page_title: Żejtun
section_title: Late modern and contemporary
hierarchical_section_title: Żejtun / History / Late modern and contemporary
caption_attribution_description: English: Luqa Briffa Gardens
context_page_description: Żejtun is a city in the South Eastern Region of Malta, with a population of 11,218 at end 2016. Żejtun is traditionally known as Città Beland, a title conferred by the grandmaster of the Order of the Knights of Malta, Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim in 1797. Before that, the village was known as Casale Santa Caterina, named after its patron saint and parish titular.
  The old urban cores, called Bisqallin and Ħal Bisbut, largely retain their narrow medieval streets and ancient boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name Żejtun, or Casale Zeitoun, has referred to the settlement which developed around these two core villages. Together with a number of small hamlets in the vicinity, the bulk of the conurbation forms the city of Żejtun, administered by the mayor and the Żejtun Local Council. Over successive centuries, Żejtun lost a number of villages and hamlets that used to form part of its territory, which originally covered most of the south eastern part of Malta.
context_section_description: The first British governor of the islands, Sir Thomas Maitland, instituted a number of reforms to the administrative and judicial systems of Malta. An important reform set-up local governments, first abolishing the old Luogotenente system by a proclamation issued in 1815. In its place, the post of Luogotenente di Governo was established, with the new official being entrusted with the responsibility of administering one of six districts. Żejtun, along with Għaxaq, Żabbar, Tarxien, Paola, Gudja and Luqa, formed the District of Żejtun. The first Luogotenente di Governo of the Żejtun District was Baron Pascalo Sciberras.
  Around the beginning of the 19th century, Żejtun continued to be a major contributor to the islands' agrarian economy. Many of the Maltese merchants and traders hailed from the city. Żejtun had the largest amount of arable land devoted to food production on the island, amounting to 8,585 acres (3,474 ha), or 15.1% of total land under cultivation. Żejtun was the cotton producing centre of the islands, producing 10,312 cwt (hundredweights) of cotton, or 20.8% of the total production in 1836. Such was the importance of the town for commerce, that a local merchant owned a single deck polacre, named Zeitun. As Malta's economy shifted to the servicing of the Royal Navy, much of the islands' commercial activity moved to the fortified cities around the harbour. The importance of the town declined gradually over time.
  A venture by the British Irish and Colonial Silk Company to introduce silk production in Malta led to the planting of many mulberry trees in Żejtun in 1826, along Triq l-Aħħar Ħbit mit-Torok. Over the years, the trees became so deep-rooted in local history that their stretch of the main road from Fgura to Żejtun became known to locals as Triq iċ-Ċawsli (Mulberry Road).
  
  Żejtun was linked with a main aqueduct providing water from Fawwara, with the project commissioned by Governor Henry F. Bouviere. The aqueduct began providing water to the town in 1845.  Twenty years later, in 1865, a cholera outbreak led to 84 deaths in the city out of a total population of 5,491. These were concentrated in the highest part town, near a windmill in the "upper casal, or el rahal ta' fuk."
  Most of the fishermen who worked out of Marsaxlokk bay hailed from Żejtun, commuting back and forth from the shore. Around 1846, the first houses began to be built in Marsaxlokk, as fishermen from Żejtun settled there permanently. Eventually, the fishing village of Marsaxlokk was separated from Żejtun and became a distinct parish in January 1897. As the town of Żejtun continued to develop, the British colonial administration built a police station and a public school. The latter was completed in 1908. Both buildings are built in a Neo-Classical style, synonymous with public buildings under British Rule.
  A year later, in 1909, the Daughters of the Sacred Heart set up a children's home in the town. In 1913, Josephine Curmi established a home for girls in Żejtun, which was eventually transferred to its current premises in 1925 - the Jesus of Nazareth Home. The charitable institute was placed under the care and direction of the Missionaries of Jesus of Nazareth.
  In the 1930s, the Żejtun parish minted 6000 aluminium token coins inscribed Zeitun to use as change when renting a chair during religious functions. The locals began to use the tokens as currency, until they were banned by the authorities. The tokens were collected back and stored in the parish treasury, and were forgotten. They were rediscovered in 2011, with the parish selling them to fund the restoration of the church's chandeliers. They have since become collectors' items.
  Part of Żejtun's school served as a hospital in the Second World War, also housing the Dorsetshire Regiment. The number of victims from Żejtun during this war amounted to 113, with the city suffering a number of air-raid attacks due to its relative proximity with the dockyards. A marble plaque in the main square commemorates a particular air-raid on the city.
  After the war, a number of urbanisation projects we
caption: Luqa Briffa Garden or Ġnien il-Kmand was designed by Michele Cachia.
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