In this contribution I present an overview of Italian in Malta, the third language of Malta, focusing on the role of this language within educational institutions and other domains of society. Italian was one of Malta's official languages till 1936 and, historically, it was used mainly within administrative and cultural spheres of society. Contact with Italian is evident in many Maltese words, which form part of the language as integrated borrowings. Although exposure to Italian television programmes is in decline when compared to the recent past, many Maltese still tune into Italian TV channels quite regularly. Italian is the most popular foreign language studied in local schools and there are regular political, commercial and cultural exchanges between Italy and Malta.