Mosta
Encyclopedia
Mosta is a town situated in the middle of the island of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

, to the north-west of 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...

. It had a population of 19,018 people in 2010. Mosta celebrates the feast of Saint Mary the Assumption on the 15th August. This is a very popular feast among the Mostin and tourists alike. Mosta has many legends such as the Mosta Bride (L-Gharusa tal-Mosta) and a lot of historical places such as the Victoria Lines and Medieval chapels. Mosta has its own scouts and girl guides as well as two band clubs (Nicolo' Isouard and Santa Marija) and two fire works factories that make spectacular fire works. A lot of traffic passes through Constitution Street, one of Mosta's main streets which connects the South to the North. The main attraction in Mosta is the Rotunda - a huge round church with the third largest unsupported dome in the world.

Rotunda of Mosta (Mosta Dome)

Mosta boasts the third largest unsupported dome in the World dedicated to the Assumption
Assumption of Mary
According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...

. The Feast of the Assumption is held on August 15 and it is a public holiday. The church is also known as the Rotunda of St Marija Assunta. On 9 April 1942, the church was nearly destroyed during World War 2. An Axis bomb pierced the dome of the church but failed to explode. The detonator was removed and a replica bomb is now displayed as a memorial.

The Rotunda was designed by George Grognet de Vasse, a French citizen resident in Mosta. Mosta residents, at that time totalling not more than 1500, built the church. It took them 27 years to complete but the result is a tourist attraction of world standard. Grognet chose the type of stone by insisting on having one slab from each quarry operating in the Islands. He then proceeded to test their durability. In the end he chose a quarry in Mosta near to Ta' Vnezja, at the gate of an old military airfield. The stone of the Rotunda bathes in the sun and spectacularly has taken a yellow/orange/red colour.

The Cumbo Tower

The Cumbo Tower was the stronghold of Mosta in the Middle Ages. It is presently owned by the Contessa Preziosi, the daughter of the late Barone della Quleja.

General

Since Mosta is in the centre of Malta, it is within very easy reach of tourists. Most buses pass from Mosta on the way to Buġibba
Bugibba
Buġibba [pronounced bu-jibb-buh] is a small town in Malta, situated adjacent to Qawra and forming part of the local council of St. Paul's Bay. With numerous hotels, restaurants, pubs, clubs, and a casino, it is a popular resort among tourists....

, Ċirkewwa
Cirkewwa
Ċirkewwa is a harbour situated on a point at the northernmost part of Malta.It is the site of the Ċirkewwa Ferry Terminal, where regular car ferries operate to the port of Mġarr on Gozo. In the summer, boat trips to Comino also operate, as well as organised diving excursions...

 or Mellieħa after having left from 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...

.

An interesting attraction in Mosta is the Speranza Chapel ('Speranza' meaning 'hope'), which is situated close to the Speranza Valley. It was built in the 18th century, between 1760 and 1761. A legend tied to this small Chapel recounts that during a Turkish
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 invasion, a young girl and her sisters were taking care of their family's sheep. Whilst the sisters escaped, the little girl couldn't run very fast because she limped slightly. It is said that she hid in a cave (it is found under the Chapel, on its left side), and that she prayed to Our Lady, who immediately intervened and had a spider weave its web over the opening of the cave. When the Turkish invaders chasing her arrived, they didn't look for her in the cave because they thought the girl could not be hiding there because the web was intact.

In Mosta, one finds the historical farmhouse of the Marquis Mallia Tabone. The building is run by the Philanthropic Society ‘Talent Mosti’ in collaboration with the adjacent school's council. The farmhouse overlooking the valley of Wied il-Ghasel in Mosta was the property of the noble family of the Marquis Mallia Tabone and today houses various exhibitions which are held during the year. Exhibitions vary from paintings, photography, artisan work, hobbies, etc.

Literary evenings are held occasionally where famous Maltese writers are interviewed and topics of cultural interest are discussed. The organization is run by volunteers.

Sister cities

Mosta has two sister cities. Millbrae, in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, USA, has been a sister city of Mosta since April 1996. Ragusa
Ragusa, Italy
Ragusa is a city and comune in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Ragusa, on the island of Sicily, with around 75,000 inhabitants. It is built on a wide limestone hill between two deep valleys, Cava San Leonardo and Cava Santa Domenica...

, in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, is also a sister city of Mosta.

External links

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