Victoria (Rabat) - Gozo

Victoria is not just the geographic heart of Gozo, it is also the centre of everyday activity. It manages to combine the bustle of its market and shops with a relaxed and sociable atmosphere. It is a great place to watch the Islanders go about their day, especially when the main market square, It-Tokk, comes to life.

Browse around Victoria's market and narrow winding streets and you'll find everything from delicious fresh produce, cheeses and wines, to antiques, craft goods, fishing nets and knitwear. The town also has a thriving cultural life all its own, with some surprising attractions ranging from opera to horse races in the main street on festa day.

Victoria, or Rabat, is spread beneath the Citadel, the walled castle-area which dominates the Island. The small town is divided into two parishes - that of St Mary, The Assumption, with its Cathedral in the Citadel and the Basilican Church, St George's, in the lower town. The festivity of St. Mary (Assumption Day) is held on 15th August; that of St. George on the 3rd Sunday in July. These days are occasions of parish pride and joy and well worth joining in.

The town centre is It-Tokk - a sizeable square at the end of Republic Street, the main thoroughfare of Rabat. The most prominent edifice in the Square is the old Town Hall or Banca Giuratale, which was built in 1733 and served as the Commune where the Gozo Jurats convened to discuss local administrative affairs.

Every morning, up to noon, It-Tokk transforms itself into an open market, which competes with the shops around the square, selling Gozitan lace, knitwear, silver trinkets and other attractions.

A short way from it-Tokk, through Victoria's market, is St. George's Square and the Collegiate Basilica of St. George - an imposing 17th century building which serves as parish church to that quarter of the town. Around St. George's Square is a maze of narrow streets which used to be the core of old Victoria. Today, many new houses and shops have sprung up on the periphery of the town.

Across the Square opposite the Town Hall used to stand the small baroque church of St. James, which collapsed dung a heavy storm in the 1970's. Works to rebuild it in its previous form are now complete. The bronze statue of Christ the King in the main square is the War Memorial in remembrance of Gozitans who fell in World War II.

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