Cospicua (Italian) or Bormla (Maltese, [ˈbɔrmlɐ]), occasionally also known by the Latin name Cottonera,[citation needed] is a double-fortified harbour city in the Port Region of Malta.

The ancient Phoenician name Maleth meant "refuge" or "port",[2] cognate with Hebrew malat (מָלַט, "escape").

[3] The Greek Melítē (Μελίτη) and Latin Melita probably derived from this toponym,[4] despite being reapplied to Malta and then inland Phoenician settlement at Mdina after its conquest in the Second Punic War.

[5] It has also been folk etymologized to derive from Old Maltese bir mula, literally "well of the landlord", from biʔr Mawlā (بِئْر مَوْلَى), supposedly intending "well of the Lord".

[citation needed] The Phoenician colony there was known as Maleth, established at some point after sea level rise destroyed earlier coastal settlements during the 10th century BC.

In 1722, Grand Master Marc'Antonio Zondadari declared Bormla a city and in view of its strong bastions named it Città Cospicua.

[8] In 1776, the Order of St. John started to construct a dockyard, which was to play a vital role in the development of this city.

Bormla, along with the rest of the area around the Grand Harbour, was heavily bombed during this last war as Malta was under siege by the Axis powers.

[citation needed] As Malta became an independent country, the city's dockyard frequently became a bone of contention between the General Workers' Union, to which most of its employees belonged, and successive governments.

In the early 21st century the dockyard was substantially downsized under the governance of the Nationalist Party after it was found that the cost of operating the site was responsible for around 25% of Malta's national debt.

[citation needed] Cospicua also has an ethnography, social history, anthropology museum and cultural venue known as Bir Mula Heritage.