The Maltese Cross – The distinctive eight-pointed Cross has been the emblem of the Knights of the Order of St. John since its foundation in Jerusalem in the 11th century. There is evidence that the Cross was already in use at that time by the ships of the Republic of Amalfi (now part of Italy), and perhaps the Knights’ adoption of this symbol is explained by the financial support given the Hospitallers by Amalfi shipping interests.

After their expulsion from Palestine, the Knights of St. John relocated to Cyprus and then to Rhodes, where they established themselves as a maritime power. After a long stay, the Ottoman Turks again sent them packing. With their arrival in Malta in 1530, one might say that the Amalfi Cross had returned to home waters in the central Mediterranean. Since the heroic defence of Malta during the Great Siege of 1565, it has been unequivocally identified with this courageous island nation.

Gozo’s Emblem – Gozo is politically integrated with its larger sister island, so it also uses the Maltese Cross, however Gozo has its own graphic symbol – the Three Hills. But what is the origin of this unique emblem? Gozo has many hills – indeed its hills distinguish the local landscape from the somewhat flatter topography of the Island of Malta – but which of Gozo’s many hills provided the inspiration for the Three Hills device?

Most of the hills on Gozo are flat-topped. After the risk of raids by Barbary Corsairs had diminished villages were built on top of many of the hills across the island. These plateaus were ideal for building, while the soil which had eroded into the valleys over time was reserved for agricultural purposes. This is the typical Gozo landscape, so where are the three round-topped hills?

I have walked through the countryside in all parts of Gozo, and found round-topped hills in very short supply. While it is risky to take the design of an emblem too literally I still wondered why anyone intent on symbolizing Gozo would draw these rounded silhouettes? Perhaps the Three Hills in question were those occupied by La Citadella, Xaghra and Nadur, but this explanation didn’t satisfy me, not only because of their topography, but because they are too far apart to be seen as an ensemble.

Then I thought perhaps all of Gozo’s hills had once been round-topped, but successive fireworks displays had leveled the tops creating their current profile. Support for this theory was not forthcoming, so I abandoned the idea. Well – that would have been rather a lot of gunpowder, even by Gozo standards.

The round-top conundrum bothered me for some time, but I eventually moved on to other weighty matters, until one day the answer came to me as I was sailing in a small boat off the north coast of Gozo at Qbajjar Point. When I happened to glance back at the shore I saw the Three Hills silhouetted against the sky: Il-Qolla l-Bajda, Il Qolla s-Safra and Tas-Salvatur.

Il-Qolla l-Bajda, the White Hill (or Pitcher), is located on the point of land which separates Qbajjar Bay and Xwieni Bay; Il Qolla s-Safra, the Yellow Hill, is located behind Marsalforn’s Qbajjar Promenade; and the third Qolla – now known as Tas-Salvatur – is located a little farther up the Marsalforn Valley. All three are distinctly round-topped, and they are located close together, almost in a straight line.

There they were, exactly as they appear on Gozo’s emblem, and this impression is enhanced by the water in the foreground, just like the wavy lines across the bottom of the emblem. Satisfied with this ‘discovery’ I began to ponder the origins of this design. Why would the local population have chosen a topographic feature which is not readily discernable from anywhere on the island?

Since the Three Hills are quite distinct when viewed from offshore, a maritime explanation would seem appropriate. This remarkable landscape feature would have unmistakably identified Gozo as the first landfall for any brave soul crossing the open sea from Sicily. Neither Malta nor Comino has anything to resemble this landmark. ‘Sail for the three hills’ must have been the navigators’ recipe for the shortest possible passage to the Maltese Islands. Marsalforn Bay is the only practical harbour on the North side of Gozo, so the Three Hills point the way to safe anchorage and easy landing.

Unfortunately very few of us approach Gozo from this point of view. Now visitors to Gozo arrive from Malta on the ferries and land at Mgarr Harbour. Large commercial aircraft approaching Malta International Airport are too high to see the silhouette of the Three Hills, and even the seaplane which takes tourists around the island flies too high for them to appreciate the skyline. But this oversight does not diminish the importance of the Three Hills emblem to Gozo’s unique identify.

The distinctiveness of this landmark when viewed from the sea (especially from a small boat) would seem to indicate that its origins are ancient, certainly well before the arrival the Knights of St. John and their eight-pointed Cross. It is impossible to pinpoint the date when the Three Hills were adopted as the Gozo’s emblem; likewise it is impossible to say how much longer these hills will last before they are worn away by the winds, but the idea of this distinctive landmark secures Gozo’s place at the centre of the Mediterranean Sea both geographically and historically.

Notes:

1. Anton F. Attard’s article, ‘The Legendary Lore of Marsalforn and Its Environs’ (in Marsalforn in Retrospect, published by Saint Paul Church, 2003) describes the White Hill and the Yellow Hill, but claims that the so-called Red Hill eroded away many years ago. I would argue that the Red Hill disappeared in name, but not in fact. It is an integral part of the Three Hills composition, but its vocation and name changed when a magnificent statue of Christ the Redeemer was erected at its summit. Since then the hill has been known as ‘Tas-Salvatur’.

2. There is one detail I can’t explain: many versions of the Three-Hills emblem show a star behind the three round-topped hills and waves. It can’t be Polaris, the North Star, since the Three Hills are visible when looking South towards Gozo. It probably isn’t the Morning Star, the planet Venus visible in the Eastern Sky before sunrise, or is it the Evening Star, also Venus visible in the Western sky after sunset. Is it the Sun, which would appear low in the southern sky, but only in winter? None of these explanations are very convincing. Perhaps it’s a meteorite crossing the sky, but that is too ephemeral to be included in Gozo’s landmark emblem. And what about Odysseus travelling home to Greece after his rather prolonged sojourn with Calypso? I can’t say . . . .

Bruce Levine, B.Arts, B.Architecture, M.Sc.- Design Technology,

Gozo.

Image copyright Bruce Levine.

Permalink: The origins of Gozo’s Three Hills emblem – Readers Opinion