How does one describe a town like Mosta which 400 years ago became a parish in its own right when it cut its umbilical cord from Naxxar?
One can, perhaps, look into documents and refer to legends, traditions and place names.
Għaqda Talent Mosti did it by putting together a display of artefacts relating to religious cults, folklore and history to create a canvas on which one can trace the face of Mosta as it evolved since its early days. The initiative is the brainchild of George Muscat.
Through Dr Muscat's hard work, the NGO printed a book about Mosta containing many old photographs from the collections of Raymond Cauchi, Joe Sammut, Victor Caruana and Jimmy Borg.
The exhibition called Mit-Tiġrib Tal-Qedem, Il-Mosta Tfassal Ġrajjietha - From Ancient Remains, Mosta Lays Out Its History - is open Monday to Sunday 6 to 9 p.m. and also on Sunday 10 a.m. to noon.
The display being held at Razzett tal-Markiż Mallia Tabone in Triq Wied il-Għasel, Mosta includes a number of intricate models of churches and other landmarks.
How were these models ferreted out for this exhibition?
Joe Bartolo, the president of Għaqda Talent Mosta, comes up, as he regularly does, with the simplest of answers: no frills, just results would describe Mr Bartolo spot on.
"I spent 40 years working as a plasterer and this job took me into many houses and I kept a mental image of the artefacts I came across. So, when we came to put together this display, I knew which doors to knock on."
He remembers the time when there were only 10 houses in Constitution Street and when the shops where the Bank of Valletta branch now stands was still arable land.
"I remember going up the top part of the Mosta Rotunda taking tea to the workmen who were laying bronze cladding on the dome," Mr Bartolo said. Incidentally, there are photographs at the display showing the bronze plates being laid on the dome to prevent rainwater from seeping in.
The exhibition runs until September 16 when Jum il-Mosta is celebrated together with the town's 400th anniversary as a parish.
Mr Bartolo's father Ġużepp Ta' Spir, also was a plasterer. One of the artefacts at the exhibition is a model of a wooden contraption made at the drydocks and which was used as scaffolding to paint the Rotunda from the inside.
This early form of scaffolding was paid for by Karmenu Dimech, a Maltese American who also paid for the gilding inside the Rotunda in 1920. While the original was made at the drydocks, the model was made by Joe Bartolo's uncle, Paul Bartolo.
The items on display include a model made of matchsticks by Joe Spiteri, known as Joe ta' Bertu tal-każin, of the former church where the Rotunda now stands.
Giovann Muscat, Tax-Xilart made the models of the Rotunda, the chapel at Wied il-Għasel, Fort Mosta and a farmhouse.
Two intriguing exhibits are the walking cane and compass that belonged to Giorgio Grognet de Vassé, (1774-1862), the architect who designed the Rotunda. These personal items were bought at an auction by Ġużepp Grech known as Tal-Paramount and were later donated to the Rotunda.
At the moment, one of the rooms at Razzett tal-Markiż is dedicated to the Second World War and was laid out by Charles Vella, former Scout Master in Mosta. The layout includes a poster of the film Malta Story provided by film buff Andrew Borda.