Giovanni Francesco Abela
Encyclopedia
Maltese people
The Maltese are an ethnic group indigenous to the Southern European nation of Malta, and identified with the Maltese language. Malta is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea...
of noble birth who in the early 17th century wrote an important work on Malta, Malta illustrata con le sue Antichità ed altre Notizie (Malta illustrated, with its Antiquities, and other information).
Giovanni Francesco Abela was born in Valletta
Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
to Marco Abela and Benarda Vella whose great great grandfather was Barone di Pietra Lunga and whose ancestors ruled Malta on more than one occasion and were part of the royal family of Spain. (Abela Family Tree 2006)
Malta illustrated is still an important source of first-hand information on a number of subjects of Melitensia, such as folklore, placenames, the Maltese language
Maltese language
Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...
, history of Malta
History of Malta
Malta has been inhabited since it was settled around 5200 BC from Sicily. It was settled by the Phoenicians and later the Greeks who named the island Μελίτη meaning "honey sweet" in reference to Malta's endemic variety of bee.-B.C.:*5000 First Human settlers...
and archaeology. His description of the Maltese Islands was translated into Latin by G.A. Seinero in 1725, Latin being the universal language of science and culture of that time. This translation was incorporated in Johann Georg Graevius
Johann Georg Graevius
Johann Georg Graevius was a German classical scholar and critic. He was born at Naumburg....
Thesaurus antiquitatum et historiarum Italiae.
He became Auditor of Grand Master de Paula, Chaplain and finally Vice Chancellor of the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
. He is also remembered as the promoter of the first Notarial Archives for Malta.
Gian Francesco Abela visited archaeological sites on the islands and made some valuable observations. He appears to have been the first to note that the ancient temple of Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
was to be identified with the remains on the hill at Tas-Silg rather than those of Borg in-Nadur. At Tas-Silg he observed foundations and courses of stones ‘ben lavorate e messe insieme,’ and in support of his identification he recorded the discovery of ‘medaglie, pezzi di statue d’idoletti, e d’altre cose, minimi avanzi di quella vana gentilità e falsa religione, quivi ritrovate sotto il Magistero del Principe Wignacourt, mentre alcuni nell’istesso luogo cavando, scioccamente pensavano far acquisto di ricco tesoro.’
In the early 17th century Abela converted his house at Marsa to a historical museum, the first on Malta. Many of its artefacts are now stored in Malta's National Museum of Archaeology
National Museum of Archaeology, Malta
The National Museum of Archaeology is a a Maltese museum of prehistoric artifacts, located in Valetta. It is managed by Heritage Malta.History=...
.
He is buried in the Chapel of Our Lady of Filermos (today the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament) in the Co-Cathedral of St. John in Valletta
Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
. The Junior College in Msida
Msida
Msida or Imsida is a harbour town in Malta with a population of 7,623 . The town is located just west of Valletta on the northeast coast of Malta. The town enjoys a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry, sunny summers and short, cool winters.The neighbouring towns of Msida are Ta' Xbiex, Gzira, San...
is named after Abela.