Marsalforn Bay
| Marsalforn Bay Ir-Ramla ta 'Marsalforn |
||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Waters | Mediterranean Sea | |
| Land mass | Gozo | |
| Geographical location | 36 ° 4 '25 " N , 14 ° 15' 34" E | |
|
||
The Marsalforn Bay ( Maltese Ir-Ramla ta 'Marsalforn , German Marsalforn Bay ) is a bay on the northeast coast of to Malta belonging island of Gozo .
topography
The bay opens north-north-east to the Mediterranean Sea . Marsalforn is located at the south-eastern end of the land .
Gozo's only natural beach is on Marsalforn Bay .
Surname
Marsalforn is a compound word in the Maltese language. The first component marsa is a noun of the no longer in use Arabic verb rasa'a , which means "to be at anchor". The Maltese word forn denotes a bakery, which is also found in a local legend. However, this second part of the name is more related to a type of boat, the λιβουρνα ( livurna ), Arabic lifurna , originally from the Illyrian region , since according to local legends , Arab corsair ships anchored there. Another meaning derives from the Gozitan-Maltese word forna , which denotes a cave washed out by the sea, of which there are several around the bay, including Għar Qawqla .
history
From the Roman period until the late 16th century, Marsalforn was Gozo's main port. The trade routes to Sicily and the rest of Europe led through him . The Order of Malta considered the port of Marsalforn so important that in the 17th century the old fortress in the center of the island of Gozo was abandoned and a new town was built to oversee the port. The plans for this came from Giovanni de 'Medici . On June 21, 1643, Grand Master Jean Paul Lascaris visited Castellar Marsalforn to get an idea of this location and decided to build a fortress here. But the Gozitans contradicted their rulers, arguing that they were too poor to pay the additional taxes to build the fortress. The Order of Malta also found that its funds were insufficient to build the fortress and so the project was abandoned.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Joseph Bezzina: Marsalforn Culture & History. Żebbuġ Local Council, 2013, accessed December 9, 2019 .