Sciberras Peninsula

The Sciberras Peninsula is a peninsula in the South Eastern Region of Malta, between the Grand Harbour in the south and Marsamxett Harbour in the north.[1][2] At its end stands the Mount Sciberras, which gave its name to the peninsula.[1][3][4] During the Arab occupation the peninsula was called Mu'awiya, which has been taken up in Maltese as Xagħriet Mewwija (uncultivated and undulating heaths).[5]

Sciberras Peninsula
Port of Valletta as viewed from the ISS, at the centre of the Sciberras Peninsula
Sciberras Peninsula is located in Malta
Sciberras Peninsula
Sciberras Peninsula
Geography
LocationGrand Harbour in the south and Marsamxett Harbour in the north.
Coordinates35°53′43″N 14°30′29″E
Administration
Malta

Valletta, the capital of Malta, is located on the Sciberras Peninsula, as is its suburb Floriana.[6]

Some authors maintain that the name comes from the old Maltese family name Sciberras or Xiberras, who would have owned the land.[7] Recent scholarly studies indicate that the phrase Xeberras is a Punic phrase which means the headland, or the middle peninsula, which is exactly the geographic characteristic of the Valletta-Floriana peninsula.[8]

Mount Sciberras
Valletta and the Grand Harbour

Mount Sciberras is a hill in Valletta, Malta, which rises 56m above the Grand Harbour to the south and Marsamxett Harbour to the north.[9][10] It is upon this hill that the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, Jean Parisot de Valette commissioned the construction of the new city of Valletta in 1566 after the Great Siege of Malta.[11]

This hill gives its name to the peninsula.[11][12]

See also

References
  1. Blondi 1997, p. 78.
  2. Auzias & Labourdette 2002, p. 128.
  3. Blasi 2013, p. 38.
  4. Allison 2013, p. 8.
  5. Delbeke & Schraven 2012, p. 215.
  6. Auzias & Labourdette 2002, p. 155.
  7. Guillaumier 2002, p. 869.
  8. Vella, John (2022-01-02). "Thalassic imaginaries: witnesses to (an) unwritten history". European Review of History: Revue européenne d'histoire. 29 (1): 1–41. doi:10.1080/13507486.2021.1916444. ISSN 1350-7486. S2CID 239631719.
  9. Blondi 1997, p. 78
  10. Auzias & Labourdette 2002, p. 128
  11. Allison 2013, p. 8
  12. Blasi 2013, p. 38

Bibliography
  • Allison, Olive (2013). Streets of Valletta. Palmyra Printers.
  • Auzias, Dominique; Labourdette, Jean-Paul (2002). "Malte". Le Petit Futé Country Guide (in French). Nouvelle éditions de l'Université.
  • Blasi, Abigail (2013). Malte et Gozo (in French). Lonely Planet.
  • Blondi, Alain (1997). Malte. guides Arthaud, Grands Voyages (in French). Paris: Arthaud.
  • Delbeke, Maarten; Schraven, Minou (2012). Foundation, Dedication and Consecration in Early Modern Europe. Leyde: Koninklijke Brill.
  • Guillaumier, Alfie (2002). Bliet u Rħula Maltin (in Maltese). Klabb Kotba Maltin.
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