I like to visit places of historical interest and, as a regular visitor to Gozo, I went to Il-Ħaġar – Heart of Gozo at Victoria, which was recently inaugurated. However, I concluded that the publicity for this museum, which included a billboard on the way to Ċirkewwa, was quite misleading and unfair because this so-called one of a kind museum-cum-cultural centre is supposed to focus on The Making of a People.

The only item I noticed in this direction was an artistic column in the centre of the property indicating historical events in the Maltese islands. The rest are religious items pertaining to St George’s basilica (not the people of Gozo). The place is a museum of the basilica and other descriptions, including the logo, seem only intended to attract EU funding. (Il-Ħaġar – Heart of Gozo had an investment of €1.2 million, 85 per cent of which is EU-funded – timesofmalta.com, Wednesday, February 13, 2013.)

If the place had been projected as a museum of St George’s basilica, I would have visited it just the same and most probably complimented it on the presentation and the restoration of the premises.

However, as things were carried out, it is a case of marketing a venue as focusing on Gozo and the Gozitans within a national historical perspective and then presenting to visitors a completely different venue within a local parish scenario.