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The largest village in the area, it is also the centre of most of its commercial activities. It has also been one of the oldest to be established as a separate parish church, and thus it precedes all the other villages that are within the immediate vicinity. Zurrieq has always been one of those villages that attracted people from smaller hamlets. Hal Millieri, a case in point, was still thriving up to the late 16th century, but by the turn of the 17th century it dwindled and today only its names survives. The majority of its inhabitants went to live either at Zurrieq, or else in nearby villages.

The area surrounding Zurrieq is also famous for its wonderful country walks. A walk from the parish centre towards the cliffs overlooking the Blue Grotto, would lead one through wonderful scenery, including the valleys of the area as well.

PARISH CHURCH OF ST. CATHERINE

The parish church is dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria, and the present building is also one of the most profusely decorated of the area. Already a parish in 1436, it was soon enlarged, until in the 17th century the parishioners initiated a programme to build a much larger church. There were also extensions and additions to the sacristy, while two bell towers were added to the original building.

The various paintings that adorn the church are also amongst the foremost art of the Maltese Islands. Having the Italian painter, Mattia Preti, choosing to have a house in the village, proved to be beneficial to the parish church, as it was exquisitely adorned by this same artist. In fact, this parish church holds about six canvases by the Italian master who was originally invited to Malta to decorate the vault of the Co-Cathedral of St. John. Most important is undoubtedly the titular piece.

The same church has also other works of art by other artist, both foreign and local. There are also two very good processional statues, both the work of Maltese craftsmen. One shows St. Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint. This is the work of Mariano Gerada. Then there is the statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the work of Salvu Psaila.

OTHER CHAPELS

Within the village one can see many chapels, of various sizes and importance. The Chapel of the Immaculate Conception is one of those chapels which was rebuilt on the initiative of a member of the Order of St.John, namely Fra J Togores de Valemuola, a member of the Aragonese Langue. It is also interesting to note that this chapel was built affixed to the Togores Palace, probably the private residence of the same Knight. Another chapel is that which is dedicated to St. James. Originally there used to be two chapels in the area, but when in the 18th century it was decided to rebuild them, the decision was taken to build just one chapel.

Lying further away from the main village centre there are two other hamlets, Bubaqra and in-Nigret. The church that serves the needs of Bubaqra is dedicated to our Lady. Originally there used to be two chapels in the area dedicated to Ss. Roque and Sebastian. After the plague of 1676 the chapels were rebuilt as one structure, with the dedication being changed to the present one. During the 1960s the chapel proved to be too small to serve the local community, and on he initiative of the priest Dun Slav Formosa the chapel was enlarged and adjacent buildings were added to it. It is interesting to note that one of the paintings that can be admired in this small chapel is that of St. Roque, executed in 1599. The artist, Giovanni Battista Riccio had been in Malta during the plague of 1592-3 and had survived the ordeal. This painting is a votive offering. In the same hamlet of Bubaqra there is also the cemetery of Zurrieq. The chapel within is dedicated to St. Leo. There is a painting inside this chapel which is said to have belonged to a small chapel which used to be on the small island of
Filfla. After the latter's de-consecration, the altar piece was transferred to this chapel.

Another hamlet that falls within the jurisdiction of Zurrieq is that of Hal Millieri. Nowadays the village only exists in name, but there are still two chapels standing and various excavations and studies have been carried out, giving a lot of information about this particular hamlet. One of the present day chapels is dedicated to St. John the Evangelist. In front of the same chapel there is a stone-cross, a typical village scene which can only be admired in certain villages around the island. Close-by there is another chapel which lies within a boundary wall, which also groups the remains of another chapel, nowadays n complete ruins. The chapel which is dedicated to the Annunciation is well known as a number of mural were discovered on its side walls, attesting to interesting artistic activity during the 15th century. The Zurrieq Local Council is currently working on a rehabilitation plan for the area of Hal Millieri.

MONUMENTS

Surrounding the Parish Church area are various other monuments worth mentioning. Affixed to one side of the same church building there is the Second World War monument which commemorates those who fell during the hostilities. The work of the Gozitan sculptor Camilleri Cauchi, it shows a worker chiseling the names of those who died during the conflict, while other figures represent the dead and the grieving. Next to the same church, this time in the middle of the square is, a statue dedicated to St Catherine. The statue was consecrated in 1814, and was paid for by a local villager. The sculptor of this statue was Mariano Gerada, who also executed the processional statue which is to be seen inside the church.
Nearby there is the village school. On one side of this building, a monument was recently erected to one of the worthiest sons of the village, Mons. Pietro Paolo Saydon (1895 - 1971) (6). This eminent priest was a Bible scholar, and was one of the foremost scholars who worked on the whole translation of the Bible from the original texts. His work has been translated posthumously.

DEFENCE

Because the topography of the area itself provides adequate defence, due to the high cliffs that lead down to the small inlets, throughout the centuries, it was decided only to defend certain areas. The earliest defence works to be found within Zurrieq are the Roman towers. The idea was to have an early warning system for the main town of Melita (present day Mdina and Rabat). These towers covered the approaches leading towards the main city from the southern flank, since there are more bays and landing beaches which could have been made use of by the enemy. This area was defended by a number of well positioned towers. They were usually round, and their main aim was to relay any messages to the city of Melita.
There are at least three Roman round towers in the area, at Ta' Gawhar, Tal-Baqqari and Tat-Torrijiet, limits of Zurrieq. There is also the tower of Ta' Wilga, limits of Mqabba. The first mentioned was the only one that was scientifically excavated, resulting in confirmation that these particular ruins belonged to defence works dating to the third century AD it has been suggested that it could have been built due to the incursions of the Heruli from the Black Sea into the Mediterranean, during the latter part of the third century. The results of this excavation show that other similar remains could have formed one whole system. Other similar remains can be found on the other side of the island, obviously protecting other approaches.
Other defences were built during the time of the Order of St John. A number of towers were built but the only one which falls within the boundaries of Zurrieq is Guardia del Giorno, built in the limits of Bubaqra during the 17th century. The idea was to have a group of four Maltese villagers watching the coast. If enemy or suspected vessels were noticed, their duty was to raise the alarm, so that from Valletta a defence plan could be set in motion.

OTHER REMAINS AND INTERESTING PLACES

Probably the earliest remains to be seen in Zurrieq are those of a part of a Punic building, probably mentioned by classical writers to have existed in the area. The remains to be seen are in actual fact inside the yard of the Parish priest of Zurrieq's residence.
In Zurrieq there are also a number of windmills, vestiges of the time of the Order of St. John. These would have been rented out to individuals, and were usually retained by the family for various generations. The best known one at Zurrieq is locally known as Ta' Xarolla, the name of the area. Within the vicinity there has also been recently discovered a palaeo-Christian catacomb. The presence of this catacomb indicates that there was a small Christian community living in the area during the early centuries of Christianity in Malta. The Zurrieq Local Council is also working on the upgrading of the whole area and plans to opens it for visitors.

Another important building is the so-called Armoury. Being one of the main parish centres of the island, Zurrieq was given the responsibility of the defence of the area. The villagers of Zurrieq and the nearby villages used to gather in front of this building from where instructions could be given. Today this building is used as a private residence.

Bubaqra Tower, built in the 16th century, was not meant to be part of the defence system of the island, although it is said that for some time it was actually used as such. The way it is constructed shows that it was originally meant to be a countryside residence.