Gozo an Undiscovered Paradise.

What most people call simply "the Island of Malta" is, to be accurate, a group of islands con-sisting of Malta, Gozo, Comino and Cominotto.

The existence of these smaller islands was quite unknown to most holiday-makers. The Gozitans who are the friendliest of people are quite conservative as regards the natural environment of their island. Gozo, they feel, should stay as it was or as it is now The tourist who decides to choose Gozo will benefit from this Gozitan attitude because he will find himself in a little paradise, away from the hustle and bustle of today's hectic life, transposed into a world of peace, serenity and cleanliness.

Whereas the Maltese have always been in contact with the rest of the world and made a living from trade, Gozo was always an island of farmers and fishermen. Those who visit Gozo find much more green fields, flowering plants and wild flowers than they do in Malta.

Gozo is a world of its own. It is a place to take a break from the hectic world of today, a place to get in touch with another culture and different customs. There can be no other place where the tourist will find people friendlier than in Gozo.

Gozo guarantees an unforgettable experience to be enjoyed all year round!

The influence of the Knights becomes obvious from the many beautiful churches which are always located in the centre of the hilltop villages and towns over which their influence dominates. This is the Gozo scene.

Despite their common history with the Maltese, the Gozitans like to pin-point some of the wonders of their island. They take pride in having one of Europe's largest church domes and the oldest megalithic temple of the Maltese islands, the Temple of Ggantija (6000 years old). They also hold the firm belief that Gozo existed long before Malta - and never forget to mention that although sixty years after the birth of Christ, St.Paul the Apostle spent three months in Malta, much earlier Gozo had another prominent visitor i.e. Ulysses, who was kept prisoner for seven years in a little cave near Ramla l-Hamra bay by the nymph Calypso.

Concern about the preservation of the sparse soil explains why the Gozitans, throughout the centuries, have built their villages and small towns on the tops of the rocky hills. Apart from preventing soil erosion in the valleys, this provided protection against the frequent attacks of corsairs who until well into the 18th century used Gozo as a base for their marauding. During the post-war period, many Gozitans had to emigrate because of a lack of jobs. They went mainly to Australia, Great Britain, the USA and Canada (all English speaking countries).

The history of Gozo is closely related to that of Malta and as such, strongly determined by the influence of the Arabs and the Knights of St. John. The names of the villages and many words of the language are of Semitic origin.

However, they never lost their identity and many of those who emigrated have returned, bringing their substantial earnings with them. Many Gozitans have enhanced the wealth and reputation of the neighbouring island of Malta.