FLORIANA ~ A TOWN IN MALTA

An aerial view of the Town of Floriana Malta GC

WELCOME ~ YOU ARE IN FLORIANA

My name is William. I live in Melbourne. Australia. My parents were brought up in Floriana and married there in 1926. I have a very special effection with this Town and in this Site I shall be adding as much detail as possible about Floriana. You can view a set of photos to show you my favourite Town. Since I left Malta in 1951, I have visited Floriana in 1992 ~ 1995 ~ 1999 ~ 2011. I hope to visit again and walk the streets where my parents grew up

This Town is very well known for its famous Football Team. The history of the Floriana Club goes back to 1897. They are called ‘ THE IRISH GREENS ‘. Today they stand out as the most successful Football Club on the Island

The Church decorated for the Feast of St Publius

The Floriana Parish Church of St. Publius. The patron saint of Floriana is St Publius who was the Governor of Malta when St Paul was shipwrecked on the Island in 60 AD. He was converted to Christianity by St. Paul and went on to become Malta's first Bishop. Hence, St Publius is also one of the patron saints of Malta. According to tradition, St Publius later suffered martrydom in Athens.

The town of Floriana is situated next to Valletta, the Capital City. The origins of Floriana date back to 1634 when Grand Master De Paule, sensing another attack by the Ottoman Turks, brought over an Italian engineer, Pietro Paolo Floriani, to examine the state of the Island's fortifications. His recommendations were to the effect that in the stretch of plain just outside Valletta other fortifications were necessary to prevent a situation whereby the enemy could see directly inside the Capital City. Notwithstanding some initial opposition , work on the fortifications were eventually taken in hand and these were completed in 1721 ending at what is today Portes des Bombes, having an extention of over 4 km. With the accesion of Fra Anton Manoel de Vilhena to the post of Grand Master in 1722, this small town was given the name of Borgo Vilhena. However, the residents still kept calling their town Floriana and so it has remained till today.

Modern day Floriana has a population of around 3000 inhibitants; somehow low considering that in 1860 the population had reached a peak of 8000. Floriana offers an immense heritage and a rich history. The Pope visited Malta on the 8th of May 2000. He was only on a one day visit. The day after he arrived he was present at an open air morning Mass that was held at Floriana. In this photo (shown above) you can see the huge crowd that gathered in front of the Parish Church of Floriana, St Publius's Church. It was a memerable occasion for the many thousands of local people and tourists who were on the Island. The preparations for this event took many months to arrange. It was a great success.

You'll find some very useful and interesting information about the beautiful Maltese Islands in my next pages

Need any help, Contact William ~~ billcox(at)searchmalta.com

Thanks for visiting

My parents Louise Josephine Poustie b 1897 - d 1982 ~~ William Nicholas Coxhead b 1893 - d 1953

Click here : A tribute to my father by Bev Bond ~ U.S.A.

Photos Page 1	Photos Page 2	Photos Page 3	Photos Page 4
R e s e r v e d	St. Publius Statute	Old Photos	Floriana Parish Website
The Bus Station	Early Guest Book	R e s e r v e d	FLORIANA F.C.

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The Main Bus Terminus at City Gate Valletta just out of Floriana.

The busiest and most colourful location on the Island. From here one can catch a bus to any location on the Island. There are 500 buses on the Island and the service is being improved all the time. During 2011 over 200 brand new modern buses are being put on the road to replace some of the very old buses. The fares are the cheapest in Europe. From here you can catch a bus to take you to Cirkewwa that is where you can board one of the very modern ferries that take you to the sister Island of Gozo. The Valletta - Cirkewwa route is the longest on the Island. You'll enjoy the 45 minute ride on one of the new buses.

Need any help, Contact William at - billcox@searchmalta.com -

Thanks for visiting


Site last update : 7th July 2011