The hospital and plague cemetery that were built in Xaghra in 1814, a historic and architectural complex, have been passed over to the locality’s council which is to ensure its preservation.

Overlooking Marsalforn, the complex was used as a hospital for people suffering from the bubonic plague and as a cemetery where their remains were buried.

In Gozo, the plague had hit only residents in Xaghra, when in Malta it was much more widespread, especially in the Grand Harbour region.

Tourism and Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said the complex was being passed on to the Xaghra council through the Curacy Act. It was the first such handing over to a local council, although nine other properties had been passed on to non-governmental organisations since 2003.