Żebbuġ

Żebbuġ

Ħaż-Żebbuġ
Città Rohan
Casal Zebbugi
Żebbuġ Ħaż-Żebbuġ Città Rohan; Casal Zebbugi
City and Local council
	Church of St Philip of Agira
	Flag Coat of arms
	Etymology: Ħal ("village") + żebbuġ ("olives")
	Nickname: Citta Rohan
	Motto: Semper Virens
	The area occupied by "Ħaż-Żebbuġ"
	Coordinates: 35°52′23″N 14°26′31″E / 35.87306°N 14.44194°E
Country	Malta
Region	Southern Region
District	Western District
Borders	Attard, Mdina, Qormi, Rabat, Siġġiewi
Government
• Mayor	Mr Mark Camilleri (PL)
Area
• Total	8.7 km2 (3.4 sq mi)
Population (May 2021)
• Total	11,079
• Density	1,300/km2 (3,300/sq mi)
Demonyms	Żebbuġi (m), Żebbuġija (f), Żebbuġin (pl)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	ZBG
Dialing code	+356
ISO 3166 code	MT-66
Patron saint	St. Philip of Agira
Day of festa	12 May (Liturgical feast); 2nd Sunday of June (Parish feast)
Website	Official website

Żebbuġ (Maltese: Ħaż-Żebbuġ Maltese pronunciation: [ħɐz.zɛbˈbuːt͡ʃ]), also known by its title Città Rohan, is a city in the Southern Region of Malta. It is one of the oldest towns in the country, and its population is 11,074 as of June 2021.^[2]

History and origins

The parish church is dedicated to Philip of Agira and the feast is celebrated on the 2nd Sunday of June, although the actual feast day falls on the 12th day of May. The name of the town literally means "olives" in Maltese;^[1] it derives from the large olive groves that stood in and around the current location of the church and the centre of the town. The town was bestowed with the title of Città Rohan by Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc, the Grand Master of the Order of St. John on 21 June 1777.^[3] As was the custom in such events, the people of Ħaż-Żebbuġ built an archway known as the De Rohan Arch at the entrance to their hometown by way of marking the incipiency of its status as a city. The gateway, also known by the locals as il-Bieb il-Ġdid (Maltese for "the New Gateway"), still stands today.^[4] The town's coat-of-arms is also based on that of the House of Rohan.

In 1380 a church dedicated to St. Philip of Agira was built in Casal Zebugi, a tract of land situated in the middle of the small communities which had developed during the previous Arab occupation of Malta, namely Ħal-Dwin, Ħal-Muxi and Ħal-Mula and which were eventually joined together forming the village known till today as Ħaż-Żebbuġ. Filippo de Catania "il-Kataniż" (Philip of Catania), a wealthy entrepreneur owning land in Ħaż-Żebbuġ, funded part of the construction of St. Philip Church built on his own land. Long years after it became the parish church another one, designed by Tumas Dingli, was erected in its stead in the late seventeenth century. The church has a titular painting by Luca Garnier and two murals by the 18th-century Maltese painter of the Favray school, Francesco Zahra, which critics consider to be his best works. Among other treasures the Church possesses an artefact attributed to Guido Reni and several others by Antonio Sciortino. The statue of St. Philip, by sculptor Luigi Fontana, was created in 1864.

When Malta was an independent principality under the sovereign Order of St. John, Ħaż-Żebbuġ was among the chief towns after Valletta and Mdina, first because of the presence of leading corsairs among its inhabitants, subsequently due to its major role in the cotton industry.

The locals, or Żebbuġin as they are known in Malta, are renowned for their business acumen amongst others, and there is a local saying to this end. Due to the Żebbuġin's Francophile past, the town was regarded as a friendly community when the Revolutionary French took Malta. During their rule in Malta (1798-1800), the local churches were plundered for their riches in order to fund Napoleon's campaign. The Ħaż-Żebbuġ locals opened the main door to the church when they heard the French were coming and hastily hid the gold and silver religious iconography. When the French saw the open doors of the church they kept on going and the Żebbuġin retained their religious riches.

Archaeology

Malta is very rich in archaeological remains, and Ħaż-Żebbuġ is no exception. It gave its name to an era of prehistoric time when pottery of a kind not known as yet was found in tombs in the area known as Ta' Trapna. Later archaeological finds constructed at around the same time were subsequently known as "Żebbuġ phase" remains. A scattering of Punic and Phoenician tombs were also found together with a small number of cart ruts and other remains.

Today

Ħaż-Żebbuġ is known for the festas (feast days) dedicated to the patron saint St. Philip of Agira; which is celebrated on the 2nd Sunday of June; and to St. Joseph, a secondary feast. There are three band clubs in Ħaż-Żebbuġ, all of which have respective fireworks factories: De Rohan Band Club (established in 1860),^[5] St. Philip's Band Club (established in 1851) and the 12th May Band and Social Club (established in 1961).

Ħaż-Żebbuġ is the birthplace of various prominent Maltese personalities who have adorned the national cultural history down the ages, such as Mikiel Anton Vassalli (father of the written Maltese language), Dun Mikiel Xerri (patriot), Francesco Saverio Caruana (Bishop and Pariot during the French period, Nicolo Isouard (composer), Dun Karm Psaila (Malta's national poet), Antonio Sciortino (sculptor), Lazzaro Pisani (painter) and Frans Sammut (contemporary author).

Ħaż-Żebbuġ is the locality where the French Ambassador to Malta lives in what used to be previously the Palazzo Manduca. The Grand Chancery of the Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem is also situated in the city.

International relations

The Zebbug Local Council, which represents the Zebbug residents, joined the European Forum for Urban Security and, in 2011, was elected to the EFUS Executive Committee.

Twin towns – Sister cities

Żebbuġ is twinned with:^[6]

Agira, Sicily, Italy

The city also has a cooperation agreement with:

Enna, Sicily, Italy
Acireale, Italy

Sport and recreation

Żebbuġ Rangers F.C. is the town's association football club.

There are also a number of bands and social clubs in the area.^[7]^[8]^[9]

Notable people

Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando, Politician, civil rights campaigner and Executive Chairman of the National Skills Council
Godfrey Farrugia, politician, family doctor and former Minister of Health in Malta.
Mikiel Anton Vassalli, linguist, patriot, "Father of the Maltese Language"
Dun Mikiel Xerri, philosopher and patriot
Dun Karm Psaila, Malta's National Poet
Antonio Sciortino, sculptor
Lazzaro Pisani, painter
Frans Sammut, author
Lazzaro Pisani, artist
Francesco Saverio Caruana, bishop
Dun Mikiel Xerri, Dun Salv Ciappara, historian, priest

References

^ ^a ^b Fenech, Edward (1978). Contemporary Journalistic Maltese. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-05756-2. Ħaż-Żebbuġ (> Ħal 'village' + Żebbuġ 'olives')
^ "Estimated Population by Locality 31st March, 2014". Government of Malta. 16 May 2014. Archived from the original on 21 June 2015.
^ Zammit, Vincent (1992). Il-Gran Mastri - Ġabra ta' Tagħrif dwar l-Istorja ta' Malta fi Żmienhom - It-Tieni Volum 1680–1798 (in Maltese). Valletta: Valletta Publishing & Promotion Co. Ltd. pp. 469–470.
^ "Rohan Gate, Żebbuġ". Times of Malta. 11 December 2012. Archived from the original on 4 December 2015.
^ "Il-Banda De Rohan". Haz-Zebbug.com (in Maltese).
^ "Twinning". localgovernment.gov.mt. Government of Malta. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
^ St Philip's Band Club (Kazin tal-Banda San Filep)
^ 12th May Band & Social Club (Kazin Banda 12 May)
^ St. Joseph Club and De Rohan Band (Każin San Ġużepp u Banda De Rohan)

General references

"Tageo.com". Republic of malta (MT). Retrieved 13 June 2005.
"www.Ħaż-Żebbuġ.com". Personaggi. Archived from the original on 15 January 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2007.