Mqabba

Situated in the South of Malta at the heart of a soft limestone area, the village of Mqabba is surrounded by quarries, supplying more than a quarter of island's supply of construction material with construction naturally being the town's main industry. But this is hardly the most interesting aspect of Mqabba.

Mqabba retains the character of a typical Maltese village, with a peaceful stillness in its streets leading from its centrally located Parish Church dedicated to the Assumption. It's feast is held on the 15th of August together with another six villages celebrating the same feast, namely nearby Qrendi, Gudja and Ghaxaq, and also in Mosta, Attard and Victoria (Gozo).This partly led to the highly competitive streak of its Fireworks Factories which have become synonymous of Mqabba. Another feast is that of Our Lady of Lilies (Madonna tal-Gilju), celebrated in the third Sunday of June. If you are in Malta in these periods or during the Malta International Fireworks Festival, join the thousands of locals, tourists and enthusiasts that flock to enjoy Mqabba's unique fireworks displays.

Mqabba's fireworks displays have made the town of Mqabba quite famous. Both the St Mary Fireworks Factory and The Lily Fireworks Factory have put themselves on the international stage. The St Mary Fireworks Factory has won the 1st edition of the Malta International Fireworks Festival in 2006 and the Caput Lucis Fireworks World Championships in 2007 in Rome as well as the IV National Mechanised Ground Fireworks Festival in 2010. The Lily Fireworks Factory has won the II National Mechanised Ground Fireworks Festival in 2008 and in June 2011 it established the Guinness World Record for the Largest Catherine wheel with a diameter of 32 metres.

But Mqabba has more to offer than just two very beautiful and interesting Band Clubs and fireworks factories. In fact Mqabba's archeological discoveries such as Bur Meghez cave and Mintna Catacombs, a complex measuring 139 cubic metres discovered in Diamond Jubilee Square in 1860, indicate that Mqabba has been important since Neolithic times. Extinct animals were also discovered in quarries at Ta` Kandja and Tax-Xantin.

Also worth visiting are several old chapels dedicated to St. Basil, Our Lady of Sorrows, St. John and St.Catherine of Alexendria.

Click here to download a pdf document of Mqabba: Four Walks in a Charming Village by Anthony Bonello on behalf of Din l-Art Helwa and Mqabba Local Council.