Saint Julian’s, or as the locals refer to it, San Ġiljan, is a town located in the central region of Malta and as of mid-2020, is home to almost 14,000 people. The town is mostly known for being a hub for nightlife, new and luxurious accommodation locations, restaurants and nightclubs. For this reason, St Julian’s is popular with both locals and tourists alike, especially during the busy summer months.

The town is named after its patron saint, Julian, who is widely known as Julian the Hospitaller and Julian the Poor, whereby he is the patron saint of hunters. Before the reform to the calendar of saints, the memorial to St Julian was on 27 January. Today, however, it’s celebrated on the 12^th of February and an additional feast is celebrated on the last Sunday of August.

History tells us that people dwelled within the town of St Julian’s many years ago. In fact, in the 20^th century, Roman tombs were discovered in Balluta, where one may find the chapel of the Sacred Heart Convent today. In 1693, a large earthquake on the Maltese islands caused considerable damage to a number of buildings, one of which was the Lapsi Church, originally built during the time of the Knights of St John. Following a rebuild, requests were made for the church to become a parish. At the time, the town was a small fishing village, surrounding Spinola and Balluta bays, with very few buildings apart from Spinola Palace, the old parish church, a few fisherman’s huts and some farmhouses scattered around the area. In fact, around the year 1845, there were just 50 families living in the area; a number that increased to approximately 1000 during summer.

By 1891, the Lapsi church was declared a parish and Dun Gużepp Xerri was appointed chaplain. The town then grew considerably and a new church was built in 1961. St Julian’s is now divided into fourn informal districts: Paceville, Ta’ Ġiorni, Tal-Għoqod and St Andrew’s, as well as the regions surrounding St George’s Bay, Spinola, Balluta Bau and il-Qalliet cliffs.