Man who has never visited Malta wants Italian as an official language

**Man Who Has Never Visited Malta Wants Italian as Official Language**

A 42-year-old Italian man who has never set foot on Maltese soil has launched an online petition demanding Italian be made an official language of Malta, sparking both amusement and irritation among locals who see it as yet another case of cultural tunnel-vision from across the water.

Marco Bellini, a part-time blogger from Naples, posted the petition on Change.org last Tuesday, claiming that “Maltese is just a dialect of Arabic with some Italian words” and that “real European culture” would be better served by adopting Italian wholesale. Within 48 hours the petition had attracted 17 signatures—three of them from Bellini’s own Facebook accounts—yet it still managed to ricochet through Maltese WhatsApp groups faster than a pastizz at a bus stop.

“At first I thought it was a joke,” said Maria Camilleri, 29, who runs the popular Facebook page ‘Only in Malta’. “Then I realised he was serious and I got that familiar urge to throw my phone into the Grand Harbour.”

The timing could not have been worse. June marks the build-up to Malta’s biggest cultural celebration—L-Imnarja—when families swarm Buskett for rabbit feasts and folk guitar, proudly waving the red-and-white flag that Bellini apparently thinks would look better with a green, white and red stripe added. Meanwhile, Valletta’s streets are alive with preparations for the Malta International Arts Festival, where Maltese poets will share stages with actors performing in the very language Bellini dismisses as “basically Sicilian with a cough”.

Local linguists were quick to pounce. Professor Ray Fabri from the University of Malta’s Department of Maltese pointed out that Maltese is the only Semitic language written in Latin script and has been the island’s official tongue since 1934. “Suggesting we replace it with Italian is like telling the Welsh to drop Welsh because London finds it inconvenient,” Fabri said. “Our language survived 150 years of British rule and 250 years of the Knights; it can certainly survive Marco from Naples.”

The petition has reopened old wounds about linguistic hierarchy. Older generations still remember when speaking Maltese in court or civil service carried a stigma; Italian was the language of the elite, English the passport to a colonial job, while Maltese stayed home with the chickens. That pecking order flipped after independence, yet tourists still walk into Valletta shops and greet staff with “Buongiorno” before demanding directions to “il centro”.

“Yesterday a cruise passenger asked me why the road signs aren’t in Italian,” sighed Sandro Pace, 54, who sells souvenirs on Merchant Street. “I told him we’re not a suburb of Sicily; we’re a republic with our own language. He looked at me like I’d claimed the moon speaks Maltese.”

Tourism stakeholders worry the episode could reinforce stereotypes that Malta is merely an extension of Italy. “We promote Malta as bilingual—Maltese and English—not trilingual with Italian as some optional extra,” said Caroline Borg, CEO of the Malta Tourism Society. “When influencers belittle Maltese, they belittle the product we sell: a distinct cultural destination.”

Young Maltese speakers have turned ridicule into rallying cry. TikTok creator @ZuzuMalta posted a satirical video teaching Bellini how to pronounce “Ħaġar Qim” while juggling ricotta-filled ħobż biż-żejt; it hit 200,000 views overnight. Others hijacked the petition’s comment section with verses from national poet Dun Karm Psaila written entirely in Maltese—script flipped to Arabic calligraphy just to emphasise the Semitic roots Bellini overlooked.

By Friday evening, a counter-petition titled “Keep Marco Out of Malta Until He Learns ‘Jien Malti’” had gathered 8,000 signatures, demanding Bellini apologise and visit Gozo on a language immersion course with nothing but a €5 phone card and a copy of Il-Ġurnal ta’ Malta.

Bellini, reached by Hot Malta, insisted his intentions were “purely romantic” and that he plans to honeymoon here next year. “I love Malta,” he said via WhatsApp voice note. “I just think Italian would make everything easier.”

Easier, perhaps, for everyone except the Maltese who have spent centuries proving their voice matters.