On the occasion of the 470th anniversary of the historic event of the siege of 1551, which can undoubtedly be considered as the greatest tragedy for Gozo in the last millennium, the Directorate for Cultural Heritage within the Gozo Ministry published an illustrated booklet.

At that time, Gozo was almost emptied of generations – about 5,000-6,000 people were dragged into captivity by the Ottoman force. Few have managed to escape this tragedy and historians teach us that Gozo took about a 100 years to recover and return to what it was before in terms of population.

Why remember such a tragic event? The answer is simple. Every event related to our island has left a mark on the distinct and unique character of Gozo. This is what makes us what we are today – resilient and persevering people. It is very important that this message reaches our children.

The writing of the story was entrusted to Carm C. Cachia while the illustrations are mostly by the Gozitan painter Paul Camilleri Cauchi. The booklet, in Maltese, was recently distributed free of charge to Year 4, 5 and 6 students in all state and Church primary schools in Gozo.