Zejtun is a medium sized town in the south of Malta. Zejtun takes its name from the Sicilian Arabic for “olive”- zaytun (comparable to the Spanish and Portuguese, "aceituna" and "azeitona" respectively), which was one of the main productive industries in Malta.

Zejtun, lying near to Marsaxlokk and Marsascala Bays, was easily open to attack from Barbary Corsairs and the Ottoman Turks. You can still see some fortified houses in the village core. Zejtun today retains much of historical interest. The Parish Church of St Catherine (1692), described as `the cathedral of the South', is perhaps the finest work of Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafa'. The Old Parish Church of St Gregory, dating back to 1592, is a fascinating church. In 1969, a secret passage was discovered in the church walls. Intended perhaps as a safe place for villagers when Zejtun was under attack, these passages revealed the skeletal remains of some 80 or people.