The island of joy, the island of the three hills, the isle of Calypso and the island of dreams; these are only a few of the titles that have been given to the island of Gozo, the second largest island of the Maltese archipelago. Gozo has been also called “the island of legends” due to the great amount of legends that took shape on the island throughout the centuries.
The late Gozitan poet Ġorġ Pisani, known as “the poet of youth and of history”, besides being the author of hundreds of poems, was also an avid collector of these legends.
During World War II, he approached various farmers to collect the wheat that was needed in order to keep the population going in a time of crisis. He helped the then bishop of Gozo, Mgr Michael Gonzi, in this project and was a much respected Gozitan citizen.
Through his friendship with the local people, he was in the best position to collect stories that reflected the ancient folklore of the island. With its position of double insularity, Gozo was left by the foreign rulers of the island to form its own destiny and it was hardly ever given any importance by the rulers, be they Normans, Aragonese or the Knights of St John.
The vacuum that was created by this sense of laissez-faire must have contributed to the creation for the right milieu for the formation of stories, fables and legends, most of which would have been forgotten for posterity if it was not for Pisani who began to write them down.
The two volumes are full of narratives that bring to life the many legends that took form on Gozo over the years
While in Malta, Jesuit priest and polyglot Fr Ġużé Delia presented the legends connected with the main island of Malta in narrative poetry, Pisani presented them in beautiful prose rich with metaphors and other figures of speech.
Triqat il-Ħolm: Ġabra ta’ Leġġendi Għawdxin (Dreamy Paths: A Collection of Gozitan Legends) is the name of two volumes, both of which surpass 200 pages, full of narratives that bring to life the many legends that took form on Gozo over the years.
It was Pisani’s son Paul George who took the initiative to collect the legends. The books were produced by Jason Aloisio, whose enthusiasm has proved its worth. The reader who takes the volumes into his hands will enjoy the illustrations by local artist Kenneth Zammit Tabona, which render them even more attractive.
The covers of the volumes are in blue and yellow, bringing to mind the azure colour of the Mediterranean Sea that surrounds Gozo together with the bright hue of the local globigerina limestone known simply as il-ġebla tal-franka.
Pisani’s Triqat Il-Ħolm are the ultimate reference books for the legendary folklore of the island which, in spite of its modern developments, is still considered by many visitors to Malta as “the rewarding extra mile”.