Local council in Port Region, Malta
Cospicua
Bormla
Maleth
Bir Mula, Burmola, Bormola
Citta Cospicua, Citta Cottonera
|
---|
|
Bormla as seen from Dock No. 1
|
Flag
Coat of arms
|
Nickname:
Belt l-Immakulata
|
Motto(s):
Ingens Amplectitur Agger
(Embraced by a large bastion)
|
Show map of Mediterranean
|
Coordinates:
35°52′56″N
14°31′20″E
/
35.88222°N 14.52222°E
/
35.88222; 14.52222
|
Country
|
Malta
|
---|
Region
| Port Region
|
---|
District
| Southern Harbour District
|
---|
Borders
| Birgu
,
Fgura
,
Kalkara
,
Paola
,
Senglea
,
?abbar
|
---|
|
?
Mayor
| Alison Zerafa (
PL
)
|
---|
|
? Total
| 0.9 km
2
(0.3 sq mi)
|
---|
|
? Total
| 5,170
|
---|
? Density
| 5,700/km
2
(15,000/sq mi)
|
---|
Demonym(s)
| Bormli? (m), Bormli?a (f), Bormli?i (pl)
|
---|
Time zone
| UTC+1
(
CET
)
|
---|
? Summer (
DST
)
| UTC+2
(
CEST
)
|
---|
Postal code
| BML
|
---|
Dialing code
| 356
|
---|
ISO 3166 code
| MT-06
|
---|
Patron saint
| Immaculate Conception
or the
Virgin Mary
|
---|
Day of festa
| 8 December
|
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Cospicua
(
Italian
) or
Bormla
(
Maltese
,
[?b?rml?]
), occasionally also known by the
Latin
name
Cottonera
,
[
citation needed
]
is a double-fortified harbour city in the
Port Region
of
Malta
. As
Maleth
(
Phoenician
:
??????
,
ML?
), it served as the principal port of
Phoenician Malta
and, through
Greek
,
Latin
, and
Arabic
, may have given its name to the island and country. Along with
Birgu
and
Senglea
, it is one of the
Three Cities
located within the
Grand Harbour
to the east of the capital city
Valletta
. With a population of 5,395 as of March 2014, it is the most dense city of the Three Cities.
[1]
Locals are known for their
Cottonera dialect
.
Names
[
edit
]
The ancient
Phoenician
name
Maleth
meant "refuge" or "port",
cognate with
Hebrew
malat
(
?????
, "escape").
The
Greek
Melit?
(
Μελ?τη
) and
Latin
Melita
probably derived from this toponym,
despite being reapplied to
Malta
and then inland Phoenician settlement at
Mdina
after its conquest in the
Second Punic War
. The Maltese name
Bormla
probably derives from a combination of
Arabic
b?r
(
???
) and the Phoenician name.
It has also been
folk etymologized
to derive from Old Maltese
bir
mula
, literally "well of the landlord", from
bi?r Mawl?
(
????? ???????
), supposedly intending "well of the
Lord
".
[6]
History
[
edit
]
Bormla has been inhabited since
Neolithic
times.
[
citation needed
]
The
Phoenician
colony
there was known as Maleth, established at some point after
sea level rise
destroyed earlier coastal settlements during the 10th century BC.
By the arrival of the
Order of Saint John
, it was known as Bormla. Its fortifications, protecting both the town and its neighbours
Birgu
and
Isla
, were begun in 1638 but not completed for another 70 years. In 1722, Grand Master
Marc'Antonio Zondadari
declared Bormla a city and in view of its strong bastions named it Citta Cospicua.
[8]
In 1776, the Order of St. John started to construct a
dockyard
, which was to play a vital role in the development of this city.
[8]
During
British rule in Malta
, the
Royal Navy
made extensive use of the dockyard, particularly during the
Crimean War
,
[9]
the
First World War
and during the years preceding the
Second World War
. Bormla, along with the rest of the area around the
Grand Harbour
, was heavily bombed during this last war as Malta was
under siege
by the
Axis powers
.
[
citation needed
]
As Malta became an independent country, the city's dockyard frequently became a bone of contention between the
General Workers' Union
, to which most of its employees belonged, and successive governments. In the early 21st century the dockyard was substantially downsized under the
governance
of the
Nationalist Party
after it was found that the cost of operating the site was responsible for around 25% of Malta's national debt.
[10]
Plans are now underway for the transformation of an area of the dockyard into a commercial and tourist centre.
[11]
Bormla is also known as
Belt l-Immakulata
or the City of the Immaculate, referring to the
Immaculate Conception
or the
Virgin Mary
, who is the
patron
of the city. every year a feast is being held on 8 December.
[12]
Culture
[
edit
]
Cospicua celebrates its feast which is held annually on 8 December in honour of the
Immaculate Conception
.
[13]
Cospicua is known for its celebration of
Good Friday
, which began in the 18th century and is a popular tourist attraction. A statue of the Resurrection of Jesus is traditionally carried across the city's streets to symbolize Jesus' triumph over death. Smaller statues are also exhibited in the city.
[14]
The people of Bormla started the famous and artistic first 'Mejda tal-Appostli', which literally means, the table of the
Apostles
. It consists of a display showing the food that was eaten during the Last Supper of
Jesus
and the 12 Apostles. It also consists of different stories of the
Bible
, made with coloured rice and salt, on plates (these are done separately).
[
citation needed
]
Bormla's football team is the
St. George's F.C.
, thought to be the oldest on the island. Documentation shows that by 1885 there were already three football teams at Cospicua, which merged to form the current club in 1890.
[15]
Cospicua is also famous for its Regatta team, which was one of the first. This team has won 17 shields (titles) overall, second only to Senglea.
[
citation needed
]
The 1st Cospicua Scout Group as formed in 1917.
[16]
The St. George's Band Club was officially founded in 1862. Its first name was 'La Banda dei Cospicuani' but when Giorgio Crispo Barbaro, Marquis of St. George became first president of the Band, the name was changed to the present one.
[
citation needed
]
Architecture
[
edit
]
The city's fortifications, namely the
Santa Margherita Lines
and the
Cottonera Lines
, are largely intact although they are in need of restoration. Saint Helen's Gate, also known as Vilhena Gate, is a gateway which forms part of the Santa Margherita Lines which is a tourist attraction itself. The Dock area also has some Georgian architecture.
[
citation needed
]
The
Parish church of the Immaculate Conception
, the church of St. Theresa, and the chapels of St. Paul and St. Margaret are also attractions. The celebrations and feasts on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and the village feast on 8 December also attract tourists, as well as the statues of the Resurrection and the Immaculate Conception.
[
citation needed
]
Cospicua also has an ethnography, social history, anthropology museum and cultural venue known as Bir Mula Heritage. A 16th century lodge built by the Order of St John, simply known as The Lodge, is also used for exhibitions and other events. Adjacent to the lodge is another 16th-century building which houses a community radio station Kottoner 98FM.
[
citation needed
]
Demographics
[
edit
]
The first recorded
census
of the Maltese islands took place in 1901. Cospicua (listed as Bormla in census documents) is recorded as having a population of 12,148 people. This figure remained relatively stable until 1931, but by 1948 had reduced to 4,822. After rising to 9,095 by 1957 and 9,123 in 1967, the city's population fell in the following three censuses.
[18]
A March 2011 estimate gave the population of Cospicua as 5,658.
[19]
Its population stood 5,479 as of March 2013,
[20]
and 5,395 in March 2014.
[1]
Notable people
[
edit
]
Government
[
edit
]
Bormla's
local council
was established by the Local Councils Act of 1993. The first election was held on 16 April 1994 and Joseph Carbonaro was elected as mayor. After the 2000 elections, Paul Muscat became mayor and after the 2003 elections he was succeeded by Joseph Scerri. Scerri remained mayor for 10 years before being succeeded by Alison Zerafa after the 2013 elections.
[
citation needed
]
Zones in Bormla
[
edit
]
The following is a list of places in Bormla:
[
citation needed
]
In addition, the zone of Tal-Ħawli was also historically part of Bormla. However this area was put under the jurisdiction of the
Birgu
Local Council in 1994.
[
citation needed
]
References
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Estimated Population by Locality 31st March, 2014"
.
Government of Malta
. 16 May 2014. Archived from
the original
on 21 June 2015.
- ^
Abela, Giovanni Francesco
(1647).
Della Descrizione di Malta Isola nel Mare Siciliano con le sue Antichita, ed Altre Notizie
(in Italian). Paolo Bonacota. p. 18.
- ^
a
b
"Bormla"
(PDF)
.
Pajjizna
.
54
. Department of Information (Malta): 12?13
. Retrieved
8 September
2011
.
- ^
Borg, Victor (2001).
Rough Guide to Malta and Gozo
.
Rough Guides
. p. 92.
ISBN
1-85828-680-8
.
- ^
Fenech, Natalino (20 May 2002).
"
'Yards' downsizing process has cost Lm3m so far"
.
The Times of Malta
.
- ^
Abela, Lorry (21 June 2005).
"The Cottonera Waterfront Project"
.
The Times of Malta
.
- ^
Mifsud, Joe (15 December 2004).
"Cospicua celebrations"
.
The Times of Malta
.
- ^
"Feast of the Immaculate Conception to be celebrated"
.
The Malta Independent
. 27 November 2006. Archived from
the original
on 30 March 2012
. Retrieved
22 August
2011
.
- ^
Cini, George (21 April 2003).
"Traditional celebration still drawing the crowds"
.
The Times of Malta
. Retrieved
22 August
2011
.
- ^
St. George's
. Archived from geocities.com on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
- ^
"History: 1917-1937"
. 1st Cospicua Scout Group
. Retrieved
22 August
2011
.
- ^
Muscat, J. (2011).
"L-imħa?en tal-vaxxelli f'Bormla"
(PDF)
.
Programm Tal-festa Marija Immakulata (1586-2011): 425 Sena Parro??a
: 57?59.
- ^
"Census of population and housing 2005"
(PDF)
. Malta National Statistics Office. 2007. p. 51. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 28 September 2014
. Retrieved
23 August
2011
.
- ^
"Population statistics"
(PDF)
.
Malta Government Gazette
. mjha.gov.mt. 9 August 2011. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 4 August 2013
. Retrieved
18 March
2012
.
- ^
"Estimated Population by Locality"
(PDF)
.
Malta Government Gazette
. 31 March 2013. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 14 July 2014
. Retrieved
23 January
2015
.
- ^
"Dr Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici (1984 - 1987)"
.
gov.mt
.
Government of Malta
. Retrieved
9 February
2017
.
- ^
"Department of Information: Dr. Ugo Mifsud: President of Malta (1994 - 1999)"
. doi.gov.mt
. Retrieved
24 July
2011
.
- ^
"Encyclopædia Britannica: Dom Mintoff"
.
britannica.com
. Retrieved
24 July
2011
.
- ^
Mercieca, George (23 October 2004).
"Scholar's birth centenary"
.
The Times of Malta
.
- ^
"School behaviour"
.
The Malta Independent
. 13 December 2006. Archived from
the original
on 15 March 2012.
- ^
"So?jeta Santa Marija u Banda Re ?or? V, Mqabba"
.
santamarija.com
. Retrieved
10 January
2023
.
- ^
Schiavone, Michael J. (2009).
Dictionary of Maltese Biographies Vol. 2 G?Z
.
Pieta
: Pubblikazzjonijiet Indipendenza. pp. 1594?1595.
ISBN
9789993291329
.
- ^
"Who was Maltese musical genius Paolino Vassallo?"
.
Times of Malta
. Retrieved
4 February
2023
.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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