Short answers, pulled from the story.
Mdina is a fortified city in the Western Region of Malta with a permanent population of just 250 people. Also known by its Italian epithets Città Vecchia and Città Notabile, it served as Malta's capital from antiquity through the medieval period and is now a major tourist attraction.
Mdina earned the nickname "Silent City" (Il-Belt Siekta in Maltese) because it has never regained its importance after losing its status as Malta's capital in 1530, when the Order of Saint John relocated to Birgu. Cars are almost entirely banned from its streets today, which reinforces the city's quiet character.
Mdina lost its status as capital of Malta in 1530, when the Order of Saint John arrived under Grand Master Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam and chose to establish their capital at Birgu instead. The Maltese nobility formally handed over the keys of the city, but the Order never settled there.
During the Great Siege of 1565, Mdina served as the base for the Order of St. John's cavalry. On the 7th of August 1565, the cavalry attacked the unprotected Ottoman field hospital, prompting the invaders to abandon a major assault on Birgu and Senglea. Later, Mdina's defenders also tricked the Ottomans into believing the city had ample ammunition by firing cannon at extreme range, causing the Ottomans to abandon plans to winter there.
The name Mdina derives from the Arabic word madina, meaning "town" or "city." The settlement was called Madina when it was refounded in the 11th century by Muslims from Sicily, and the modern name evolved directly from that Arabic term.
French forces captured Mdina on the 10th of June 1798 with little resistance and installed a garrison of 65 men. On the 3rd of September 1798, Maltese rebels entered the city through a sally port and killed the entire garrison, marking the start of a two-year uprising. The Maltese National Assembly then met in Mdina's Banca Giuratale during the blockade that eventually forced French surrender in 1800.