After exploring Malta's earliest Christian sites in Rabat that morning, Steven and I strolled up the main street connecting Rabat with the walled, medieval city of Mdina, described as the country's "most hauntingly beautiful city." It was Malta's capital until the construction of Valletta and has remained the favored home of its aristocratic families, who still own palaces here.
The citadel was fortified as long ago as 1000 BC when the Phoenicians built a protective wall and named their settlement Malet, meaning 'place of shelter.' Then the Romans built a large town and called it Melita. When the Arabs arrived in the 9th century, the city received its present name as Medina is Arabic for 'walled city.' They constructed strong walls and dug a deep moat between Mdina and its surrounding suburbs, rabat in Arabic. Mdina's imposing walls were first built by the Arabs.
During the medieval era, Mdina was known as Cita Notabile or the Noble City because it was the preferred home of the Maltese aristocracy and the seat of the universita or governing council. When the Knights of St. John, largely a sea-based force, made Grand Harbor and Valletta their center of activity, Mdina became a holiday destination for the nobility.
The Main Gate's exterior facade had features commemorating Mdina's history. The relief above the small alcove on the doorway depicting an outline of the city commemorated the siege of 1429 with an image of St. Paul, Malta's patron saint who introduced Christianity to Malta, astride a white horse to dissuade the attacking force from besieging the city.
We hurried to St. Paul's Square to see its prime attractions: the Cathedral and Museum, before they closed for the day.
In the middle of the square was St. Paul's Cathedral, which was likely built on the site of the villa belonging to Publius, the first governor and bishop. After the 12th-century Norman church was destroyed by an earthquake in 1693, the current Baroque Cathedral, the Mother Church of all churches in the Maltese diocese, was built at the end of the 17th century. It was dedicated to St. Paul, the Apostle who founded the church in Malta after a shipwreck on his way to Rome in 60 AD.
The High Altar was inlaid with lapis lazuli and other precious marbles. During major festivities, the main altar is adorned with a set of fifteen silver statues that once belonged to the Order. Following the French invasion of Malta in 1798, Church property was extensively looted by the occupiers. The French absconded with the statues to melt them to remunerate French troops. However, they were returned to the Cathedral in exchange for many other silver objects.
Though it was not visible from the square, the cathedral's dome gives Mdina its distinctive skyline. The dome's paintings depicted The Triumph of St. Peter and St. Paul.
The Cathedral's lovely ceiling was covered with frescoes and paintings of St. Paul's life.
The richly carved marble baptismal font, which included a wooden statue of St. Paul at the top of a beautiful wooden pyramid, was one of the largest and most elaborate I remember seeing. Perhaps miraculously, it survived the earthquake of 1693.
The Chapel of the Pentecost: A view of Valletta's harbors was depicted in the Chapel of the Virgin and the Guardian Angel. A dozen chapels were devoted to St. Luke, St. Publius, the Holy Crucifix, and many others, but my eyes glazed over after looking at several.
However, I couldn't help but admire the 12th-century Byzantine icon depicting the Madonna and Child in one of them.
As in St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, the marble slabs on the ornate, inlaid floor depicted Maltese nobles and important clergymen. Some slabs were real tombs, others simply commemorative tablets.
A marble statue of St. Publius venerated him as the first bishop:
Across the square was the Cathedral Museum, housed in a Baroque, 18th-century palace originally used as a seminary.
Imagine being lucky enough to view this incredible set of silver statues on the cathedral's High Altar a few times a year! How fortunate that the unique artifacts were ransomed for other pieces of silver.
The museum's Maltese Room:
The sublime Courtyard:
Having a child with autism, I was delighted to see the museum's Safe Room, which was part of the Museum Access Project. What a shame that, of all the museums we've explored, only Malta provided such a space for some of their visitors.
The gilt and sage-colored museum doorway caught my eye.
The Illuminated Gradual for Eastertide was commissioned in 1573.
A work we'd view later in the museum was described as its "outstanding highlight," but the polyptych of St. Paul the Apostle by Luis Borassa Gerona, 1360-1425, in the Marchese Gallery took our breath away. Its vibrant colors and exquisite composition captivated us. I wondered why the decision was made to remove it from the Cathedral's High Altar.
St. Agatha, the islands' most important saint, was illustrated in St. Agatha Enthroned with the Kneeling Donor, painted in 1551.
Allegory of the Triumph of Love was created by the studio of Peter Paul Rubens in Antwerp in 1577.
The four canvases used to be displayed near the organ in the Cathedral.
The book was an Illustrated Inventory of just some of the Church treasures stolen from the Conventual Church of St. John in Valletta during the 1798-1800 occupation.
Steven and I were both surprised that the 80 woodcuts by German Renaissance artist Albrecht Durer were considered the thing to view in the Cathedral Museum. Perhaps it was because he is regarded as one of the greatest printmakers of all time and had an immense influence on other 16th-century and future artists?
The woodcuts included twenty prints in The Life of the Virgin, most made between 1502 and 1505. While I appreciated the intricacy and their details, the works will never be in my mind's eye like the vivid oils of the polyptych.
Steven and I have been lucky enough to tour many a marvelous church or cathedral museum, but Mdina's elegance and richness of art were astounding and surprising. Absent were the traditional room after room of silver chalices and religious vestments, which, quite frankly, delighted us.
Mdina's picturesque main street, Triq Villegaignon, was lined with the city's oldest and most beautiful palaces, many of which were occupied by noble families prominent to this day. The decorative doorknockers were particularly striking, so I've included them and delightful little religious door reliefs in an upcoming post.
Also vastly appealing were Mdina's street signs. Notice Triq means 'street' in Maltese.
It is little wonder that Mdina's peaceful, shaded streets have helped the city become known as the 'Silent City.'
The beautifully preserved medieval mansion Palazzo Falson belonged to the Falson family, a wealthy and noble family known for their seafaring exploits. After the family ran afoul of Malta's Inquisition, the noble town house was seized by the Order. More recently, it had been the home of Olaf Gollcher, an artist and philanthropist. As it was late afternoon, we didn't have the time or energy to explore its charming stone courtyard, a 4,500-volume library, chapel, or reputedly impressive collections of art, silver, weapons, and rare rugs.
This was the site of a medieval synagogue used by Mdina's permanent Jewish settlement. The community comprised up to a third of the city's population before they were expelled from the Maltese Islands in 1492. The site was later taken over by the medieval church known as Sta. Maria Della Rocha, and then by the present-day Carmelite Church and Priory. Sadly, no remains of the synagogue have survived.
Steven and I were almost sad to reach the end of Mdina's enchanting alleys at the iconic Bastion Square, even though it was surrounded by ancient city walls, charming cafes, and shops.One of the highlights of the square was its breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside and coastal areas.
After soaking up the gorgeous views and ambiance, we ambled back to the Main Gate.
It seemed odd that one of Mdina's delightful buildings was the Police Department in the large square by the Main Gate. Later, we noticed that all the police departments in Malta had blue doors, for some reason!
St. Publius Square: The three figures above the Main Gate's interior facade represented the saints linked to Malta and Mdina: St. Paul, St. Agatha, the Sicilian virgin who fled to Malta to escape persecution but was later tortured and killed on her return to Sicily, and St. Publius, the country's Roman governor and first bishop who welcomed St. Paul in 60 AD.
Mdina was particularly charming at night.
What a shame the restaurant we ate at in Mdina that night was almost deserted. It even had its own secret garden!
Next post: Mdina's & Rabat's delightful doorknockers & tiny religious reliefs.
Posted on March 21st, 2025, from our home in Denver and hoping each of you will take care of yourself and your loved ones.
