St Paul's Cathedral, Mdina
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The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Paul ( mt, Il-Katidral Metropolitan ta' San Pawl), commonly known as St Paul's Cathedral or the Mdina Cathedral, is a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
in Mdina,
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
, dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle. The cathedral was founded in the 12th century, and according to tradition it stands on the site of where Roman governor Publius met St. Paul following his shipwreck on Malta. The original cathedral was severely damaged in the
1693 Sicily earthquake The 1693 Sicily earthquake struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, Calabria, and Malta on January 11 at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on January 9. The main quake had an estimated magnitude of 7 ...
, so it was dismantled and rebuilt in the Baroque style to a design of the Maltese
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
Lorenzo Gafà Lorenzo Gafà (1639–1703) was a Maltese Baroque architect and sculptor. He designed many churches in the Maltese Islands, including St. Paul's Cathedral in Mdina and the Cathedral of the Assumption in Victoria, Gozo. He was the younger bro ...
between 1696 and 1705. The cathedral is regarded as Gafà's masterpiece. The cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta, and since the 19th century this function has been shared with St. John's Co-Cathedral in
Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...
.


History

According to tradition, the site of the Mdina cathedral was originally occupied by a palace belonging to
Saint Publius Saint Publius ( mt, San Publju; grc-gre, Πούπλιος) is a first century Maltese bishop. He is venerated as the first Bishop of Malta and one of the first Bishops of Athens. Publius is Malta's first acknowledged saint, the prince of t ...
, the Roman governor of Melite who greeted Paul the Apostle after he was shipwrecked in Malta. According to the Acts of the Apostles, Paul cured Publius' father and many other sick people on the island. Though there are remains of a Roman domus in the present crypt, and the tradition is a commonly believed legend, the version of event is not supported by archaeologists or historians. It is considered as part of a collection of Pauline mythologies in Malta. The first cathedral which stood on the site is said to have been dedicated to the
Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
, but it fell into disrepair during the Arab period (the churches in Melite were looted after the
Aghlabid The Aghlabids ( ar, الأغالبة) were an Arab dynasty of emirs from the Najdi tribe of Banu Tamim, who ruled Ifriqiya and parts of Southern Italy, Sicily, and possibly Sardinia, nominally on behalf of the Abbasid Caliph, for about a ...
invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity aggressively enter territory (country subdivision), territory owned by another such entity, gen ...
in 870). In Arab times, as revealed by excavations, the site was used as a mosque. Following the Norman invasion in 1091, Christianity was reestablished as the dominant religion in the Maltese Islands. A cathedral dedicated to St. Paul was built in the 12th and 13th centuries. The cathedral was built in the Gothic and Romanesque styles, and it was enlarged and modified a number of times. In 1679, Bishop
Miguel Jerónimo de Molina Miguel Jerónimo de Molina y Aragonés (7 October 1638 – 31 August 1698) was a Spanish prelate who served as Bishop of Malta from 1678 till 1682 when he was transferred to the Diocese of Lleida in Catalonia, Spain. Early years Molina was born ...
and the cathedral chapter decided to replace the medieval
choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
with one built in the
Baroque style The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
, and the architect
Lorenzo Gafà Lorenzo Gafà (1639–1703) was a Maltese Baroque architect and sculptor. He designed many churches in the Maltese Islands, including St. Paul's Cathedral in Mdina and the Cathedral of the Assumption in Victoria, Gozo. He was the younger bro ...
was appointed to design and oversee the construction. The cathedral was severely damaged a few years later in the
1693 Sicily earthquake The 1693 Sicily earthquake struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, Calabria, and Malta on January 11 at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on January 9. The main quake had an estimated magnitude of 7 ...
, and although parts of the building were undamaged, on 11 April 1693 the decision was taken to dismantle the old cathedral and rebuild it in the Baroque style to a design of Gafà. The choir and sacristy, which had survived the earthquake, were incorporated into the new cathedral. Works began in 1696, and the building was almost complete by 1702. It was consecrated by Bishop Davide Cocco Palmieri on 8 October 1702. The cathedral was fully completed on 24 October 1705, when work on the dome was finished. The building is regarded as Gafà's masterpiece. In the late 1720s, some medieval houses to the south of the cathedral were demolished in order to make way for a square, the Bishop's Palace and the Seminary (now the Cathedral Museum). The square in front of the cathedral was enlarged in the early 19th century following the demolition of some medieval buildings. The cathedral was damaged in another earthquake in 1856, when the 18th-century frescoes on the dome were destroyed. Today, the cathedral is one of the main tourist attractions of Mdina. It is a Grade 1 national monument, and it is also listed on the
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands The National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands (NICPMI) is a heritage register listing the cultural property of Malta. The inventory includes properties such as archaeological sites, fortifications, religious buildings, mo ...
.


Architecture


Exterior

St. Paul's Cathedral is built in the
Baroque style The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
, with some influences from native Maltese architecture. The main façade is in St. Paul's Square ( mt, Pjazza San Pawl or ''Misraħ San Pawl''), and it is set on a low
parvis A parvis or parvise is the open space in front of and around a cathedral or church, especially when surrounded by either colonnades or porticoes, as at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. It is thus a church-specific type of forecourt, front yard or ...
approached by three steps. The façade is cleanly divided into three bays by
pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...
s of
Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...
and
Composite order The Composite order is a mixed order, combining the volutes of the Ionic order capital with the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian order.Henig, Martin (ed.), ''A Handbook of Roman Art'', p. 50, Phaidon, 1983, In many versions the composite or ...
s. The central bay is set forward, and it contains the main doorway, which is surmounted by the coats of arms of the city of Mdina, Grand Master Ramon Perellos y Roccaful and Bishop Davide Cocco Palmieri, all of which were sculpted by Giuseppe Darmanin. The coloured coat of arms of the incumbent archbishop (presently Charles Scicluna) is located just below the arms of Mdina. A round-headed window is set in the upper story above the doorway, and the façade is topped by a triangular
pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...
. Bell towers originally containing six bells are located at both corners of the façade. It has an octagonal dome, with eight stone scrolls above a high drum leading up to a lantern.


Interior

The cathedral has a
Latin cross A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...
plan consisting of a vaulted
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
, two
aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...
s and two side chapels. Most of the cathedral's floor consists of inlaid tombstones or commemorative marble slabs, similar to those found at St. John's Co-Cathedral in
Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...
and the Cathedral of the Assumption in
Victoria, Gozo Victoria ( mt, Il-Belt Victoria, meaning "the city Victoria"), also known among the native Maltese as Rabat (which is the name of the old town centre) or by its title Città Victoria, is an administrative unit of Malta, the largest and most p ...
. The remains of several bishops and canons, as well as laymen from noble families, are buried in the cathedral. The ceiling contains frescoes depicting the life of St. Paul which were painted by the Sicilian painters Vincenzo, Antonio and Francesco Manno in 1794. The Manno brothers also painted frescoes on the dome, but these were destroyed during repair works after an earthquake in 1856. A new fresco was painted on the dome by Giuseppe Gallucci in 1860, and it was later restored by Giuseppe Calì. Gallucci's and Calì's paintings were destroyed due to urgent repair works in 1927, and they were later replaced by a fresco depicting ''The Glory of St Peter and St Paul'' by Mario Caffaro Rore. The ceiling was restored by Samuel Bugeja in 1956. The church is lit up by three stained glass windows which were produced in Victor Gesta's workshop in the late 19th century. Many artifacts from the pre-1693 cathedral survived the earthquake and were reused to decorate the new cathedral. These include a late Gothic–early Renaissance baptismal font dating back to 1495, the old cathedral's main door which was made in 1530, some 15th-century choir stalls, as well as a number of paintings. The cathedral's aisles, chapels and sacristy contain several paintings and frescoes, including works by
Mattia Preti Mattia Preti (24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John. Life Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was called ''Il Ca ...
and his ''bottega'', Francesco Grandi, Domenico Bruschi, Pietro Gagliardi, Bartolomeo Garagona,
Francesco Zahra Francesco Vincenzo Zahra ( mt, Franġisk Żahra, 15 December 1710 – 19 August 1773) was a Maltese painter who mainly painted religious works in the Neapolitan Baroque style. His works may be found in many churches around the Maltese Islands, as ...
, Luigi Moglia and Alessio Erardi. The titular altarpiece depicts the ''Conversion of St Paul on the Road to Damascus'', and it is the work of Mattia Preti. Some of the marble used to decorate the cathedral was taken from the Roman ruins of
Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...
and Melite. Sculptors and other artists whose work decorates the cathedral include
Giuseppe Valenti Giuseppe Valenti was a Sicilian sculptor who was active in the late 19th century. Valenti was born in Palermo, he was the son of , who was also a sculptor and wood carver. His work includes a seated statue of Saint Publius at St Paul's Cathe ...
, Claudio Durante, Alessandro Algardi and
Vincent Apap Vincent ( la, Vincentius) is a male given name derived from the Roman name Vincentius, which is derived from the Latin word (''to conquer''). People with the given name Artists * Vincent Apap (1909–2003), Maltese sculptor *Vincent van Gogh ...
.


Cathedral Museum

The Cathedral Museum was established in 1897, and it was initially housed in some halls adjacent to the cathedral. In 1969, the museum was transferred into the former Seminary in Archbishop's Square ( mt, Pjazza tal-Arċisqof or ''Misraħ l-Arċisqof'') facing the cathedral's side entrance. The Seminary had been built between 1733 and 1742 in the Baroque style. It is attributed to the architects Giovanni Barbara or
Andrea Belli Andrea Belli (13 October 1703 – 19 October 1772) was a Maltese architect and businessman. He designed several Baroque buildings, including Auberge de Castille in Valletta, which is now the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta. Life and care ...
, although Barbara was dead when construction began, leaving Belli as the more likely candidate. The museum's collection includes an eclectic secular and ecclesiastical repertoire. This includes religious and profane artworks spanning from the 14th to the early 20th century, including a number of medieval panels formerly located in the cathedral; a money gallery with a ''forte'' in its numerous coins of antiquity (closed for refurbishment as of early 2020); religious and domestic silverware, religious vestments, historical furniture and the museum's flagship collection, a permanent exhibition of 76 original woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer.


See also

*
Culture of Malta The culture of Malta reflects various societies that have come into contact with the Maltese Islands throughout the centuries, including neighbouring Mediterranean cultures, and the cultures of the nations that ruled Malta for long periods of ti ...
* History of Malta * List of churches in Malta *
Religion in Malta The Catholic branch of Christianity is the predominant religion in Malta. The Constitution of Malta establishes Catholicism as the state religion, and it is also reflected in various elements of Maltese culture; however, in recent years the ...


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links


Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pauls Cathedral Mdina Mdina Roman Catholic churches completed in 1705 Roman Catholic cathedrals in Malta Baroque church buildings in Malta Limestone churches in Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Collegiate churches in Malta Church buildings with domes 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta