Discover Żejtun: Churches, Crafts and Olive Heritage

This includes architectural and local history, as well as specific dates and cultural programmes. This makes it possible to decide before your trip whether your focus is on historic churches, olive processing or feast traditions.

Churches, History and Heritage Routes

The Parish Church of St. Catherine was built between 1692 and 1720 to a design by Lorenzo Gafà. The Żejtun Parish Church Museum is next to it. Saint Gregory’s Chapel had a different historical role: from 1400 to 1720, it served as the parish church of Iż-Żejtun. The construction period and its former parish function offer two different perspectives on the town’s church history.

The Heritage Route through the centre of Żejtun shows the development of a typical Mediterranean community. A separate Heritage Route is designated for Bisqallin, the lower village of Żejtun. The routes therefore differ in their focus: one passes through the town centre, while the other is specifically associated with Bisqallin.

Archaeology, Olives and Crafts

The Żejtun Olive Press is a replica of a press used in Roman times. It was used mainly to separate the olive flesh from the stone. This highlights a specific step in olive processing. The Żejtun Roman Villa includes both a residential area and a commercial-industrial area. These topics draw attention to different aspects: a particular processing technique and the functional layout of the villa.

The Żejtun Arts & Crafts Centre is housed in a typical old Maltese house and serves as a centre for training in traditional crafts. The focus here is on craft training; the archaeological topics, by contrast, concern a press and the areas of a Roman villa. The cultural heritage therefore offers various points of interest without requiring them to be the same kind of experience.

Feasts and Holy Week

The feast of Saint Catherine of Alexandria is celebrated on the third Sunday in June. If you would like to include this feast in your travel plans, the date provides a specific time reference; check the event dates before booking. At Żejt iż-Żejtun, Maltese bread spread with freshly pressed olive oil is handed out for free to taste. The event also features the pressing of olives to make olive oil.

Holy Week also offers different cultural points of interest. A digital guide documents the course of the Good Friday procession. Holy Week also includes a planned walking route through all the churches that are open. The guide focuses on the course of the procession; the planned route focuses on the churches that are open.

Gardens and Nearby Routes

San Girgor Garden offers views of the surrounding agricultural landscape. The Heritage Malta trail “Towards the Sun in the South” has a different destination focus: it leads from Żejtun towards Delimara, Xrobb l-Għaġin and Wied il-Għajn. Check the route status before setting out.

Discover more destinations: Xlendi, Żebbuġ, Attard, Vittoriosa, Ghammar, Marsa, Munxar, San Pawl Il-Baħar.

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