Feast of Our Lady of Mellieħa: How One Tiny Shrine Unites an Entire Nation By Hot Malta staff MELLIEĻA – At 5:45 a.m. on 8 September the narrow road that snakes down to Il-Maqluba is already humming with flip-flops and rosary beads. By 6:00 a.m. the first firework sighs over the ridge and, as if…
**Malta Unites in Prayer: Padre Pio’s Liturgical Feast Draws Hundreds to Churches Across the Islands** Tuesday morning dawned with a sense of quiet reverence across Malta and Gozo as the Catholic community marked the liturgical feast of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina — better known as Padre Pio — a figure whose mystical legacy continues to…
**Gozo’s Stone Saints Go Postal: New MaltaPost Festa Stamps Celebrate Island’s Living Tradition** Victor Camilleri’s garage in Xagħra smells of paraffin and sawdust. For 35 years the 68-year-old has carved, sanded and painted the statues that will be hoisted on shoulders in August for the feast of the Assumption. This summer, however, his workshop has…
Valletta’s Republic Street was already sticky with September heat when the first “beżżul” rang out. By 11:00 a.m. the traditional wooden bell—il-bieżel—hung from the Auberge de Castille balcony had been struck thirteen times, its dull thud echoing down the limestone canyon and officially opening Il-Beżżul Bieżel, the capital’s newest neighbourhood festival. Tourists fumbled for phones;…
Feast of Our Lady of Divine Grace fills Victoria with incense, brass and Gozitan pride By Antoine Zammit VICTORIA, GOZO – The narrow flag-strewn streets of Ir-Rabat echoed with drumrolls and hymn-singing long before the sun climbed over the Citadel on Sunday, as thousands converged for the Feast of Our Lady of Divine Grace. By…
Watch: Mildred’s last selfie of joy before death struck – a Valetta balcony that now breaks hearts island-wide VALLETTA – In the golden hour of last Saturday, 74-year-old Mildred Pace uploaded a selfie to her WhatsApp status that has since become the most-shared image on Maltese social media this year. Smiling against the honey-coloured limestone…
Il-Beżżul Bieżel – September 7, 2025: The Day Valletta’s Streets Became a Living Carnival At 6:47 a.m. on Sunday, 7 September 2025, the bronze tongue of St John’s Co-Cathedral bell began its slow swing and, before the echo reached Republic Street, the first “beżżul” was already airborne. A blood-orange ħobża, crust still warm from the…
For love of country – in Malta, the phrase is never abstract. It echoes from honey-coloured bastions at sunset, flickers on festa fireworks over Għaxaq, and hums beneath every conversation at the village kazin. But what does “love of country” actually look like on an island smaller than most European cities, where everyone knows your…
