Senglea not <i>Isla</i>

The city of Senglea, known as Isla, is the third oldest city in Malta, built by the knights and named after Grand Master Claude de la Sengle. Following the resounding victory over the Turks in the Great Siege of 1565, Grand Master Jean de la Valette, overwhelmed by the courage of the defending inhabitants, bestowed on this new town the title of Citta Invicta.

Although the name Senglea is inscribed on most of the maps of Malta published in the 17th century, the use of Isla was still popular at that time and still is today. I regret to note that there are those who think that Senglea in the English version of Isla and do not know that it is derived from the surname of Grand Master Claude de la Sengle.

While taking into consideration that Valletta, our capital city, is also named after Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette, I can't imagine this magnificent knights' city, built in 1571 on the Xebb ir-Ras peninsula, still bearing two names at the same time, Valletta, and l-Gholja ta' Xebb Ir-Ras, as it is was known before the Great Siege. The city was given the name Valletta and so it remained, although among the people it is colloquially known as il-Belt.

For Senglea is an exception! It is sad to say that sometimes it is very hard to convince the inhabitants, especially the senior citizens, that the city's name is Senglea and not Isla as it is commonly known. Senglea, like Valletta, holds other names such as Chersoneso and l-Gholja ta' San Giljan apart from Isla which is derived from Isola. In the past the people of Senglea were called Isolani but afterwards they became known as Sengleans, which they still are, obviously after their city Senglea. Then why this confusion? To most of us, Senglea is the name, and thus it should stand!

Why does the Senglea local council ignore the fact that the city's name is Senglea and not Isla?