Mosta
Its name identifies the location of the town. Mosta is derived from Arabic and means the “centre” and that is precisely where it is - the centre of Malta. Nine kilometres from Valletta, the town’s claim to international fame is its church, more precisely, the dome of its parish church. The neo-classical structure, based on the Pantheon in Rome, took a century to build and was finally completed in the late-1930s. The dome, with a diameter of 37 metres and a height of 65 metres, is the third largest in the world. The church can accommodate up to 12,000 people.
Mosta is also the second largest town in Malta and one of the fastest growing, not only in population terms but also in economic importance. In recent years a techno park was opened that now hosts several European electronics manufactures; it is also home to a number of factories involved in light engineering and it is the centre of the island’s handcrafts industry. Located at the onetime military aerodrome at Ta’ Qali, the best of Maltese handcrafts, including the world famous Mdina Glass, is on sale here.
Being “half-way to everywhere”, as locals like to boast, Mosta is also a popular residential area. In the environs of the town’s centre particularly sought after are converted farmhouses and old houses of character. Modern villas and apartments, meanwhile, dominate the suburbs that have grown on the town’s outskirts. These stand out for their tongue twisting names such Tal-Blata l-Gholja, Ta’ Mlit and Iz-Zokrija.
Back in the town centre, and especially along its principal street, there is an ever-growing number of shops and multistorey malls. Mosta also boasts one of the finest restaurants on the island and now it, too, has its fair share of ethnic restaurants.
Mosta is also the second largest town in Malta and one of the fastest growing, not only in population terms but also in economic importance. In recent years a techno park was opened that now hosts several European electronics manufactures; it is also home to a number of factories involved in light engineering and it is the centre of the island’s handcrafts industry. Located at the onetime military aerodrome at Ta’ Qali, the best of Maltese handcrafts, including the world famous Mdina Glass, is on sale here.
Being “half-way to everywhere”, as locals like to boast, Mosta is also a popular residential area. In the environs of the town’s centre particularly sought after are converted farmhouses and old houses of character. Modern villas and apartments, meanwhile, dominate the suburbs that have grown on the town’s outskirts. These stand out for their tongue twisting names such Tal-Blata l-Gholja, Ta’ Mlit and Iz-Zokrija.
Back in the town centre, and especially along its principal street, there is an ever-growing number of shops and multistorey malls. Mosta also boasts one of the finest restaurants on the island and now it, too, has its fair share of ethnic restaurants.
