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 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 t ...

Thesaurus antiquitatum et historiarum Italiae. He became Auditor of Grand Master Antoine de Paule, 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 headq ...

. He is also remembered as the promoter of the first

Notarial Archives The Notarial Archives ( mt, L-Arkivji Nutarili) is an archive in Valletta, Malta, that contains about 20,000 volumes of contracts, wills and other legal documents from the 15th century to the present day. Its collections are significant both from ...

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 ...

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 earlies ...

. 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 Mas ...

. The Junior College 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

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

Publications

See also

References