main Chamber?

The figure is thought to represent a mother goddess; the same site has an Oracle Room that produces a powerful acoustic resonance.

The island of Comino takes its name from which seed?

Kemmuna, as it is called in Maltese, had a permanent population of just two residents as of 2023.

Gozo's Azure Window natural arch collapsed into the sea in which year?

The 28-metre limestone arch gave way at about 9:40 am on 8 March after heavy storms, leaving nothing visible above the water.

Popeye Village at Anchor Bay was built as the set for a 1980 film starring which actor?

Shelley Duvall co-starred as Olive Oyl; the set of rustic wooden buildings was finished in seven months and is now an open-air museum.

By what nickname is the walled former capital of Mdina popularly known?

Almost no cars are allowed inside the walls, and its population was just 242 in July 2024.

The entire city of Valletta became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in which year?

It was listed alongside the Megalithic Temples and the Hypogeum; the same year Valletta also hosted the 24th Chess Olympiad.

Which pope sent military architect Francesco Laparelli to design the new city of Valletta?

Philip II of Spain sent money too; de Valette laid the foundation stone but died of a stroke in 1568 before the city was finished.

Which event badly damaged Mdina's Cathedral of St Paul, leading to its Baroque rebuild?

Lorenzo Gafà rebuilt the cathedral between 1697 and 1703; no casualties were reported in the city.