The Citadel, Victoria Gozo
A visit to Gozo should begin in
Victoria, the island's capital. Victoria was named after
the English monarch Queen Victoria, to commemorate her
Silver Jubilee in 1897. Even today, many locals still
call it by its original name, Rabat (which means city).
This commercial hub with its street
market (known as it-Tokk, in Independence Square) also
contains the Citadel (known often as the Gran Castello or
the Cittadella), an impregnable strategic point which
owes its origins to the late mediaeval era, and which was
re-fortified by the Knights of the Order of St. John to
act as protection for the inhabitants.
For many centuries, pirates and
corsairs used Gozo's small harbours for shelter, while
they raided the island in search of fresh produce and
water. Often they took the inhabitants captives in order
to sell them as slaves. To save themselves and their
families from this terrifying fate, the inhabitants, on
discovering the enemy had landed, would flee to the
highest point at the centre of the island.
The Citadel was comparatively safe, but
its walls were not impregnable and would probably not
have been able to withstand the onslaught of an armed
force determined to enter. After their victory in the
Great Siege of 1565 against the Ottoman Turks, however,
the Knights reinforced the Citadel's vertical
battlements, and it is these we see today.
Within its walls lies the cathedral
designed by Lorenzo Gafa, built between 1697 and 1711. At
the time it was constructed, money was in short supply so
its dome was never erected, but this imperfection was
brilliantly disguised by an Italian painter, Antonio
Manuele. In the interior of the Cathedral he created a
magnificent trompe l'oeil painting that shows the
interior of a dome in full splendor.
Inside the Citadel one also finds the
Cathedral Museum with vestments, silver and gold items
used in sacred services. There are the Archaeological
Museum which holds several objects found at various sites
in Gozo, the Natural History Museum and the Folklore
Museum. There is also a craft centre housed in the old
prison buildings, which provides a window on local
crafts, both traditional and modern.
Not to be missed are the spectacular
views across the island from the battlements. An
earthquake in 1693 damaged many of the mediaeval
buildings within the walls, but these are now being
restored.
See Also...
Comino
The waters are
crystal clear with safe bathing
for even the youngest children.
The superb Blue Lagoon is not
only excellent for swimming but
also one of the most wonderful
sights of the Maltese Islands
Calypsos Cave Close to
Xaghra and overlooking the red
sands of Gozo's finest beach,
Ramla l-Hamra, is Calypso's Cave,
assumed by many to be the cave
referred to by Homer in 'The
Odyssey'
Ggantija
megalithic temples of Ggantija
near the village of Xaghra are an
outstanding example of the
prehistoric monuments
Fungus
Rock At Dwejra on Gozo's
southern coastline- superb
natural phenomenon, the Inland
Sea.
Dwejra: the Inland Sea and Fungus Rock This rare plant was for centuries kept under constant guard and anyone caught stealing it was instantly put to death
The Azure Window On the top of two giant columns of rock, each with a diameter of about 40 metres, rests a huge ledge of rock measuring about 100 metres in length and 20 metres in height, forming a giant window
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