Gozo: the Barren Enchantress

For centuries the legend of Ulysses' sojourn on the island of Gozo has remained vivid in the minds of the islanders. So, too, has that of St Paul , who preached to the islanders after his shipwreck in AD 60 and gave them the faith which, with their neighbour Malta, they defended so ardently during the Great Siege.
Today Gozo seems peaceful and undisturbed, and- it is difficult to imagine the upheavals of her past. And yet the present pattern of the islanders' life is very much a survival from that past. Their continual struggle against the elements to secure a livelihood, the warmth and loyalty of their family life, their intense piety, their pride and interdependence - all reflect beliefs and attitudes which elsewhere in Europe are disappearing.