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gozotoday | FRIDAY • 22 NOVEMBER 2024
CULTURE
MANY Gozitans in their late twenties and
older may remember visiting Frank Mizzi's
massive nativity crib during Christmas time,
which used to be on public display in an ex-
hibition space annexed to his house in Foun-
tain Street, just off St Augustine's Square.
Those who do will probably recall that
Christmas was not complete without a visit
to this crib.
It is a large crib, one that visitors can walk
around, and a proper visit, accompanied by
the commentary, would easily take around 20
minutes.
Frank Mizzi started building this unique
Christmas crib around 40 years ago, and it
has remained a work in progress ever since,
with new features added over the years.
In 2019, Mizzi, now in his 80s, together
with his wife Tarcisia, decided to donate this
unique work of art to Il-Ħaġar Museum.
The crib was transferred from Mizzi's house
to the museum, where it was reconstructed
by a team of volunteers under Mizzi's super-
vision, and where it will remain on perma-
nent display in the museum's newly devel-
oped lower ground floor.
Work on the surrounding area, part of
which will be interactive, is still in progress
but will be finalised in the coming months.
This project will be inaugurated by Miz-
zi himself and blessed by Museum founder
and curator Mgr Dr Joseph Farrugia today at
7.30pm. Everyone is invited to attend.
The Nativity crib can be visited between
9am and 7pm, seven days a week. Admission
to Il-Ħaġar is free.
This project has been co-financed by the
Gozo Action Group Foundation through the
LEADER programme.
New permanent exhibit at Gozo's Il-Hagar Museum
