City: Mdina, also called Città
Vecchia, Città Notabile is a small, quiet city on Malta.
This city, lying on the centre of the island, is the former
capital of Malta. The average altitude of the plateau, the
highest in Malta, on which Mdina lies is 185 meters above
sea level. There are 400 people living here.
The history of this place goes back a long way. The Phoenicians
had a settlement here around 700 B.C. Under the Romans Mdina
was a municipium called Melita. A municipium was a city incorporated
by the Roman Empire. The citizens had restricted Roman citizen
rights (and duties). The current name Mdina was given to the
city by the Arabs who conquered the city in the year 870.
The name Mdina means “walled city”. The city is
still entirely surrounded by walls. When the order of Saint
John established themselves on Malta in 1530, Mdina was their
most important residence.
As the city appears frozen in time the place is a excellent
stop for tourists.
Building: Saint Paul’s cathedral.
This church was built on the site where, according to legend,
the apostle Paul met governor Publius. A former cathedral
from the time of the Normans was devastated by the earthquake
of 1693. The Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafà received
the commision to design a new church. The current church,
in baroque style, was built between 1697 and 1703.
God’s name: The divine name is
found here twice on a painting. The painting is by Domenico
Brushi and carries the name “the annunciation to the
virgin Mary”. The word annunciation is frequently used
as a term for the announcement to Mary that she would become
pregnant with a special child - Jesus. Domenico Brushi (1840-1910)
was an Italian art painter and maker of mosaics. He studied
at the Accademia di Belle Arti Pietro Vannuci di Perugia.
