Malta 12 The island of Gozo2

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Malta
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The island of Gozo
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Gozo is an island of the Maltese archipelago in
the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the
Southern European country of Malta after the
island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest
island in the archipelago.
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The Azure Window is a Limestone natural arch on
the Maltese island of Gozo. It is situated near
Dwejra Bay on the Inland Sea.
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Unfortunately, this majestic natural arch is in
imminent danger of collapsing. The name Dwejra
which means "little house", with its curious rock
formations and spilling seas, is a magical
attraction offering opportunities for swimming in
the spectacular deep-sea or in the Inland Sea and
the unique experience of diving in the so called
"Blue-Hole" near the Azure Window
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This set of figurines, on show in the
Archaeological Museum inside the Cittadella, was
found grouped together at the burial place of
Xaghra Stone Circle in Gozo and date between 3150
and 2500 BC. The sculptures show a relatively
high artistic achievement especially in the
elaborate treatment of some of their headdresses.
They are carved in local Globigerina limestone
and their context suggests some ritual use
associated with the dead.
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Majmunas tombstone exhibited inside
the Archaeological Museum inside the Cittadella.
A Muslim girl named Majmuna who died in the
12th Century AD, had her tomb embellished with a
marble slab carrying an inscription neatly
engraved in Kufic Arabic script. Apart from
giving few biographical details about the girl,
the inscription also quotes the Quran. The
inscription is engraved on a recycled marble slab
as suggested by the Roman Sculptured decorations
on its other side.
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The Citadel in Victoria, Gozo, is an ancient
fortified city that sits atop a hill keeping a
keen protective eye over the inhabitants of the
small island of Gozo.
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The site upon which the Citadel stands is thought
to have been first fortified during the Bronze
Age in 1500 BC, later developed by the
Phoenicians and then reaching its current
acropolis-like status in the Middle Ages. The
Citadel comprises thick defensive stone walls
that rise up on the hill above the surrounding
town.
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After their victory in the Great Siege of Malta
in 1565, when the Maltese and the Knights fought
fiercely to protect the Maltese Islands from the
invading Ottoman Empire, the Knights set about
intensifying the fortifications of the Citadel to
further protect the Gozitan inhabitants from
further attack. In fact, under the rule of law up
until 1637, the Gozitans were required to retreat
to the walls of the Citadel for their protection
during the night. In the peaceful times that
followed, rural Gozitans were allowed to settle
outside the Citadel, slowly forming what came to
be known as the surrounding town of Rabat (also
known as Victoria)
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Gozo view from Citadella
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The seventeenth century baroque cathedral that
lies within the Citadels walls was built on the
site where a Roman temple dedicated to Juno once
stood. The present building is around 300 years
old and was started in 1697 but not completed
till 1716. Much of the funding for it came from
Gozitan families, who were eager to see their
cathedral become a beautiful focal point for
their devoutly religious lives.
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The most fascinating aspect of the Santa Maria
Cathedral has to be its location - at the heart
of a 7,000-year-old tiny, fortified city. Its
elevated position and the composition of the
earth in this area made it a popular place for
locating temples. So, this very hill has been
occupied and used by races ranging from the
Phoenicians and Romans all the way through to the
modern era when first the French, then the
British occupied it.
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Gozo Cathedral
The Cathedral is most famous for the remarkable
trompe loeil painting on its ceiling, depicting
the interior of a dome that was never built.
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Paul Camilleri Cauchi - Christmas stamps based on
Emvin Cremona works
The 1739 painting on the ceiling inside gives the
impression of a dome when in reality the roof of
the cathedral is flat. This painting is such a
masterpiece of perspective and trompe loeil that
sometimes it is hard to convince first-time
visitors that there really is no dome.
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Paul Camilleri Cauchi The Gozo parishes Patron
Saints, a small cupola painting at the Gozo
Cathedral
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Paul Camilleri Cauchi The Gozo parishes Patron
Saints, a small cupola painting at the Gozo
Cathedral
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Paul Camilleri Cauchi The Gozo parishes Patron
Saints, a small cupola painting at the Gozo
Cathedral
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The Gozo parishes Patron Saints a small cupola
painting at the Gozo Cathedral church, by Paul
Camilleri Cauchi (1940)
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Paul Camilleri Cauchi (1940) - Part of a ceiling
of the Annunciation church in Balzan, Malta
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The Cittadella is currently undergoing a 6
million restoration project, mainly funded by the
EU. The work was supposed to be carried out in
phases but it seems that most of the works are
being carried out simultaneously, making the
Cittadella a disappointing visit for tourists.
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The Cathedral, enclosed in the Citadel, is a fine
baroque structure designed by Maltese architect
Lorenzo Gafa in the form of a Latin cross. It is
built entirely from local lime stone.
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Text Internet Pictures Sanda Foisoreanu
Gabriela Cristescu
Internet Copyright All the images belong to
their authors Presentation Sanda Foisoreanu
2014
Sound Chiara and Keith Camilleri -
Maskri fl-Imhabba (Ipokriti)