By: Mitchell Taylor and Toni Petrov

this is Gozo

And this is Comino

The euro notes

The euro cent and coins

The Maltese flag

Then there is the Maltese language

Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt (English: The City) in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,966.[1] Valletta is the second southernmost capital of the EU member states after Nicosia.

is a megalithic temple complex found on the Mediterranean island of Malta, dating from the Ġgantija phase (3600-3200 BC).[1] The Megalithic Temples of Malta are among the most ancient religious sites on Earth,[2] described by the World Heritage Sites committee as "unique architectural masterpieces."[3] In 1992 UNESCO recognized Ħaġar Qim and four other Maltese megalithic structures as World Heritage Sites.[4] Vere Gordon Childe, Professor of Prehistoric European Archeology and director of the Institute of Archaeology in the University of London from 1946-1957[5] visited Ħaġar Qim. His observation was:

I have been visiting the prehistoric ruins all round the Mediterranean, from Mesopotamia to Egypt, Greece and Switzerland, but I have nowhere seen a place as old as this one.[6]

—Vere Gordon Childe, Professor of Prehistoric European Archeology Ħaġar Qim's builders used globigerina limestone in the temple's

construction.[7] As a result of this, the temple has suffered from severe weathering and surface flaking over the millennia.[7] In 2009 work was completed on a protective tent

is a prehistorical cul de sac located on the outskirts of Birżebbuġa, Malta containing the bone remains of animals that were stranded and subsequently became extinct on Malta at the end of the Ice age. It has lent its name to the Għar Dalam phase in Maltese prehistory.

Dwarf elephant, hippopotamus, deer and bear bone deposits found there are of different ages; the hippopotamuses became extinct about 180,000 years ago, whilst the deer species became extinct much later, about 18,000 years ago. It is also here that the earliest evidence of human settlement on Malta, some 7,400 years ago, was discovered.

12 February 1880 - 26 July 1962 was a Maltese Roman Catholic priest who founded the Society of Christian Doctrine,[a] a society of lay catechists. In Malta, he is affectionately known as "Dun Ġorġ" and is popularly referred to as the "Second Apostle of Malta", after Paul of Tarsus. He was canonized on 3 June 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI.

Pastizzi are a Maltese food made up of diamond shape pastries filled with either ricotta (similar to Italian ricotta but less dense) or slightly spicy pea filling, known respectively in Maltese as pastizzi ta' l-irkotta and pastizzi tal-pizelli. The pastry is made using a puff-pastry like dough that crumbles delicously especially when the pastizzi are served freshly baked in the various pastizzerias dotted around Malta and Gozo. A visit to Malta would not be complete without tasting a few!

Pastizzi can be eaten at anytime of the day as a quick snack with hot or cold beverages. Other pastizzi variants made of beef and spinach fillings also exist although these are not commonly sold in Malta. Sometimes pastizzi are referred to as Maltese cheesecakes or ricotta cheesecakes, a slightly misleading term since cheesecakes are usually sweet not savoury like pastizzi. Pastizzi are also available outside of Malta, most notably in Australia, Canada and the UK.

One of the traditional Maltese Easter treats is the figolla; figolli in plural. The traditional Maltese “figolli” are almond pastries that are cut out to look like symbolic figures. The figolli are traditionally baked and eaten at the time of Easter. If you can not obtain these pastries it is quite easy to make them yourself. You can also make your own templates, like sheep, out of cardboard. The traditional shapes of figolli are men, women, fish and baskets; the last probably being symbols of fertility. Recently new forms have been added to the traditional such as; cars, lambs and butterflies. The shapes of humans are easily identified by the old-fashioned paper faces that are stuck on the icing. Another traditional decoration is the Easter egg wrapped in bright colours.

(4 February 1495[?], Parisot, Rouergue - 21 August 1568, Malta) was a French nobleman and 49th Grand Master of the Order of Malta, from 1557 to 1568. As a Knight Hospitaller, joining the order in the Langue de Provence, he fought with distinction against the Turks at Rhodes. As Grand Master, Valette became the Order's hero and most illustrious leader, commanding the resistance against the Ottomans at the Great Siege of Malta in 1565, widely regarded as one of the greatest sieges of all time.[citation needed] He became Grand Master of the Knights

Hospitaller on 21 August 1557.

By: Mitchell Taylor and Toni Petrov