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One of the most notable periods of Malta's history is the temple period, starting around 3600 BC. The Ġgantija Temple in Gozo is one of the oldest free-standing buildings in the world. The name of the complex stems from the Maltese word ġgant, which reflects the magnitude of the temple's size.
Malta enters into a Military Base Agreement with the United Kingdom and other NATO countries. 16 May: Malta adopts the Maltese pound. 1973: Malta decriminalises homosexuality. 1974: 13 December: Malta becomes a Republic, with the last Governor-General, Sir Anthony Mamo, serving as its first President. Malta remains a member of the Commonwealth ...
Malta's long history of foreign rule and close proximity to both Europe and North Africa have influenced its art, music, cuisine, and architecture. Malta has close historical and cultural ties to Italy and especially Sicily ; between 62 and 66 percent of Maltese people speak or have significant knowledge of the Italian language , which had ...
The earliest mentions of Malta in this era are scant, and usually inferred in passages relating to Sicily.In a passage by Victor Vitensis, Bishop of Vita, historians infer that towards the end of the fifth century, the Maltese islands were conquered by Vandals from their Kingdom in North Africa, and then handed to Odoacre, the Ostrogothic king of Italy.
The Maltese (Maltese: Maltin) people are an ethnic group native to Malta who speak Maltese, a Semitic language and share a common culture and Maltese history.Malta, an island country in the Mediterranean Sea, is an archipelago that also includes an island of the same name together with the islands of Gozo (Maltese: Għawdex) and Comino (Maltese: Kemmuna); people of Gozo, Gozitans (Maltese ...
British warship in the Grand Harbour in 1896. In 1825, the Maltese scudo and the other circulating currencies at the time were officially replaced by the pound sterling, with the lowest-valued coin being a one-third farthing coin minted at irregular intervals, the last such issue occurring in 1913, keeping alive the tradition of the Maltese "grano", equal to one-twelfth of a penny.
Malta is located east of its sister islands of Gozo and Comino. It lies on the Malta plateau, a shallow shelf formed from the high points of a land bridge between Sicily and North Africa that became isolated as sea levels rose after the last ice age. [5] Malta is therefore situated in the zone between the Eurasian and African tectonic plates. [6]
Malta is located 93 km (58 mi) south of Sicily, and 288 km (179 mi) north of North Africa, giving the country a warm, Mediterranean climate. [2] The nation's capital is the 16th century city of Valletta. Throughout much of its history, Malta has been considered a crucial location due in large part to its position in the Mediterranean Sea. [3]