About Malta

Malta is an archipelago of islands about halfway between the coasts of Sicily and North Africa. Set in the clear blue Mediterranean Sea, the Maltese islands are the most southerly European country. The archipelago consists of five islands: Malta, Gozo and Comino, together with two other uninhabited islands Cominetto and Filfla. The total area is approximately 316 sq kms (Malta 246 sq km, Gozo 67 sq km, Comino 2.7 sq km). The longest distance in Malta from North West to South East is about 27 km, with 14.5 kms width in an East-West direction. The Islands are only 90 km south of Sicily and 290 km from the northern coast of Africa.

Tourism is the most lucrative industry, and the Maltese people have a friendly and welcoming way about them. At celebrations for the feast of St. Paul on the 10th of February, the locals proudly relate their immortal history to visitors as a procession with the statute of St Paul passes by.

Malta's Capital City is a small, walkable city, its narrow and sometimes steep streets thick with European-style palaces and churches, can be easily seen and enjoyed in a day. Near the city's main gate is what little is left of the Opera House, once an magnificent opera theatre designed by E.M. Barry, architect of London's Royal Opera House. Malta boasts its cultural richness, not only from its friendly and over-welcoming people but from its centuries-old history, culture and megalithic sites which are unique in this world. No wonder it has been called 'the open-air museum of the Mediterranean.' The legacy of its long history includes prehistoric ruins older than Stonehenge and the Pyramid of Giza and cart-ruts dug in rocks of equal age and sites visited by Saint Paul (60 AD), whose shipwreck on the island brought Christianity to this staunch Roman Catholic country. Paul's visit to the island is recorded in the New Testament. Malta's weather and climate are strongly influenced by the sea and have a very characteristic Mediterranean flavor, similar to that found in southern Italy or southern Greece.

The climate is typically Mediterranean, with hot, dry summers, warm and sporadically wet autumns, and short, cool winters with adequate rainfall. Nearly three-fourths of the total annual rainfall of about 600 millimetres (24 inches) falls between October and March; June, July, and August are normally quite dry.

The Island of Gozo

“It was indeed a spot where even immortal visitors must pause to gaze in wonder and delight”

Homer

Gozo lies just 5km off the northern coast of Malta. However, it is noticeably more peaceful and rural, the pace of life is slower, and the coast quieter. Unlike Malta, Gozo has not made a living from trade, but for centuries the islands main activity was framing and fishing. This is why villages are tightly packed on hilltops to leave the slopes and valleys for extensive farming. The island is roughly circular in shape, 14 dm by 7 km in area.

Gozo's population of approximately 29.000 is not much in evidence except for the bustling little square in what makes for the main town Victoria. The sleepy pace of the island is the medicine for those looking for tranquility. It is not for those who favour big cities and traffic jams. On the contrary is for those who love taking leisurely walks in quiet village streets, over green hills and through pine valleys, diving in crystal clear waters, swimming in blue lagoons or simply enjoying the magic of the island.