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Callimachus
Callimachus (Greek: , Kallimachos; 310/305–240 BC) was a native of the Greek colony of Cyrene, Libya. He was a noted poet, critic and scholar of the Library of Alexandria and enjoyed the patronage of ancient Egyptian Greek Pharaohs Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Ptolemy III Euergetes. Although he was never made chief librarian, he was responsible for producing the catalogue of all the volumes contained in the Library. His Pinakes (tables), 120 volumes long, provided the complete and chronologically arranged catalogue of the Library, laying the foundation for later work on the history of Greek literature. As one of the earliest critic-poets, he typifies Hellenistic scholarship.
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Euhemerus
Euhemerus ( [Euhēmeros], 'happy; prosperous') (late fourth century B.C.) was a Greek mythographer at the court of Cassander, the king of Macedon. Euhemerus' birthplace is disputed, with Messina in Sicily as the most probable location, while others champion Chios, or Tegea.
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Homer
Homer (Ancient Greek: , Hómēros)
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Maltese people
The Maltese () are an ethnic group associated with the Southern European nation of Malta, and with the Maltese language. Malta is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Included within the ethnic group defined by the Maltese people are the Gozitans () who inhabit Malta's sister island, Gozo.
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Napoleon Bonaparte
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Ottoman Empire
The Sublime Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish, Persian: دَوْلَتِ عَلِيّهٔ عُثمَانِیّه Devlet-i ʿAliyye-yi ʿOsmâniyye, Modern Turkish: Yüce Osmanlı Devleti or Osmanlı İmparatorluğu) was an empire that lasted from 1299 to 1923.
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Pius IX
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Turgut Reis
Turgut Reis (1485 – 23 June 1565) was a Greek Ottoman Admiral and privateer who also served as Bey of Algiers; Beylerbey of the Mediterranean; and first Bey, later Pasha, of Tripoli. Under his naval command the Ottoman Empire maritime was extended across North Africa. When Turgut was serving as pasha, he adorned and built up the city of Tripoli, making it one of the most impressive cities along the North African Coast. Known in different languages under such names as Dragut or Darghouth, the original name in Turkey is Turgut Reis (reis meaning "captain") or less commonly Torgut Reis as his name appears in several old Turkish and foreign sources.
http://wn.com/Turgut_Reis
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Agrigento (Sicilian: Girgenti), is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy, and capital of the province of Agrigento. It is renowned as the site of the ancient Greek city of Akragas (also known as Acragas (Ἀκράγας) in Greek, Agrigentum in Latin and Kerkent in Arabic), one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia during the golden age of Ancient Greece.
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Chalcedon ( or ; , sometimes transliterated as Chalkedon) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar). It is now a district of the city of Istanbul named Kadıköy. The name is a variant of Calchedon (), found on all the coins of Chalcedon as well as in manuscripts of Herodotus's Histories, Xenophon's Hellenica, Arrian's Anabasis, and other works. Almost no aboveground vestiges of the ancient city survive in Kadıköy today; artifacts uncovered at Altıyol and other excavation sites are on display at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.
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Comino (Maltese: Kemmuna) is an island of the Maltese archipelago between the islands of Malta and Gozo in the Mediterranean Sea, measuring in area. Named after the cumin seed that once flourished in the Maltese islands, Comino is noted for its tranquility and isolation. It has a permanent population of only four residents. One priest and one policeman commute from the nearby island of Gozo, to render their services to the local population and summertime visitors. Today, Comino is a bird sanctuary and nature reserve. Administratively it is part of the municipality of Għajnsielem, in southeastern Gozo.
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Fontana (or Il-Fontana) is a village on Gozo Island, Malta, with a population of 846 people (Nov 2005).
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Għajnsielem, meaning "Spring of Peace", is a municipality on the southeastern coast of the island of Gozo in Malta, including the entire island of Comino. It has a population of 2,570 residents (2005 census) and is the first Gozitan village that greets the visitor on leaving Mgarr Harbour towards the Gozitan heartland. As soon as you enter Mgarr Harbour, while still aboard the ferry, you could not help but notice the welcoming landmarks of the harbour village of Ghajnsielem. Lourdes Chapel with its sharp steeple and underlying niche of Our Lady of Lourdes, Fort Chambray on the left-hand side dominating the high grounds and, on the distant background, the towering belfry of Ghajnsielem's Parish Church.
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Għarb is a village located at the westernmost point of the island of Gozo, Malta, with a population of 1,160 people (Nov 2005). It started life as a small hamlet centuries ago. You can see its ancient roots in the centre of the village where some houses have fine examples of decorated stone balconies. Għarb was created as a parish in 1679, a move which gave impetus for the building of a new, baroque parish church. Built between 1699 and 1729, it has an elegant facade which has been compared with Francesco Borromini's Church of Saint Agnes in Piazza Navona, Rome. The village square, so quintessentially Gozitan, has become the view on many a postcard. On the square is a fascinating folklore museum housing all sorts of memorabilia retelling the Islands' rural history. Għarb lies in some of Gozo's most scenic countryside, particularly at Dbiegi, the highest hill on the Island. Also at Dbiegi is a centre for Gozitan crafts. Within the limits of Għarb is the Chapel of San Dimitri. According to legend, the first chapel was built on the cliff side by a woman whose son was freed from captivity by St. Demetrius. Also nearby is the Basilica ta' Pinu, Malta's pre-eminent shrine to the Virgin Mary. It was on this spot in 1883 that a local woman heard the voice of the Virgin. The parish church is dedicated to the visitation of Saint Mary to her cousin Saint Elizabeth. The late Karmni Grima and Frenc Tal-Gharb are two of its most renowned villagers.
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Għasri (or L-Għasri) is a village in the western part of Gozo (Malta), with a population of 417 people (Nov 2005). By population is the smallest village in Gozo, and the third smallest in the Maltese Islands, after Bidnija (308 people) and Mdina (236 people).
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The Inland Sea, sometimes called Qawra in Maltese, is a lagoon of seawater on the island of Gozo linked to the Mediterranean Sea through an opening formed by a narrow natural arch.
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Kerċem is a village on Gozo Island, Malta, with a population of 1,654 people (Nov 2005).
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Libya ( ; Libyan vernacular: Lībya ; Amazigh: ), officially the '''Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya ( , also translated as Socialist People's Libyan Arab Great Jamahiriya'''), is a country located in North Africa. Bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Libya lies between Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west.
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Malta , officially the Republic of Malta (), is a southern European country and consists of an archipelago situated centrally in the Mediterranean, 93 km south of Sicily and 288 km east of Tunisia, with the Strait of Gibraltar 1,826 km to the west and Alexandria 1,510 km to the east.
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Malta Island is the largest of the three major islands that constitute the Maltese archipelago and Republic of Malta. Malta is in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea directly south of Italy and north of Libya. The area is 246 km² (95 square miles). The capital is Valletta, largest city is Qormi and largest locality is Birkirkara. The landscape is characterised by low hills with terraced fields.
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Manhattan is one of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York. It consists of Manhattan Island and several small adjacent islands: Roosevelt Island, Randall's Island, Wards Island, Governors Island, Liberty Island, part of Ellis Island, and U Thant Island; as well as Marble Hill, a small section on the mainland adjacent to the Bronx. The original city of New York began at the southern end of Manhattan, and expanded in 1898 to include surrounding counties. It is the smallest, yet most urbanized of the five boroughs.
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Munxar or Il-Munxar is a village which lies on the southern side of Gozo Island, Malta, close to the village of Sannat. It has its own local village council. As of November 2005, the Munxar population was 1,019.
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Nadur (or In-Nadur) is a village on Gozo Island, Malta.
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Qala ({pronounced Aala in English}) is a village on Gozo Island, Malta, with a population of 1,609 people (Nov 2005). Nearby is Ħondoq ir-Rummien, a coastline with salt pans and caves popular with snorkellers.
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:This article is about Ramla Bay in Gozo. There is another Ramla Bay near Marfa, Mellieha (Island of Malta).
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'''Ta' Sannat (it is incorrect to refer to it as Sannat''' in any language) is a village on Gozo Island, Malta, with a population of 2,200 persons (Nov 2005). Ta' Sannat is in the south of Gozo, popular for its very high cliffs, ancient cart ruts, temples and dolmens, and rich fauna and flora. After World War 2 Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom stayed in a house called "The Lace house" located in a small square in Ta' Sannat called "Pjazza Tax-Xelina".
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Victoria or Città Vittoria is the capital of Gozo, an island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The town has a total population of 6,414 (November 2005), and by population is the largest locality in Gozo.
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Ix-Xagħra is a village on the island of Gozo (Malta)
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The Xagħra Stone Circle, also known as the Brochtorff Circle since there may be two Circles at Xagħra, is an underground funerary complex, situated in Xagħra on the Maltese island of Gozo. It was first discovered by John Otto Bayer in the 1820s and rediscovered in 1964 after Gozitan researcher Joe Attard Tabone examined a painting by Charles Brochtorff in the National Library in Valletta.
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Xewkija is a village on Gozo Island, Malta. A helicopter service once ran between Malta International Airport and Xewkija.
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Ġgantija (, , "Giants' Tower") is a Neolithic, megalithic temple complex on the Mediterranean island of Gozo. The Ġgantija temples are the earliest of a series of megalithic temples in Malta. Their makers erected the two Ġgantija temples during the Neolithic Age (c. 3600-2500 BC), which makes these temples more than 5500 years old and some of the world's oldest manmade religious structures. Together with other similar structures, these have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Megalithic Temples of Malta.
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The small village of Iż-Żebbuġ is on the island of Gozo in Malta. With a population of 1770 (November 2005) located in the northwest of the island, close to the towns of Gharb and Marsalforn, on a hilltop overlooking the coast. The word Żebbuġ means "olives", a crop for which the village used to be noted, although nowadays very few olive trees remain on the slopes of Żebbuġ. The village is also well-known for its fine lacework and for its nearby coastal beauty spots.
http://wn.com/Żebbuġ_Gozo
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Coordinates | 34°37′14″N58°32′21″N |
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name | Gozo |
image name | Gozo and Comino-map.svg |
image caption | Map of Maltese islands highlighting Gozo and Comino |
locator map | |
native name | Għawdex |
native name link | Maltese language |
nickname | Isle of Calypso |
location | south of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea |
coordinates | |
archipelago | Maltese islands |
area km2 | 67 |
length km | 14 |
width km | 7.25 |
country | Malta |
country largest city | Victoria |
country largest city population | 6,414 |
population | 31,053 |
density km2 | 463.48 |
ethnic groups | Maltese people |
additional info | }} |
name | Gozo |
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image shield | GOZOCOATOFARMS.jpg |
leader title | Minister |
leader name | Giovanna Debono }} |
Gozo () is a small 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. Compared to its southeastern neighbour, Gozo is more rural and known for its scenic hills, which are featured on its coat of arms.
The island of Gozo has long been identified as Ogygia, the domain of the nymph Calypso in Homer's Odyssey. Calypso, possessed of great supernatural powers, holds Odysseus captive for a number of years because of her love for him before releasing him to continue his journey home.
The island itself has a population of around 31,000 people (all of Malta combined has 402,000), and its inhabitants are known as Gozitans (). It is rich in historical locations such as the Ġgantija temples which, along with the Megalithic Temples of Malta, are the world's oldest free-standing structures and also the world's oldest religious structures.
For such a small island, Gozo has a high concentration of churches (22 in all). The Xewkija church has a capacity of 3000, enough for the entire population of Xewkija village, its dome is larger than that of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. The church bells are rung daily for the canonical hours Matins, Lauds, Terce, Sext, None and vespers.
History
Gozo has been inhabited since 5000 BC, when farmers from nearby Sicily crossed the sea to the island. Due to similar pottery found in both places from the Għar Dalam phase, it has been suggested that the first colonists were specifically from the area of Agrigento; however, it is currently indeterminate exactly which part of Sicily the farmers came from. They are thought to have first lived in caves on the outskirts of what is now known as Saint Lawrence.Gozo was an important place for cultural evolution and during the neolithic period the Ġgantija temples were built; they are the world's oldest free-standing structures, as well as the world's oldest religious structures. The temples' name is Maltese for "belonging to the giants", because legend in Maltese and Gozitan folklore says the temples were built by giants. Another important Maltese archaeological site in Gozo, which dates back to the neolithic period, is the Xagħra Stone Circle. Also, native tradition and certain ancient Greek historians (notably Euhemerus and Callimachus) maintain that Gozo is in fact the island Homer described as Ogygia, home of the nymph Calypso.
In July 1551 Ottomans under Turgut Reis and Sinan Pasha invaded and ravaged Gozo and enslaved most of its inhabitants, about 5000, bringing them to Tarhuna Wa Msalata in Libya, their departure port in Gozo was Mġarr ix-Xini. The island of Gozo was repopulated between 1565 and 1580 by people from mainland Malta, undertaken by the Knights of Malta.
The history of Gozo is strongly coupled with the history of Malta, since Gozo has been governed by Malta throughout history, with the brief exception of a period of autonomy granted to Gozo by Napoleon after his conquest of Malta, between 28 October 1798 and 5 September 1800.
The Gozo Civic Council was set up as a statutory local Government in the island of Gozo on 14 April 1961, the first experiment in civil local government in Malta since the French occupation of 1798-1800. The law authorised the Council to raise taxes, although it never actually made use of this power. In 1971 the Labour Party was voted into office. As its support in Gozo was weak and it favoured a more centralised administration it proposed a referendum on the abolishment of the Council putting emphasis on the unpopular possibility of it raising taxes. In the Gozo Civic Council referendum, 1973, the overwhelming majority of voters (76.97%) voting for the abolition of the Gozo Civic Council.
In the mid-1980s attempts were made to set up a Gozo committee, chaired by the Prime Minister and with the Gozitan Members of Parliament as members. However, it was only in 1987 that the Ministry of Gozo was set up (demoted to a Parliamentary Secretariat between 1996 and 1998). Local government in the Gozitan localities was restored with the introduction of Local councils in 1993 with Gozo having 14 councils.
Demography
In 2005, the island had a population of 31,053, of whom 6,414 live in its capital Victoria, also known as Rabat. The crude birth rate was 7.93, considerably lower than that of 9.59 for Malta. The town with the highest birth rate is San Lawrenz (15.93) and that with the lowest is Xewkija (4.89).
Geography
Gozo is 67 km² in size, which is approximately the same size as Manhattan. It lies approximately 6 km northwest of the nearest point of Malta, is of oval form, and is 14 km in length and 7.25 km in width.Gozo is famed for its character and places of interest. Some of these include the Calypso cave and the Ġgantija Neolithic temples which are among the oldest surviving man-made structures.
Gozo's finest beaches are San Blas and the stunning Ramla Bay, with brilliant orange-red sand and clear turquoise waters.
Culture and traditions
Gozo is also much known for carnival and during that weekend many Maltese people come all over from Malta to experience Gozo’s unique carnival especially in the village of Nadur. Many locals dress up in colourful and also outrageous costumes with the intention of not being recognised.Feasts are also a very important tradition on the island with celebrations including fireworks and bands every weekend in the summer season.
A number of Maltese dishes or variants of these dishes are associated with Gozo.
In film
Two days of shooting in Gozo's strong Mediterranean light provided shots used to represent the desolate surface of the alien planet in the 1981 British horror film Inseminoid (known in the U.S. as Horror Planet).Parts of Episode 7 from Brideshead Revisited were recorded on the island.
Id-Dwejra is also one of the several filming locations in the Maltese Islands used for the HBO TV Series, Game of Thrones.
Connection to Malta Island
Currently the island can be reached by ferry boat and by seaplane. Passenger and car ferries cross on a regular basis between the port of Mġarr on Gozo and Ċirkewwa on Malta. This service is used for goods, tourism and commuting (Gozitan students study at the University of Malta). Due to its frequent use, residents of Gozo are able to use the ferry at a subsidised rate, significantly lower than the standard fare. The sea plane operates from Valletta to Mgarr harbour. There was previously a helicopter service which connected the two, but this ceased in 2006.The connection between the two islands is heavily used. Around 1.1 million cars travel on the current transport links per year, and many more foot passengers.
Several proposals have been made to construct a road link between Malta and Gozo. In 1972 the newly elected Socialist Administration carried out a feasibility study which concluded that the building of a bridge between the two islands was possible but would have negative environmental effects. A tunnel was also considered but found to be too expensive at the time. An online poll by The Times of Malta in 2006 found that 55% of respondents supported a road link.
An airstrip on Gozo was proposed in the 1990s, but rejected for environmental reasons.
Ecclesiastical history
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gozo (in Latin Goulos-Gaudisiensis), comprises the Island of Gozo in the Mediterranean Sea (seventeen miles west of the harbour of Valletta, Malta) and islet of Comino. On a central plateau the Citadel fortifications contain the cathedral church and several public buildings. To the south of the castle lies the island's main town whose origins go back to prehistoric times. The town contains several public buildings the most important of which is St George's basilica. This magnificent basilica lies on the site where the earliest evidence of Christianity was discovered.
Up to the year 1864, Gozo formed part of the Diocese of Malta, but Pius IX, acceding to the repeated prayer of the clergy and the people, erected it into a separate exempt diocese, i.e. immediately subject to the Holy See. On 16 March 1863, Monsignor Francesco Michele Butigieg, a native of Gozo, was appointed titular Bishop of Lita and deputy auxiliary of the Archbishop-Bishop of Malta, for the Island of Gozo. He was consecrated at Rome on 3 May of the same year, on 22 September 1864, was created first bishop of the new Diocese of Gozo, and on the 23rd day of the following month made his solemn entry into the new cathedral. Through the efforts of Mgr. Pietro Pace, who was then vicar-general of the diocese, a diocesan seminary was established on the site formerly occupied by the San Giuliano Hospital, the revenues of which were appropriated to the new institution. This seminary was inaugurated 3 November 1866, and by the express desire of Pope Pius IX placed under the direction of the Jesuits.
On the death of Mgr. Butigieg, Father Micallef, Superior General of the Augustinian Order, was made Bishop of Città di Castello and appointed administrator of the Diocese of Gozo. He left Gozo in May, 1867, and in 1871 became Archbishop of Pisa. His successor to the administration of the diocese was Mgr. Antonio Grech Delicata, titular Bishop of Chalcedon, a native of Malta, who in 1868 was appointed Bishop of Gozo, and as such assisted at the First Vatican Council. Mgr. Grech Delicata's charity towards the poor went so far that he divested himself of his own patrimony. This worthy prelate died on the last day of the year 1876.
On 12 March 1877, Mgr. Canon Professor Pietro Pace, native of Gozo, was appointed to succeed Mgr. Grech Delicata, and was consecrated at Rome by Cardinal Howard. Under his administration the seminary was augmented by the installation of a meteorological observatory, which was inaugurated by the celebrated Padre Denza, Director of the Vatican Observatory. During this administration an episcopal educational institute for girls was also established, under the care of the Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul, to whom was also entrusted the direction of the annexed orphan asylum. The same bishop provided the diocese with a new episcopal palace and new monasteries, besides laying out large sums of money on the cathedral.
In 1889, Mgr. Pace was promoted Archbishop of Rhodes and Bishop of Malta. His successor in the See of Gozo was the Reverend G. M. Camilleri, O.S.A., a native of Valetta (b. 15 March 1842). Under Mgr. Camilleri's administration the first diocesan synod was celebrated, in October, 1903. This synod was of absolute necessity, as the diocese was still governed under the rules of the Synod of Malta of 1703, and consequently lacked a safe guide adapted to the times. Constitutions and decrees were also promulgated and published which gave new life to the working of the diocese.
The cathedral church of Gozo was built in 1697-1703, by Lorenzo Gafa. Its ground plan is in the form of a Latin cross. The Cathedral is also the annual pilgrimage site of the Grand Priory of the Mediterranean of the Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem. Its interior is adorned with fine paintings. The "Massagiere di Maria", an Italian periodical, is recognized in the Diocese of Gozo as the official organ of the sanctuary of the Bl. Virgin ta Pinu.
Currently the Bishop of Gozo is Mgr. Mario Grech.
Villages in Gozo
Notable features
References
External links
Category:Islands of Malta * Category:Phoenician colonies Category:NUTS 3 statistical regions of the European Union Category:Client states of the Napoleonic Wars
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