Qormi

Qormi (Maltese: Ħal Qormi [ħal ʔormi]; Ħar Qurmi in the Qormi dialect), also known by its title Città Pinto, is a city in the Southern Region of Malta, located southwest of Valletta in the centre of the island. It has a population of 16,779 (as of March 2014), which makes it the fifth largest locality in Malta.

The bordering towns of Qormi are Marsa, Luqa, Żebbuġ, Siġġiewi, Ħamrun, Birkirkara, Attard, Santa Venera and Balzan.

Qormi has two parishes, one dedicated to Saint George and one to Saint Sebastian. There are also two valleys in Qormi, Wied il-Kbir (The Large Valley), and Wied is-Sewda (Black Valley).

Elder inhabitants of Qormi speak a thick Qormi Dialect, yet this is now in decline.

History

There are indications of it being inhabited in antiquity. Bronze Age pottery was found in the area known as Stabal indicating presence of humans as early as 1500-800 BC. Punic tombs have been found at St Edward's Street and Tal-Bajjada. Also, some Ancient Roman remains were found in the valley of Wied il-Kbir. However, chances are that in these times, there were only small communities in the whereabouts of Qormi.