Pillar 01 · History & Heritage

Why Żejtun is Called Città Beland

In 1797, the last Grand Master of the Order of St John granted Żejtun the title Città Beland. The grant placed Żejtun in the small group of Maltese towns recognised with the dignity of a città, but the name “Beland” itself is still discussed.

This is a stub. We’ll keep updating it as more becomes available from local archives and as the council publishes its current research.

The grant of 1797

Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim was elected Grand Master of the Order of St John in 1797 and is best remembered as the last of his line: Napoleon’s arrival the following year ended the Order’s rule of Malta. During his short tenure Hompesch granted city status to several Maltese towns. Żejtun received the title Città Beland on 30 December 1797. The grant recognised the town’s loyalty, its size, and the dignity of its parish — a real promotion, not a ceremonial one, and one the town has carried with quiet pride ever since. The title is why Żejtun’s coat of arms includes the crown and why municipal correspondence still occasionally uses the formal style.

What “Beland” itself refers to is the harder question. The most widely accepted reading takes it as a Latinised or Italianised echo of a personal or family name associated with Hompesch’s circle; other readings point to a virtue-name. [LOCAL FACT — Mattew to confirm the current scholarly consensus and the council’s preferred interpretation.]

Why the title still matters

City status in 18th-century Malta carried specific privileges: a degree of local autonomy, a recognition of the parish’s standing, the right to use a particular crowned coat of arms. In modern terms the title is honorary, but it is not empty. The Żejtun coat of arms still carries the crown. Council correspondence still occasionally uses the formal style. The street signage along the principal approaches refers to the town as Città Beland, and the locals use the phrase with an undemonstrative pride that’s hard to fake. For visitors, the title is a useful reminder that Żejtun has long thought of itself as a town with standing rather than a village that grew big.

What this article will cover

  • Hompesch and the 1797 city grants in their political context
  • The leading interpretations of “Beland” and what each one rests on
  • What city status meant in practice in 18th-century Malta
  • How the title is used today on signage, in the council, and in everyday speech
  • The Żejtun coat of arms and its components

Read more on this pillar

Part of our History & Heritage pillar. Read with the Żejtun history timeline, Żejtun in the 1565 siege, and the local council page.

Mattew Cassar

Resident · Writer

Mattew writes zejtun.com from a flat above his grandfather’s old workshop on Triq San Girgor. He has lived in Żejtun for twenty-three of his thirty-one years.