Ix-Xaghra (pronounced: shara) is built on a hill
to the central north-east of the island of Gozo. It
lies just under four kilometres from Rabat, the town
of the island, and is aptly described as the village
of the goddess and the Madonna. Ix - Xaghra was one
of the earliest inhabited areas of Gozo. In early modern
documents, the plateau is referred to as Xaghret il-Ghazzenin..
In modern times, the people first settled on the hill's
highest point, aptly called tal-Qacca. This was Italianized
to Caccia, the name by which ix-Xaghra is referred
to in the majority of written documents until before
the Second world War. This earliest sector of the village
is now referred to as ta' Sant'Anton, after the dedication
of a late Medieval chapel dedicated to Saint Antony
the Abbot. In the spoken language, the place was commonly
referred to as ix-Xaghra, literally, a rocky plateau
covered with patches of red soil. The name is derived
from the second sector or central area of the hill
known as Xaghret il-Ghazzenin, the herdsmen's, literally
lazimen's,plateau. Eventually the name Ix-Xaghra prevailed.
A third sector of the village that developed on
the eastern part of the hill became known as ta'
Gajdoru.
It is thought that the name is derived from a chapel
of the blessed V irgin Mary of Joys, Latin Gaudiorum,
that once sstood in that area, but the derivation
is dubious. Thisb section is now referred to as
tan-Nazzarenu, after the dedication of still another
chapel that was built in the area early in the
twentieth century. Colloquially, it is referred
to as t’hemm isfel, of the lower sector.
The name of ix-Xaghra is first recorded as thax ahara
in the acts of Notary Joannes Bondin (Notarial Archives,
N A V, R 69) on 17 February 1518. The inhabitants
of the Village are referred to as ix-Xaghrin.
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