MALTA

officially Republic of Malta, Maltese Malta, or Repubblika Ta' Malta country located in the central Mediterranean Sea. It is a small archipelago but a strategically important group of islands. Throughout a long and turbulent history, the archipelago has played a vital role in the struggles of a succession of powers for domination of the Mediterranean and in the interplay between emerging Europe and the older cultures of Africa and the Middle East. As a result, Maltese society was molded by centuries of foreign rule, with influences ranging from Arab to Norman to English. There are five islandsMalta (the largest), Gozo, Comino, and uninhabited Kemmunett (Comminotto) and Filflalying some 58 miles (93 kilometres) south of Sicily, 180 miles (290 kilometres) north of Libya, and about 180 miles east of Tunisia, at the eastern end of that constricted portion of the Mediterranean Sea separating Italy from the African coast. The islands cover a combined land area of 122 square miles (316 square kilometres). Valletta is the capital, although Birkirkara is the largest city. small archipelago in the central Mediterranean Sea. Malta is an independent republic consisting of three inhabited islands, Malta, Gozo, and Comino, and two uninhabited islets, Comminotto and Filfla, lying nearly 60 miles (100 km) south of Sicily and occupying a total area of 122 square miles (316 square km). This strategically important island group has played vital roles in the struggles of a succession of powers for domination of the Mediterranean. The population in 1991 was estimated at 357,000. The capital is Valletta. Additional reading Geography General works Walter Kmmerly et al., Malta: Isles of the Middle Sea (1965); and Harry Luke, Malta: An Account and an Appreciation, 2nd ed. rev. and enlarged (1960), are illustrated descriptive works with maps. Focus on local landscape is found in Robin Bryans, Malta and Gozo (1966); Harrison Lewis, A Guide to the Remote Paths and Lanes of Ancient Malta (1974); and Douglas Lockhart and Sue Ashton, Landscapes of Malta, Gozo, and Comino (1989). Bodo Nehring, Die Maltesischen Inseln (1966), provides a more scholarly geographic survey. Travelers' guides, some repeatedly revised in well-known publishers' series, include Bryan Balls and Richard Cox, Traveller's Guide to Malta: A Concise Guide to the Mediterranean Islands of Malta, Gozo, and Comino, 4th ed. (1981); Inge Severin, See Malta & Gozo: A Complete Guide with Maps and Gazetteer, rev. ed. (1984); and Peter McGregor Eadie, Malta and Gozo, 3rd ed. (1990). People Minor Islands of the Mediterranean, Gozo, Malta (1981) is a UNESCO survey of the settlement patterns in the region. Jeremy Boissevain, Hal-Farrug: A Village in Malta (1969, reissued as A Village in Malta, 1980), offers a study of social life and customs. The role of religion is explored in Jeremy Boissevain, Saint and Fireworks: Religion and Politics in Rural Malta (1965); and Mario Vassallo, From Lordship to Stewardship: Religion and Social Change in Malta (1979). Government and social conditions Paul Cassar, Medical History of Malta (1964), is a detailed survey of the development of the essential social service. Barry York, Malta: A Non-Aligned Democracy in Mediterranean (1987), offers a short overview of modern politics; and, for an equally brief look at the civil rights, see Human Rights in Malta (1985), a report of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights. Economy Surveys of the economic conditions are presented in M.M. Metwally, Structure and Performance of the Maltese Economy (1977); and R. Cohen, M. Minogue, and J. Craig, Small Island Economies (1983). Salvino Busuttil, Devaluation in Malta (1968), examines the currency question in the period of independence. John C. Grech, Threads of Dependence (1978), explores the problems of dependency on foreign technology. Lino Briguglio, The Maltese Economy: A Macroeconomic Analysis (1988); and Michael Frendo and Josef Bonnici, Malta in the European Community: Some Economic & Commercial Perspectives (1989), are later analyses. Cultural life On the architecture, see Leonard Mahoney, A History of Maltese Architecture: From Ancient Times up to 1800 (1988); J. Quentin Hughes, The Building of Malta During the Period of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, 15301795, rev. ed. (1967, reissued 1986); and Charles Knevitt, Connections: The Architecture of Richard England, 196484 (1984). Other arts are discussed in Richard England (ed.), Contemporary Art in Malta (1973), including essays on music, painting, and drama; Daniel Massa (ed.), Individual and Community in Commonwealth Literature (1979); Oliver Friggieri, Storia della letteratura maltese (1986), an Italian translation from the Maltese of an analysis of Maltese poetry; and, on painting, Mario Buhagiar, The Iconography of the Maltese Islands, 14001900 (1988). History General surveys on the history of Malta are presented in Eric Gerada-Azzopardi, Malta: An Island Republic (1979); Brian Blouet, The Story of Malta, 3rd rev. ed. (1981); and Mario Buhagiar (ed.), Proceedings of History Week 1983 (1984). For the earliest periods, see J.D. Evans, The Prehistoric Antiquities of the Maltese Islands (1971). The Middle Ages are studied in Anthony T. Luttrell (ed.), Medieval Malta: Studies on Malta Before the Knights (1975); Ernle Bradford, The Great Siege: Malta 1565 (1961, reissued 1979); Rose G. Kingsley, The Order of St. John of Jerusalem: Past and Present (1918, reprinted 1978); with the history continued in Roderick Cavaliero, The Last of the Crusaders: The Knights of St. John and Malta in the Eighteenth Century (1960). The modern period is explored in Henry Frendo, Party Politics in a Fortress Colony: The Maltese Experience (1979); R. De Giorgio, A City by an Order (1985); Ernle Bradford, Siege: Malta to 19401943 (1985); George Hogan, Malta: The Triumphant Years, 194043 (1978); Charles A. Jellison, Besieged: The World War II Ordeal of Malta, 19401942 (1984); Dennis Austin, Malta and the End of the Empire (1971); J.J. Cremona, An Outline of the Constitutional Development of Malta Under British Rule (1963); Edith Dobie, Malta's Road to Independence (1967); and Henry Frendo, Malta's Quest for Independence: Reflections on the Course of Maltese History (1989). Salvino Busuttil Cultural life Malta's cultural influences stem largely from its history of foreign domination and the predominance of the Roman Catholic church. Folk traditions have evolved mainly around the festa to celebrate the patron saint of a village, marked by processions and fireworks. Good Friday also is celebrated with colourful processions in several villages. Imnarja, the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, which takes place on June 29, is the principal folk festival; it is highlighted by folksinging (ghana) contests and fried-rabbit picnics at Buskett. The annual Carnival is celebrated at Valletta with vigorous dancing displays that include the Parata, a sword dance commemorating the Maltese victory over the Turks in 1565, and Il-Maltija, the Maltese national dance. Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Malta, and Ta' Qali National Stadium is the site of important local and international matches. Apart from its unique Neolithic ruins near Rahal Gdid (Paola, Paula, or Pawla) and Tarxien, Malta contains important examples of its flourishing architectural school of the 17th and 18th centuries. It was essentially Classical with a balanced overlay of Baroque decorations. The Italian artists Caravaggio and Mattia Preti spent several years in Malta, the latter's most important paintings embellishing many of Malta's churches. In the 20th century, a vernacular architecture was developed by Richard England and others. The composer Charles Camilleri introduced folk themes into his works, while Maltese literature was enriched by the poetry of the national bard, Dun Karm. An interesting theatrical upsurge led by John Schranz paralleled the emergence of Francis Ebejer as a brilliant playwright. Alfred Chircop and Luciano Micallef have gained prominence with their abstract paintings, while Gabriel Caruana has excelled in ceramics. Valletta is the centre of many of Malta's cultural institutions: the National Museum of Archaeology, the National Museum of Fine Arts, the War Museum, the Manoel Theatre (one of Europe's oldest theatres still in operation), and the Foundation for International Studies. The National Library of Malta dates from the late 18th century and houses a large collection as well as the archives of the Knights Hospitalers. The Folk Museum and the Museum of Political History are located at Vittoriosa. Until the early 1990s, Maltese radio and television stations had been operated exclusively by the Malta Broadcasting Authority, but a change in legislation has opened the way for privately operated broadcasting stations. There are two daily newspapers in Maltese and one in English.