Victoria - Citadel

Victoria's citadel, like Mdina's, sits on a high ledge. From the semicircular battlements running from east to west there is an unrivaled panorama of Gozo, each of the pocket-sized villages being identifiable by their churches. The immense dome of Xewkija rotunda to the east looks even more splendidly over-the-top from this eyrie.

Apart from its dramatic vantage-point, the citadel's attraction lies in the color of its old limestone buildings, whose pallor has warmed with age. There is a diversity of styles within the fortifications: the baroque cathedral, diminutive Palazzo Bondi, the derelict Norman area, the bastions and the gutted little alleys.

The original citadel dates back to the Romans, who probably used the 150 m high bluff at the heart of the island as an acropolis for their settlement below. But hardly any traces of this or the ninth century Arab occupation have survived. The 12th century Norman citadel or Gran Castello was destroyed by Dragut during the disastrous short siege of 1551.

The town, within its fortified walls, was rebuilt by fits and starts on the existing plan by a series of grand masters. The present entrance to the citadel was cut through Cathedral Square in 1957. The original Mdina Door is marked by a Roman inscription dating back to the second century A.D.