Wirt Ghawdex has called on the authorities responsible to take restorative action on the ‘forgotten’ plague hospital and cemetery in Xaghra, Gozo.

In a statement yesterday, the organisation pointed out that although the ‘forgotten’ historical site is not in a severely dilapidated state, it is being neglected by the authorities and is being used to rear farm animals.

The site, comprising a hospital and an adjacent cemetery, was described by Wirt Ghadex as “a landmark site for Gozo because it marks an important period in Gozo’s history”.

In 1813, a devastating plague first hit Malta and then Gozo, where its spread began in Xaghra.

A farm to the south of Xaghra was converted into a temporary emergency hospital and a field nearby was chosen to bury the dead, so as to eliminate the need for transportation of corpses, which could have spread the disease further.

The official proclamation that the plague had ended, Wirt Ghawdex observed yesterday, was made on 8 September, the day Xaghra celebrates its village festa – a confirmation of the site’s importance to both Xaghra and the island of Gozo.