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Safi (( マルタ語:Ħal Safi)) is a village in the Southern Region of Malta, located close to Żurrieq and the Malta International Airport. It has a population of 2,126 people as of March 2014. The formation of the village as known today goes back to about seven hundred years. The village of Ħal Safi was surrounded by four other major villages. Farmers and peasants used to meet there for a chat on their way back home from work. Later a niche was erected there,and in time,as people began to settle in the vicinity, a new village started taking shape. In 1417, the village was already known as Ħal Safi. According to the 1419 records of the Standing Army (id-Dejma), between eighty and ninety people were considered as village residents. The main occupation of the major part of the residents was farming - breeding of sheep and goats and agriculture. The origin of the village's name cannot be determined conclusively. Some historians have concluded that the name was derived from the PURE (Safi) AIR of the village. Others insisted that it is similar to Ksour Essaf in Tunisia or that the village was named Ħal Safi since none of its residents was contaminated when an epidemic infected the whole country. Both its coat of arms (a horizontal light-blue stripe on a silver background) and its motto (Sine Macula) emphasize the meaning of its name. ==The Declaration of the Village as a Parish== For several years Ħal Safi formed part of Bir Miftuħ. However, the residents were not happy with this, mostly because of the distance between the two villages. Instead they wished to at least form part of Żurrieq, which was much nearer. In 1575 when Monsignor Dusina visited Ħal Safi, the residents put their wish forward, but nothing came out of it. At last, in 1592, Bishop Gargallo decided to separate Ħal Safi, Imqabba and Ħal Kirkop from Bir Miftuħ. He amalgamated the three villages into one Parish. Father Carl Taliana from Luqa was appointed as its Parish Priest. Ħal Safi residents were still not satisfied because they had to walk long distances when visiting the church dedicated to Saint James at Ħal Kirkop for the celebration of sacraments such as Holy Communion and Funerals. When Ħal Safi residents got to know that a new church was going to be built at Ħal Kirkop, they were not keen on donating money for the project. In 1598, a delegation of twelve men from Ħal Safi paid a visit to Bishop Gargallo. In the name of all Ħal Safi residents, they filed a petition requesting that the village of two hundred and ten residents become a Parish. This time the Bishop accepted their request. So, in April 1598, a contract to this effect was drawn up in front of Notary Debono. According to the agreement, Ħal Safi residents had to pay the Parish Priest an annual sum of money, precisely on the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul. The administration of this new Parish was assigned to Dun Gwann Mizzi. After three months, Dun Gwann Mizzi was appointed Parish Priest of Imqabba. Dun Mattew Xiriha was put in his stead on a temporary basis. In those years, there were five chapels in Ħal Safi. The largest one, which was dedicated to Saint Paul, was chosen to serve as the Parish Church. As a commemoration of the foundation of the Parish, a church bell was bought. An image of Saint Peter and another one of Saint Paul together with the following inscription "Sancte Paule Ora Pro Nobis" were engraved in it. The other four chapels were dedicated to: St. Agatha, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and two to the Birth of the Virgin Mary. The only one still in existence is that dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, which was re-built in 1761. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Safi, Malta」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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