The historic stone statue of San Gorg tal-Hagar has moved from its location in front of the sanctuary of Our Lady of Pompei on Dr Anton Tabone Street, Victoria, Gozo, where it has stood since the 1920s, to the Il-Hagar Museum, where it will now be on permanent display.

The relocation of the statue held all the necessary Planning Authority clearance, and the entire process was monitored by officials from the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, the museum said.

Il-Hagar Museum explained that it is overseeing an extensive restoration and conservation project, which includes the creation of a replica of the iconic statue. Following discussions with the property owners, the replica will feature prominently in the façade of the new building.

The Museum said that it has engaged a “high-powered team of experts in their respective fields to ensure the best outcome for the project, consolidating its sterling reputation for the caring, on behalf of the community, of the significant artefacts housed at the Museum.”

“The widespread interest generated by this ongoing project evidences the value and appeal of this landmark statue, which is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, roadside statues in Gozo,” it said.

The statue was originally created for the corner of Saint George’s Street and Library Street in Victoria, but was replaced in 1925 with a larger one by Guzeppi Agius.

An early 20th century aquarelle by Edward Caruana Dingli, now housed at MUZA, the National Museum of Arts, in Valletta, depicts this landmark statue still in that corner.

The attribution of the toponym San Gorg tal-Hagar to the statue reflects transferal of the toponym of the church of Saint George (San Gorg ‘tal-Hagar’, therefore, ‘of the town’) to a statue that out of town led up to the church on the same street (it-triq ta’ San Gorg tal-Hagar).

Photo: Il-Hagar Museum

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