Wander traditional towns and villages - 1

One of the first things that might strike you on a Gozo holiday is just how rural the island is. Contrasting with the bustling island of Malta, Gozo is all about wide open fields, wildflowers and rolling hills dotted with villages. Step into these villages and you’ll uncover authentic Gozo.

The hamlet of Santa Luċija, where your holiday home is situated, is centred around its rustic church square, with a few houses scattered around it. Only a few hundred locals live here, calmly preserving their traditional way of life. Fed by three natural water springs, the land around the village is among the most fertile on the island, and you may even spot shepherds grazing their sheep on the pastures. In the outskirts of Santa Luċija, one can find the Mixta Cave (not to be confused with another on over-looking Ramla which is a must-visit, and has the same name), thought to have been the earliest site to be inhabited in the Maltese Islands around 7000 years ago. Unfortunately, this site is not easy to access.

Nearby Santa Luċija is Ta’ Kerċem, dominated by it’s parish church, which was first built in 1851, and dedicated to St Gregory and to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, making Ta’ Kerċem the only village in Gozo to have two patron saints.

Also among Gozo’s oldest villages is l-Għarb. Though you won’t see any remnants today, archaeological excavations here have found evidence of Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements here. This is another Gozitan village that retains its traditional way of life, closely linked with the land. In fact, you may even get to hear the locals speaking in the old Maltese dialect that has faded into disuse across the rest of the island. In the heart of l-Għarb, an old house plays host to the perfectly placed l-Għarb Folklore Museum. Here you can ponder artefacts that illustrate the traditional crafts and lifestyles of the local people, then head to nearby Ta’ Dbiegi Crafts Village, where you can see the locals in action. Watch as they create their traditional crafts – Gozo lace, pottery, mouth-blown glass – and take home a perfect Gozo holiday souvenir for yourself.