Pieta Local Council Website Online

The Locality. - The Locality of Pieta' lies on a promontory on the North side of Marsamxett Harbour and is one of the four inlets to this Harbour. It is made up of the two Towns of Pieta' and Guardamangia. Pieta', which was originally known as il-Qrajten, (the horn), because of the shape of the promontory on which it lies, owes its name to the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, which was built two years after the great plague of 1590, on the site of a disused Cemetery. Pieta' was made a vice-Parish (to St. Paul's in Valletta) in 1721 and remained so until 1740. Guardamangia is thought to derive from the Italian Guarda e Mangia (look and eat), or from a surname. The most likely derivation is from the appellation of the Cavaliere di Salvietta, who was the official in charge of food supplies for the Grandmaster's Household. Guardamangia had a relatively small population until the building of St. Luke's Hospital in the first half of this century, although another Hospital existed on the site in the 19th century. The area was made a Parish in 1968 and the Parish Church which is run by the Dominican Order is dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima. The Augustinian Order have a Friary and a School in Pieta' and the Ursoline Sisters, a Convent and a Children's Creche.

The Coat of Arms of Pieta'.- The Arms are newly designed and are Sable, a Pelican in her piety argent, goutaaed de san. On a black shield, a silver heraldic Pelikan is shown wounding herself to feed her young with the blood from her breast. This is a heraldic representation of the name of this Locality.

This Web Site is intended to offer a service to residents of the locality of Pieta' and Guardamangia and to be a source of information to anybody who wishes to explore this site.

Herein you will find information about the Pieta' Local Council, minutes of meetings, the services it offers, projects which are currently in hand and other which are in the planning stage.