Category: History & Heritage

Żejtun means “olives” — a name two thousand years old. A local guide to the olive heritage of the town and the small modern revival.

A grounded timeline of Żejtun’s two thousand years — Roman olive farming, Arab settlement, Knights, the 1565 siege, the 1720 parish church, and Città Beland.

A grounded account of Żejtun’s role in the 1565 Great Siege of Malta — the Ottoman raid through the south, the skirmishes around St Gregory’s, and what survives.

A short architectural guide to Żejtun for visitors — what to look for in the limestone, the lintels, the balconies, and the baroque details that the town is full of.

In 1797, Grand Master Hompesch granted Żejtun the title Città Beland. What the title means, what it doesn’t, and why it still matters locally.

Villa Cagliares — known locally as It-Tempju — is the early-17th-century country house of Bishop Baldassare Cagliares. A grounded local guide.

A grounded local guide to the Żejtun Roman Villa: what survives on site, what the dig has taught us, and the realistic time to allow when you visit.

A local guide to St Catherine’s parish church in Żejtun — Lorenzo Gafà’s baroque masterpiece, completed in 1720, and how to read the building when you visit.

St Gregory’s is Żejtun’s older parish church and the focus of one of Malta’s oldest continuous processions. A grounded local guide to both.

A local guide to the small votive chapels of Żejtun — what they are, where to find them, and which ones open for their feast day.