Exploring Xewkija, Gozo
We’ve been staying at the The Penthouse Gozo www.thepenthousegozo.com (in San Lawrenz Gozo) for several weeks now. This is “our home” whenever we are in Gozo. Indeed a 5-star holiday accommodation unsurpassed for quality appointments, 270° views of Dwejra surroundings and the village of San Lawrenz, incredibly spacious, extraordinary hosts in David, Odette and Laura Canter, peaceful and incomparable access to the rest of Gozo. Although set in a rustic/village environment, the Penthouse is an oasis of luxury as befitting genteel rural Australia folk.
Power walk to Victoria, Gozo
Woke up early this morning as I intended to have a solid workout, which I did. I put in 10kms to the main town of Gozo which is Victoria (but locally known as Rabat).
I powered via “rural” San Pietru and “urban” Gharb and onwards then back via San Lawrenz. It took me about 70 minutes so it was a good clip.
Typically along the way, I’m always meeting someone I know either thru FB or from when I was growing up in the village, back in the day😊. I love walking thru the hamlets and villages of my beloved G0zo. The allure of this island is deeply held by me and my family. Most importantly for Nanna and me, our grandchildren yearn to revisit and revisit this “gem in the Mediterranean”.
Savina Creativity Centre
After breakfast, we went to Savina Creativity Centre as Nanna wanted to buy a gift for a friend we were having dinner with tomorrow evening.
The centre is a wonderful display of local artisan foods (with plenty of sampling available…. diet be damned😊). The food wonders included cheeselets, figs, olive and olive oils, wines and liqueurs, honeys and jams, the island’s famous nougat, sweetened nuts and much more.
There was also a considerable display of traditional local crafts including lace, filigree products, wool clothing and many more. Be sure to set aside at least an hour to peruse and buy.
The centre is owned by Magro Bros, an iconic Maltese/Gozitan Company whose principal business is the production of tomato products and same are exported worldwide.
As for the name Savina, it’s adopted from Pjazza Savina in Rabat (Victoria): the Pjazza is not only the geographic heart of Gozo but for generations it was also the centre for everyday trading on the island.
I remember when I was 13 years old picking tomatoes in the summer heat with my parents and grandfather and taking the harvest to Magro Bros.
Xewkija Rotunda, Gozo
Afterwards we decided to do more exploring. Seeing that we’d never fully explored the town of Xewkija, we went there. The centre of Xewkija is undergoing considerable road restructuring so we had to park outside the centre and walk inwards.
We arrived at the massive church and quite fortunately it was open so in we went. This church is more commonly known as the Xewkija Rotunda. This church replaced the previous smaller church on the same site. In fact, the Xewkija Rotunda was built around and over the old one. The old church was built in 1678 and was dedicated to St John the Baptist. Interestingly, Xewkija is the oldest village on Gozo.
Whilst this church is the largest church on Gozo, the Rotunda of this church is the third largest unsupported dome in the world and was modeled on the church of Santa Maria Della Salute in Venice. The church in Venice is of course much larger😊. The dome is calculated to weigh approximately 45,000 tonnes!! Importantly & reverently, this church (old & new) is the Spiritual Seat of the Knights of Malta!!
The “new” church was begun in 1952 and completed in 1972 and was built entirely from funds raised by the villagers and expats alike with many giving freely of their time to labour on the project. Such was their religious fervour. Wonderfully, some senior villagers we met afterwards at a local bar remembered fondly helping to built this wonderful church.
Inside the church you cannot help but marvel at the structure. You can clearly see the 8 massive columns supporting the base of the dome. The church is completely built from local stone, most of which was laid by Gozitan tradesmen.The old church was then carefully dismantled and the best sculptures were saved and rebuilt in an adjacent building under the church belfry in an area now called the Sculpture Museum.
The Master-mason for this massive project was Guzepp Vella (incredibly, he never learned to read OR write!!). He worked under the architect of the church, Joseph D’Amato. When the architect passed away half way through the project, Guzepp Vella took over the project and saw it to its successful completion.
Xewkija Church Museum
We spent time enjoying the memorabilia and history within the museum. Within the museum of this church, one can take an elevator/lift to the roof where the dome is. This we did (on “contribution” of a gold coin).
On reaching the roof of the church, which essentially is the base of the dome, we were presented with spectacular panoramic 360-degree views of Gozo and the Northern part of Malta…. and so, we spent the next hour totally immersed in the landscape before us and maddeningly taking photos (NB: do NOT be on the roof without a camera/iPhone!).
Nanna and I were fortunate to be visiting during the off-season. The museum attendant was most passionate about the church’s history. We were the only ones in the church AND on the roof😊.
Xewkija Church Belfry
We also climbed the belfry but couldn’t access the bell section itself as it housed the central village clock (and so security was extreme!…several padlocks were attached! We Gozitans have a very old saying: a saying which Benjamin Franklin used in his “Advice to young Tradesmen” …. the saying: TIME IS MONEY…. and Gozitans are very serious about money and time😊…. so, they locked TIME away😊). The clock looked elaborate and I was fascinated by the many visible mechanisms of the clock.
Walking around the base of the dome was exhilarating. You would look up close (onto the roofs of houses around the village) or afar (out to the Mediterranean) but each view gave a picture which anyone would appreciate and pause on and attribute.
Lunch at Ta Nona, Xlendi
By this time, it was around 3.00 and we were quite tired as well as hungry.
We decided to go to Mgarr Ix-Xini however the road we picked to go on (more like a track) looked a bit dubious (dodgy?) so reversed and instead we went to Xlendi for a pizza.
We lunched at Ta Nona, located right on the water’s edge. It was idyllic, watching the little fish swimming and the breeze shimmering on the water. We actually haven’t had a pizza since we left home.
We had a Gozitan Pizza (which one MUST try😊) to share and it was absolutely delicious.
We returned back to the Penthouse just before 6.00 and decided not to dine out this evening.
As per previous “chill-out evenings”, we opened a bottle of Gozitan white (a delicious drop from Ta Mena Winery owned by my friend Joseph Spiteri) and parked ourselves just beyond the private pool of the Penthouse’s and enjoyed a remarkable sunset…. but this ambiance was tempered with us missing our grandchildren and terribly wishing they were with us….even though it was only 8 months that we holidayed together here in San Lawrenz…
….ah well, we must do our bit for the world economy and spend😊. It’s our universal duty😊!
