Kerċem, the village of two patron saints and Gozo's greenest fields

Kerċem never makes the usual lists of Gozo sights, and I’d put it on mine if you’re coming to walk. There’s no giant dome and no beach. What it has is spring-fed valleys, green hills, shepherds with their flocks and a hamlet, Santa Luċija, that seems to have stopped the clock a few decades ago.

A village hard up against Victoria, ringed by countryside

Ta’ Kerċem sits right beside Victoria, on the side of the capital that faces the west of the island. It had 1,928 residents in the NSO’s end-2025 count, and the Ministry for Gozo describes it as surrounded by the loveliest inland scenery on Gozo. It spreads between Lunzjata Valley, the hills of tal-Mixta, Għar Ilma and Ta’ Dbieġi, the San Rafflu pond and the Xlendi cliffs.

People have been here a very long time. The Ministry says the area was among the first on Gozo to be settled, some 7,000 years ago, and that Għar Gerduf holds remains of Roman baths and an early Christian cemetery. They’re not open to visitors, so treat them as background rather than a stop.

Why does Kerċem have two patron saints?

This is my favourite quirk of the place. In the 16th century the community grew up around a chapel to Pope St Gregory the Great, built around 1581, and became known for the procession that walked every 12 March from the mother church in Victoria out to it. That procession still takes place.

The chapel gave way to the present church in 1851, which was enlarged between 1906 and 1910. Kerċem became a parish in 1885 and in the same year the church was also dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The upshot is the only parish on Gozo with two patrons, and so two festas. March belongs to St Gregory, while July belongs to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, known locally as Tas-Sokkors, which is now the bigger celebration. In 2026 it fell on 12 July, and the Ministry singles out its fireworks let off in the fields.

Santa Luċija, a hamlet that keeps its own pace

It’s officially part of Kerċem, yet it feels like a place apart, and it isn’t the same place as Santa Luċija, Malta, the local council next to Luqa on the main island. Santa Luċija lies between three hills, Għar Ilma, Il-Mixta and Santa Luċija, each with its own spring, and the Ministry counts it among the greenest parts of Gozo. It’s a scattering of houses round a chapel to St Lucy, the saint people pray to for their eyesight.

The chapel was recorded by the apostolic visitor Pietro Dusina in 1575, rebuilt from its foundations in the 1790s and enlarged in 1950. The square, with its stone cross, is the heart of the hamlet. In winter and spring you’ll still see shepherds out with their sheep, and the feast of St Lucy falls on the Sunday nearest 13 December. San Lawrenz and Santa Luċija are also the only two places on Gozo named after their patron saints.

Footpaths, cliffs and a country fair

For me the best thing to do in Kerċem is walk. Beside Santa Luċija is the Għajn Abdul plateau, which leads towards the Mixta caves and which the Ministry identifies as the site of Gozo’s earliest settlement. Close by is the San Rafflu pond, and from there a path runs parallel to the cliffs out to Ras il-Wardija, with remains of a Punic settlement and a small temple.

The Ministry adds that from Kerċem you can easily walk or cycle to San Lawrenz or down to Dwejra. On the Fontana, Gozo side, Lunzjata Valley offers a shorter, flatter stroll among irrigation channels and vegetable plots. The fields around San Rafflu also host the yearly Għadira Fair, with music, food and competitions, though its date isn’t published.

Getting there and where to stay

Route 313 runs from Victoria bus terminal to Kerċem, and by car it’s just a few minutes from the capital. The village also has one of Gozo’s three full-size football pitches, if you fancy a slice of local weekend life.

For accommodation, the interesting option here is the old farmhouses around Santa Luċija that have been converted into holiday villas. For a group or a family after real countryside, I’d look at those before a hotel on the coast. If you’d rather be in town, Victoria is right next door, with the island’s full range in my guide to hotels in Gozo.