Padre Pelagio's plans of the Ggantija temples

Abstract

Padre Pelagio Mifsud Gauci Piscopo from Maz-Zebbug (1708-1781) is considered as "the most knowledgeable person at that time about local history and the antiquities of our islands." Some of his writings were published in Malta and abroad, while most of them remained unpublished. A number of these writings include various drawings and diagrams, together with site-plans, maps, landscapes, portraits, and coats of arms that he produced. Though these designs, especially the site-plans, are not elaborate, they are of great value since some of them are reckoned as being among the earliest designs of these places. This study deals specifically with Padre Pelagio's site-plans of the Ggantija temples in Gozo.