through its ancient alleys and churches, we went through the archaeology museum, which features art from the Stone Age to medieval times. It’s also worth checking out the Old Prisons to see the graffiti carved into the walls.

The next stop was unexpectedly moving. The church at Ta Pinu has been a pilgrimage shrine since 1883, when two peasants heard the voice of what they believed was the Virgin Mary and they successfully prayed for a cure for one woman’s critically ill mother. The walls are decorated with written messages of prayer and thanksgiving and with items no longer necessary, like crutches.

After lunch we went to the world’s oldest freestanding stone buildings, the two temples at Ggantija, whose construction began in 3,600 B.C., a daunting task, since some of the stones are 20 feet high and weigh 50 tons.

There is a lot more to see on Gozo, but we needed to catch the last ferry back. On our last day, we toured the central island, starting with the church at Mosta, which has one of the largest unsupported domes in Europe, decorated in a style that is hypnotic to look at. Then we walked through the atmospheric town of Mdina, the capital of the Arabs when they occupied Malta for 200 years.

After lunch, we went through a one-time Roman house with beautiful mosaics and then into the St. Agatha catacombs, where Christians met and buried their dead from Roman to medieval times. Nearby is the grotto where St. Paul lived during his three-month stay.

That evening, we were supposed to see an international fireworks competition, which Maltese companies often win, but it was postponed due to the inability of an Italian firm to get there in time. From April to September, there are impressive pyrotechnic displays in local villages worth scheduling into any visit. Given that we barely