Malta, officially known as the Republic of Malta, is a small island nation comprising an archipelago of seven islands (Malta, Gozo (Għawdex) Comino (Kemmuna) Filfla, Cominotto (Kemmunett) Manoel, Selmunett (St.Paul's Islands)) in the Mediterranean Sea. A country of Southern Europe, Malta lies south of Sicily, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The country's official languages are Maltese and English. Roman Catholicism is the most practised religion. The islands constituting the Maltese nation have been ruled by various powers and fought over by many states for centuries. Malta has been a member state of the European Union (EU) since 2004 and it is currently the smallest EU country both in population and in area.
Near the main entrance one finds the monument of Grandmaster Fra Marc'Antonio Zondadari from Siena. He was the nephew of Pope Alexander VII. (more...) Gozo is an island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, second in size to the island of Malta. In Maltese, the island is called Għawdex (pronounced áw-desh). Gozo is part of the country of Malta. Gozo is 67 km² in size, which is approximately the same size as Hong Kong Island. It lies approximately 6 km northwest from the nearest point of Malta, is of oval form, 14 km in length and 7.25 km in extreme breadth. Gozo is famed for its character and places of interest. Some of these are the Calypso cave, the Ġgantija Neolithic temples which is the oldest man made structure. It is more picturesque than the larger sister island of Malta, and the land is more fertile. (more...) Photo credit: jkb
March 31, 1979 is remembered in the Maltese calendar as Freedom Day (Maltese: Jum il-Ħelsien). This is the anniversary of the withdrawal of British troops and the Royal Navy from Malta. The government of the day alleged that the military base was closed after the United Kingdom refused to pay the emphyteusis due to Malta in 1979; however, the contract between Malta and the United Kingdom was due for termination on April 1, 1979.
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