The idea behind this group is to contribute on very typical and unique aspects about Malta, which may be of interest to both native Maltese and also to fellow visitors. It is mainly based onto four pillars: namely Language, Arts, Culture and History, refereed to by the acronym "LACH".
Anyone is very welcome to join and contribute.
In Malta there are two official languages mainly Maltese and English. Maltese is a unique language that belongs to Malta. It has Semitic (Arabic) roots and mixed with many inherited words coming from European languages. It is written using Latin characters (similar to say English) and its alphabet has also some specific letters including ċ, ġ, ħ, ż, and the vowel ie and the consonant għ. Maltese is also one of the official languages of the European Union. More information on the language can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltese_language
Malta has a very high and varied history. In fact is goes back to the prehistory era, and dates back to a few millennia before Christ. Malta's cultural heritage reflects the many millennia that the land has been colonised by man, and the different rulers that have conquered the country. Malta obtained its independence from the British rule on 21st September 1964, declared Republic on 13th December 1974 and Freedom on 31st March 1979. The three dates are considered as part of the five national holidays of Malta. The other two being the 7th June and 8th September. 7th June, better known locally in Italian as "Sette Giugno" goes back to a historical event of 7th June 1919, while the 8th September, known as Victory Day, commemorates the end of the Ottoman Siege in 1565, the end of the French rule in 1800, and the fall of the Italian fascists in 1943 (World War 2). The 8th September is a religious feast. Being a predominately Roman Catholic Malta has other religious related public holidays including the 10th February (St. Paul's shipwreck), 19th March (St. Joseph), 29th June (St. Peter and Paul - called in Maltese Mnarja), 15th August (St. Mary - Santa Maria) and 8th December (Feast of the Immaculate Conception), in addition to Christmas and Good Friday.
Mentioning religion, in Malta one can find more than 365 churches; meaning that one can visit a different church each day of the year. Most of the churches house numerous invaluable works of art. In Malta one can find works of world renowned artists including the Italians Mattia Preti and Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio) and the German Albrecht Dürer, just only to mention a few. Among the famous local painters one finds that of Giuseppe Calì and Francesco Maltese. As regards to sculptors common household names include that of Melchiorre Cafà and Antonio Sciortino, while the list of Maltese composers includes that of Nicolas Isouard and Charles Camilleri. Glormu Cassar was the Maltese leading architect in building Valletta. His works also include the famous baroque St. John's co-Cathedral in Valletta.
The first known Maltese literary work is called Il Kantaliena written by Pietru Caxaro in a notarial achieve between 1533 and 1536. the national poet of Malta is Dun Karm Psaila who also wrote the lyrics of the National Anthem, accompanied by the music of Robert Samut.
The idea behind this group is to contribute on very typical and unique aspects about Malta, which may be of interest to both native Maltese and also to fellow visitors. It is mainly based onto four pillars: namely Language, Arts, Culture and History, refereed to by the acronym "LACH".
