Comino Cemetery

Memory Written in Stone

On a hill above Santa Marija Bay, away from tourist trails, stands a small cemetery. A few dozen stone headstones — many already illegible — are the only material evidence of generations who lived on Comino.

The Community That Left

In the 18th and 19th centuries, 20-40 families lived on Comino. They fished, bred rabbits, cultivated cumin (from which the island takes its name), and collected salt from natural salt pans. It was a hard life — no fresh water, no doctor, no school (until 1948).

When Malta modernised after World War II, young people began emigrating to the main island. One by one, houses emptied. The last permanent residents left Comino in the 1960s. The cemetery was closed — there was no one left to bury.

Silence That Speaks

Today the cemetery is one of the most moving places on Comino. Wind rustles through dry grass, and on the headstones you can read Maltese surnames — Borg, Camilleri, Vella — the same names that most Maltese still carry today.