Fontana ( mt, Il-Fontana) is an

administrative unit Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, on the island of

Gozo Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After t ...

, with a population of 985 people (as of March 2014).

History

Fontana originated from the suburb of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

on the Rabat-Xlendi road. Its local name is "It-Triq tal-Għajn", (the way to the spring), and it took its name from a spring at the bottom of the road leading to

Xlendi Xlendi is an urban village in Malta situated in the south west of the island of Gozo. It is surrounded by the villages of Munxar, Fontana and Kerċem. The village is administered by Munxar, but has its own coat of arms and motto. From March 201 ...

, known locally as "l-Għajn il-Kbira", (the big spring). Fontana is the Italian word for a spring. On the lower part of Fontana, on the right-hand side of the road to

, one cannot help but notice the evergreen Lunzjata Valley going up to the village of

Kerċem Kerċem ( mt, Ta' Kerċem) is an administrative unit of Malta, on the island of Gozo, with a population of 1,938 people as of March 2014. The village of Kerċem lies close by to the south-west of Victoria, spread between the picturesque Lunzjat ...

. Local farmers are busy around all year long in this fertile part of Gozo.

The People

Most of the fishermen that operated from the fishing village of

lived in Fontana. Also, some other people used to go hunting in the adjacent Lunzjata Valley. Later in the nineteenth century, they began setting aside part of the proceeds from their catches to construct a church.

Zones in Fontana

*Is-Saqwi *Tal-Għajn *Wied tal-Lunzjata *Wied Siekel *Ix-Xari *Manresa *Santa Duminka

The Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Fontana

The foundation stone of the church was laid on 29 January 1893. The church was consecrated twelve years to that day on 29 January 1905, and was dedicated to the

Sacred Heart of Jesus The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This dev ...

. The church was established as the parish of Fontana on 27 March 1911 under Bishop

Giovanni Maria Camilleri Giovanni Maria Camilleri (15 March 1843 – 7 November 1924) was a Maltese prelate who became the fourth bishop of Gozo. Life Camilleri was born in Valletta, Malta on March 15, 1843. At the age of 24 he was ordained priest of the Order of St ...

. The spectacular village feast is celebrated each year around the 2nd and 3rd week of June. The

Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Fontana The Sacred Heart of Jesus Church is in Fontana, Gozo Island, part of the Maltese Archipelago. It is the parish church of Fontana, one of the smallest villages on the island. History The foundation stone was laid on 29 January 1893. The church wa ...

is also a parish church, and considered to be a national sanctuary of the Sacred Heart.

L-Għajn il-Kbira - The Big Spring

Arched shelters were built in the sixteenth century over the springs for the convenience of people when washing their clothes. A very old irrigation system made up from stone gutters constantly brings water from a spring situated in the Kerċem part of the valley.

Fireworks

The village of Fontana always been known to have fireworks enthusiasts. The start of it all was a certain short and quiet man, Ninu Farrugia, who had brought the skill of pyrotechnics from Malta. He was a prime master in fireworks and performed technical work in this skill with great skill and precision. His children later on continued this work. The Fontana Brothers, a number of youths from Fontana helped Ninu, and by time also turned into experts in this dangerous craft. Over time this group became champions in Gozo for constructing fireworks for the Sacred Heart feast. Although Fontana was a small village, the amount of fireworks that was produced for the festival would be greater than that of other villages in Gozo. Thousands of people attended the feast to follow the infernal box that had a certain rhythm and quality. Fontana Brothers was the Brand name of Fontana and has been famous since the start. Some were obviously very proud because it meant expertise in pyrotechnics and courage which lead them creating bigger and better fireworks which could only be seen in Fontana. Those who make them and set these fireworks off from the fields, both were justifiable to celebrate their 'bravura' or their insanity during the march of the latter at the end of the feast. However a new organisation, 'Għaqda tan-Nar Fontana' was set up in 2014, following the 2010 tragedy at Farrugia Brothers Fireworks Factory that cost the lives of 5 people from Fontana. To this day, it is said that the village of Fontana still leads the pyrotechnics side of Gozo by setting up grand fireworks shows including them with vast variety of spectacular fireworks.

Fontana's Man of the year

All of the Fontana's Man of the year were awarded to the resident Jayden Galea.

Shelters

Shelters were built beside the Springs. This was useful for the ''Fontanin'' to go for shelter when there were raids during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. This shelter started at the Springs and ended on a cliff overlooking Fontana.

Administration of the Local Council

*Savior Borg (Mayor, PN) *Josephine Camilleri (PN) *Carmel Farrugia (PN) *Horace Micallef (PL) *Jonathan Cefai (PL)

References

External links

Fontana Local Council Official Website

Sacred Heart Parish Official Website
{{Authority control Populated places in Malta Gozo Local councils of Malta