Mdina
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Mdina, also known by its Italian epithets Città Vecchia and Città Notabile, is a fortified city in the Northern Region of Malta which served as the island's capital from antiquity to the medieval period. The city is still confined within its walls, and has a population of 250, but it is contiguous with the town of Rabat, which takes its name from the Arabic word for suburb, and has a population of over 11,000.
Image: Malta Mdina (Triq San Oswald) 02 ies
Image: Malta Mdina Pjazza San Pawl + St. Paul's Cathedral ex 01 ies
Image: Malta Mdina Gate
Image: Mdina palazzo santa sofia
Fortifications of Mdina
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The fortifications of Mdina are a series of defensive walls which surround the former capital city of Mdina, Malta. The city was founded as Maleth by the Phoenicians in around the 8th century BC, and it later became part of the Roman Empire under the name Melite. The ancient city was surrounded by walls, but very few remains of these have survived.
Aerial view of Mdina and its fortifications
Mdina as seen from Mtarfa
Painting of the Great Siege of Malta with Mdina at the bottom
The plan on the left shows the proposal to reduce Mdina's size by half, with the proposal being overlaid on a plan of the city's existing fortifications. The plan on the right shows a similar proposal to modernize Gozo's Cittadella.