Ħamrun, the town the railway built and the shops kept

Ħamrun is what you see from the bus window as you leave Valletta for the interior, shopping streets, traffic and people running errands. It isn’t a destination, but it tells a story that explains half the island, with a small link to Spain thrown in.

The town the railway made

Visit Malta describes it as a bustling urban area that grew out of scattered hamlets. Its take-off came from the mid-19th century with the building of the railway, although it had already filled up with dockyard workers moving out of Valletta and Floriana. The line lasted only around five decades, until about 1930, but by then Ħamrun was a major centre, and it had gained its own parish in the late 19th century. At one time, Visit Malta adds, parts of Ħamrun depended on Qormi as their administrative and parish centre.

It’s one of Malta’s least-known stories. Plenty of visitors have no idea the island once had trains, and a station still survives in Birkirkara, Malta’s second largest town.

Porto Salvo, St Cajetan and Tas-Samra

Visit Malta mentions three churches. The oldest is St Mary of Porto Salvo, built in 1736 in early Baroque style, which grew like the town itself, probably from a village chapel. Today’s main parish church is dedicated to St Cajetan, San Ġejtanu in Maltese.

The third is the one that interests me most, the small chapel of Tas-Samra. It holds an icon of the Madonna brought from Spain by a wealthy 16th-century merchant, much venerated and unusual for the dark complexion of the Virgin. I don’t have visiting hours from a source, so I’d ask at the parish. If you enjoy village church stories like this, carry on with churches in Malta.

Shopping in Ħamrun

Visit Malta presents Ħamrun as a popular shopping town with a lively atmosphere. It’s workaday Malta, with shops aimed at locals rather than cruise passengers, and I find that a welcome change from Republic Street. Some 12,386 people live here, 7,800 of them Maltese, according to the NSO. There’s no official list I can point to of markets or shop hours, so I won’t send you to a particular one; walking the main road alongside the locals is the whole point.

Buses and places to stay

Four routes from Valletta terminal pass through Ħamrun, the 42 towards Birkirkara and Mosta, the 62 towards Qormi, the bread town and Żebbuġ, the 74 towards Marsa and Luqa and the 122 towards Msida and Mater Dei Hospital. Ħamrun also merges into Santa Venera, the council of the Wignacourt Aqueduct, with no visible line between them. That makes it a handy place to change for the interior, and tickets are €2.50 on the summer timetable, dropping to €2 in winter. The MTA register lists no licensed hotels, just one guesthouse and 47 holiday lets, so I’d base myself in Valletta.