Mosta - a historical, urban and demographic overview

Abstract

If one were to give a quick glance at a map of Malta showing the built-up area of the island, one would encounter no difficulty in locating the town of Mosta, since this is found roughly in the centre, its built-up area only fused to that of Naxxar. This central location, is probably also reflected in the meaning of the name 'Mosta'. E. B. Vella, after consulting with persons well acquainted with oriental languages, concluded that the name 'Mosta', is a derivative of the Arab word 'wast', which means 'in the middle of' or 'something put in between'. Vella gives credit to this meaning since he argues that not only is Mosta roughly in the middle of Malta, but also lies in between two areas of high relief which are the RabatDingli plateau and the Naxxar uplands (Vella et. al., 1986, pp. 1, 23).