Figure 1.--Here we see an AI restorred photograoh of three Maltese children, presumably brothers, playing with their scooters. The scooters look homemaid, perhaps dad was a carpenter. The photo looks like it was taken in the 1950s. The original was very damaged, but AI helped restore the image. Click on the image for a colorized version. Short pants and going barefoot was common at the time.

Malta is a small, but strategically located island situated in the central Mediterranean. It has no real importance other than its location. The Maltese people and their society have been formed by centuries of possession by the powers of the day including the Phoenicians/Cartheginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Sicilians, Swabians, Aragonese, Hospitallers, French, and finally the British. The location does does not seem to have meant much in the ancient times, but it became an important posessession fought over beginning in the medieval era. Malta has a fascinating history and we have a Malta history page. Sea power and maritime trade routes made Malta important. After the fall of Rome, Malta was fought over by Christian orders and monarachies and the Ottoman Empire. Malta survived one of the great sieges of the medieval era. Air power in World War II made the island vital in defeating the German Afrika Korps. Nalta survived another great seige, becoming one of the most bombed places during the War. We have only a a small Malta country page. Malta is a predominantly Catholic country. The Constitution of independent Malta establishes Catholicism as the state religion. The eight-pointed Maltese cross, adopted by the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem (1126) is asn imprtant part of Malta's identity. Catholocism is deeply inbedded in many aspects of Maltese culture. The patron saints are St Paul, St Publius and St Agatha. We have a page on First Communion in Malta. We also have a page on Maltese Scouts.

Created: 11:58 PM 3/21/2026
Last updated: 11:58 PM 3/21/2026