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 Collectively
known as the Three Cities, individually, the towns by
the harbour are known by several names; however, Birgu,
Bormla and Senglea are the names by which they are most
commonly known. In the beginning there was Birgu, then
a small fishing village sheltering behind a castle of
unknown antiquity that stood at the very tip of the
peninsula. The castle, as the Castrum Maris, or Castell’a
Mare, is mentioned in several medieval documents. Apparently
the Castellan had a measure of autonomy and was independent
of the Universita, the municipal council with its seat
at Mdina, and it also appears that the people whose
houses were outside the wall of this castle considered
themselves as being under the jurisdiction of the Castellan
and beyond that of the Universita which led to much
bad blood between the two bodies.
 On their arrival in
1530 the Knights decided to settle in Birgu as Mdina
was too far inland, and immediately set about protecting
that hamlet with bastions. Castell’a Mare was
strengthened and separated from Birgu by a ditch. Not
long afterwards, the adjacent peninsula, then uninhabited
and known as l’Isla was likewise protected by
bastions and by the time Claude de la Sengle was Grand
Master it was sufficiently inhabited to merit the name
of “Citta’ Senglea” named, of course,
after the Grand Master.
 During the Great Seige of 1565 the inhabitants of Birgu
and Senglea showed such outstanding courage that the
two towns received the honorific titles of Citta’
Vittoriosa (the Victorious City), and Citta’ Invitta
(the Unconquered City) respectively. The conurbation
that linked Birgu and Senglea was named “Bormla”
and as successive Grand Masters enclosed all three cities
with imposing lines of bastions, Bormla received the
title of Citta’ Cospicua (the Noteworthy).
 As
Valletta was being built, the Knights transferred
their seats of government from Birgu to that town but
the
three cities were still very much the center of the
naval activities of the Order; here were the shipyards
and the arsenals, and here lived the Maltese seamen
and ship chandlers.
 Piracy was a profession of long standing, but with
the arrival of the Order, Maltese corsairs achieved
respectability by operating under licence from the Grand
Master; and by being taxed on their booty!
Courtesy of Aldo
E. Azzopardi
| Cottonera (The three old cities) |
| Named Cottonera after Grandmaster Nicholas Cotoner. |
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| COSPICUA |
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Also known as Bormla in Maltese, from Bir-Mula (the well of the Lord). Named Cospicua after the victory of the Great Siege of 1565. Grandmaster Zondadari named it Citta Cospicua, the city defended and embraced by bastions. The Parish is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, made Parish in 1586.
 Motto: INGENS AMPLECTITUR AGGER (Embraced by Bastions).
Feast on 8th December.
Cospicua is the largest of the three old cities forming Cottonera. In the older years it was a humble fishing port in the Grand Harbour. With the arrival of the Knights of St John in 1530 it started to increase in population and importance, after the Great Siege of 1565 the Order gradually increased its fortifications that today surround all the three cities. The closest fortifications embracing Cospicua are the Santa Margherita Lines built by engineer Firenzuola, a Dominican friar, later the Cottonera or Valperga Lines were built and embrace the whole area of Cottonera and are five kilometres (three miles) long. Cospicua is the largest, the most modern one, and the least rich history wise out of the three cities.
In 1722 Grandmaster Zondadari declared it a city and in view of its strong bastions named it Citta Cospicua. Its emblem was taken from that of Grandmaster Cotoner who bears the cotton plant in a yellow shield. When the Knights transferred to the new city, Valletta, and left Vittoriosa after 41 years, this city lost most of its importance as Vittoriosa and Senglea did, but in 1775 the Order started to construct a dock and this was a turning point in its history, as from that time Cospicua became known for its docks. The occupation of the British since 1800 helped in this matter when they built more docks in it. Consequently it increased in importance culminating in World War II. Today these docks are in the hands of the Maltese Government.
Besides the Parish church there are other important churches such as St Paul’s church and St Theresa church, the latter is the oldest church in Cottonera, another small chapel is further up the hill when entering through St Paul’s bastion which is within the Cottonera Lines, this is dedicated to St John the Almoner known in Maltese as San Gwann ta` Ghuxa. Population is about 7900. The church was made Collegiate in 1824. |
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| SENGLEA |
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Named Citta Senglea after Grandmaster La Sengle in 1554. Known in Maltese as Isla from isola, an island in Italian but it is not an island but a peninsula jutting out into the Grand Harbour and almost parallel with Birgu.. It was considered an island in the older years and referred to as such. The Parish is dedicated to Our Lady of Victories, in Maltese Bambina (Baby Mary), it was made Parish in 1581.
Motto: QUA PUGNAVI INVICTA CONSIDO (Where I fought I stood Victorious).
Feast on 8th September (the Nativity of Our Lady).
A place of interest is a garden with vedette overlooking the Grand Harbour. Besides the Parish church there is another small church dedicated to St Philip, feast day of St Philip Neri falls on 26th May. Senglea Point is also of great interest including Fort St Michael.
Before the arrival of the Knights of St John in 1530 it was almost all waste land and uninhabited unlike its neighbour Birgu, and in those years it was mainly used for hunting as was the peninsula where the capital Valletta was built. In Senglea there was a small chapel built in 1311 dedicated to St Julians the Patron saint of hunters. This city had many different names throughout the years, they were as follows; St Julians Heights, Windmill Heights, Fort St Michael, Citta Invicta, Isla or Isola, and finally as we know it today as Senglea.
Senglea suffered a lot in World War II and most of the present buildings were built after the year 1947. The present Parish church was completely destroyed on 16th January 1941 during the first fierce attack by Nazi on HMS Illustrious, the largest aircraft carrier in the British Navy at the time. It was re-built and inaugurated in 1957. Population is about 4400. The church was made Collegiate in 1786. |
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| VITTORIOSA |
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Also known as Birgu derived from Borgo, Il Borgo del Castello, as was called and known by the Aragonese (the suburb of the castle) and also from the Greek Pirgos. The word “Birgu” was one of the first Latin names used in Malta by the Aragonese. Il Borgo del Castello (Castle by the Sea) for the Castrum Maris, today is known as Fort St Angelo. Vittoriosa means the Victorious city, the name given to Birgu after the victory of the Great Siege of 1565. It was acclaimed by Grandmaster La Vallette for the great success it achieved during the Great Siege. The parish was made in 1090/91 and dedicated now to St Lawrence. It was established by Count Roger of Normandy together with Mdina the old capital after liberating the Maltese from Arab rule.
Motto: VICTRIX PALMAM FERO (Victorious the palm I bear)
Feast day on 10th of August.
Places of interest: They are too many, the historic wharf - the tunnel near the old prison - Freedom Monument - St Lawrence church - Inquisitor’s Palace, and many others. It is the smallest and the oldest of the three cities but the richest in history. Places of interest are too many to mention all here. Quoting only some of them: Fort St Angelo - the eight auberges of the Knights - the Armoury Palace - the Bakery of the Order - the Treasury Palace of the Order built in 1535 - the Bishop’s Palace built in 1542 - the Universita` Palace built in 1538, this has got nothing to do with the University of studies, the word Universita’ is a Latin name which means the commune -- the Conventual chaplains’ residence - executioner’s residence - the three Gate way which are the imprint of Birgu - Santa Scholastica cloister built in 1532 as the Holy Infirmary of the Knights - St Anne’s church built in 1679 (commonly known as Santa Scholastica or Abazia by the locals) - Annunciation church which belongs to the Dominican community destroyed during World War II on 19th January 1941, re-built in 1960 and many others. What is now Birgu (Vittoriosa) was the focal point of Malta for a very long time. The family de Nava who was the Head of the family named Giovanni lived in Fort St Angelo known as Castrum Maris, when the Order of St John arrived in 1530 the Knights landed and settled in Birgu, at first in the castle. They started re-enforcing neglected walls and built strong bastions around the whole place simply to defend it. When the Turks invaded Malta in May 1565 they did not penetrate to take Birgu and after the Great Siege the Order built more and better fortifications which were never tested as no more attacks were made by the Ottoman Empire.
In 1090 the small chapel excavated (dug) in rock in Fort St Angelo by the Normans and dedicated to the Mother of God was made the Parish chapel of Birgu. It was the first chapel ever existed in Birgu, so Birgu was the first Parish in Malta established by Count Roger of Normandy at the same time as that of Mdina which was the old capital of Malta. The present Parish church dedicated to St Lawrence, the architectural jewel of Vittoriosa started to be built in 1681, inaugurated in 1697, consecrated in 1723 and erected to the dignity of a Collegiate in 1820.
Population 3070. These three old cities were surrounded by bastions known as Valperga Lines or Cottonera Lines about five kilometres long that are still embracing the whole area of Cottonera, known as the three old cities. Valperga was an Italian military engineer who designed these fortifications around Cottonera. The earlier Lines were built by Padre Francesco Firenzuola and known as the Margherita Lines or Firenzuola Lines that embraced only Cospicua, the Cottonera Lines embraced the whole area of the three old cities. |
Courtesy of Gregory Gauci
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