Maltese Crafts

Malta's crafts survive partly because the islands were on every trade route in the Mediterranean and absorbed techniques from all of them. Silver filigree, fine wire twisted and soldered into openwork brooches and the Maltese cross, came from the Italian and Middle Eastern tradition and is still worked by hand at benches you can stand beside. Bobbin lace, bizzilla, was introduced from Genoa and became a Gozitan speciality, with older women working cushions of pins and threads in doorways in the villages, producing a distinctive geometric lace. Glass-blowing arrived more recently but has become a signature, with brightly coloured swirled pieces made in front of visitors. Most of it is gathered at Ta' Qali, a crafts village built into old aircraft hangars, which is unlovely but lets you see everything in one afternoon.

What you actually see

• Silver filigree - fine twisted wire worked into crosses and brooches at the bench.
• Gozitan bobbin lace - the pin-and-thread cushions worked by hand.
• Glass-blowing - coloured glass shaped in front of visitors at Ta' Qali.
• Ta' Qali crafts village - the workshops gathered in old aircraft hangars.

When to go

Year-round on working days; weekday mornings are when the craftspeople are actually at their benches rather than the shops simply being open. Ta' Qali is quieter on weekdays. Lace is best sought on Gozo, particularly around the villages rather than in tourist shops.

Honest expectations

Ta' Qali is a functional site of converted hangars rather than a charming village, and some units sell imported goods alongside local work, so ask what is made on site. Genuine handmade lace is expensive and slow to produce, and much of what is sold cheaply as Maltese lace is machine-made and imported. Filigree quality varies widely.

Nearby

Mdina and Rabat are a short drive; the Mosta Dome is nearby.