DK Travel : Malta & Gozo : Mdina and Rabat

Mdina and Rabat

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Mdina is Malta’s most hauntingly beautiful city. It and neighbouring Rabat were once part of the same settlement, but the Arabs walled off Mdina and made it a fortress-city. Still caught within the impregnable walls, it has barely changed in centuries, and the elegant palaces are still home to ancient Maltese families. Mdina remains a tiny time capsule of a city, but Rabat, which spreads beyond the old walls, has developed into a more workaday town. Nonetheless, it boasts some important Christian sights, from the cave where St Paul is said to have lived to early Christian catacombs and mesmerizing medieval frescoes.
A fascinating audio guide is available at St Paul’s Catacombs. Visit the Fontanella Tea Rooms for a restorative coffee and delicious cakes. St Paul’s Cathedral shares “Co-Cathedral” status with St John’s, Valletta. More on St Paul’s Cathedral and the Cathedral Museum

Top 10 Features

1. St Paul’s Cathedral, Mdina

1. St Paul’s Cathedral, Mdina

Lorenzo Gafa’s handsome Baroque cathedral is topped by an elegant dome. The marble tombstones laid into the floor are dedicated to notable prelates.
2. Cathedral Museum, Mdina

Housed in a faded Baroque building with a sweeping marble staircase, the museum is charming, quirky and old-fashioned. The highlight is a series of Dürer woodcuts.
3. Palazzo Vilhena, Mdina

3. Palazzo Vilhena, Mdina

Grand Master Vilhena commissioned Guion de Mondion, architect of the Manoel Theatre, to build this lavish Baroque palace in 1725. Most of its opulent decoration was stripped away in later years, when it became a hospital. The building now houses a rather dull Natural History Museum in the old wards.
4. Triq Villegaignon, Mdina

4. Triq Villegaignon, Mdina

Mdina’s main street is lined with the city’s oldest and most beautiful palaces, many of them still occupied by noble families. The finest is the Palazzo Falzon (Norman House), partly from the 13th century and now an excellent museum.
5. Walls and Gates, Mdina

5. Walls and Gates, Mdina

Mdina’s lavish, Baroque main gate was constructed in 1724. A smaller gate, the Greek Gate, was named after a tiny Greek community that lived nearby. The imposing city walls were first built by the Arabs.
6. Mdina Experience

6. Mdina Experience

Mdina has numerous audiovisual attractions, of which this is probably the best. It offers a good whistle-stop introduction to the city’s history.
7. Roman Domus, Rabat

On the outskirts of Rabat, near Mdina’s Greek Gate, this consists of a small museum and the time-worn ruins of an opulent Roman town house. The museum contains some wonderful mosaics and sculptures.
8. St Paul’s Church and Grotto, Rabat

8. St Paul’s Church and Grotto, Rabat

St Paul is said to have lived in this grotto during his stay in Malta, and the cave remains a place of pilgrimage. The church that protects the grotto is gloomy and dull, but it contains a statue of the Madonna said to have miraculous powers.
9. St Paul’s Catacombs, Rabat

These fascinating Phoenician catacombs, a handful of which have their original decoration, were later used by early Christians.
10. St Agatha’s Catacombs, Rabat

10. St Agatha’s Catacombs, Rabat

St Agatha is said to have prayed here. The main chapel is beautifully decorated with medieval frescoes. Half-lost within the catacombs is another, exquisitely painted chapel from the 4th century AD.

Practical Information

A fascinating audio guide is available at St Paul’s Catacombs. Visit the Fontanella Tea Rooms for a restorative coffee and delicious cakes. St Paul’s Cathedral Pjazza San Pawl 2145 4136 Open Mon–Sat Free Cathedral Museum Pjazza Ta’ L-Arcisqof 2145 4697 Open Mon–Sat Adm Lm1 Palazzo Vilhena Pjazza San Publiju 2145 5951 Open daily Adm Lm1 Mdina Experience Pjazza Mesquita 2145 4322 Open Mon–Sat Adm Lm2 Roman Domus Il-Wesgħa Tal-Mużew 2145 4125 Open daily Adm Lm2.50 St Paul’s Church Misraħ Il-Paroċċa Open Mon–Sat Free St Paul’s Catacombs Triq Sant’Agata 2145 4526 Open daily Adm Lm2 St Agatha’s Catacombs Triq Sant’ Agata 2145 4419 Open Mon–Sat Adm Lm1