Over seventy manuscripts, plans, drawings, engravings and books relating to Gozo from the National Library of Malta are currently on show at the Exhibitions’ Hall in St Francis Square. Victoria. The exhibition is being organized as part of the activities of Lejlet Lapsi – Notte Gozitana being held in Gozo between the 22nd and the 24th of May.

The documents on show in this exhibition are all related to Gozo. The exhibition has seven sections including; administration, church matters, archaeology, history, daily life, defense and literature.

Amongst the documents on show one may view fifteenth century transactions of the Universitas, correspondence by historical personages like De Soldanis and Archpriest Saverio Cassar as well as other documents of a historical nature. The exhibition includes also a number of drawings showing amongst others the Ggantija and other historical and natural monuments of the island.

One of the main attractions of the exhibition is the collection of nineteen watercolours by Charles de Brocktorff which show the Ggantija Temples and the Xaghra Stone Circle immediately after clearance in the first decades of the nineteenth century. These watercolours, originally in the possession of the Duke of Buckingham, were acquired by the National Library in 1925.

This exhibition is providing the first opportunity for all the watercolours to be exhibited simultaneously for the general public’s enjoyment and appreciation. Other exhibits include the manuscript copy of the first history of Gozo written by De Soldanis, the Cabreo Vilhena showing the property of the Order in Malta and Gozo as well as the watercolours of prehistoric monuments in Gozo from the Atlantide of Giorgio Grognet de Vasse, the renowned architect of the Mosta Rotunda.

A number of plans show various defenses and proposals for the defense of the island of Gozo during the Order’s rule as well as original plans of the St John the Baptist Hospital built and inaugurated in 1729, where the exhibition is housed, this year being the 280th anniversary of its inauguration.

The exhibition is being organised with the full collaboration of the National Library of Malta.

The exhibition is open daily between 8.00am and 4.30pm and on weekends from 9.00am till noon. The exhibition will remain open till the 24th of May and admission is free.

For the occasion of Lejlet Lapsi – Notte Gozitana, on the 22nd and 23rd of May the exhibition will remain open till midnight.

A catalogue showing all exhibits has been printed and may be acquired from the exhibition venue.

Permalink: Treasures of Gozo from the National Library