Victoria, Malta
Encyclopedia
Victoria or Città Victoria is the capital of Gozo, an island of the Maltese
archipelago
in the Mediterranean Sea
. The town has a total population of 6,414 (November 2005), and by population is the largest locality in Gozo.
Victoria is the name given in 1897 by the British
government on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee
, at the request of the Bishop of Malta, Mons. Sir Pietro Pace. However Gozitans still often refer to it by its old name, Rabat. The area around Victoria, situated on a hill near the centre of the island, has been settled since Neolithic
times.
times, but is known to be first fortified during the Bronze Age
approximately around 1500 BC. It was later developed by the Phoenicians and continued into becoming a complex Acropolis
by Roman times
.
The south flank of the Citadel, overlooking Victoria, was re-constructed under the Knights of St. John
, namely between 1599 and 1603. The massive defensive stone walls of the fortifications rise above the town and were built by the Knights to protect the village communities from corsairs and Turks attempting to take slaves and threatened invasion of Moslem forces fighting Christians.
Within its walls lies a fine 17th century baroque
Cathedral designed by Lorenzo Gafà
, the Maltese architect who also built the Cathedral of Mdina
. It is said that it lies on the site where a Roman temple dedicated to Juno
once stood. It is most famous for the remarkable painting on its ceiling, which depicts the interior of a dome that was never built.
, Victoria Hotspurs F.C and Oratory Youths, and two well equipped gyms.
. The feast dedicated to St. Mary, devoted in its Cathedral situated in the centre of the Citadel dominating the whole island and the another one dedicated to St. George, one of the patron saints of Gozo celebrated in St. George's Basilica in the heart of Victoria.
In Victoria there is the feast of the Immaculate Conception in the church of St Francis this feast is celebrated on 8 December of every year by the Franciscan conventual friars. A feast of Our Lady of Divine Grace is celebrated as the last feast of the feast season by the Franciscan capuchin frias in the church dedicated to Our Lady of Divine Grace. The feast of St. John Bosco is celebrated in the Don Bosco Oratory.
La Stella Philharmonic Society AD 1863
Leone Philharmonic Society
, which covers the whole of Victoria, caters for a little over half of the population of Victoria, as it is a personal parish (as opposed to other parishes who are territorial) operating in the city of Victoria. Its parish church
dedicated to St George has the status of a Basilica
. This church was built in the 1670s and suffered severe damage in the earthquake of 1693. A new façade was built in 1818. The dome and the aisles are of recent construction (1930s and 1940s). There are several works of art in this church which include the painting of the dome and ceiling by Gian Battista Conti of Rome and other paintings and sculptures by Mattia Preti
, Giuseppe d'Arena, Stefano Erardi, Alessio Erardi, Francesco V. Zahra, Giuseppe Calì, and contemporary Alfred Camilleri Cauchi and John L. Grima. The titular statue of St George was carved from solid wood by Pietro Paolo Azzopardi in 1838 and is the first titular statue on the island. The area over which the church is built is of considerable archaeological interest, with evidence of activity dating back to at least to the Roman period.
The parish celebrates two feasts during the year: 23 April, the official date celebrating the death of the martyr, and the third Sunday of July, when the solemn festivities in honour of Gozo's patron saint are held.
St George's Basilica, Victoria
One can seein these gardens a bronze bust of the Gozitan 18th century historian and grammarian Can. Gian Pietro Agius de Soldanis and another of Gozo born French poet and writer Laurent Ropa.
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. The town has a total population of 6,414 (November 2005), and by population is the largest locality in Gozo.
Victoria is the name given in 1897 by the British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
government on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee
Diamond Jubilee
A Diamond Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 60th anniversary in the case of a person or a 75th anniversary in the case of an event.- Thailand :...
, at the request of the Bishop of Malta, Mons. Sir Pietro Pace. However Gozitans still often refer to it by its old name, Rabat. The area around Victoria, situated on a hill near the centre of the island, has been settled since Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
times.
The Citadella
In the heart of Victoria lies the Citadella (Citadel), which has been the centre of activity of the island since possibly NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
times, but is known to be first fortified during the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
approximately around 1500 BC. It was later developed by the Phoenicians and continued into becoming a complex Acropolis
Acropolis
Acropolis means "high city" in Greek, literally city on the extremity and is usually translated into English as Citadel . For purposes of defense, early people naturally chose elevated ground to build a new settlement, frequently a hill with precipitous sides...
by Roman times
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
.
The south flank of the Citadel, overlooking Victoria, was re-constructed under the Knights of St. John
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
, namely between 1599 and 1603. The massive defensive stone walls of the fortifications rise above the town and were built by the Knights to protect the village communities from corsairs and Turks attempting to take slaves and threatened invasion of Moslem forces fighting Christians.
Within its walls lies a fine 17th century baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
Cathedral designed by Lorenzo Gafà
Lorenzo Gafà
Lorenzo Gafà was a Maltese baroque architect.Born in Vittoriosa , Gafà began his working life as a stone carver and his brother was the renowned sculptor Melchiorre. By the early 1660s he had developed a strong interest in architectural design and in 1661 is known to have been involved in the...
, the Maltese architect who also built the Cathedral of Mdina
Mdina
Mdina, Città Vecchia, or Città Notabile, is the old capital of Malta. Mdina is a medieval walled town situated on a hill in the centre of the island. Punic remains uncovered beyond the city’s walls suggest the importance of the general region to Malta’s Phoenician settlers. Mdina is commonly...
. It is said that it lies on the site where a Roman temple dedicated to Juno
Juno (mythology)
Juno is an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counselor of the state. She is a daughter of Saturn and sister of the chief god Jupiter and the mother of Mars and Vulcan. Juno also looked after the women of Rome. Her Greek equivalent is Hera...
once stood. It is most famous for the remarkable painting on its ceiling, which depicts the interior of a dome that was never built.
Local Council
The current members of the Victoria Local Council are:- Samuel Azzopardi (mayor, PN)
- Marcell Tabone (PN)
- Joseph Debrincat (PL)
- Michael Portelli (PL)
- Michel Buttigieg (PL)
- Josef Schembri (PN)
- Carmel Theuma (PN).
Sports
Victoria is home to three football clubs, SK Victoria WanderersS.K. Victoria Wanderers F.C.
S.K. Victoria Wanderers Football Club is a Maltese football club from the town of Victoria, Gozo. They were founded in 1958 and throughout the clubs history, they have won the Gozitan League championship once, as Victoria United during the 1978-79 season....
, Victoria Hotspurs F.C and Oratory Youths, and two well equipped gyms.
Feasts of Victoria, Gozo
Five feasts are celebrated in Victoria, the island of Gozo, the two main feasts are the feast of St. George and the feast of Assumption of the Virgin MaryAssumption of the Virgin Mary
Many significant works of art depict the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. They include:* Assumption of the Virgin by Francesco Botticini* Assumption of the Virgin by Titian* Assumption of the Virgin by Antonio da Correggio...
. The feast dedicated to St. Mary, devoted in its Cathedral situated in the centre of the Citadel dominating the whole island and the another one dedicated to St. George, one of the patron saints of Gozo celebrated in St. George's Basilica in the heart of Victoria.
In Victoria there is the feast of the Immaculate Conception in the church of St Francis this feast is celebrated on 8 December of every year by the Franciscan conventual friars. A feast of Our Lady of Divine Grace is celebrated as the last feast of the feast season by the Franciscan capuchin frias in the church dedicated to Our Lady of Divine Grace. The feast of St. John Bosco is celebrated in the Don Bosco Oratory.
Band clubs
- La Stella Philharmonic Society (Is-Soċjetà Filarmonika La Stella) organises the annual external feast of Saint George in Victoria. La Stella Philharmonic Society has a theatre, Teatru Astra, in which numerous cultural activities are held every year. The Society also organises the Festival Mediterranea, which offers all that Gozo boasts of in the cultural and artistic arena: opera, classical and symphonic music, a wealth of archaeology and history that is Gozo’s heritage, folklore and cuisine. The festival is held every year in October/November.
La Stella Philharmonic Society AD 1863
- Leone Philharmonic Society (Is-Soċjetà Filarmonika Leone) is the first band club in Gozo.It organizes the feast of Saint Mary. It also has a theatre, the Teatru Aurora in which every year is organized various cultural activities including an opera during October/November.
Leone Philharmonic Society
St George's Parish
This parishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
, which covers the whole of Victoria, caters for a little over half of the population of Victoria, as it is a personal parish (as opposed to other parishes who are territorial) operating in the city of Victoria. Its parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
dedicated to St George has the status of a Basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
. This church was built in the 1670s and suffered severe damage in the earthquake of 1693. A new façade was built in 1818. The dome and the aisles are of recent construction (1930s and 1940s). There are several works of art in this church which include the painting of the dome and ceiling by Gian Battista Conti of Rome and other paintings and sculptures by Mattia Preti
Mattia Preti
Mattia Preti was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta.- Biography :Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was sometimes called Il Cavalier Calabrese...
, Giuseppe d'Arena, Stefano Erardi, Alessio Erardi, Francesco V. Zahra, Giuseppe Calì, and contemporary Alfred Camilleri Cauchi and John L. Grima. The titular statue of St George was carved from solid wood by Pietro Paolo Azzopardi in 1838 and is the first titular statue on the island. The area over which the church is built is of considerable archaeological interest, with evidence of activity dating back to at least to the Roman period.
The parish celebrates two feasts during the year: 23 April, the official date celebrating the death of the martyr, and the third Sunday of July, when the solemn festivities in honour of Gozo's patron saint are held.
St George's Basilica, Victoria
Villa Rundle
These gardens are situated between Republic Street and the Main Car Park in Victoria.One can seein these gardens a bronze bust of the Gozitan 18th century historian and grammarian Can. Gian Pietro Agius de Soldanis and another of Gozo born French poet and writer Laurent Ropa.
Zones in Victoria
- Belliegħa
- Ċittadella (Citadel)
- Demnija
- Gelmus
- Għajn Lukin
- Il-Ġnien
- Qasam San Ġorġ
- Sellum
- Ta' Ħamet
- Ta' l-Ibraġ
- Ta' Mliet
- Ta' Wara s-Sur
- Taċ-Ċawla
- Taflija
- Tal-Far
- Tal-Grazzja
- Tal-Maltija
- Tal-Mejda
- Villa Rundle
- Wied Tal-Grazzja
- Kabuccini
Victoria Main Roads
- Pjazza Fuq it-Tomba (Tomba Square)
- Pjazza Indipendenza (Independence Square)
- Pjazza San Frangisk (St Francis Square)
- Pjazza San Gorg (St George's Square)
- Pjazza Santu Wistin (St Augustine Square)
- Triq Dingli (Dingli Street)
- Triq Enriku Mizzi (Enrico Mizzi Street)
- Triq Fortunato Mizzi (Fortunato Mizzi Street)
- Triq Gedrin
- Triq George Borg Olivier
- Triq Għajn Qatet
- Triq Ġużè Ellul Mercer (G. Ellul Mercer Street)
- Triq id-Dawwara
- Triq il-Kappuċċini (Capuchins' Street)
- Triq il-Papa Ġwanni Pawlu II (Pope John Paul II Street)
- Triq ir-Repubblika (Republic Street)
- Triq it-Tabib Anton Tabone (Dr Anton Tabone Street)
- Triq l-Ewropa (Europe Street)
- Triq l-Imgħallem (Foreman Street)
- Triq Mejlak (Mejlak Road)
- Triq Monsinjur S. Lanzon (Mgr. S. Lanzon Street)
- Triq Ninu Cremona (Ninu Cremona Street)
- Triq Putirjal (Main Gate Street)
- Triq Sant' Orsla (St Ursola Street)
- Triq Ta' Kerċem (Kercem Road)
- Triq Tomba (Tomba Street)
- Triq Viani (Viani Street)
- Triq Wara s-Sur (By the Bastion Street)
- Triq Wied il-Lunzjata (Lunzjata Valley Road)