Għonnella

għenienel [eˤːˈnɛːnəl]), sometimes referred to as a Faldetta, is a form of women's head dress and shawl, or hooded cloak, unique to the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Gozo.

Noble women, the wives of the Professors of Law and Medicine and rich citizens wear mantels made of silk...."[3] According to local legend, the għonnella was first introduced to Malta in 1224 as a sign of mourning by the women of Celano in the Abruzzi region of Italy,[4] who were said to have been expelled - first to Sicily, and then to Malta - by Enrico de Morra, acting on the orders of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, following the massacre of their husbands.

There is some historical evidence of this event recorded in the chronicles of Riccardo di San Germano: "Henricus de Morra iussu imperiali Celanenses reuocat ubique dispersos, ut ad propria redeant, et redeuntes capit et in Siciliam mittit, quos apud Maltam dirigit Imperator.

"[5] An alternate legend, which plays on the similarity between the Faldetta and a traditional nun's habit, suggests that the women of Malta adopted this costume in 1798, to ward off the unwanted advances of Napoleon Bonaparte's troops.

[6] According to yet another legend, the għonnella developed due to the strict Canonical requirement (pre-Vatican Council II) that women veil their head before entering a Catholic church.

It is said that poorer country girls, who could not afford a cloak or shawl, met the veiling requirement by placing a spare skirt over their head, which gradually evolved into the għonnella.

"[8] Victorian illustrator and traveller, William Henry Bartlett, was clearly intrigued by the Faldetta, describing it as follows in 1851: "Next, tripping lightly down the steps behind, is a Maltese lady, enveloped in her elegant black silk mantilla, a costume of which it may be said that it renders even the ugly attractive, while the pretty become positively irresistible: so grave, and yet so piquante, so nun-like, and yet so coquettish, are its rustling folds, tastefully drawn round the head, so as to throw additional expression into a deep dark eye, and to relieve a white-gloved hand, and taper Andalusian foot.

[1] Another potential reason was the massive liberalisation and secularisation of the country, given the social connotations of the dress, consistent with general Western society and its wider sphere.