The Gozo Observer, No. 23, The Journal of the University of Malta, Gozo Campus.
The leading contribution in the latest issue of The Gozo Observer focuses on ‘The defence of Gozo at the turn of the 18th century’ and describes in some detail the state of the Castello in the early 18th century.
Godwin Vella bases his article on a report of the Order of the Knights of St John’s commissioners who were sent to report on the state of preparedness of the island’s prime defensive site. The report itself is presented in translation.
The Gozo Observer has established itself as the main vehicle for research about the island. The journal of the vibrant Gozo Campus of the University of Malta, it has managed to achieve and maintain high standards in the level of the papers published.
Classical scholar Horatio Vella explores the origin and the development of Gaudos as a variant of the name of Gaulos by which the island was traditionally known. The author describes the confusion that may have arisen in some minds owing to the presence of the small island of Gaudos off the coast of Crete, a confusion that many attributed to classical authors such as Callimachus and Strabo.
Gozitan researcher Anton Attard writes an informative paper on ‘Gozitan Christmas Lore and Tradition’. The particular merit of this paper is that it throws plenty of light on some cultural aspects that have disappeared or are in danger of doing so.
These include crib-making, pasturi and their makers, carols, games, food and sweets, weather lore, the Christmas phantom, the gawgaw and the mlejka, and several stories and legends related to the time.
Godfrey Attard recalls the figure of Mariroz Gatt – a renowned midwife in the late 19th-century, while Mark Caruana, a migration researcher from Australia, writes about migration from Gozo between 1870 and 1872.
Records show the greatest number of Gozitan migrants came from Xagħra (9,730) and Nadur (65). Only one Żebbug resident migrated to Australia during this two-year period.
Joe Azzopardi describes his positive experiences studying for a postgraduate degree in islands and small states at the Gozo campus, while Joe Attard, head of the Wistin Camilleri School of Fine Art in Għajnsielem, gives an overall view of the progress achieved since its inauguration in February 2008.
It has transformed it into a hub of artistic achievement, not forgetting the help it provides for the development of traditional crafts. It has already successfully participated in exhibitions in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Belgium.
For the past two years, the campus has hosted a multidisciplinary conference staged by the American-based International Journal of Arts and Sciences, which attracts over a 100 delegates. Nancy Mathies, an editorial consultant of the journal, describes the aims behind these conferences and writes positively about the experience, which was again repeated for the third time last month.
Such conferences enable academics to share the fruit of their research and also establish contacts with others coming from different countries and institutions.
In a brief contribution, Joseph Calleja, the administrator of the campus, reviews the recent activities at the Gozo Campus, which include fully-fledged university courses, seminars, social activities, and concerts, as well as the 39 students who graduated last year.