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Ted M. Mizzi: The Rotunda.
A Testament to Faith, Courage and Love.
Self-published, 2015, 164 pp.

Nemo me impune lacessit – No one attacks me with impunity. Few Scotsmen would not be aware that this Latin dictum is, in fact, the motto of the Most Noble Order of the Thistle and, by association, of Scotland at large.

However, I imagine that fewer would be the Xewkin who would not be aware that their native village of old shares the same motto with this North European country.

Although there is no direct link between the two, tradition has it that the land where Xewkija now stands once abounded with thistles.

Legend, or hearsay, may have a share in the formation of history, but Ted M. Mizzi’s masterpiece The Rotunda. A Testament to Faith, Courage and Faith leaves both behind and delves deep into unearthing important documents and bringing together important facts that form the rich history of this most ancient village in Gozo.

The first attempt for a history of Xewkija takes us back to 1978, the year that commemorated the three centuries since the foundation of the parish. Six Xewkin came together to write an outline of the history of the village of St John the Baptist, which was given the status of parish by Bishop Girolamo Molina in November 1679. In 1977, the periodical Gourgion was inaugurated with the aim of addressing the history of the village. This renaissance served its purpose well. Since then, the patriots of Xewkija never looked back and various publications – even if some of them minute – came to the light, studying some particular aspect of the village.

A monumental contribution to the aesthetic history of Xewkija

Mizzi’s is a monumental contribution to what I would call the aesthetic history of Xewkija. In his book, full of original pictures most of which are featuring in book-form for the first time, Mizzi – who stems from one of the prominent families of Xewkija – outlines the long, but glorious, journey of the building of the Xewkija Rotunda, which boasts one of the highest domes in the world.

The sense of patriotic love, sacrifice and endurance that characterised parish priest Dun Ġużepp Grech and his fellow parishioners during the ordeal that began in the 1950s, only to end in the late 1970s, is the theme of the publication.

Goodwill could not, by itself, be the only ingredient for such a big feat; perseverance during hard times and undying love and dedication for one’s own village and community were the human strengths that empowered the Xewkin of a couple of generations ago to embark upon such an ambitious project.

The vivacity by which the author describes the various episodes that knit together the history of the Xewkija Rotunda makes for interesting reading.

When I opened the book and read Godfrey Baldacchino’s foreword and proceeded to the first chapters, I knew I would not put the book away before having read it entirely.

I have to admit that Max Xuereb’s sumptuous photos made the book so much more presentable, that I only wish it could have been published as a coffee-table publication. However, The Rotunda is not only a testament to faith, courage and love, it is a testament of a one man’s love for his own native village, a strong expression of patriotism that does not render the term either archaic or out-of-place, but rather effective and noble. I recommend the book to one and all.

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