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Victoria, Malta
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Victoria, Malta
Victoria (Maltese: Il-Belt Victoria, meaning "the city Victoria"), also known among the native Maltese as Rabat (which is the name of the old town centre) or by its title Città Victoria, is an administrative unit of Malta, and the main town on Gozo.[better source needed] Victoria has a total population of 6,901 (as of March 2014), and is the most populous settlement in Gozo.
The area around the town, situated on a hill near the centre of the island, has been settled since Neolithic times. Victoria is the name given on 10 June 1887 by the British government on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, at the request of Pietro Monsignor Pace, Bishop of Gozo. Many Gozitans, mainly older ones, still often refer to it by the name Rabat. It is usually known as Rabat, Gozo to distinguish it from the town of Rabat on the main island of Malta.
In the heart of Victoria lies the Cittadella (Citadel), formerly known as il Castello, which has been the centre of activity of the island since Neolithic times, but is known to be first fortified during the Bronze Age c. 1500 BC. It was later developed by the Phoenicians and continued into becoming a complex Acropolis by Roman times.
The north side of the Citadel dates back to the Aragonese domination period. The south flank, overlooking Victoria, was re-constructed under the Knights of St. John, namely between 1599 and 1603, after Ottomans invaded the city in 1551. The massive defensive stone walls of the fortifications rise above the town and were built by the Knights to protect the village communities from foraging corsairs attempting to take slaves and threatened invasion of Moslem forces fighting Christendom.
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 trompe-l'œil painting on its ceiling, which depicts the interior of a dome that was never built. The Cathedral is built on one of the oldest religious sites in Gozo, if not the oldest, with evidence of some sort of temple dedicated to a goddess or female figure long before the Romans.
The Cathedral houses a statue of the Assumption of Mary, donated to the Cathedral by the Leone Philharmonic Society (1863). The statue was originally bought by the band from Rome from the Fabbrica di Statue Religiose of Francesco Rosa in 1897, when the band had its first disagreement with its first 'daughter-band' the La Stella Philharmonic Society (1880), and the Leone Band took control of the feast of the Assumption of Mary, and the La Stella Band took control of the feast of St. George. The statue was then donated to the Cathedral on April 29, 1956 after many other disagreements between the bands.
St. George's Basilica, Malta, caters for 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.
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.
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Victoria, Malta
Victoria (Maltese: Il-Belt Victoria, meaning "the city Victoria"), also known among the native Maltese as Rabat (which is the name of the old town centre) or by its title Città Victoria, is an administrative unit of Malta, and the main town on Gozo.[better source needed] Victoria has a total population of 6,901 (as of March 2014), and is the most populous settlement in Gozo.
The area around the town, situated on a hill near the centre of the island, has been settled since Neolithic times. Victoria is the name given on 10 June 1887 by the British government on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, at the request of Pietro Monsignor Pace, Bishop of Gozo. Many Gozitans, mainly older ones, still often refer to it by the name Rabat. It is usually known as Rabat, Gozo to distinguish it from the town of Rabat on the main island of Malta.
In the heart of Victoria lies the Cittadella (Citadel), formerly known as il Castello, which has been the centre of activity of the island since Neolithic times, but is known to be first fortified during the Bronze Age c. 1500 BC. It was later developed by the Phoenicians and continued into becoming a complex Acropolis by Roman times.
The north side of the Citadel dates back to the Aragonese domination period. The south flank, overlooking Victoria, was re-constructed under the Knights of St. John, namely between 1599 and 1603, after Ottomans invaded the city in 1551. The massive defensive stone walls of the fortifications rise above the town and were built by the Knights to protect the village communities from foraging corsairs attempting to take slaves and threatened invasion of Moslem forces fighting Christendom.
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 trompe-l'œil painting on its ceiling, which depicts the interior of a dome that was never built. The Cathedral is built on one of the oldest religious sites in Gozo, if not the oldest, with evidence of some sort of temple dedicated to a goddess or female figure long before the Romans.
The Cathedral houses a statue of the Assumption of Mary, donated to the Cathedral by the Leone Philharmonic Society (1863). The statue was originally bought by the band from Rome from the Fabbrica di Statue Religiose of Francesco Rosa in 1897, when the band had its first disagreement with its first 'daughter-band' the La Stella Philharmonic Society (1880), and the Leone Band took control of the feast of the Assumption of Mary, and the La Stella Band took control of the feast of St. George. The statue was then donated to the Cathedral on April 29, 1956 after many other disagreements between the bands.
St. George's Basilica, Malta, caters for 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.
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.
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