Fgura
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Fgura Il-Fgura Tal-Liedna |
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| Local council | |||
Fgura Parish Church
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| Coordinates: 35°52′21″N 14°31′22″E / 35.87250°N 14.52278°ECoordinates: 35°52′21″N 14°31′22″E / 35.87250°N 14.52278°E | |||
| Country |
 Malta
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| Region | South Eastern Region | ||
| District | Southern Harbour District | ||
| Borders | Cospicua, Paola, Tarxien, Żabbar, Żejtun | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Byron Camilleri (PL) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 1.1 km2 (0.4 sq mi) | ||
| Population (March 2014) | |||
| • Total | 11,670 | ||
| • Density | 11,000/km2 (27,000/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym(s) | Fguri (m), Fgurija (f), Fgurin (pl) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | FGR | ||
| Dialing code | 356 | ||
| ISO 3166 code | MT-08 | ||
| Patron saint | Our Lady of Mount Carmel | ||
| Day of festa | 2nd Sunday of July | ||
| Website | Official website | ||
Fgura (Maltese: Il-Fgura) is a town in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It has a population of 11,670 as of March 2014.
Much of Fgura was built around the 1960s and 1980s. However, the town has prehistoric roots - there are several tombs in the area - and there is evidence to suggest it was a settlement in Phoenician times. Fgura, lying inland from the Three Cities, was influenced by the growth of the dockyards, especially after World War II. Its northern fringes are bordered by the Cottonera Lines of fortifications while it merges with the towns of Żabbar to the south and Tarxien to the West. Today, Fgura has one of the highest population densities in the country. It expanded to the outskirts of the Grand Harbour area and was one of the fastest-growing towns of Malta. Fgura has grown to become one of the foremost commercial areas in the central-southern part of the island.
The coat-of-arms of Fgura is made up of a red horizontal stripe containing three golden 5-pointed stars, centred across a white background. Fgura Day was established by the local council in 1994, and its first celebration was held on 30 October. It is now celebrated on the last Sunday of October.
The patron saint of Fgura is Our Lady of Mount Carmel and an annual feast in her honour is celebrated on the second Sunday of July. Fgura also has one of the most peculiar shaped churches in Malta, built in the shape of a tent.
It is thought that a settlement where Fgura currently lies existed in Phoenician times. Between 28 October and 2 December 1948, six Phoenician tombs were found in Fgura, dating to the 3rd or 4th century B.C. These tombs were in irregular shapes and human skeletons, remains of animals, pottery and other Bronze materials and objects were found. In Fgura, a street was named 'Triq is-Sejba Punika' - in English 'Phoenician Discovery Street' - in honour of this historic finding.
Before Fgura was declared a parish on 21 January 1965, it was a suburb of Tarxien. Before World War II, Fgura was a rural village which consisted of a few scattered farm-houses, of which there remains practically nothing, situated near the new church, (picture found above), near the new school and in St. Thomas Street. There were 20 families and the people of this town were farmers and, like many other towns, they were superstitious but they lived and worked together. After the Second World War, the Carmelite Fathers were entrusted with the spiritual needs of the community. The Carmelite Fathers arrived in Fgura on 14 December 1945, where they built a new church and convent, which were inaugurated in November 1950, in the presence of Prime Minister Enrico Mizzi.
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Wikipedia