It's Malta, but not as you know it

Abstract

For many of us. the map of the Maltese Islands is as familiar as the sight of our local village church. The elongated fish- like outline is something we learn about in school from our early years and one we automatically search for every time we see a map that includes the Mediterranean Sea. Yet the shape and the details we are so accustomed to haven't always been t here; they are the result of hundreds of maps that have been designed and redesigned over the centuries. Th is quickly becomes apparent when I meet Claude Micallef Attard, an avid collector and researcher of Melitensia maps. views and books, as well as the honorary treasurer and co-founder, along with Dr Albert Ganado, of the Malta Map Society. Indeed, as he shows me a few dozen maps from his collection, the first thing that strikes me is how thwarted the shape of our islands used to be.