Urban growth in motion : a study of Mosta's transformation from a rural village to urban centre, 1900-2000

Abstract

In 1839, a pocket handbook for visitors to the island of Malta entitled, “A Hand book, or Guide, for Strangers Visiting Malta” was published, with the aim of guiding foreign visitors around Malta, and showing them many sights across the islands. This handbook mentions the small village of Mosta, and the “new and unique” church being erected there, stating that there is “nothing of equal elegance in Italy, France, or England”. Indeed, it would be hard to miss the iconic skyline imposed by the Rotunda of Mosta during even a brief visit to Malta. This town in the heart of the Maltese islands has for the past century and a half been a hotspot for tourists and Maltese alike which come to the town to gaze at the Rotunda, a subject of pride for many of the locals. Once a small town made up mostly of farmers, Mosta today is the third largest town in the country, with a population of over 23,000 residents, solidifying itself as a primary location for commerce, tourism and transport. The visitors utilising the aforementioned handbook would see little resemblance to Mosta today when compared to Mosta in the 1840s. Naturally, nowhere on earth looks anything like it did almost 200 years ago, but a large amount of the change experienced by the town of Mosta happened in the span of just a few decades. This thesis explores the changes experienced by the town in the 20th century, focusing on the social, physical, economic and population changes, starting from around 1900, and ending in the year 2000.