The NAG-National Archives Gozo is hosting an exhibition on Engagements and Weddings in Gozo Past, with Gianni Vella’s ‘A Wedding Procession’ as the star exhibit.
The exhibition is being held on the occasion of its 24th anniversary, which also coincides with ‘Archives Awareness Week.’
The NAG celebrated its 24th anniversary on the 24th of November – a lucky birthday. It was founded by Anton Tabone, the first Minister for Gozo and inaugurated as part of the celebrations of the twenty fifth anniversary of the attainment of Independence. Ministers Giovanna Debono and Dr Anton Refalo proceeded on the footsteps of the first Gozo Minister and continued to sustain the institution.
This thirteenth exhibition at the NAG is divided into two sections – each of which is made up of 24 items commemorating the 24 years of the NAG.
The first section consists of interesting documents related to the subject; the second compliments the sources by a number of engravings and paintings related to the subject.
Worthy of mention in the documents section is a copy of the earliest wedding record in Gozo. It goes back to the 25th of December 1556, just five years after the total devastation of Gozo by the Turks.
Another describes Il-Qarcilla, the mock wedding during carnival, amply recorded by Gozo historian GPF Agius de Soldanis in the 1760s. A third is about Maria Micallef (born 1738), who holds the Gozo record for the number of marriages she contracted; a total of four.
The star exhibit in the engravings and paintings section is ‘The Wedding Procession’ by Gianni Vella, an oil on canvas, on loan from the National Museum of Fine Arts, Valletta, being exhibited in Gozo for the first time.
This second section includes a full collection of the paintings depicting The Wedding of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Saint Joseph and The Wedding at Cana found in the churches and chapels of Gozo – at the Cathedral, the National Sanctuary of Ta’ Pinu, Gharb, Xaghra, Qala, and Ghasri. A number of these hitherto unknown and forgotten paintings are being evaluated in this section.
The exhibition was inaugurated by the Minister for Gozo, Dr Anton Refalo and will be open to the public until the 31st of December 2013, providing an opportunity for the hundreds of Maltese who visit Gozo during the Christmas holidays to pay a visit.
As usual, the NAG has published an exhibition catalogue, kindly sponsored by HSBC Gozo, as well as the seventh commemorative postcard. Both are available at the venue of the exhibition at the NAG, Triq Vajringa, Victoria-Gozo (between Pjazza San Frangisk and Pjazza Santu Wistin).
Opening hours are Monday to Saturday between 8.00am and 12.30pm.