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Should the island of Gozo become too accessible there is a real danger of the island loosing the old-world charm which Gozo has so far retained, and which Malta possesed and,unfortunately, lost some half century ago. The sister island of Malta is different from the larger island in that it is more fertile, more picturesque, and far more unspoilt; but what makes Gozo so markedly different from Malta are the Gozitans |
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Rustic, and living in the past, Gozo may be, but that does not make the Gozitans in any way backward:opera stars of international repute are invited to sing in the two theaters in Gozo's capital, Victoria (renamed from "Rabat" in honour of Queen Victoria). For the younger generation, pop singers and music festivals provide the more modern equivalent. More over, some of the best brains in Malta have come out of Gozo. Like rustic communities elsewhere, but especially where economic conditions are hard, Gozitans are thrifty, but their husbandry never encroaches on avarice, and their generosity towards worthy causes is always unstinted. The citadel in Victoria is a musuem in itself; it is here that the rich Medieval families of Gozo had their own quarters in which to spend the night. In the esplanade above, in the square known as It-Tokk, one can see the more colourful side of Gozo. In the open market and in the souvenir shops around it are exposed for sale such local handicrafts as crocheted woollen dresses, the wool spun from the local sheep and the dresses worked by the island's is easy and frequent as car-ferries, hovercraft and yachts crisscross the six kilometre wide Gozo Channel. |
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