A familiar sight to many Gozitans — the Victoria Hospital at St Francis Square, seen here in a photo from the 1950s. Construction of the hospital began in 1726 during the rule of Grand Master Vilhena and was completed three years later. Originally named after Saint John the Baptist and Saint Anthony of Padua, the hospital featured two long wards with a chapel niche at each end, separated by central courtyards — a layout inspired by European hospital designs of the time. The hospital changed its name to Victoria Hospital on the occasion of Her Majesty’s Queen Victoria Jubilee in 1887. Though modest in size, with space for around 60 beds, the hospital served the island for over two centuries. By the 1970s, it was no longer adequate for the growing population, and in 1975 it was replaced by the new Craig Hospital in Għajn Qatet — today known as the Gozo General Hospital.
Part of the original complex now houses the Ministry for Gozo and the Gozo Central Public Library. In recent years, the building underwent extensive restoration as part of the wider regeneration project of St Francis Square.