Even though they are alone 90km from the Sicilian coasts, Malta is not Italian: when the Kingdom of Italy was established in 1861, the Maltese archipelago had belonged to theBritish Empire. After all, the archipelago located in Mediterranean he had never been “Italian”: he had been controlled by Kingdom of Sicily for a few centuries in the Middle Ages, but the link had been cut in 1530. Until the first half of the twentieth century, a pro-Italian movementwhich however was greatly weakened during the Second World War. In 1964, when British domination ended, Malta chose independence: since 2004 the Republic of Malta has also been a member ofEuropean Union. Today the Maltese, despite undergoing some cultural influences, they don’t feel Italian in any way and the ruling class of the Peninsula has ceased to make demands of any kind.
The position of Malta, the sovereign state that never belonged to Italy
The archipelago of Malta – made up of the three largest islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino and from some smaller islands and reefs – it is found in soli 90 kilometers from the Sicilian coasts and geographically it belongs to the Italian region. The archipelago is closer to the Italy of islands like Lampedusa and Linosa (located over 200 km from the Sicilian coast), which instead they belong to the Italian Republic.
Malta also suffers a significant cultural influence of Italy. Until 1934, Italian was one of the official languages of the archipelago and is still spoken, or at least understood, by many inhabitants today. Italian, and more specifically Sicilian, influences are also evident in the cuisine, popular traditions and architecture. In many other respects, however, Malta is culturally different from Italy: the official language, the Maltese (official language of the country together with English), it is a Semitic language deriving from Arabic, although it has undergone Italian influences; the judicial system is modeled on that of the United Kingdom, some customs and traditions (for example, the direction of travel to the left) derive from English domination. What is more important, i Maltese don’t consider themselves Italian at all.
Throughout history, moreover, Malta has never been “Italian”although for some centuries it was controlled by the Kingdom of Sicily.
From the Kingdom of Sicily to the British domination of the archipelago
Over the centuries the Maltese archipelago, by virtue of its position in the center of the Mediterranean, has suffered numerous dominations. In ancient times it was part of the dominions of Rome and Byzantium, until, in the 9th century, it was conquered by Arabs. In 1091 it was occupied by Normans and in fact united to the Kingdom of Sicilyof which it continued to be part until the 16th century. Control, in some periods, was more nominal than real. In 1530 Emperor Charles V, who also held the title of King of Sicily, relented the possession of the island to a chivalric military orderthe Knights Hospitallers (one of the military orders born in the Holy Land at the time of the Crusades), who since then became known as knights of Malta.
Thus, the political link with Sicily was severed. The knights controlled Malta until 1798, when the brief occupation of the French troops began, forced in 1800 to surrender to the siege of the English fleet. Since then the archipelago entered the orbit of London and, with the Treaty of Paris of 1814, was officially annexed to the territories of the British Empire.
Relations between the island and united Italy: annexationist movement and independence
In 1861, when the Kingdom of Italy was established, Malta was under British domination for almost fifty years. A movement developed in the archipelago which called for annexation to Italy and during the twenty years of fascism it was financed by the government of Rome. The pro-Italian movement, however, was opposed by the English, who in 1942 executed the main exponent for high treason, Carmelo Borg Pisani. During the Second World War, Malta was repeatedly bombed by Italian and German armed forces, but was never conquered.
After the war, the pro-Italian movement weakened irreversibly. In 1964 the island obtained independence and in 1974 it transformed into a Republic. Italy, ceasing all claims to the archipelago, remained with it very cordial relations and, under a 1980 agreement, it is guarantor of its neutrality: Malta has committed not to enter into any alliance and Italy has guaranteed to intervene if the sovereignty of the archipelago is questioned by a third country.
