Explore Victoria

St George's Basilica is the parish church of the old town of Victoria, rebuilt from 1672 to designs attributed to Vittorio Cassar, with a facade of 1818. Its interior, known locally as the golden basilica for its gilding, has ceiling paintings by Giovanni Battista Conti, an altarpiece of St George by Mattia Preti and a wooden statue of the saint carved in 1841.

Gozo Cathedral, dedicated to the Assumption, stands inside the Cittadella and was built in 1697–1711 to designs by Lorenzo Gafà on the site of earlier churches. It has no real dome: the flat ceiling of the crossing carries a dome painted in perspective by Antonio Manuele of Messina in 1739, which appears three-dimensional from the nave.

The Old Prison inside the Cittadella was used as a jail from the 16th century until 1962, mainly for short sentences and for knights awaiting trial. Its six cells and a large communal cell keep the graffiti carved by prisoners over the centuries, including ships, crosses, hands and dates, and an exhibition covers the fortifications of the citadel.

The Cittadella is the walled citadel on the hill above Victoria, Gozo's fortified refuge since the Middle Ages. After an Ottoman raid carried off most of Gozo's population in 1551, the Knights rebuilt its walls between 1599 and 1622. Inside are the cathedral, the Old Prison and restored streets, and the ramparts give views over the whole island.

The Basilica of the Nativity of Our Lady is the parish church of Xagħra, facing the village square. It was built between 1815 and 1855, with its two bell towers completed in 1872–1892 and the dome added in 1892. Inside are marble-clad walls, a statue of the Virgin carried in procession on her feast on 8 September, and paintings by Gozitan and Italian artists.

Ta' Kola Windmill in Xagħra was built in 1725 under the Knights of St John and rebuilt in the 1780s. Named after its last miller, Ġuzeppi Grech, known as Żeppu ta' Kola, it keeps its millstones and wooden machinery on the upper floor, while the rooms below show the miller's living quarters and traditional Gozitan tools.

Ġgantija is a pair of megalithic temples on the Xagħra plateau of Gozo, built between about 3600 and 3200 BC and among the oldest free-standing structures in the world. Their outer wall of huge stone blocks gave rise to the legend that giants built them. A visitor centre shows finds from the site and from the nearby Xagħra Stone Circle.

Ta' Pinu is the national shrine of the Virgin Mary in Malta, standing alone in open country between Għarb and Għammar. A neo-Romanesque basilica of 1920–1931 by Andrea Vassallo was built around a small chapel where, in 1883, a local woman reported hearing the Virgin's voice. Thousands of votive offerings line its corridors, and Pope Benedict XVI visited in 2010.

The Basilica of the Visitation is the parish church of Għarb, a village in the west of Gozo. Built in 1699–1729, its curved Baroque facade with two bell towers and statues of Faith, Hope and Charity is modelled on Borromini's Sant'Agnese in Agone in Rome. The church faces the village square, lined with traditional Gozitan houses.

The Red Tower, or St Agatha's Tower, was built in 1647–1649 by the Knights of St John on the Marfa Ridge to guard Mellieħa Bay and signal to Gozo, Comino and Mdina. The square tower with corner turrets is painted red and holds a small chapel to St Agatha. Restored by Din l-Art Ħelwa, it is staffed by volunteers and has period cannon on its roof.

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mellieħa is a small church built partly into the rock below Mellieħa's parish church, a place of pilgrimage since the Middle Ages. Its fresco of the Virgin and Child, painted on the rock face, is venerated as one of the oldest Marian images in Malta, and its walls are lined with votive offerings from sailors and the sick.