Fgura
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| Fgura | |
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| Official name: | Il-Fgura |
| Inhabitants' name: | Fgurin |
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| Latitude: | 35°52 '21" N |
| Longitude: | 14°31 '22" E |
| Population total: | 11,276 (Nov 2005) |
| Borders: | Cospicua, Paola, Tarxien, Żabbar, Żejtun |
| Patron saint: | Our Lady of Mount Carmel |
| Day of festa: | 2nd Sunday of July |
Fgura (or Il-Fgura) is a medium-sized town in Malta, on the island of Malta. It is one of the 68 local councils.
On the surface, Fgura appears to be a new town built in the 1960s. But its outward appearance belies ancient origins. 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. The evidence is that between the 28th of October and the 21st of December 1948, 6 Phoenician tombs were found in Fgura - mostly in Liedna Street. These tombs go back 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 'Phoeneician Finding Street' - in honour of this historical finding.
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 recently on 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. 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.
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[edit] History
Before Fgura became a parish, 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.
A vocal and living tradition speaks of the town's name. In fact one can say the following:
1) When the scholar E.B Vella compared "Fgura" with the Maltese word "Figura" - in English "Figure" and;
2) Sometimes the old of this town would stop in front of a niche, dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and they would call the statue "il-figura". And of course by time this term changed and became Fgura.
[edit] Places of interest
[edit] Fgura United Football Club
Fgura United is the local football club and it officially represents the locality of Fgura in Maltese football.
[edit] Il-Monument tas-Salib {The Cross Monument}
There is a monument in Hompesch Street, which is called 'Il-Monument tas-Salib' by the Fgura residents {in English The Cross Monument}. This monument was inaugurated in February of the year 1990, exactly when Fgura celebrated its 25th anniversary when it became a parish in 1965. This monument was designed by the sculptor Ġanni Bonniċi and built by apprentices of the Ġlormu Cassar School.
This monument was placed on the exact spot where a small church dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel was built in 1790 instead of a niche that was there for a long time. As a reminding of this niche a new niche niche was built in Carmel Street.
The Monument's Shape
The monument rests on four columns and they have a significant meaning. Three of these columns represents the towns which Fgura is adjacent to:- Paola, Tarxien and Żabbar {limits from these places were taken in order to form the Parish of Fgura in 1965}. The other one represents the Parish of Fgura. At the base of this monument there are 4 gravestones. They represent the 25th anniversary since Fgura became a parish, the inauguration of this monument and one is a copy of another gravestone that was situated at the side of a church that was built in 1844. This gravestone was written in Latin and it told the story of this church.
[edit] Reggie Miller Gardens
Fgura also has its Gardens and one of them is exactly Reggie Miller Gardens and it could be found at the back of the church. This was inaugurated on the 28th of March 1976 by Lorry Sant, a Minister of the Malta Labour Party and also a resident of Fgura. The Garden is named after Reggie Miller, a trade unionist and the founder of the General Workers' Union, presently one of the biggest unions in Malta. Originally there was a fish-pond and it was surrounded by big pebbles. There was also a sun dial designed by Paul Ignatius Micallef. But these works were abandoned, so the Local Council of Fgura collected some money and turned this Gardens into a modern one.
[edit] George Stevens Square
It was Saturday, the 6th of September 1986, that Minister Lorry Sant of the Malta Labour Party inaugurated a monument named after George Stevens, co-founder of the Maltese Literary Society. This was done to remember the 35th anniversary of the foundation of this Society. The monument, which was placed in a square named after himself, was designed by sculptor Alfred Camilleri Cauchi and blessed by the then Parish Priest Father Guido Micallef O. Carm.
[edit] The Fgura Scout Group
The Fgura Scout Group is a member of the South District of the Scout Association of Malta.
They currently have about 120 Uniformed Members in 4 Sections. 2 Pack sections, a Troop Section, a Venture Unit and a Rover Crew. The Group also has a Band made up of Troop, Unit and Crew members and publishes an informative magazine.
Apart from the local and national activities, the Group also participates in overseas activities and frequently hosts the First Woodend Scout Group of Bristol-UK for their traditional exchange visits.
In 2005, 11 scouts and 1 leader attended EuroJam 2005 (European Jamboree) in Chelmsford, UK and next year on the 100th anniversary of scouting they are planning to go to the 2007 World Scout Jamboree that will take place in Chelmsford, UK again and another group will be attending Kanderjam in Switzerland. This year they will be participating also in the annual JOTI/JOTA with the amateur radio callsign 9H3FSG.
[edit] Population
After the World War II, from a rural village, Fgura became the one of the most densely populated towns in Malta. In the period of the World War II, many people from the Cottonera {especially from Cospicua} began leaving their cities in order to avoid the frequent bombing raids. Many people from these endangered cities chose to migrate to Fgura so as to remain close to their cities of origin since Fgura lies inland from the Three Cities.
In 1939 Fgura consisted of only 500 people. In 1965 {when it became Parish} the population increased to 2500 people. In 1995 the population amounted to 10,922 people and in 2005 the population amounts to 11,276 people (Nov 2005).
[edit] Fgura Main Roads
- Triq Bormla (Cospicua Road)
- Triq Ħaż-Żabbar (Zabbar Road)
- Triq Hompesch (Hompesch Road)
- Triq is-Sur (Bastion Street)
- Triq San Tumas (St Thomas Street)
- Triq Valperga (Valperga Street)
- Vjal Kottoner (Cottoner Avenue)
[edit] External links
| edit | Local Councils of Malta |  |
|---|---|---|
| Malta Island | ||
| Attard | Balzan | Birgu (Vittoriosa) | Birkirkara | Birżebbuġa | Bormla (Cospicua) | Dingli | Fgura | Floriana | Għargħur | Għaxaq | Gudja | Gżira | Ħamrun | Iklin | Isla (Senglea, Città Invicta) | Kalkara | Kirkop | Lija | Luqa | Marsa | Marsaskala (Wied il-Għajn) | Marsaxlokk | Mdina (Città Notabile) | Mellieħa | Mġarr | Mosta | Mqabba | Msida | Mtarfa | Naxxar | Paola (Raħal Ġdid) | Pembroke | Pietà | Qormi (Città Pinto) | Qrendi | Rabat | Safi | San Ġiljan (St. Julian's) | San Ġwann | San Pawl il-Baħar (St. Paul's Bay) | Santa Luċija | Santa Venera | Siġġiewi (Città Ferdinand) | Sliema | Swieqi | Tarxien | Ta' Xbiex | Valletta | Xgħajra | Żabbar (Città Hompesch) | Żebbuġ (Città Rohan) | Żejtun (Città Beland) | Żurrieq | ||
| Gozo Island | ||
| Fontana | Għajnsielem | Għarb | Għasri | Kerċem | Munxar | Nadur | Qala | Rabat (Victoria) | San Lawrenz | Sannat | Xagħra | Xewkija | Żebbuġ | ||
