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Giovanni Francesco Abela (1582–1655) was a Maltese noble who in the early 17th century wrote an important work on Malta, ''Della Descrittione di Malta isola nel Mare Siciliano: con le sue antichità, ed altre notizie'', "description of Malta, island in the Sicilian sea, with its antiquities, and other information". Abela was born in
Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...
to Marco Abela and Benarda Vella whose great great grandfather was Barone di Pietra Lunga and whose ancestors ruled Malta on more than one occasion and were part of the royal family of Spain. Malta illustrated is still an important source of first-hand information on a number of subjects of Melitensia, such as folklore, placenames, the
Maltese language Maltese ( mt, Malti, links=no, also ''L-Ilsien Malti'' or '), is a Semitic language derived from late medieval Sicilian Arabic with Romance superstrata spoken by the Maltese people. It is the national language of Malta and the only offic ...
,
history of Malta Malta has a long history and was first inhabited in around 5900 BC. The first inhabitants were farmers, and their agricultural methods degraded the soil until the islands became uninhabitable. The islands were repopulated around 3850 BC ...
and archaeology. His description of the Maltese Islands was translated into Latin by G.A. Seinero in 1725, Latin being the universal language of science and culture of that time. This translation was incorporated in
Johann Georg Graevius Johann Georg Graevius (originally Grava or Greffe; 29 January 1632 – 11 January 1703) was a German classical scholar and critic. He was born in Naumburg, in the Electorate of Saxony. Life Graevius was originally intended for the law, but made ...
Thesaurus antiquitatum et historiarum Italiae. He became Auditor of Grand Master
Antoine de Paule Fra' Antoine de Paule (c. 1551 – 9 June 1636) was elected the 56th Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller (the Order of Malta) on 10 March 1623. He died on Malta thirteen years later, on 9 June 1636, after a long illness and at the age of 85 ...
, Chaplain and finally Vice Chancellor of the
Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...
. He is also remembered as the promoter of the first Notarial Archives for Malta. Gian Francesco Abela visited archaeological sites on the islands and made some valuable observations. He appears to have been the first to note that the ancient temple of
Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...
was to be identified with the remains on the hill at
Tas-Silġ Tas-Silġ is a rounded hilltop on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, overlooking Marsaxlokk Bay, and close to the town of Żejtun. Tas-Silġ is a major multi-period sanctuary site with archaeological remains covering four thousand year ...
rather than those of
Borġ in-Nadur Borġ in-Nadur is an archaeological site located in open fields overlooking St George's Bay, near Birżebbuġa, Malta. It is occupied by a Tarxien phase megalithic temple as well as the remains of a Bronze Age village which includes the earli ...
. At Tas-Silġ he observed foundations and courses of stones ‘ben lavorate e messe insieme,’ and in support of his identification he recorded the discovery of ‘medaglie, pezzi di statue d’idoletti, e d’altre cose, minimi avanzi di quella vana gentilità e falsa religione, quivi ritrovate sotto il Magistero del Principe Wignacourt, mentre alcuni nell’istesso luogo cavando, scioccamente pensavano far acquisto di ricco tesoro.’ In the early 17th century Abela converted his house at Marsa to a historical museum, the first in Malta. Many of its artefacts are now stored in Malta's National Museum of Archaeology.Marsa Local Council - Town at a Crossroad: History of Marsa
He is buried in the Chapel of Our Lady of Philermos (today the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament) in
Saint John's Co-Cathedral St John's Co-Cathedral ( mt, Kon-Katidral ta' San Ġwann) is a Roman Catholic co-cathedral in Valletta, Malta, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. It was built by the Order of St. John between 1573 and 1578, having been commissioned by Grand ...
in
Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...
. The
Junior College A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...
in
Msida Msida ( mt, L-Imsida, it, Misida) is a harbour town in the Central Region of Malta with a population of 7, 623 (2021). Location The town is located just west of Valletta on the northeast coast of Malta. The neighbouring towns of Msida are ...
is named after Abela.


Publications

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See also

* Siege of Malta (1565) *
Birgu Birgu ( mt, Il-Birgu , it, Vittoriosa), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ("''Victorious City''"), is an old fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the South Eastern Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory of ...
*
Ġgantija Ġgantija (, "Giantess") is a megalithic temple complex from the Neolithic on the Mediterranean island of Gozo. The Ġgantija temples are the earliest of the Megalithic Temples of Malta and are older than the pyramids of Egypt. Their makers ere ...
*
Ħaġar Qim Ħaġar Qim (; "Standing/Worshipping Stones") is a megalithic temple complex found on the Mediterranean island of Malta, dating from the Ġgantija phase (3600-3200 BC). The Megalithic Temples of Malta are among the most ancient religiou ...


References

* Anthony Bonanno (1983) Giovanni Francesco Abela's legacy to the Jesuit college * James Abela (2006) Abela Family Tree * Chiara Cecalupo, Giovanni Francesco Abela. Work, private collection and birth of Christian archaeology in Malta, Roma, Quasar Ed., 2020. {{DEFAULTSORT:Abela, Giovanni Francesco 1582 births 1655 deaths Maltese historians Burials at Saint John's Co-Cathedral People from Valletta Italian-language writers from Malta Latin-language writers from Malta