Last Sunday in The Cittadella, Victoria, a garrison of local soldiers were involved in a bloody confrontation with French Troops. Although the Gozo force came under heavy fire they eventually won the battle and the French surrendered their arms.

All this was part of Lejlet Lapsi celebrations which took part over the weekend. This particular attraction was organised by Wirt Ghawdex to draw attention to the work that their team of volunteers carry out to help safeguard Gozo’s heritage. The battles were staged by the Historical Re-enactment Group of Malta who could be seen drilling and marching and camping on the Low Battery during the three days of the event. Wirt Ghawdex would also like to thank Gozo Channel for their generosity in providing free transportation to the Re-enactment Group to and from Malta.

As in other years Wirt Ghawdex opened its site which includes the Gunpowder Magazine, World War 2 Shelters, the Low Battery and the Grain Silos of the Knights. Queues built up as over 2000 people visited our facility over the weekend. All were given guided tours and despite having to wait, the unanimous response was that the visit was ‘amazing’, ‘an historic jewel’, ‘beautiful and well worth the wait’ (some quotes from those who left messages in our book). Since being opened for the first time during Lejlet Lapsi in 2009 over 10,000 tourists and locals have visited the site which is opened by volunteers throughout the year. Opening times may be found on their website (www.wirtghawdex.org).

Wirt Ghawdex is a Gozitan NGO which enters into Management Agreements with the Ministry for Gozo in order to restore historical sites and open them to the public. Apart from the site at the Cittadella Wirt Ghawdex is responsible for the Mgarr ix Xini Tower, the Santa Cecilia Medieval Chapel, currently being restored through the generous sponsorship of the Baron Group, and the last Dghajsa tal-Latini, now visible in all its glory, again thanks to a sponsorship, this time being the Gozo Channel Ltd.

A different kind of activity took place two weeks ago when Wirt Ghawdex welcomed a group of students from MCAST Gozo who spent the day assisting with some maintenance at the Mgarr ix Xini Tower. The position of this tower makes it extremely vulnerable to the ravages of wind and sea and needs ongoing maintenance work. It is very encouraging to see young people willing to contribute towards the preservation of our heritage sites.

Wirt Ghawdex said that they thank all the volunteers who helped out during the Lejlet Lapsi event and welcomes new members and volunteers to their organisation.

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