Lying just 6 km off the coast of northern Malta, Gozo is often assumed to be a smaller version of its sister island. In some ways it is: the neat fields sheltered by stone walls, the flat-roofed houses and the dazzling blue waters surrounding the island are all reminiscent of Malta. At the same time [...]

Around 5000 BC Neolithic farmers arrive. 5000-4000 BC Neolithic period: Skorba Temples built. 4000-3000 BC Temple Period: Age of Tarxien and Ggantija temples and Hal Saflieni Hypogeum. 2500-700 BC Bronze and Iron Age. Period of fortified villages and ‘cart tracks’. 700-550 BC Phoenicians colonize the islands.

Malta’s strategic setting at the crossroads of the Mediterranean shipping lanes has always played a crucial role in the island’s history. Over the centuries the great Mediterranean powers have fought to dominate the islands, each new arrival leaving its legacy. What you see today is a complex amalgam of ethnic influences. The Arabs introduced citrus [...]

It didn’t take the knights of St John long to discover the potential of the slopes of Mount Sceberras and the great sweep of surrounding harbour. A matter of months after the epic siege of 1565, Francesco Laparelli was sent to Malta by Pope Pius IV to advise on the building of a new city. [...]