Gzira means Island in Maltese, and the town is named after Manoel Island which lies just adjacent to it. Manoel Island is itself named after Manuel de Vilhena, a Grandmaster of the Knights of Malta. Both Gzira & Msida in the last decade, a large proportion of the old houses has been demolished and new, luxurious blocks of flats have been built. This led to an inflation of the housing prices, as th
ese 2 towns became sought after by both Maltese,Gozitans and foreign settlers. The main reason behind the area's popularity is that it is fairly centrally located in Malta, being close to both the University Campus, Hospital and the capital city, Valletta. Gzira' s population has been fairly stable over the past few years, hovering around 8,000 people. New developments now feature various commercial outlets but then newcomers have been moving into apartments thus, the loss of people who have moved from townhouses has been compenstated by those who moved into the new apartments. The Manoel Island development shall further boost Gzira's commercial activity as well as its population. Gzira shall most probably remain the gateway to Sliema, its nearby town. Msida was previously an old fishing village,which became a parish in 1867. The patron of Msida is Saint Joseph while the protector is The Holy Conception. For a week and a half in July, the town celebrates the feast of St. The feast of Msida is also famous for its traditional game “Il-Ġostra”. Its population, which is around 18000 inhabitants including the outlying suburb of Swatar. Today, the upper part of Msida which is known as the "University Heights" is a bustling university area and development has been centered around an increasing student population at the University, a as well as various new service industries that have sprung in this town in recent years.