What it is like
Fontana is half a square kilometre and about 900 people, which makes it the smallest village on Gozo by both measures. It is not a place you set out for. It is strung along the road that drops from Victoria towards Xlendi, so most people pass through it on the way to the bay and never register that they have been in a separate village at all.
The Maltese name, It-Triq tal-Għajn, means the street of the water springs. Fontana is simply the Italian for spring.
What is actually here
Għajn tal-Ħasselin, the old wash-house, is the thing to stop for. Sixteenth century arched shelters stand over the springs, fed by an irrigation system of stone gutters, and it is still in working order. It takes five minutes to see and is genuinely unusual.
The parish was erected on 27 March 1911, but the church came first: a small group of fishermen and their families paid for it and built much of it themselves, with the foundation stone laid on 29 January 1893. The art inside is out of proportion to the village, with two paintings by Giuseppe Calì, Silvio Galimberti’s Agony of Saint Joseph, work by Lazzaro Pisani, Paul Camilleri Cauchi and Robert Caruana Dingli, a Sacred Heart sculpture by Agostino (Wistin) Camilleri from 1923 and a St Andrew statue by Karlu Mallia from 1909.
Local crafts are ganutell bouquets and lacework.
Fireworks
Fontana produced many of Gozo’s finest firework manufacturers, which is worth knowing in June: the festa displays here are made by people who do this properly rather than bought in.
Getting there
Walk. The village is a few minutes downhill from Victoria, and buses on the Xlendi route pass through it. Driving in is possible but there is little reason to, and almost nowhere to park.
When to come
Mid-June for the festa, late October for the Autumn Funland event, and any morning at all for the wash-house, which is never busy.
Staying near Fontana
Prices and availability come from the booking sites, not from us, and we have not stayed in any of these. How this site is paid for.
Questions about Fontana
What is Għajn tal-Ħasselin?
The old public wash-house on the Victoria to Xlendi road, with 16th-century arched shelters built over the springs. It is still operational, fed by an irrigation system of stone gutters. It takes five minutes to look at and is the main reason to stop in Fontana.
Can you walk to Fontana from Victoria?
Yes, and it is the sensible way to do it. The village is strung along the road that runs from Victoria down towards Xlendi, so it is a short walk from the edge of town. The return journey is uphill.
When is the Fontana festa?
The Sacred Heart is a moveable feast, so the date shifts from year to year; in Fontana the festa falls around the second week of June. Check the exact Sunday with the parish. Fontana has a long association with firework manufacture, so the pyrotechnics are taken seriously here.
Is there anything to see inside the church?
More than the village's size suggests. There are two paintings by Giuseppe Calì, Silvio Galimberti's Agony of Saint Joseph, work by Lazzaro Pisani, Paul Camilleri Cauchi and Robert Caruana Dingli, a Sacred Heart sculpture by Agostino Camilleri from 1923 and a St Andrew statue by Karlu Mallia from 1909. Opening times are not published, so time a visit around a service.