Paola, Malta

Paola Il-Kunsill Lokali ta' Paola Casal Paola
—  Local council  —
Paola; Raħal Ġdid
Coat of arms
Motto: Casal Nuovo (Casal Paola)
Coordinates: 35°52′22″N 14°30′27″E
Country	Malta
Island	Malta
District
Borders	Cospicua, Fgura, Luqa, Marsa, Santa Luċija, Tarxien
Government
• Mayor	Dominic Grima (MLP)
Area
• Total	2.5 km2 (1.0 sq mi)
Population
• Total	8,822
• Density	3,500/km2 (9,100/sq mi)
Demonym	Pawlist (m), Pawlista (f), Pawlisti (pl.), Paolites (eng.)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	PLA
Dialing code	356
Patron saint	Christ the King; Our Lady of Lourdes
Day of festa	4th Sunday of July; 1st Sunday after August 15

Paola, (or old name Casal Nuovo), is a town in the Grand Harbour area of Malta, with a population of 8,856 people (Nov 2005). It is named after its founder, the Grandmaster Antoine de Paule, but is commonly known as Raħal Ġdid, which means new town in Maltese.

Paola is renowned for its shopping centres, Good Friday procession, its football club, Hibernians FC, for the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum and for its large parish church.

A number of prominent Maltese personalities hail from Paola, including Vincent Moran (an ex-Minister of Health), Jason Azzopardi (Parliamentary Secretary for Revenues and Land) and Silvio Parnis (member of parliament), Chris Fearne (paediatric surgeon), Ino Bonello international movie art director and former Mayor of the locality, Mons Francesco Xuereb, founder of Our Lady of Lourdes parish and benefactor of the main parish dedicated to Christ the King, Immanuel Mifsud, Massimo Ellul, Satellite T.V. pioneer for Malta Carmel Joseph Farrugia (Charles Farrugia), TV personality Simone Cini, Actor and TV personality Etienne St. John, Radio presenter Dorian Cassar, songwriter and television producer Joe Julian Farrugia, young singer Klinsmann Coleiro, Ruth Casingena singer and actress and others. One of Malta's Prime Ministers, Sir Paul Boffa, (1890-1962) lived in Paola.

There are two parish churches one is dedicated to Christ the King and the other to Our Lady of Lourdes.

Church of Christ the King

The feast of Christ the King is celebrated on the 4th Sunday of July, whereas that of Our Lady of Lourdes is celebrated on the 1st Sunday after the 15th of August.

Church of Our Lady of Lourdes

The parish also has a Franciscan church dedicated to Saint Anthony in part of the parish called Għajn Dwieli. St.Ubaldesca Church is the oldest church in Paola in fact it was the first parish church in Paola. Recently it undergone restoration.

Paola also hosts Malta's only Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre led by Imam Mohammed El Sadi. The country's correctional facilities and the largest burial grounds, the Adolorata cemetery are also situated in this town.

The town is a commercial centre in the south of Malta, about 5 km from the capital Valletta.

History

Paola was founded in 1626.

Band Clubs

• Our Lady of Lourdes Band Club (L-Għaqda Mużikali Madonna ta' Lourdes)

• De Paule Philarmonic Society Christ the King Band (Is-Soċjetà Filarmonika De Paule Banda Kristu Re)

• Christ the King Band Club (Ghaqda Socjali w Muzikali Kristu Sultan Banda Paola)

• Lourdes Philarmoic Society A.D. 2007 (Is-Soċjetà Filarmonika Lourdes A.D. 2007)

Zones in Paola

• Għajn Dwieli
• Il-Qortin
• Kordin (Corradino)
• Moll il-Faħam
• L-Ordinanza
• Ras Ħanżir
• Tal-Borġ
• Tax-Xewk

Paola Main Roads

• Pjazza Antone De Paule (Paola Square)
• Telgħat Raħal Ġdid (Paola Hill)
• Triq Bormla (Cospicua Road)
• Triq Għajn Dwieli (Għajn Dwieli Road)
• Triq Ħal Luqa (Luqa Road)
• Triq Ħal Tarxien (Tarxien Road)
• Triq Ħaż-Żabbar (Zabbar Road)
• Triq il-Belt Valletta (Valletta Road)
• Triq Kordin (Corradino Hill)
• Triq l-Isqof Buhagiar (Bishop Buhagiar Street)
• Vjal Santa Luċija (Santa Lucia Avenue)
• Vjal Sir Pawlu Boffa (Sir Paul Boffa Avenue)
• Triq Palma (Palm Str)

External links

• Christ the King Parish Church
• [1]
• G.M. Fra Antoine De Paule Philharmonic Society
• Paola - Its History and Landmarks
• [2] RahalGdid.com- A website about the history, feast and landmarks in Paola
• [3] RahalGdid.com - Website dwar l-istorja, l-festa u l-postijiet importanti f'Rahal Gdid