Mtarfa

Mtarfa (Maltese: L-Imtarfa) is a small town in the Northern Region of Malta, with a population of 2,572 as of March 2014.^[1] It was considered to be a suburb of Rabat until 2000, when it became a separate local council.

Mtarfa L-Imtarfa
Local council
Aerial view of Mtarfa
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 35°53′27″N 14°23′49″E
Country	Malta
Region	Northern Region
District	Western District
Borders	Attard, Mdina, Rabat
Government
• Mayor	Dale Hayman (PL)
Area
• Total	0.7 km2 (0.3 sq mi)
Population  (Jan. 2019)
• Total	2,615
• Density	3,700/km2 (9,700/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Mtarfi (m), Mtarfija (f), Mtarfin (pl)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	MTF
Dialing code	356
ISO 3166 code	MT-35
Patron saint	Saint Lucy
Day of festa	13 December
Website	Official website

History

A number of historic silos were discovered in Mtarfa in October 1973.^[2]

In the Roman period, Mtarfa was a suburb of Melite, and it contained a Temple of Proserpina. The ruins of the temple were destroyed in the 17th and 18th centuries for reusing the stones in other buildings. Substantial remains of the suburb itself, including the arrangement of the streets and many tombs, survived until the late 19th century.^[3][4] In 1890, British military barracks began to be built in Mtarfa, destroying most of the Roman remains in the process.^[5]

A chapel dedicated to St. Lucy was first recorded in 1460, and is still standing to date. It is not currently in regular use.^[6]

A clock tower, now a prominent landmark of Mtarfa, was built in 1895. A naval hospital, RNH Mtarfa, was built during World War I, and it has now been converted to a state secondary school, named after Sir Temi Zammit.^[5][7] A chapel dedicated to St. Oswald was built by the British after the end of World War I.^[8]

The British left a prominent impact on the most visible architecture in town by building the St. David's Barracks.^[9] After the British left Malta, the barracks were reused for multiple purposes, primarily social housing, and the town expanded further more into other modern residential areas.^[10] In 1988, architects Keith Cole and Joseph M. Spiteri were commissioned to modify the barracks and convert them into homes for roughly 2,000 people.^[7] After completion, they were appointed to design other new apartments, as one building, on a site provided by the Housing Authority.^[7]

Politics and administration

Dar Kenn Għal Saħħtek^[11][12]

Mtarfa was formerly part of Rabat local council, when local councils were first set up in Malta in 1993. In 2000 Mtarfa elected its first local council, after an amendment was made to the Local Councils Act.

In April 2008, due to failure on the part of the council to meet at least once a month as required by the Local Council Act, the Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi recommended to the President of the Republic to dissolve the local council and to set up a temporary committee to administer the affairs of the locality. The Mtarfa local council had failed to meet since November 2007 allegedly over disagreements on the appointment of the council's Executive Secretary.^[13] A special election was held in 2008 after the dissolution of the council.^[14] The town has gone on to vote in further local council elections.

Mtarfa was declared an Autonomous Pastoral zone in 2000, and became an independent parish in the denomination of the Roman Catholic Church on 8 December 2004. The parish church is also dedicated to Saint Lucy.^[15]

Sport

Mtarfa has its own football club, Mtarfa F.C. Founded in 2006, the club took part in the Maltese Third Division for the first time in their history in the 07/08 season. They entered the Malta Football Association in lieu of Ta' Xbiex F.C., who lost their status due to their consistent poor results in the lowest of Maltese divisions. Currently (2022–23) play in the Maltese Challenge League (second tier).

Former World Speedway Champion Mark Loram, who won the title representing Great Britain in 2000, was born in Mtarfa. British cyclist David Millar was also born in Mtarfa, and won a gold medal representing Malta at the 2001 Games of the Small States of Europe.^[16]

Zones in Mtarfa

Mtarfa Clock Tower

The Statue of St. Nicholas, which stands on the site of a former Temple of Proserpina

• Buqana
• Ġnien Ħira
• Ħaż-Żmien
• Il-Marġ
• It-Tabija
• Sandar
• Santa Luċija
• Ta' Sagħat
• Ta' Slampa
• Tal-Għeriexem
• Tal-Kanuni
• Tal-Maħruq
• Tar-Rangu
• Tat-Tabija
• Wied il-Qliegħa

See also

• RNH Mtarfa

References

1. "Estimated Population by Locality 31st March, 2014". Government of Malta. 16 May 2014. Archived from the original on 21 June 2015.
2. Lanfranco, Guido. "A Century Ago" (PDF). Retrieved 31 December 2019.
3. Caruana, Antonio Annetto (1882). Report on the Phoenician and Roman antiquities in the group of the islands of Malta. Malta: Government Printing Office. p. 94.
4. Cardona, David (2008–2009). "The known unknown: identification, provenancing, and relocation of pieces of decorative architecture from Roman public buildings and other private structures in Malta". Malta Archaeological Review (9): 43.
5. "RNH Mtarfa". OpenBuildings. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
6. "Restoration Of Mtarfa chapel ready by end of month - The Malta Independent". www.independent.com.mt. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
7. C. Spiteri, Stephen (2014). Joseph M Spiteri - A Maltese architect and his work. Book Distributors Limited. pp. 52–55. ISBN 978-99957-46-36-0.
8. Scerri, John. "Mtarfa". Malta-Canada.com. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
9. Bonnici, Joseph; Cassar, Michael (2004). A Chronicle of Twentieth Century Malta. Book Distributors Limited. p. 298. ISBN 9789990972276.
10. S. Formosa; S. Scicluna; J. Azzopardi (January 2013). Saviour Formosa; Sandra Scicluna; Jacqueline Azzopardi (eds.). Realities of Crime, Society and Landuse in the Mediterranean: JANUS I (PDF). Msida: Department of Criminology, University of Malta. p. 88. doi:10.13140/2.1.1230.4322. ISBN 978-99957-834-0-2. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017.
11. Aquilina1, Francesca Falzon; Grech, Anton; Zerafa, Darleen; Agius, Mark; Voon, Valerie (2015). "'Dar Kenn Ghal Sahhtek' - an eating disorder and obesity service in Malta" (PDF). Psychiatria Danubina. 27 (Suppl. 1): 526–529. Retrieved 21 July 2020.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
12. Falzon Aquilina, F.; Grech, A.; Zerafa, D.; Agius, M.; Voon, V. (2016). "'Dar Kenn Ghal Sahhtek' – an Effective Therapeutic Intervention". European Psychiatry. 33: S427–S428. doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.1548. S2CID 76122843 – via ResearchGate.
13. "Temporary committee to take over at Mtarfa". Times of Malta. 22 April 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
14. "Electoral Commission of Malta Mtarfa Local Council Election". electoral.gov.mt.
15. "Mtarfa". Archdiocese of Malta. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
16. Camilleri, Valhmor (18 May 2011). "Millar to race for Malta". Times of Malta. Retrieved 5 November 2018.

External links

• Mtarfa Local Council