About Birgu

Citta Vittoriosa

A Medieval City with a Great History

The parish of Birgu was the first parish erected in the Maltese islands together with that of Mdina, the old capital city. Birgu was the first maritime town and its primitive church San Lorenzo-a-mare was built by Spanish seafarers with the help of Spanish kings. Its destiny was bound with those of our islands for many centuries.

San Lorenzo-a-mare (St Lawrence by the sea) was the church dedicated to the Aragonese martyred saint after the occupation of the islands by Aragon in 1283. This occupation took place after a fierce battle in the Mediterranean and in our Grand Harbour between the Angions (Angouvins) then occupying Malta since 1266 and the Aragonese. The people of Aragon must have been very attracted by the sheltered site serving them as a haven at the back of the peninsula of Il Borgo or Birgu jutting out into the Grand Harbour with the castle of Fort St Angelo dominating the harbour. The word Birgu signifies a town or suburb behind a castle guarding it. This castle, Fort St Angelo built by the Arabs in the 9th century.The site where San Lorenzo-a-mare was built was known as Ta' Hammuna. This area had been inhabited long before the Romans had conquered Carthage and our islands during the historical Punic Wars in 216/218 BC.



More information on:

www.birgu.gov.mt

www.whatson.com.mt