Karm Borg: Il-Lunzjata Ta’ Għawdex - The Lunzjata Valley of Gozo joint venture between the Ministry for Gozo and the Lunzjata church. 
Gozo Press 2020

Il-Lunzjata Ta’ Għawdex (The Lunzjata  Valley of Gozo) is the name of the latest publication that Mgr Karm Borg of Ta’ Kerċem (Gozo) has just published.

The book, which consists of seven chapters, is the fruit of many years of scholarly research and brings together the history of the small countryside chapel of the Annunciation that is to be found in the outskirts of Victoria, in the valley that bears the same name. It focuses on the church but contains other interesting information about the prayer of the Angelus and the Marian cult attached to the solemnity of March 25.

This book is of the utmost importance for the history of Gozo; strangely enough, although the church of the Lunzjata – as it is known by one and all – is of medieval origins, it had not yet attracted the attention of historians to the point of becoming the subject of an entire publication.

Borg is to be lauded for his effort. Having said this, Borg, being both the author of a number of historical books as well as rector of the church since 2008, Borg was certainly the ideal person to provide us with a publication of this kind.

A book to be cherished… The original photographs and pictures in the book make it a sumptuous publication

He himself hails from the village of Ta’ Kerċem which overlooks the valley and the church of the Annunciation.  Besides having been born and bred in the area, he grew up in the vicinities of the church and a natural love for the place developed within him from childhood.

History is a favourite subject for Borg, who served for many years as librarian of the diocesan seminary’s library in Victoria.

This book provides us with an outline of the history of the medieval church of the Annunciation which goes into detail and is set within the context of the local ecclesiastical milieu. After giving us a detailed sketch of the small church’s history, Borg then describes the evolution of the liturgical solemnity of March 25. 

The importance of this feast among the other Marian feasts of the Roman calendar is a theme that is discussed vividly in the book and this is definitely an aspect that will catch the attention of all those who are keen on Mariology.

Borg’s Il-Lunzjata Ta’ Għawdex is to be cherished since it covers not only the ecclesiastical history of the church, cuddled by the cliffs that are to be found on one side of the valley, but also provides the reader with original information about the flora and fauna of the valley and the important role the valley itself played at the time of the Knights of St John.

The original photographs and pictures make the book a sumptuous publication and render it all the more attractive.