The village of Luqa is situated on a hill facing the open plan of Marsa, with Wied il-Kbir on the east whereas on the west it faces a plateau of fields which surround the small villages of the Island. At Luqa there is quite a sustanial number of archeologiclal and historical sites which sharply contrast with the modern ndustrial estates surrounding the village. But the most striking site of reference corresponding to the village of Luqa is, and has always been, the Malta international Airport which, together with the various fields of modern technology, remains one of the major links of our nation with the out world.

A number of different interpretations about the name Luqa have accompanied the unfolding of events, which contributed to push this village amongst the most renowned cities of Malta. The most outstanding interpretations, however, is that produced by Annible Preca. He used to think differently about the name of Luqa.

The Arabic word “Ħalaq” means a plain. The noun Ħalaq means a smoth plain. The plural “Ħalaqot” means somewhere smooth. Another plural “Ħalluqim” also means a piece of land.

The land forming the village of Luqa is smooth and without humps. Hence Preca gathers the typography of the work “Luqa” with the structure of the land.

On the other hand, another interpretation is given by Dun Ġużepp Micallef in his book “Ħal Luqa, Niesha u Ġrajjietha”. According to Micallef “Ħal Luqa” could have been a man’s nickname who lived in this village, and who could have had some kind of relation with the Italian city of Lucca. St that time, this city had some commercial relations with Malta.


3. What is the Luqa Local Council?

By virtue of the Local Councils Act (1993) Luqa was one of 67 localities to have its own Local Council. The first election was held on Friday 4th March 1994. The Luqa Local Council is the local government responsible for the up keeping and maintenance of the locality. Its main offices are at Saint Paul Street. The elected branch of the council is made up of the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor and five Councillors whilst the executive branch is headed by the Executive Secretary together with two full time officers.