Who Are We?
Started In 2008 Piccante is an independent restaurants listing website. Our objective is to offer our website users a wide view of the Maltese Restaurants, Wine Bars and Takeaways, thus assisting them to choose a restaurant which matches the taste they are after. .
Who Is Behind Piccante?
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Piccante was founded by two people, Neil Mallia and David Bugeja. Both currently holding a managerial position at Piccante, we will strive our best to make sure that this website becomes Malta’s largest and most updated restaurant directory. Keeping Piccante as informative as possible, equipped with the latest technologies and constantly updated with new features, our main aim is to create a portal where restaurant owners and potential clients interact together and share information between each other.
Our Clients & Visitors: (City Level Approximation)
Visitor map
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About Malta
The Republic of Malta, better known as Malta, is a small but heavily densely populated island in the middle of the Mediterranean. The Maltese Archipelago comprises of seven islands, with the biggest being Malta, then Gozo, and then Comino, with the other islands being unpopulated. The Maltese Capital is the City of Valletta. The Maltese population is mainly Roman Catholic. English and Maltese are both spoken equally almost by everyone, and then a third language would also be known, mainly Italian or French.
It’s History
Malta has a very vast history which starts from the Stone Age, 7000 years ago with the Neolithic temples of Mnajdra and Il-Ggantija. More of these temples which came at a later stage are present on the Maltese islands.
At around 700BC Malta had an Ancient Greek culture, which was joined a century later by the Phoenician traders. At around 400BC, Malta went under the control of Carthage, and at 218BC Malta was conquered by the Roman Empire. Many Roman antiquities can still be found on the island.
In 60AD Malta was visited by St. Paul, who gave the Christian beliefs to the Maltese people. After a period under the Byzantines, Malta went under the rule of the Arabs in 870AD. The Arabs improved Malta especially in the farming sector. The Arab influence can be still seen especially in the Maltese language which is mainly a Semitic language.
The Arabs left Malta in 1091AD, when the Normans came. After the Normans, several rulers ruled Malta until 1530AD when the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire gave Malta to the Order of Knights of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem, better known as The Knight of Saint John or The Knights of Malta. In 1565 The Great Siege took part in Malta were Malta was besieged by the Ottoman Empire. The Maltese and The Knights won the siege, and after that point, the Knights invested in more fortifications and a new city Valletta, which is named after Grand Master Jean de La Vallette.
In 1798 Malta was captured by Napoleon. The French were unpopular in Malta especially due to their attacks on the religion. Their financial and religious reforms did not go down well with the citizens, who rebelled against the French with the help of the British Empire. After that the French were forced away, Malta was presented to Sir Alexander Ball, to become a part of the British Empire.
The Maltese Islands were heavily bombarded in World War 2 because of the strategic position in the middle of the Mediterranean. Malta withstood the enemy and never surrendered also under hunger and without supplies because convoys were not allowed to enter the port by enemy forces. The bravery of the Maltese people in their long struggle against enemy attack moved HM King George VI to award the George Cross to Malta on a collective basis on April 15, 1942 “to bear witness to a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history”.
On September 11, 1964 Malta was granted Independence, but retained the Queen of England as Queen of Malta. Then, on December 13, 1974 Malta became a Republic. The final step to total autonomy was on March 31 1979, Freedom Day.
Malta joined the European Union on May 1, 2004 and joined the Euro zone on January 1, 2008.
Malta’s Climate
Climate in Malta is a typical Mediterranean climate, with mild rainy winters, and hot dry summers. The coldest months are January and February, with an average temperature of 15 °C and the hottest months are July and August with an average temp of 30°C.
Maltese Cuisine
Maltese cuisine is typically Mediterranean, based on fresh seasonal locally available produce and seafood, with some influence from Italian cuisine, particularly Sicily and the south. There are many unique and distinctive local dishes and the cuisine also embodies the gastronomic legacies of Malta’s past, including not only Italian, but Spanish, Moorish, and more recently British influence.
Maltese cuisine is still popular in households and restaurants in Malta, but influences from outside Malta’s shores continue, though nowadays they come through travel and TV rather than foreign domination. Alongside Malta’s traditional cuisine with its strong Southern Mediterranean character, there is today an eclectic mix of dishes drawn from other cuisines, not only Italian but also Asian, North American and Mexican for example.
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