[27] These include the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and Romans in antiquity; the Arabs, Normans, and Aragonese during the Middle Ages; and the Knights Hospitaller, French, and British in the modern era.

Malta has close historical and cultural ties to Italy and especially Sicily; between 62 and 66 percent of Maltese people speak or have significant knowledge of the Italian language, which had official status from 1530 to 1934.

After 2500 BC, the Maltese Islands were depopulated for several decades until an influx of Bronze Age immigrants, a culture that cremated its dead and introduced smaller megalithic structures called dolmens.

[69] After the failure of his expedition, the island fell back in the hands of Carthage, only to be conquered again during the Second Punic War in 218 BC by the Roman consul Tiberius Sempronius Longus.

[69] Malta became a Foederata Civitas, a designation that meant it was exempt from paying tribute or the rule of Roman law, and fell within the jurisdiction of the province of Sicily.

[73] In the second century, Emperor Hadrian (r. 117–38) upgraded the status of Malta to a municipium or free town: the island's local affairs were administered by four quattuorviri iuri dicundo and a municipal senate, while a Roman procurator living in Mdina represented the proconsul of Sicily.

[82] The Norman leader, Roger I of Sicily, was welcomed by Christian captives,[45] though contrary to myth he did not tear off a portion of his checkered red-and-white banner and present it to the Maltese in gratitude for having fought on his behalf, forming the basis of the modern flag of Malta.

As the islands were much desired due to their strategic importance, it was during this time that the men of Malta were militarised to fend off attempted conquest; early Counts were skilled Genoese privateers.

[45] On 23 March 1530,[92] Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, gave the islands to the Knights Hospitaller under the leadership of Frenchman Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam,[93][94] in perpetual lease for which they had to pay an annual tribute of a single Maltese Falcon.

[103] During this period, the strategic and military importance of the island grew greatly as the small yet efficient fleet of the Order of Saint John launched their attacks from this new base targeting the shipping lanes of the Ottoman territories around the Mediterranean Sea.

After the Suez Canal opened in 1869, Malta's position halfway between the Strait of Gibraltar and Egypt proved to be its main asset, and it was considered an important stop on the way to India, a central trade route for the British.

[121] Before the Second World War, Valletta was the location of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean fleet headquarters; however, despite Winston Churchill's objections,[122] the command was moved to Alexandria, Egypt, in 1937 out of fear that it was too susceptible to air attacks from Europe.

In 1989, Malta was the venue of a summit between US President George H. W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, their first face-to-face encounter, which signalled the end of the Cold War.

The House of Representatives has 65 members, elected for a five-year term in 13 five-seat electoral divisions, called distretti elettorali, with constitutional amendments that allow for mechanisms to establish strict proportionality amongst seats and votes of political parliamentary groups.

[136] In fact, Malta's record of clean governance has decreased since 2013, and the country is now considered among one of the worst EU member states in tackling corruption according to Transparency International.

The objectives of the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) are to maintain a military organisation with the primary aim of defending the islands' integrity according to the defence roles as set by the government in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

The islands of the archipelago lie on the Malta plateau, a shallow shelf formed from the high points of a land bridge between Sicily and North Africa that became isolated as sea levels rose after the last ice age.

[158] The seabed surrounding Malta's islands retains traces of ancient geomarine features, suggesting potential archaeological discoveries that could shed light on the region's prehistoric environment.

The most common indigenous tree species are the willow (Salix alba), poplar (Populus alba), olive (Olea europaea), carob (Ceratonia siliqua), oak (Quericus ilex & Quercus rotundifolia), Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), laurel (Laurus nobilis) and fig (Ficus carica), while the most common non-native trees are eucalyptus, acacia, date palm and opuntia.

Endemic plants include the national flower widnet il-baħar (Cheirolophus crassifolius), sempreviva ta' Malta (Helichrysum panormitanum subsp.

Malta has made strong headway in implementing EU Financial Services Directives including UCITs IV and Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs).

This migration was driven predominantly in the early 21st century, when the Maltese economy was steadily booming yet the cost and quality of living on the island remained relatively stable.

Private schools prefer to use English for teaching, as is also the case with most departments of the University of Malta; this has a limiting effect on the capacity and development of the Maltese language.

Towards the end of the 15th century, Maltese artists, like their counterparts in Sicily, came under the influence of the School of Antonello da Messina, which introduced Renaissance ideals and concepts to the decorative arts in Malta.

The Rococo movement was greatly enhanced by the relocation to Malta of Antoine de Favray, who assumed the position of court painter to Grand Master Pinto in 1744.

Romanticism, tempered by the naturalism introduced to Malta by Giuseppe Calì, informed the "salon" artists of the early 20th century, including Edward and Robert Caruana Dingli.

Traditional Maltese proverbs reveal cultural importance of childbearing and fertility: "iż-żwieġ mingħajr tarbija ma fihx tgawdija" (a childless marriage cannot be a happy one).

[291] Traditional Maltese weddings featured the bridal party walking in procession beneath an ornate canopy, from the home of the bride's family to the parish church, with singers trailing behind (il-ġilwa).

[292]Carnival (Maltese: il-karnival ta' Malta) has had an important place on the cultural calendar after Grand Master It is held during the week leading up to Ash Wednesday, and typically includes masked balls, fancy dress and grotesque mask competitions, lavish late-night parties, a colourful, ticker-tape parade of allegorical floats presided over by King Carnival (Maltese: ir-Re tal-Karnival), marching bands and costumed revellers.

Its roots can be traced back to the pagan Roman feast of Luminaria (literally, "the illumination"), when torches and bonfires lit up the early summer night of 29 June.