Bishop Anton Teuma will today officially inaugurate the revamped Gozo Cathedral Museum. During the last three years, it has been completely renovated in line with modern museum standards and guidelines.

A century-old story

The museum was first conceived in the early 1920s during the last years of the bishopric of Ġwanni-Marija Camilleri (1889-1924). A number of storerooms at the back of the cathedral were removed and two halls to house a museum were built in their stead. Interest in the venture went into oblivion during the bishoprics of Michael Gonzi (1924-44) and Joseph Pace (1945-67).

The wind of change brought about by the appointment of Bishop Nikol Cauchi as apostolic administrator for Gozo in 1967 proved a catalyst for many new ideas.

The Cathedral Museum project was resuscitated and the project was launched and unanimously approved by the Cathedral Chapter on February 9, 1969. It was to be situated on the originally projected site.

Work started on November 2, 1970, by master mason Karlu Vella on a plan by architect Joe Dimech. Its interior was designed by Carmel Grech, an arts master. Works took longer than programmed  but it was finally inaugurated on October 21, 1967.

The revamped museum

The need for a complete refurbishment had long been felt and the project was launched in September 2018.

All the exhibits had to be stored so that the project, co-financed by EU funds and the Gozo Cathedral Chapter, could be set in motion. Works were supervised throughout by Joseph Calleja.

The History and Memorablia room at Level 2 of the Gozo Cathedral Museum.

The revamped museum is planned on three levels, accessible by stairs and lift: the Silver Vault on Level 1, History and Memorabilia on Level 2 and the Picture Gallery on Level 3. It can be accessed from inside the cathedral vestry as well as directly from Triq il-Fosos on the north side of the cathedral.

The Silver Vault, with its wide variety of ecclesiastical silverware stretching from the late medieval era to modern times, is dominated by the beautiful solid silver crucifix and 12 matching huge candlesticks that embellish the cathedral high altar on the feast of Santa Marija.

The need for a complete refurbishment had long been felt and the project was launched in September 2018

Commissioned in Heilbronn, Germany, in 1914, they were completed at the height of World War I and, during their delivery to British Malta, an enemy country, they were sequestrated at the port of Trieste. It was only in 1920 that they were located and forwarded to Gozo.

On three shields around the base, they each carry the emblem of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the coat-of-arms of the Cathedral Chapter and the coat-of-arms of Gozo. On this level, there is an impressive array of ecclesiastical and domestic silver items that span some five centuries.

The second level houses a large quantity of items that portray the history of the cathedral and related memorabilia. The hall is dominated by the former landau of the bishops of Gozo. Assembled by Nurse and Company of Kensington, London, in the early 1860s, it was donated to the newly founded diocese of Gozo in September 1864. After 1910, it was employed only on special occasions. It was last used by in April 1945.

Around the hall, there are a number of column specimens from an important ancient building, possibly, a temple dedicated to Juno and other Roman deities that stood beneath the present cathedral. There are also a number of medieval tombstones unique in Malta and Gozo. A sizable collection of objects donated by various popes and prelates from the 18th century onwards as well as an exquisite collection of Gozo lace vestments complement this level.

Works on display at the Picture Gallery on Level 3 of the renovated museum.

The Picture Gallery on Level 3 houses close to 100 paintings of historic and artistic value. The star exhibit is the Sancta Maria retable, a three-tiered tempera on wood and the earliest painting extant in Gozo. Two other exquisite paintings are the Flight into Egypt, by a northern artist (1600s), and a portrait of Nikolang Mahanuq, a benefactor, painted and signed by Antoine de Favray (1759).

There are many other fascinating canvases, including a recently donated painting of Our Lady of Mellieħa as well as an early 17th-century decorated stone altar typical of a countryside chapel.

Modern aides

The top 10 exhibits on each level carry a QR code that can be activated to listen to a detailed description, with options available in five languages: Maltese, English, Italian, German and French.

On each level, the visitor can also consult a touch screen relating the history of the Ċittadella, the cathedral, the mid-August feast of Santa Marija and the history of the cathedral dome with its spectacular perspective painting.

The new Cathedral Museum is indeed a visible narrative of the history of the ancient matrice church, now the Gozo Cathedral, interwoven with the history of the Ċittadella together with the island and the diocese of Gozo.

It is indeed a saving grace for the ecclesiastical heritage of the tiny Gozo.

Mgr Joseph Bezzina is acting curator of the Gozo Cathedral Museum.