Mtarfa

Mtarfa
L-Imtarfa
Local council

Aerial view of Mtarfa

Flag
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 35°53′27″N 14°23′49″E / 35.89083°N 14.39694°E / 35.89083; 14.39694Coordinates: 35°53′27″N 14°23′49″E / 35.89083°N 14.39694°E / 35.89083; 14.39694
Country  Malta
Region Northern Region
District Western District
Borders Attard, Mdina, Rabat
Government
 • Mayor Daniel John Attard (PL)
Area
 • Total 0.7 km2 (0.3 sq mi)
Population (March 2014)
 • Total 2,572
 • Density 3,700/km2 (9,500/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Mtarfi (m), Mtarfija (f), Mtarfin (pl)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code MTF
Dialing code 356
ISO 3166 code MT-35
Patron saint Saint Lucy
Day of festa 13 December
Website Official website
Bus 51 from Valletta terminus

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

History

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 and the stones were reused in other buildings. Substantial remains of the suburb itself, including the arrangement of the streets and many tombs, survived until the late 19th century.[2][3]

In 1890, British military barracks began to be built in Mtarfa, destroying most of the Roman remains in the process. 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.[4] A chapel dedicated to St. Oswald was built by the British after the end of World War I.[5]

After the British left Malta, the barracks were converted into housing, and the town expanded into a modern residential area.

Politics and Administration

Dar Kenn Ghal Sahhtek

Mtarfa formed part of Rabat local council when these 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 of the previous year allegedly over disagreements on the appointment of the council's Executive Secretary.[6]

Mtarfa Local Council

The current Mtarfa local council members are:

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 have 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.

Zones in Mtarfa

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

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Estimated Population by Locality 31st March, 2014". Government of Malta. 16 May 2014. Archived from the original on 21 June 2015.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ "RNH Mtarfa". OpenBuildings. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Scerri, John. "Mtarfa". Malta-Canada.com. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "Temporary committee to take over at Mtarfa". Times of Malta. 22 April 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
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