Stop 01 of 9
It-Tokk
The square that is still a market
Narration · 3 min
Have it read to you while you look at the thing itself, hands in pockets.
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Guide to It-Tokk
It-Tokk is the square at the centre of Victoria, and its official name — Independence Square — is used by nobody. The market runs most mornings, the curved building on the north side once housed Gozo's own government, and the town below the citadel has been called two different names for well over a century.
The market, and when to come
Vegetables, cheese, lace and honey are still sold here most mornings, along with a certain amount of merchandise aimed at day-trippers from Malta.
Arrive before nine and you have a working market. Arrive at eleven and you have a market plus four coach parties. Both are worth seeing, for entirely different reasons.
The Banca Giuratale
The curved facade on the north side went up in 1733 under Grand Master Manoel de Vilhena, and it housed the Università — the body of jurats who ran Gozo's civil affairs.
It is a reminder that this island has always insisted on administering as much of itself as it could get away with. That has not changed: Gozitans are Maltese, and will explain at some length that they are also Gozitan.
Victoria or Rabat
The town took the name Victoria in 1887, for Queen Victoria's golden jubilee. Before that it was Rabat — the suburb — having grown up beneath the citadel exactly as Rabat in Malta grew up beneath Mdina.
Bus destinations say Victoria. Residents say Rabat. Both are correct, and the older one is heard far more often.
What to look at
- The Banca Giuratale’s curved facade on the north side of the square
- Market stalls selling Gozitan cheeselets — peppered, dried, and everywhere on this island
- The Citadella wall on the skyline above the town
Practical
- Getting here
- Ferry from Ċirkewwa to Mġarr, then a bus or taxi up to Victoria.
- Market
- Daily, mornings. Sundays are quieter than you would expect.
Walk to stop 02
Leave the square on the east side and walk two minutes into the narrow streets behind it. You will come out in front of a large church with a richly decorated front.
About 3 min · 180 m