About Għarb

In extremo vigilat
L-Għarb means West and this typical old Gozitan village unsurprisingly lies in the West of the Island. It started life as a small hamlet centuries ago. You can see its ancient roots in the centre of the village where some houses have fine examples of decorated stone balconies. The population of l-Għarb is of about 1266 people with a total of 400 families. The area of l-Għarb is about 14.3sq kms. L-Għarb is surrounded by two villages, that of St Lawrence and Għasri, and the sea. L-Għarb was made a parish in 1679. This triggered the need of building a new, baroque parish church. It was built between 1699 and 1729. The church has an elegant facade which has been compared with Borromini's S. Agnese in Piazza Navona, Rome. This version is naturally a simpler interpretation of the style.