Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1541557
14 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 NOVEMBER 2025 NEWS Rabat or Victoria? A tale of An attempt to tidy up MaltaToday's style guide spiralled into a full-blown identity hunt, where Rabat and Victoria jostle for the title of Gozo's true capital EARLIER this year, I wrote a style guide for MaltaToday that collects all the quiet, un- seen editorial decisions that shape our stories every day. One chapter dealt with the places that have two names. Do we go by Bormla or Cospicua? Paola or Raħal Ġdid? Eventual- ly, we settled on following the Electoral Commission's list of official localities. I assumed the list would be the gold standard. Turns out this isn't the case. My editor, Kurt Sansone, was leafing through the book two weeks ago when he pointed out that our house style uses Ra- bat (Gozo) instead of Victoria. "We're going to need to update this book," he said. We also planned to update the book as time passes. Then he added: "We should actually be using Victoria instead of Rabat." I thought this was nonsense. Then he sent me a Facebook post from the Maltese-lan- guage Facebook group Kelmet il-Malti, where photographer Daniel Cilia explained that Cit- ta Victoria is the city and Rabat is merely a district within it. "Rabat is in Victoria, yet Vic- toria is not Rabat," he wrote. In other words, the common habit of calling the whole place Rabat is, technically, wrong. Confused, I pulled up the Electoral Commission website: Rabat (Għawdex). Then the lo- cal council's website, which us- es Rabat with "Citta Victoria" in brackets. Even the NSO's digitised Blue Books from co- lonial times use Rabat, but on- ly until 1888. That's when the name Victoria appears for the first time. So now we had an official contradiction. Cilia's reasoning was sound, and the Blue Books back him up, yet government agencies overwhelmingly use Rabat. Even the Rabat Local Council's own website can't pick a side. "Welcome to Rabat Citta Victoria Local Council," it cheerfully declares, before explaining in the next para- graph that the locality has been officially called Victoria since 1887. I'm not one to write about municipal identity crises, but it ended up being a hot debate in the newsroom. Kurt insisted the story would resonate; let's hope it does. The pilgrimage to Rabat- Victoria I messaged the mayor, Brian Azzopardi, and we set a meet- ing. A couple of days later I found myself on the 9am Gozo Channel ferry (the infamous Nikolaus) surrounded by No- vember tourists whose hair was being violently re-styled by the wind. It was a long journey: half an hour to Ċirkewwa, 15 minutes waiting to board, 15 minutes crossing, 20 minutes driv- ing through Gozo's roads to the city whose name I was no longer confident writing. Driving down It-Tiġrija (or Republic Street, depending which sign you trust), I spot- ted dustbins sporting the city's coat of arms. Maybe these would settle the matter? No luck. Even the rubbish bins hedge their bets: Rabat and Citta Victoria side by side. The mayor greeted us in the historic Banca Giuratale, offer- ing coffee (we declined) and an enthusiastic history lesson (we accepted). "The name of this city is Vic- toria," he said. "There are many people who still refer to it as Rabat, the old name before city status. Other say Rabat Citta Vittoria. But the proper name is Victoria." He recounted how, in 1887, Rabat's residents led by Bish- NICOLE MEILAK nmeilak@mediatoday.com.mt See that small bin on the left? The print under the coat of arms reads Rabat Citta Victoria, as per local council law All signs point to Victoria, but if you ask a local, they'll probably send you to Rabat