A blast from the past! 1970’s photo shows Gozitan lace makers working away under the summer sun

A photo shared by the Facebook page ‘Love GOZO Island’ shows a group of Gozitan lace makers working under the basking Mediterranean sun at Marsalforn during the 1970’s.

This sight is surely no longer common in this day and age but back then it was very much a very typical and picturesque scene in Gozo.

It looks like one of the women is working on a tablecloth with the St John’s Knight cross sewn onto it. She is also teaching her daughter and passing on the tradition to the next generation.

Lacemaking has long been a huge tradition in Malta and Gozo. The knights of St John first brought the tradition to the islands back in the 1600s and it soon became a way for many women to make some extra income for their family from noble families.

Even the great Queen Victoria herself was extremely fond of the lace, having had it displayed at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London.

Its popularity has unfortunately decreased over the years but there are still quite a good number of people teaching and learning lace making to this day.