16 May 2007 Rating 5% No Comment  

Visitors interested in gaining insight into Gozo's past history will be able to visit the Old Prison and the Museum of Archaeology during extended hours at Lejlet Lapsi Notte Gozitana on Saturday, May 19. The Old Prison, at the Citadel, overlooks Cathedral Square and is adjacent to the Law Courts, to which it was originally connected. In its present form, the prison complex is divided into two sections: the entrance hall, which served as a common cell in the 19th century; and a free-standing block with six individual cells. The prison was in use from the mid-16th century until the beginning of the 20th century. Today, the entrance hall houses a permanent exhibition of fortifications in Gozo. The individual cells, next to a central courtyard and surrounded by a narrow corridor, are still well-preserved in their original state. Escapes are recorded to have taken place both during the rule of the Knights of St John and British rule. Incarceration, coupled with hard labour, was also applied as punishment. The daily food allowance for inmates was made up of a substantial amount of bread and pasta, some cheese or salted fish and, occasionally, some olives. For water, the prison had a cistern in the corridor collecting rainwater from the overlying roofs. The walls of the cells and corridors in the old prison are covered with graffiti. It is considered as the largest collection of historical graffiti in one single place on the Maltese islands. The representations are often of ships, and date from different periods. There are also handprints, crosses, names, dates, games, and anthropomorphic figures etched into the limestone walls. Some inmates also appear to have scratched a tally of their length of stay behind bars. The graffiti are a fascinating, human insight into the lives of those incarcerated here The Museum of Archaeology, also at the Citadel, illustrates in chronological order Gozo's cultural history, from prehistoric times to the early modern period. It is housed in a 17th century building, Palazzo Bondi, which originally served as a town hall where the Knights of St John used to receive their distinguished visitors. At one time, it was the residence of a prominent Gozitan family after whom the Palace is named. The town house was restored in 1960 and inaugurated as the first public museum in Gozo, exhibiting archaeological as well as ethnographic artefacts. Following refurbishment, it was re-opened in 1986 as the Archaeology Museum of Gozo. The ground floor is devoted to the Neolithic Period, the Temple Period, and the Bronze Age (5200-700BC) and the collection includes relics from Ggantija Temples. The first floor is devoted to the Phoenician, Punic, Roman, Medieval, and Knights' periods. The collections on display include jewellery, coins, marble statues, inscriptions, oil lamps, and part of a limestone olive-pipper. The collection also includes a number of inscriptions. An interesting and touching one is that carved on Majmuna's tombstone, which laments the death of a young Muslim girl at the age of 12. The Old Prison, the Museum of Archaeology, the Crafts Centre, the Museum of Natural Science and the Folklore Museum, all at the Citadel, will be open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Saturday May 19, the Old Prison and the Museum of Archaeology will also be open between 6 p.m. and midnight.