The Old Prison is located in the Citadel 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 ...
,
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 ...
, adjacent to the Courts of Justice to which it was originally connected. Today, the prison complex is divided into two different buildings: the entrance hall, which had been a common cell in the 19th century, and a free-standing block with six individual cells.
The prison was active from the mid-16th century until 1962.
First, it used to host the rowdiest or most riotous knights, as a place to cool down. Even the most historical knight, Fra
Jean Parisot de Valette
Fra' Jean "Parisot" de la Valette (4 February 1495 – 21 August 1568) was a French nobleman and 49th Grand Master of the Order of Malta, from 21 August 1557 to his death in 1568. As a Knight Hospitaller, joining the order in the ''Langue de P ...
(later Grand Master of Malta) was imprisoned there in 1538.
The site is well preserved in its original state, and one can find a large amount of graffiti etched into the
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
walls. Representations are often of ships, hand-prints, crosses, names, dates, games, and anthropomorphic figures.
Graffiti prison Gozo 01.jpg, Graffiti etched in the walls by the prisoners
File:Graffiti prison Gozo.jpg, Graffiti etched in the walls by the prisoners
References
{{Citta Victoria
Museums in Malta
Defunct prisons in Malta
Prison museums in Europe
Victoria, Gozo
Sites managed by Heritage Malta