Gudja Il-Kunsill Lokali tal-Gudja Bir Miftuħ
—  Local council  —
Il-Gudja
Coat of arms
Motto: Pluribus parens (Mother of many children)
Coordinates: 35°50′54″N 14°30′9″E / 35.84833°N 14.5025°E / 35.84833; 14.5025Coordinates: 35°50′54″N 14°30′9″E / 35.84833°N 14.5025°E / 35.84833; 14.5025
Country	Malta
Island	Malta
District
Borders	Għaxaq, Luqa, Santa Luċija
Government
- Mayor	John Mary Calleja (PL)
Area
- Total	2.3 km2 (0.9 sq mi)
Population (Nov 2005)
- Total	2,923
- Density	1,270.9/km2 (3,291.5/sq mi)
- Demonym	Gudjan (m), Gudjana (f), Gudjani (pl)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	GDJ
Dialing code	356
Patron saint	Assumption of Mary; Our Lady of Rosary; Our Lady of Consolation
Day of festa	August 15; 1st Sunday of October; last Sunday of October
Website	Official website

Gudja (English: Gudia)^[1] is a village in Malta with a population of 2,901 (Nov 2005). The village is located on a small hill south of the city of Valletta overlooking Malta International Airport.

Gudja's coat of arms bears the motto "PLURIBUS PARENS", which means "Mother of many children". These children are Safi, Kirkop, Ħal-Farruġ, Luqa, Mqabba, Birżebbuġa and Tarxien, which at one time these were all part of the parish church of Gudja. From Tarxien then, another three parishes emerged: Fgura, Santa Luċija and the Christ the King Parish of Paola. Then again, from the latter, another parish emerged: the Our Lady of Lourdes parish at Paola.

The village has a palace called Palazzo Bettina and it is believed that Napoleon lived there during his short stay in Malta, when Malta was being ruled by the French.

The parish church is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and it's the only one in Malta with 3 bell towers. The most conspicuous of these is the William Baker Tower, built in the 1880s by this English architect.

The Church inside offers some interesting objets d' arte. The titular painting of the Assumption of the Virgin was painted by the Italian painter Pietro Gagliardi in 1887. The same painter was commissioned with the painting 'Our Lady of the Carmel' in 1889. Another interesting painting is 'The Death of Saint Joseph', painted by the Italian artist Domenico Bruschi in 1894. The most important sculpture inside the church is the titular statue of the Assumption of Our Lady, was sculpted out of solid wood in 1807 by the Maltese Vincenzo Dimech. It is the oldest processional statue in the Maltese Islands featuring the Assumption of Our Lady.

Gudja also has a famous 500 year-old chapel of Bir Miftuħ (which means "open well"). Bir Miftuh was already established as a parish prior to 1436 and so it is one of the first twleve parishes of the Maltese Islands.

An architect who is famous for his architectural projects during the Knights of St. John era, Girolamo Cassar, was born in Gudja.

Pop singer Madonna stayed in Gudja during her short visit in the island.

Gudja also has a football team, known as Gudja United F.C. The club enjoyed a successful period in the 1980s when they narrowly lost promotion to the Premier Division.

Contents 1 Band Clubs 2 Interesting Places at Gudja 3 Zones in Gudja 4 Gudja Main Roads 5 Gudja Local Council 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Band Clubs

• Mary the Assumption Band Club (L-Għaqda Mużikali Marija Assunta)

• La Stella Philarmonic Society (Is-Soċjetà Filarmonika La Stella

The lists in this article may contain items that are not notable, encyclopedic, or helpful. Please help out by removing such elements and incorporating appropriate items into the main body of the article. (June 2008)

[edit] Interesting Places at Gudja

• St. Mary's Parish Church (at Main Street)
• Annunciation Chapel (at Annunciation Street)
• Villa Dorell (at Gudja By-Pass)
• Bir Miftuħ Chapel
• Ħal-Resqun Catacombs
• Ta' Loretu Chapel (situated overlooking the runway on the road leading to Ħal Far)

[edit] Zones in Gudja

• Bir Miftuħ (Open Well)
• Ta' Loretu (Loreto's Village)
• Ta' Xlejli
• Tal-Ħamra (Reddish Village)
• Tal-Lampat
• Tal-Lebbien
• Tal-Millieri
• Tal-Mitħna (Mill's Village)
• Tat-Tajjara (Cotton's Village)
• Ħas-Saptan

[edit] Gudja Main Roads

• Dawret il-Gudja (Gudja By-Pass)
• Triq Bir Miftuħ (Bir Miftuh Road)
• Triq Ħal-Far (Hal Far Road)
• Triq Ħal-Għaxaq (Ghaxaq Road)
• Triq Ħal-Tarxien (Tarxien Road)
• Triq il-Kbira (Main Street)
• Triq iż-Żebbuġa (Olive Street)
• Triq Raymond Caruana (Raymond Caruana Street)
• Vjal l-Avjazzjoni (Aviation Avenue)

[edit] Gudja Local Council

• Calleja John Mary k/a Mario (mayor, PL)
• Baldacchino Romeo (vice-mayor, PL)
• Dalli Anthony (PL)
• Pace Osvaldo (PL)
• Sammut Mark Anthony (PN)(In the last Local Council his had the majority of the votes(443))

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Gudja Local council
• Places to visit in Gudja

v • d • e Local councils of Malta and Gozo (Il-Kunsilli Lokali ta' Malta u Għawdex) Malta Island (Malta) Attard · Balzan · Birgu (Città Vittoriosa) · Birkirkara · Birżebbuġa · Bormla (Città Cospicua) · Dingli · Fgura · Floriana · Għargħur · Għaxaq · Gudja · Gżira · Ħamrun · Iklin · Isla (Senglea, Città Invincita) · Kalkara · Kirkop · Lija · Luqa · Marsa · Marsaskala (Wied il-Għajn) · Marsaxlokk · Mdina (Città Notabile) · Mellieha · Mġarr · Mosta · Mqabba · Msida · Mtarfa · Naxxar · Paola (Raħal Ġdid) · Pembroke · Pietà · Qormi · Qrendi · Rabat · Safi · St. Julian's · San Ġwann · St. Paul's Bay · Santa Luċija · Santa Venera · Siġġiewi (Città Ferdinand) · Sliema · Swieqi · Tarxien · Ta' Xbiex · Valletta (Città Umilissima) · Xgħajra · Żabbar (Città Hompesch) · Żebbuġ (Città Rohan) · Żejtun (Città Beland) · Żurrieq Gozo Island (Għawdex) Fontana · Għajnsielem · Għarb · Għasri · Kerċem · Munxar · Nadur · Qala · Saint Lawrence · Sannat · Victoria (Rabat) · Xagħra · Xewkija · Żebbuġ