Tales of Kottonera Portal Enhanced with Three Exciting Features

Press release│ 10 April 2025

Heritage Malta’s interactive portal Tales of Kottonera has been enhanced with three new features – a graphic novel, a series of heritage trails, and an additional character to the ones already in place, guiding visitors around the Three Cities and Kalkara.

The portal, launched in October last year and developed in collaboration with Marketlink Ltd, provides an innovative way of exploring the rich history and culture of the Kottonera region. With a content targeting various audiences and age groups, it is a treasure trove of resources, historical facts, lesser-known stories, and interesting curiosities about this iconic locality.

Tales of Kottonera is a project managed by Heritage Malta Publishing, as the agency’s unit responsible for didactic resources. Both the graphic novel and the heritage trails were conceived and produced by this unit.

The newly added graphic novel, titled The Cursed Thief, may also be accessed as a hard copy and is the first title in the new series Chilling Tales of Malta and Gozo, published by Heritage Malta through its publishing unit. It recounts the true story of a theft from the Church of St Theresa in Cospicua in 1837. Pawlu Galea, from Vittoriosa, broke into the church, desecrating the tabernacle and stealing the sacred ciborium. The ciborium was later found, following a frantic search in the neighbourhood. On the site where it was discovered in Birgu, the Discalced Carmelite friars built a small chapel and the place is known to this day as ‘Fejn Sabu s-Sinjur’ (‘Where the Lord was Found’).

The heritage trails – one each for Cospicua, Vittoriosa, Senglea and Kalkara – take visitors across 21 fascinating stops in every city. As they walk along and learn about the history of the area, users can solve fun challenges and scan QR codes to reveal even more exciting stories about Kottonera. Each trail is designed to give a foretaste of Kottonera’s rich cultural heritage and to induce virtual visitors to experience the trail physically and more holistically.

The additional character is that of Filomena, who joins Salvu and Bertu on the portal. Eventually the portal will have six animated characters in all, each recounting tales about Kottonera from their own perspective. Filomena’s remit, for instance, is the historical commercial aspect of Kottonera.

The three new features were launched during an event to which students from De La Salle College were invited, together with representatives of Kottonera local councils and NGOs. The event was held inside the Church of St Theresa, to complement the story about the theft of 1837. The stolen ciborium and the forced door of the tabernacle, still preserved by the friars, were also placed on display during the event. Afterwards, the students were shown the place where the ciborium was recovered.

Commenting on this event, Noel Zammit, Heritage Malta’s Chief Executive Officer, said that Tales of Kottonera offers an innovative means for the public to become familiar with the Kottonera region, appreciate its history and culture, and yearn to know more about it by visiting it in person. He added that the portal, now even more enhanced with the new additions, beautifully complements physical visits to Kottonera by providing a wider context and an alternative perspective.