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Our mission is to preserve and showcase Gozo's history and beauty through photographs. Dive into the past as we share images that tell the story of our island.

We aim to create a visual archive highlighting Gozo's heritage, milestones, and landscapes.

02/11/2026

On All Souls’ Day we are sharing this photograph of the old cemetery in St Augustine Square, Victoria, taken around 1930.

For several centuries, this site was home to a medieval cemetery. The first known reference to it dates back to 1575, when Monsignor Pietro Dusina described it as a large cemetery, using the Latin term “magnum Coemeterium”. On 30 May 1939, the Cathedral Chapter gave its consent for Fr Paul Micallef to build the Don Bosco Oratory on the site, and the Oratory still stands there today.

Photograph courtesy of the National Archives of Malta.

29/10/2026

A goat herder known as il-Brimbu from Xewkija, captured by Guido Stilon in the 1970s.

Scenes like this were once a familiar sight on Gozo's roads, as herders led their animals through village streets and along country roads, often on their way to or from grazing areas.

Does anyone remember il-Brimbu or recall seeing him with his herd? Perhaps you can share some memories of him!

Photograph courtesy of Grace Cilia Vincenti and the National Archives of Malta.

26/10/2026

As Opera Month in Gozo enters its final week, attention turns to the Astra Theatre in Victoria, where Puccini’s Madama Butterfly will be performed on Thursday 29 and Saturday 31 October.

To mark the occasion, we are sharing some interesting photographs taken during the construction of the theatre.

Built by the La Stella Philharmonic Society, construction began in 1965 under the leadership of Paul M. Cassar. The project, costing approximately £55,000, was made possible through donations and the voluntary work of the society’s members and supporters.

Interestingly, the theatre was built behind an existing building on Republic Street, which continued serving as the La Stella band club. The imposing façade we recognise today was only completed in the early 1980s, to a design by renowned Maltese artist Frank Portelli.

The Astra was officially inaugurated on 20 January 1968 by Prime Minister Dr Giorgio Borg Olivier and blessed by the Bishop of Gozo, Mgr Joseph Pace. The opening performance was the operetta Il Cuore di Ben. In its early years, the theatre hosted numerous operettas, concerts, theatrical performances and cinema screenings.

Opera arrived in September 1978, with Verdi’s Rigoletto on the 15th and Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia on the 16th, marking the beginning of a long operatic tradition.

On 8 November 2003, a devastating fire caused extensive damage to the theatre. Following major reconstruction works, it reopened on 27 October 2005 with Puccini’s La Bohème, featuring Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja.

Today, the Astra remains one of Gozo’s principal cultural venues, with this week’s two performances of Madama Butterfly bringing another Opera Month to a close.

22/10/2026

Quite a peculiar scene captured by Guido Stilon at Ramla Bay in the 1960s, showing a donkey-drawn cart making its way along the beach, with bathers enjoying the sea and several boats anchored in the bay.

Does anyone recognise the people in this photograph?

19/10/2026

A photograph by Achilles Attard showing a Malta Air Charter helicopter, a familiar sight over Gozo during the 1990s.

On 27 June 1990, Malta Air Charter, a subsidiary of Air Malta, introduced a scheduled helicopter service connecting Malta International Airport with the Gozo Heliport in Xewkija.

The aircraft pictured is a Soviet-built Mil Mi-8, one of the helicopters used on the route, each capable of carrying 26 passengers. The journey between the islands took approximately 10 to 15 minutes, offering a particularly fast connection for Gozitans and visitors. During the 1990s, the service was also associated with the name Gozo Wings.

The helicopter service carried between 30,000 and 40,000 passengers annually, reaching a peak of approximately 64,000 passengers in 1994.

Malta Air Charter continued operating until 31 October 2004, when declining passenger numbers and changes in aviation requirements brought its operations to an end.

17/10/2026

A beautiful scene in the streets behind St George’s Basilica in Victoria, as captured by Guido Stilon in the 1960s.

There was a time when scenes like this were a common sight in the streets of Gozo. Neighbours would bring their chairs outside and sit together, particularly during the evenings of warmer months. It was a chance to enjoy the cooler evening air, catch up on the day’s events and exchange village news.

These gatherings were also tied to religious life. Neighbours would sometimes come together outside their homes to recite the rosary, remaining there afterwards to talk about their families, what they had cooked that day and the everyday happenings of the neighbourhood.

The doorstep was much more than the entrance to the home. It was also an important part of neighbourhood life, where people met regularly and kept close contact with those living around them.

Do you remember evenings spent sitting outside with your neighbours? Was this still a common sight in your street or village when you were growing up?

14/10/2026

Kite flying at Ramla Bay in the 1960s, with a group of children enjoying a pastime that once provided hours of fun with little more than a kite and a good breeze.

This weekend, kites will once again fill Gozo’s skies during the Kite & Wind Festival in Għarb 🪁

Now an annual event, the festival has grown in popularity over the years, drawing many people to the beautiful countryside around San Dimitri Chapel to enjoy colourful kite displays from local and international participants.

📍 More info about this weekend's event: eventsingozo.com/series/kite-and-wind-festival/

12/10/2026

A general view of Marsalforn Bay, captured by Giuseppe Fenech around 1953, with a traditional wooden cart (karrettun) in the foreground.

For generations, carts like this were a familiar part of everyday life in Gozo. Usually drawn by a horse, mule or donkey, the karrettun was primarily a working vehicle used to transport agricultural produce, fodder, tools and other goods between fields and villages.

The large wooden wheels were themselves the work of skilled craftsmen. Different sizes were required depending on the animal pulling the cart and the purpose for which it was used. Before the 20th century, wooden cart wheels used in Gozo were generally brought over from Malta, but there is evidence that by the early 20th century, Gozitan carpenters were producing cart wheels locally.

Beyond the cart, the photograph also captures a very different Marsalforn, with relatively little development around the bay and terraced fields covering much of the surrounding hillsides.

By the time this photograph was taken, motorised transport was becoming increasingly common, but the karrettun was still very much part of the Gozitan landscape and its agricultural way of life.

10/10/2026

A goat herd, being taken out to graze, on the road leading down to Xlendi from Fontana, as captured by Guido Stilon in the 1960s.

Scenes like this were once a familiar part of everyday life in Gozo. Goats were an important source of milk, and for generations goatherds would take their animals through the streets, sometimes milking them directly outside customers’ homes to provide families with fresh milk.

This practice eventually became a public health concern after raw goat’s milk was linked to brucellosis, historically known as Malta or undulant fever. A national milk pasteurisation plant opened in 1938, and restrictions on the sale of raw milk were gradually extended until its sale was completely prohibited in 1957.

09/10/2026

Fifty years ago today, on 9 October 1976, the Aurora Opera House in Victoria was officially inaugurated.

These photographs take us back to the construction of the theatre between 1971 and 1976, as well as the inauguration ceremony that marked the beginning of an important chapter in Gozo’s cultural history.

Built by the Leone Philharmonic Society, the new theatre was designed to accommodate around 1,600 spectators. Its artistic design and decoration were entrusted to Emvin Cremona (1919–1987), one of Malta’s most prominent artists of the 20th century, whose contributions to Maltese art included painting, religious works and major decorative projects. His work at the Aurora included some 60 original hand-painted works and a distinctive ceiling design inspired by traditional Gozitan lace.

The theatre was inaugurated with a symphonic concert by the Leone Band, conducted by Mro Joseph Sammut. Just three months later, on 7 and 8 January 1977, the Aurora made history by staging Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, the first opera ever performed in Gozo.

October has become synonymous with opera on the island, with three opera nights taking place this month, alongside several other cultural events. This year, the Aurora Opera Theatre celebrates its golden jubilee with a production of Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata on 17 October.

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