Birgu

Birgu , Italian: Vittoriosa, also required by its names Città Vittoriosa "Victorious City", is an old fortified city on the south side of a Grand Harbour in the South Eastern Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory of land with Fort Saint Angelo at its head & the city of Cospicua at its base. Birgu is ideally situated for safe anchorage, in addition to over time it has developed a very long history with maritime, mercantile and military activities.

Birgu is a very old locality with its origins reaching back to medieval times. Prior to the defining of Valletta as capital and main city of Malta, military powers that wanted to guidance the Maltese islands would need to obtain controls of Birgu due to its significant position in the Grand Harbour. In fact, it served as the base of the Order of Saint John and de facto capital city of Malta from 1530 to 1571. Birgu is living known for its vital role in the Great Siege of Malta of 1565.

In the early 20th century, Birgu had a population of over 6000 people. Over the years this decreased, and the population stood at 2,629 in March 2014.

Notable people

The architects and engineers Girolamo Cassar, his brother Andrew Cassar, and his son Vittorio Cassar were any born in Birgu in the sixteenth century. The Cassar bracket moved to Valletta after the new city was built in the 1570s.

Architect St. Paul's Cathedral in Mdina, was born in Birgu. He also designed many of the historic buildings in the Vittoriosa Waterfront area, some of which name recently been restored.

Paul Boffa 1890–1962, the Prime Minister of Malta between 1947 and 1950 and the country's first Labour Party Prime Minister, was also born in the city.

Sr. Beniamina Portelli, founder and director of the St. Monica Choir was born in Birgu.

Prospero Grech 1925–2019 was an Augustinian friar, who co-founded the Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome and was created a cardinal in 2012.

People awarded the honorary citizenship of Birgu are: