Claire in San Ġwann il-Battista Church, Ix-Xewkija
For European cultures, Saint John is an special event. Many countries celebrates this day with different activities. They also celebrate the arrival of summertime.
The Grandma and her friends are visiting Ix-Xewkija today, a beautiful town in Gozo where they celebrate Saint John because he's its patron. In The Grandma's hometown, Andorra la Vella, today is a special day, too. They celebrate the falles in the Pyrenees, a cultural event declarated Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. This event is also celebrated in Val d'Aran and Catalonia. From the distance, tonight, The Grandma is going to ignite a great bonfire to homage la Flama del Canigó, a flame which is ignited in Mount Canigó, Occitània and join Occitan and Catalan lands during Saint John's Eve.
Xewkija, in Maltese Ix-Xewkija, is a village on Gozo Island. The population of Ix-Xewkija is the fourth largest in Gozo, after Victoria, Xagħra and Nadur.
Tina in San Ġwann il-Battista Church bell tower
Ix-Xewkija, which is situated between Għajnsielem and the capital city, Victoria, is the oldest village in Gozo. It became the first parish outside Victoria on 27 November 1678.
It was separated from the Matrix by Bishop Glormu Molina and Dun Grezz Farrugia from Valletta, became its first parish priest. It became the first district contrada to be known as casale or village. The name is derived from the Maltese word Xewk, meaning thistles or thorns. Ix-Xewkija is famous for its church, The Rotunda of Xewkija, which is dedicated to San Ġwann il-Battista, St. John the Baptist.
It is the Seat of the Knights of the Order of St. John, and was built from Maltese stone by local masons and craftsmen. It is the largest in Gozo and its dome dominates the village. Its architect was Joseph D'Amato. It replaced an older church. The titular statue of Saint John the Baptist was sculpted in wood by Pietro Paolo Azzopardi in 1845.
On the site where the present church is, it was said that there was a stone known as Maqgħad ix-Xiħ. Near it there is a small ancient chapel known as Madonna tal-Ħniena, Our Lady of Charity, which was dedicated to San Bartilimew. The Santa Cecilia Tower had been in the limits of Ix-Xewkija.
There is another tower with the oldest sundial in Ix-Xewkija. Remains of Tinghi Tower disappeared in the 20th century. These towers date back to 1613. The Gourgion Tower, which was built in 1690, was demolished during the Second World War to make way for a temporary airstrip.
The Majmuna Stone with an Arabic inscription dating back to 1174 was possibly found in Ix-Xewkija. It commemorates the death of an Arab girl named Maymūnah. The inscription is carved in a thick marble slab, on the underside of which there is a Roman symbol. Brother Gabrijel D'Alappo translated it into Italian and it was later translated into Maltese. It was sent to the Public Library in Malta in 1845 and brought to the Gozo Museum of Archaeology in 1960.
The Banda Prekursur is the oldest organization in Ix-Xewkija. The coat of arms of Ix-Xewkija is a shield on a gold background with a red horizontal strip between two thorns, one above and one below. The motto of Ix-Xewkija is Nemo me impune lacessit, that is, No one shall attack me with impunity.
Joseph de Ca'th Lon visits the mill in Ix-Xewkija
On the suburbs of the village there are the University of Malta. There are also the Gozo Stadium, the Government Farm, St. Mary's and Ix-Xewkija Cemeteries. The rising population in Ix-Xewkija needed more building sites for houses and housing estates have been developed at Tal-Barmil, Ta' Gokk and Tal-Hamrija.
On entering the village from the main road, one sees the remains of a mill erected in the times of Grand Master Perellos. This is unique mill in Gozo because it has points which show the eight principal wind directions.
Claire Fontaine believes in karma and she has wanted to visit Ix-Xlendi, a beautiful village where is located the church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel of the Carmelites Order, origin of this word.
Ix-Xlendi is a village situated in the south west of the island of Gozo. It is surrounded by the villages of Munxar, Fontana and Kerċem. The village is administered by Munxar, but has its own coat of arms and motto. From March 2010, Ix-Xlendi has had its own 5-person mini council responsible for the main activities of the area.
The name Ix-Xlendi is of Byzantine origin as it is named after a galley of the period, that was wrecked along the coast, that was called Shilandi. Evidence of this was retrieved near the entry of the bay, at the bottom of the sea, in the 1960s. Since then the site has become a popular diving site.
Also, tombs dating from Punic-Byzantine times were found in Ix-Xlendi, some at St. Simon Point, under St. Simon Street, and some others in Ix-Xlendi Valley. Romans used to port in Ix-Xlendi as it has features that can protect from the wind for its cliffs around the bay. In the middle of the bay there is a reef which caused many shipwrecks. These sunken ships left a large number of Roman amphorae on the seabed in the mouth of the bay.
The Grandma visits The Ix-Xlendi Tower
The Xlendi Tower guarding the mouth of the bay was built by the Grandmaster Juan de Lascaris-Castellar on 29 June 1650. This was built so pirates or Turks could not launch attacks from this bay. This tower is still standing.
It has, until recently, been abandoned with substantial damage caused to the outer walls of the tower. Responsibility for the tower was passed to the Local Council and Din l-Art Ħelwa. The Tower was quite important for the British Army in Malta as it was the only tower in the southwest of the island. It was entitled Tower B, secondly in place, to show its importance.
It is strange that Xlendi in the middle 17th century had a total of 4 chapels. These were: St Simon Chapel which also had a cemetery and when profaned, the bishop ordered that a stone cross should be carved in the rocks; St Domenica which was an underground chapel located roughly on the cliffs over the valley of Ix-Xlendi on the side of Munxar and was difficult to reach, so it was profaned soon after it was established; St Catherine was established over Ix-Xlendi on the cliffs on the side of the village of Kercem.
It was built over a cliff which bears the same name. It is said that there was a small community in the area of this chapel; Vizitazzjoni ta' Forn il-Gir was not much visited by people. It was established between Munxar and Ix-Xlendi but very little is known about it. All of these chapels were profaned between the 1650s and the 1680s.
Claire Fontaine loves Ix-Xlendi cliffs
The church, dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, was dedicated in 1974, but some parts of the building are far older, dating to 1868.
Every year, on the first Sunday of September, a feast dedicated to the patron saint is held. In the Afternoon, water games are held at the bay with the traditional gostra, a greasy pole which the players have to walk on to catch a flag. In the evening a procession with the statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is held around Ix-Xlendi.
In 1955, the Ix-Xlendi mill was excavated into the cliffs, situated behind the Mount Carmel church. The excavation was a huge undertaking, which consisted firstly of an entrance tunnel, some 30 meters long, 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide, leading into a large chamber. This chamber was divided into three floors and housed the storage, grinding and milling equipment. At the rear of the mill is the silo, having a storage capacity of approximately 1,000 tons of wheat, and connected to the milling machinery by mechanical augers. An 80 hp diesel engine and alternator supplied power. Entrances from above can also access the silo. The Mill was built when the Cold War was escalating when nuclear conflict was possible. This Mill was nuclear safe. But this mill was never used after being built.
This village has a great topography with quite steep cliffs on the side and a valley on the back which takes rain water from the villages surrounding it, Kerċem, Munxar, Fontana and Victoria into the bay.
During the British rule, Ix-Xlendi's bay was sandy, but with the passage of time, water from the valley and human interference, it is now pebbly. The bay is still known for the rocks on the left side of the bay which are good for sunbathing and diving.
Tina Picotes waits for visiting one of the caves
Ix-Xlendi Valley starts from Fontana continuing from the Lunzjata Valley and Wied l-Ghawdxija and ends in the bay into the sea. So Ix-Xlendi Valley collects almost all the rain that falls on the adjacent villages of Kerċem, Munxar and Fontana.
The rain water goes through Ix-Xlendii and this is quite a problem for most citizens living in Xlendi because they are isolated by the fast flowing water. This also causes flooding in the buildings on the main road from where the valley water passes. This valley is one of the very few homes to the Maltese Freshwater Crab.
Il-Kantra is a valley on the left of the bay just beside the Tower. The name Kantra derives from Alcantara in Spanish-Sicilian. This is because of the entrance of the valley and the valley's form. From its entrance, it could be seen as a bow. This valley is home to many types of flora and fauna because not many people go there. The Tower of Ix-Xlendi was reached by a bridge built by the Knights of Saint John over the Kantra Valley.
There are many caves, small or large, on the sides of the bay. Caroline Cave is a cave on the right cliffs of the bay. It was once the property of Caroline Cauchi, a rich woman from Victoria. Later she founded the Augustinian Sisters on Gozo and donated almost all of her land, including the cave and other land in Xlendi. The Sisters during summers started to stay at Ix-Xlendi.
Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Ix-Xlendi
They would go for a swim in this cave which was isolated and could only be reached by stairs. So they would use this cave as their own and would not be seen by other people in the bay.
Catherine of Siena Cave is situated outside the bay on the right side. It is well known for the very clear blue water.
In the 17th century, people used to live in the areas around the cave and built a church just over the cave. So the cave got its name from the saint to which the church was dedicated. The undeveloped area around Ix-Xlendi is home for a lot of flora and fauna species, some of them rare. One can name the Seagulls, the Maltese Freshwater Crab and the Widnet il-Bahar.
Today, Ix-Xlendi is one of the most developed areas on the island, a feature that damages the biodiversity in the area. The 3 km stretch of cliffed coastline from Ix-Xlendi westwards to Wardija Point forms the Ix-Xlendi Bay to Wardija Point Cliffs Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for two species of breeding shearwaters.
After contemplating the equinox sunrise in Ġgantija,today is turn to visit Marsa el-Forn.
The Grandma loves saltpans. Mediterranean coast is full of these wonderful places where you can find salt in enormous quantities, like Ses Salines in Majorca or Les Salines in Sant Boi de Llobregat, this last, before it was converted in an industrial park. This is the main reason because of she and her friends are visiting Marsa el-Forn in Żebbuġ,Gozo.
Salt is very important in our lives. It's useful for cooking, having a good health and, even, is one of the most important elements in the armament industry.
Marsalforn or Marsa el-Forn is a village on the north coast of Gozo, the second largest island of the Maltese archipelago. The village lies between the hill-top towns of Xagħra and Żebbuġ. The village forms part of the locality of Żebbuġ.
Marsa el-Forn is one of the most popular tourist resorts on Gozo. It is well served with hotels, guest houses, restaurants, bars, and beaches. There is only a one small sandy beach in Marsa el-Forn, however, along the rocky coastline there are a number of interesting swimming spots. Also, there's only one police station in Marsa el-Forn.
Visiting the saltpans in Marsa el-Forn
Marsa el-Forn is a composite word. Marsa is an Arabic word meaning port or bay. There is disagreement on the origin of the second part of the word forn. Forn means a bakery in Maltese and Arabic, but it is highly improbable that this has anything to do with Marsa el-Forn, for it is unlikely that a bakery would be built in an area with a small population.
It is quite likely that this name, like that of other Gozitan ports, might refer to a type of ship. In that case it would derive from Liburna, an Illyrian type of a ship, which became livurna in Greek, and lifurna in Arabic.
The name might also have been derived from forna, a word used by Gozitan fishermen to refer to a cave hollowed out by the sea. There are several of these in Marsa el-Forn, the best known being Ghar Qawqla, the cave at the steep hill. The emblem of Marsa el-Forn consists of a blue shield representing Marsa el-Forn harbour, encircled by a golden border.
Claire Fontaine is visiting the saltpans
Saint Paul, according to tradition, left for Rome, after his shipwreck, from Marsa el-Forn; hence the emblem of Saint Paul: a viper encircling the sword. The viper refers to the episode involving Saint Paul just after his shipwreck on Malta as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.
To the south of Marsa el-Forn is a fertile valley named after the village. The valley is bounded by several hillocks and used to be known as the haven of hillocks. The most famous of these is tas-Salvatur also referred locally as Tal-Merzuq Hill due to the legends surrounding it, recorded by Giovanni Abela in the 17th Century.
This volcano like hill has acquired the attention of the people since 1901, when a large wooden cross was erected on its peak. Three years later, when Gozo was consecrated to Christ the Saviour, a stone statue of Christ replaced the cross. This was in turn replaced by a gigantic concrete statue towering twelve meteres above the hill, which remains to this day.
Tina Picotes in the saltpans at sunset
As recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, Paul the Apostle was shipwrecked in Malta, but legend maintains that it was from Marsa el-Forn that he embarked for Sicily and Rome.
Today, this legend is symbolised by the village's emblem, which consists of a viper encircling a sword. This refers to an episode involving Saint Paul when he remained unharmed after being bit by a viper.
The village church of Saint Paul Shipwreck is also dedicated to the memory of Saint Paul departure from Marsa el-Forn. The church, originally raised in the fourteenth century, has been rebuilt and enlarged many times. The foundation stone of the present church was laid in 1730. The feast is celebrated on 10 February every year.
Marsa el-Forn has a history which dates back to Roman times. Until the sixteenth century, the port was the most important in Gozo. Imported food supplies from Sicily were unloaded at Marsa el-Forn, and it was from there that passengers boarded to travel to Licata in Sicily and other continental ports.
Joseph de Ca'th Lon contemplates the saltpans
The importance of Marsa el-Forn had grown so much that by the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century the Knights of the Order of Saint John, the rulers of Malta at the time, considered abandoning the old Citadel in the centre of the island and building a new town overlooking the port.
Hostility from the Gozitan people meant that the plans were never realised. They protested that they were too poor to pay the extra tax needed to finance the move and the disruption caused by the transfer of their homes from Rabat to Marsa el-Forn would be too great.
With the development of Mgarr harbour, Marsa el-Forn lost its importance and for several centuries, it remained a quiet fishing village inhabited by a small community of fishermen and their families.
Joseph de Ca'th Lon adores Prehistoric ruins and this is enough to visit one of the most amazing and unforgettable places around the world: The Ġgantija temples. These temples are located in Ix-Xagħra, in Gozo and they are a must if you are a person interested in History or Archaeology. Joseph and his friends have enjoyed these temples and have discovered thousands of stories that explain how the humans lived during the Neolithic on this Mediterranean island.
Ġgantija, that means Giants' Tower, is a megalithic temple complex from the Neolithic on the Mediterranean island of Gozo. The Ġgantija temples are the earliest of the Megalithic Temples of Malta. The Ġgantija temples are older than the pyramids of Egypt. Their makers erected the two Ġgantija temples during the Neolithic (c. 3600–2500 BC), which makes these temples more than 5500 years old and the world's second oldest existing manmade religious structures after Göbekli Tepe. Together with other similar structures, these have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Megalithic Temples of Malta.
The temples are elements of a ceremonial site in a fertility rite. Researchers have the numerous figurines and statues found on site associated with that cult. According to local Gozitan folklore, a giantess who ate nothing but broad beans and honey bore a child from a man of the common people.
Tina Picotes & Claire Fontaine in Ġgantija
With the child hanging from her shoulder, she built these temples and used them as places of worship.
This megalithic monument encompasses in fact two temples and an incomplete third, of which only the facade was partially built before being abandoned. LikeMnajdra Southit faces the equinox sunrise, built side by side and enclosed within a boundary wall. The southerly one is the larger and older one, dating back to approximately 3600 BC. It is also better preserved. The plan of the temple incorporates five large apses, with traces of the plaster that once covered the irregular wall still clinging between the blocks.
The
temples are built in the typical clover-leaf shape, with inner facing
blocks marking the shape which was then filled in with rubble. This led to the construction of a series of semi-circular apses connected with a central passage.
Joseph de Ca'th Lon in Ġgantija
Archaeologists assume that the apses were originally covered by roofing. The effort is a remarkable feat when considering the monuments were constructed when the wheel had not yet been introduced and no metal tools were available to the Maltese Islanders.
Small, spherical stones have been discovered. They are associated to the use as ball bearings for the transport vehicles of the enormous stone blocks used for the temples. The temple, like other megalithic sites in Malta, faces southeast. The southern temple rises to a height of 6 m. At the entrance sits a large stone block with a recess, which led to the hypothesis that this was a ritual ablution station for purification before entering the complex. The five apses contain various altars; the finding of animal bones in the site suggests the site was used for animal sacrifice.
Residents and travelers knew about the existence of the temple for a long time. In the late 18th-century, before any excavations were carried out, Jean-Pierre Houël drew a mostly correct plan based on that knowledge.
The Grandma is contemplating Ġgantija
In 1827, Col. John Otto Bayer, the Lieutenant Governor of Gozo, had the site cleared of debris. The soil and remains were thus lost without having been properly examined.
However the German artist Brochtorff had painted a picture of the site within a year or two prior to removal of the debris, so there was a record of the site before clearance. After the excavations in 1827, the ruins fell into decay. The remains were included on the Antiquities List of 1925. The land was held privately until 1933, when the Government expropriated it for public benefit. The Museums Department conducted extensive archaeological work in 1933, 1936, 1949, 1956–57 and 1958–59. Its goal was to clear, preserve and research the ruins and their surroundings.
The Ġgantija temples were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. In 1992, the Committee decided to expand the listing to include five other megalithic temples situated across the islands of Malta and Gozo. The Ġgantija listing was renamed the Megalithic Temples of Malta.
Today, The Grandma and her friends are visiting Rabat, the capital of Gozo, also known as Il-Belt Victoria. She is very interested in visiting St. George's Basilica because she's a great fan of Saint George's history, San Ġorġ in Maltese.
Victoria, in 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 the capital city of Gozo, the second largest island of Malta.
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 Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. However, many Gozitans, mainly older Gozitans, 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 Rabat lies the Cittadella, formerly known as il Castello, which has been the centre of activity of the island since possibly 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.
Claire & Joseph in the Citadella, Rabat
The north side of the Citadel dates back to the Aragonese domination period. The south flank, overlooking Rabat, 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 remarkable trompe l'oeil painting on its ceiling, which depicts the interior of a dome that was never built.
St. George's Basilica, which covers the whole of Rabat, caters for a little over half of the population of Rabat, as it is a personal parish, as opposed to other parishes who are territorial, operating in the city of Rabat. Its parish church dedicated to St George has the status of a Basilica.
The Grandma, Tina, Joseph & Claire at San Ġorġ
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 in 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 parish originated in Byzantine times from the time of Emperor Theodosius I in the 4th century. The original church was the main Roman pagan temple of Gozo which had been converted by a Greek missionary into a Christian church dedicated to Saint George. The Roman temple stood at the site of the present church.
The church is also documented in manuscript sources in c. 1250, when it is recorded functioning as a parish church. St George's was also listed as one of the parishes in Gozo where indulgences could be obtained on a papal bull by Pope Nicholas V for the Holy Year of 1450. Considering the fact that the parish church originated during the Byzantine period, until 1575, the liturgy in St George's parish church was celebrated in the Byzantine Rite rather than the Latin Rite
The Grandma & Claire in San Ġorġ Church
It was the last church to celebrate the Byzantine liturgy in the island until the transition to the Roman rite. In 1511 a scriptura apostolica declared that the church of St George was the parish church of Gozo, thus covering all the population of Gozo. The church was reconstructed again in 1583 and 1598.
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.
Today, Tina Picotes and her friends have decided to visit Ħaż-Żebbuġ, a wonderful Maltese country village.
Żebbug, in Maltese Ħaż-Żebbuġ, also known by its title Città Rohan, is a city in the Southern Region. It is one of the oldest towns in the country.
The parish Church is dedicated to Philip of Agira and the feast is celebrated on the 2nd Sunday of June, although the actual feast day falls on the 12th day of May. The name of the town literally means olives in Maltese; it derives from the large olive groves that stood in and around the current location of the church and the centre of the town.
The town was bestowed with the title of Città Rohan by Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc, the Grand Master of the Order of St. John on 21 June 1777. As was the custom in such events, the people of Ħaż-Żebbuġ built an archway known as the De Rohan Arch at the entrance to their hometown by way of marking the incipiency of its status as a city. The gateway, also known by the locals as Il-Bieb il-Ġdid still stands today. The town's coat-of-arms is also based on that of the House of Rohan.
Malta is very rich in archaeological remains and Ħaż-Żebbuġ is no exception. It gave its name to an era of prehistoric time when pottery of a kind not known as yet was found in tombs in the area known as Ta' Trapna. Later archaeological finds constructed at around the same time were subsequently known as Żebbuġ phase remains. A scattering of Punic and Phoenician tombs were also found together with a small number of cart ruts and other remains.
The Grandma & Claire Fontaine in Ħaż-Żebbuġ
In 1380 a church dedicated to St. Philip of Agira was built in Casal Zebugi, a tract of land situated in the middle of the small communities which had developed during the previous Arab occupation of Malta, namely Ħal-Dwin, Ħal-Muxi and Ħal-Mula and which were eventually joined together forming the village known till today as Ħaż-Żebbuġ.
Filippo de Catania il-Kataniż a wealthy entrepreneur owning land in Ħaż-Żebbuġ funded part of the construction of St. Philip Church built on his own land. Long years after it became the parish church another one, designed by Tumas Dingli, was erected in its stead in the late seventeenth century. The church boasts a magnificent titular painting by Luca Garnier and two spectacular murals by the great Maltese 18th Century painter of the Favray school, Francesco Zahra, which critics consider to be his best works.
Among other treasures the Church possesses an artefact attributed to Guido Reni and several others by Antonio Sciortino. The statue of St. Philip, by sculptor Luigi Fontana, was created in 1864 and is regarded by connoisseurs as the most beautiful of its genre in the country.
When Malta was an independent principality under the sovereign Order of St. John, Ħaż-Żebbuġ was among the chief towns after Valletta and Mdina, first because of the presence of leading corsairs among its inhabitants, subsequently due to its major role in the cotton industry. The magnificence of St Philip's Church is the foremost evidence of the pre-eminent place Ħaż-Żebbuġ enjoys in Maltese history.
The locals or Żebbuġin as they are known in Malta are renowned for their business acumen amongst others, and there is a local saying to this end. Due to the Żebbuġin's Francophile past, the town was regarded as a friendly community when the Revolutionary French took Malta.
During their rule in Malta (1798-1800), the local churches were plundered for their riches in order to fund Napoleon's campaign. The Ħaż-Żebbuġ locals opened the main door to the church when they heard the French were coming and hastily hid the gold and silver religious iconography. When the French saw the open doors of the church they kept on going and the Żebbuġin retained their religious riches.
Ħaż-Żebbuġ is renowned for its spectacular festas dedicated to the Patron Saint St. Philip of Agira and to St. Joseph, a secondary feast. The Grand Chancery of the Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem is also situated in the city.
The Grandma wants to visit Is-Siġġiewi, a traditional wonderful Maltese village because she wants to enjoy its local feast dedicated to Saint Nicholas. She and her friends are enjoying this historic place and enjoying its amazing feast, a mix of religion and local tradition.
Siġġiewi, in Maltese Is-Siġġiewi, also called by its title Città Ferdinand, is a city and a local council in the Southern Region. It is the third largest council in Malta by surface area, after Rabat and Mellieħa respectively. It is situated on a plateau, a few kilometres away from Mdina, the ancient capital city of Malta, and 10 kilometres away from Valletta, the contemporary capital.
Until several decades ago, most of the population was employed in the fields which surround the village. In 1993, the city adopted the motto Labore et Virtute.
In its demographic and topographical formation, Siġġiewi followed a pattern common to other villages in Malta. Before the arrival of the Order of St John in 1530, there were other thriving hamlets in the area. Little by little Ħal Xluq, Ħal Kbir, Ħal Niklusi and Ħal Qdieri were absorbed in Siġġiewi and today, only their secluded chapels remind us of their former existence.
Joseph de Ca'th Lon in the Limestone Heritage
The origins of the name Siġġiewi are unknown. The name is unique and bears no resemblance to well-known words. Siġġiewi may be a corruption of an old name.
The areas around Siġġiewi were inhabited since the Maltese islands were occupied by the first farmers during the Neolithic period.
The Neolithic sites of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra (3600-2500 BC) are within walking distance of the village. Also within easy reach of the village are the Bronze Age settlement of Wardija ta’ San Gorg, almost at the southern tail end of Dingli Cliffs, and the Bronze Age cart-ruts at ix-Xaghra ta’ Ghar il-Kbir (1500-750/800 BC).
An early Phoenician tomb was located in the area, but small Phoenician/Punic cemeteries are known on the hill top of tal-Gholja and at ix-Xaghra ta’ Ghar il-kbir. In numerous places, Roman pottery scatters are often encountered, suggesting that the environs of Siġġiewi were also occupied during the Roman occupation of Malta and Gozo. A series of early Christian catacombs are located close to Maghlaq valley. One of these, published in a number of sources, has been intentionally buried under a field.
Siġġiewi's patron saint, Saint Nicholas, is perhaps one of the most popular saints in Byzantine hagiography.
The survival of the saint's veneration may suggest that following the end of the catacomb era, some of Malta's villages may have retained old traditions that would very comfortably fall within western and eastern Christian domains. Hundreds of place names are known from various fields and locations around Siġġiewi.
These names are of Semitic character, but are of an unknown age having been recorded in notarial deeds only in the Late Middle Ages. Some of these places developed into hamlets. Others may have supported small communities that were never recorded.
These hamlets would later dwindle in importance. The depopulation of the Maltese rural areas during the Great Siege of 1565 hastened the end of small hamlets around Malta and Gozo.
The arrival of the Order of St John in Malta in 1530, also ushered in new economic dynamics which made the new urban areas and especially the new city of Valletta more attractive than isolated villages. Several buildings in Siggiewi date back to Hospitaller rule, including the Armoury.
The Grandma visits the Verdala Palace
Siggiewi itself reflects these new concerns. Its growth may have been at the expense of neighbouring hamlets. But market agglomeration around Siġġiewi, a promontory which stands between two important valleys and is therefore defensible, also encouraged geo-demographic changes.
On 30 December 1797, after a formal request by Don Salvatore Curso, on behalf of his parishioners, Grand Master Ferdinand Von Hompesch instituted the village as a city calling it after his name, Città Ferdinand.
The ruins of the former parish church, dedicated to St Nicholas of Bari are still visible today. Lately, great restoration works have been carried out and retrieved its old glory. The baroque parish church, dedicated to the same saint, was erected by the villagers who raised the necessary funds between the years 1676 to 1693. It was designed by the Maltese architect, Lorenzo Gafà but underwent some changes throughout the years. The portico and naves were added by Professor Nicola Żammit in the latter half of the 19th century.
The titular painting in the church is by the artist Mattia Preti, Il calabrese, who was also responsible for the painting on the vault of St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta. The wooden statue which is carried in procession in the city feast day, the last Sunday of June, was sculpturd by Pietro Felici in 1736.
Fours years earlier, in 1732, the same sculptor had produced the stone statue which still stands in the centre of the square. On its pedestal there is a prayer in Latin which implores the saint to bless the fields which the faithful laboriously till.
From Siġġiewi, you can look upon the Inquisitor's summer palace, built by inquisitor Onorato Visconti in 1625 and renovated by inquisitor Angelo Dorini in 1763. Today it is the Maltese Prime Minister's official residence. The palace of Grand Master Verdalle is one of the residences of the Presidents of the Republic, called Verdala Palace. Adjoining this palace one finds the famous Buskett, a small semi-wild woodland which Grand Masters such as De Valette used as hunting grounds.
Within the local council of Siġġiewi lies Għar Lapsi, Fawwarra, Girgenti, Ta' Kandja and the Hill of Laferla Cross. From there the islet of Filfla can be seen on the horizon. The village stands on a flat plateau flanked by two relatively deep valleys: Wied il-Hesri and Wied Xkora.
Joseph de Ca'th Lon in the Malta Falconry Centre
There are several niches in the old part of the city, some of which date back to the middle of the 17th century and are a sign of devotion as well as an architectural decoration.
A number of small chapels are found within the boundaries of Siġġiewi, including that dedicated to Our Lady of Providence, which is a notable example of Maltese Baroque architecture.
Siġġiewi also celebrates its Feast in the last week of June, in honour of Saint Nicholas, with band marches around the streets, aerial fireworks and catherine wheels, street decorations and celebrations in the main church. The Limestone Heritage Park& Gardens is also one of the attractions situated is a renovated quarry, offering an informative tour about Malta's history set in stone. Maltese summer folklore evening also take place between May and October. Malta Falconry Centre lies just outside the city.
Every village in Malta celebrates the local church's patron saint with a major festa lasting a week or nine days. When the main Saint Nicholas festa in Siġġiewi is held the last Sunday in June, the Church of Saint Nicholas is beautifully decorated and lit, inside and out. The whole village, houses and all, are festooned with garlands, banners and flags. Festival week is also a time for visiting and hospitality as people come from all over Malta to enjoy the celebration.
The Grandma walks across the Verdala Palace
Brass bands march and play in competition throughout the week. The oldest Siġġiewi band, St. Nicholas Band Club, located on St. Nicholas Square, and the Siġġiewi Festival Brass Band and Social Club, organized in the 1990s, both make the Siggiewi St. Nicholas feast one of Malta's most enjoyable. As with most festivals, food is important. Kiosks sell ice cream, hot dogs, burgers, kebobs, chips and more. Special sweets include mgaret, pastry stuffed with dates, and white nougat with almonds or peanuts.
The week features many processions: one night features relics, another, St. Nicholas statue, and religious services. Solemn Mass with Gregorian chant, Solemn Te Deum, Solemn Novena with Hymns to St. Nicholas, and Solemn Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, are all part of the week-long celebration. The long homily features rhyming words and may be evaluated by how many Latin quotations or how many times St. Nicholas' name is used.
In the evening before the Sunday feast day a major procession with brass bands goes through the village. The celebrations also feature a sizeable fireworks display.
Claire & The Grandma enjoying St Nicholas feast
On Sunday the large St. Nicholas statue comes out of the church go in procession through the village. This lively procession has rich music, incense, confetti thrown by bystanders, and palm branches and flowers.
On returning to the church the statue is welcomed with clapping, crying and singing. Inside the church the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament follows. It is a truly beautiful climax to the week of festivity. There is competition among Malta villages to have the most spectacular feast. So each town strives to have the most extravagant fireworks and the most accomplished musicians.
Festival organizers collect significant funds so they can add to their accumulation of statues, flags and banners. These rivalries go back a long time, when the churches were built, parishioners gave generously to build the most beautiful and rich churches they could afford. Churches are prominently placed and can often be seen for miles.
