Festa season is in full swing on the island of Gozo, with the villages of Munxar, Għasri, Fontana and Nadur having already celebrated their patron saints. This weekend (5-6 July), the spotlight falls on the western village of Għarb, which ushers in the July festivities with the feast of the Visitation of Our Lady, namely when, according to the Gospel of Saint Luke, the Virgin Mary paid a visit to her cousin Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist. Though the village is home to fewer than 2,000 residents, the exquisite street decorations, lively outdoor festivities and church celebrations belie its modest size.
Beautiful festa decorations at Għarb, Gozo. Photo: Baron Holiday Homes
Feasts still hold a very special place among Gozitan communities, with villages pulling out all the stops to ensure that each year the celebrations are bigger and better. Beyond being a religious celebration honouring a particular patron saint, the festa is a manifest celebration of the strong sense of community there exists on the island. As the old and the young come together to work on the various aspects of the feast, traditions, stories and skills are passed down from one generation to the next. This spirit of unity and togetherness is a defining feature of Unesco’s description of the festa, which was added to the organisation’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list back in 2023.
From coordinating splendid fireworks displays to transforming unremarkable streets into show-stopping avenues that set the stage for the outdoor celebrations, it truly takes a village to keep the festa tradition alive. One of the first indicators that the village feast is approaching is the gradual decoration of the streets through which the band and processions pass with what is called armar. This word refers to the various types of decorations that are painstakingly put up ahead of festa week – from large drapes called pavaljuni stretching across the width of streets and long poles called antarjoli sporting banners lining the sides, to very ornate columns bearing statues of angels or saints and light festoons.
Pavaljuni decorating the narrow winding streets of Victoria for St. George's feast. Photo: Baron Holiday Homes
The task of putting up these decorations is often left to a special group of people – l-għaqda tal-armar – who are also responsible for their safe storage once they are taken down and maintenance throughout the year. While much of the décor is used from one year to the next, there are special occasions when new ornaments are added to the collection and unveiled to the community with much pomp and pride. These new additions – be they statues or sets of themed pavaljuni – are often the result of months of planning, hard work and fundraising activities to cover the costs. The making of a pavaljun, for instance, requires the input of someone who is good at design, someone who knows his way around a sewing machine, and someone who is clever with shading and blending colours on the cloth.
The statue of Santa Marija on top of its beautiful pedestal at It-Tokk Square in Victoria, Gozo. Photo: Baron Holiday Homes
Colour is a very important element of festa décor – it does not only add to the vibrant atmosphere, but also reveals which saint is being celebrated in localities where there are two main feasts. In the Gozitan capital Victoria, red is affiliated with Saint George and his martydom, while blue is reserved for the Feast of the Assumption, which is celebrated in August.
But it is not just the village streets that don special festa attire, some villagers add on to the festive ambiance and grandeur by decorating their own houses. Some households put miniature statues and flowers in the front window; others adorn their balconies with light festoons; and many hoist huge flags bearing the traditional colours of their patron saint on the rooftop. Given their impressive size, these flags are visible from afar—announcing to neighbouring villages and non-locals that festa celebrations are in full swing.
Posted in Activity, Cultural activities, Festa, Fireworks, Local, Things to do, What to see in Gozo
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