An old, long disused
għonella has been given a new lease of life after being on the brink of being thrown away.
The
għonnella, sometimes referred to as a
faldetta, was a woman s shawl worn over the head and outer garments. The upper part was starched and given a broad, rounded frame, formed by means of a board, cane, or whalebone. Usually black and generally made of cotton or silk, its use petered out after the war, with the very last examples seen in Gozo in 1991.
The restored għonella, worn by Katya Galea.
One of them survived hidden away in the wardrobe of a house which was about to be demolished but was found by a construction worker. He took it home but his wife was not too happy as it took a lot of space.