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City of Victoria (Ghawdex/Gozo Island, Malta)

Rabat, Città Vittoria

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image by António Martins, 1 March 2000

Description

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Description

Blazon: Azure a triple-mount Or on a chief of the same the letters VR Gules. Note there is another Rabat.

António Martins, 1 March 2000

If my recollection of Maltese (Malti) serves me, Rabat means 'suburb', while Mdina (pronunced 'imdina') means 'walled city'. I have no recollection of Rabat on Gozo being the suburb of anything, but perhaps it once was.

Ole Andersen, 10 March 2000

It still is. The Citadel of Rabat or Victoria is the main building and the city outside it is regarded as the suburb or Rabat.

Jarig Bakker, 10 March 2000

Actually Vittoria [Rabat-Ghawdex] was named after Queen Victoria in 1897 at her jubilee. Vittoria is a local variation of the name.

Jarig Bakker, 24 March 2000

From the Ministry of Gozo website:

Victoria is the capital town of the island of Gozo. The name Victoria, locally known as Rabat, was given to the medieval town of Gozo in 1887 in honour of the famous British Queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations. At the same instance, the town was also raised to the status of a city; then officially known as Città Victoria.
The town of Victoria embraces both the Citadel, the ancient city of the Island, as well as Rabat, the old suburb of the Citadel. Rabat in Arabic and Archaic Maltese stands for suburb and this name was first documented as Rabbatum in a notorial deed drawn by Andrea de Beniamin on 22nd February 1455. Its motto is A magna maxima (From great supreme). The coat-of-arms has an azure background and portrays a shield with three hills and the letters VR (which stand for Victoria Regina) on top of the shield.

Santiago Dotor, 9 February 2006