Paola is a town in the South Eastern Region of Malta, with 8,706 inhabitants as of 2019. The town is a commercial centre in the Southern Harbour area of Malta, about 5 km from the capital Valletta, contiguous to Tarxien and Fgura, with which it forms a single urban area. Paola is named after Grand Master Antoine de Paule, who laid the foundation stone in 1626.