Mdina
Sign in to saveMdina ( ; ), also known by its Italian epithets ' ("Old City") and ' ("Notable City"), is a fortified city in the Western Region of Malta which was the island's capital from antiquity to the medieval period. The city has not spread beyond its ancient walls, and has a population of 250.
AI overview
Mdina is a fortified city in western Malta that served as the island's capital from ancient times through the medieval period, and it remains notable today because its population of 250 still lives within its original ancient walls, which have never expanded. The city is significant as a well-preserved example of Malta's historical importance and urban continuity, having maintained its medieval character and boundaries for centuries.
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Key facts
- Settlement.parts_style
- para
- Settlement.name
- Mdina
- Settlement.other_name
- Città Notabile, Città VecchiaAnn, Melite, Melita
- Settlement.settlement_type
- City and Local council
- Settlement.image_caption
- From top: Skyline, Cathedral, Main Gate, Palazzo Santa Sofia, Palazzo Vilhena
- Settlement.image_flag
- Flag of Mdina, Malta.svg
- Settlement.image_shield
- Mdina coa.svg
- Settlement.nickname
- The Silent City
- Settlement.image_map
- Mdina in Malta.svg
- Settlement.pushpin_map
- Mediterranean
- Settlement.pushpin_relief
- 1
- Settlement.subdivision_type
Article
18 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- History
- Antiquity
- Medieval period
- Hospitaller rule
- French occupation and British rule
- Present day
- Government
- Local Council
- Places of interest
- Sports
- Streets in Mdina
- In popular culture
- Notable people
- Notes
- References
- Citations
- Bibliography
Mdina ( ; ), also known by its Italian epithets ' ("Old City") and ' ("Notable City"), is a fortified city in the Western Region of Malta which was the island's capital from antiquity to the medieval period. The city has not spread beyond its ancient walls, and has a population of 250.
A natural redoubt, the area of the city has been inhabited since prehistory. A Phoenician colony known as Ann (, ) was established around the sharing its name with the island and presumably acting as its capital. During the Punic Wars, the town was acquired by the Romans and renamed Melita (, ) after the Greek and Latin name for the island, probably taken from the Punic port at Cospicua on the Grand Harbour. Greco-Roman Melite was larger than present-day Mdina. It was reduced to its present size during the period of Byzantine or Arab rule. Following a 9th-century massacre, the area was largely uninhabited until its refounding in the 11th century as , from which the town's current name derives. Mdina then continued to serve as the capital of Malta until the arrival of the Order of St. John in 1530, who established their capital at Birgu instead. Mdina experienced a period of decline over the following centuries, although it saw a revival in the early 18th century during which several Baroque buildings were erected.