Today we set out to walk along a portion of the Victoria Lines, a fortified wall that follows a fault line across the island of Malta. Rain and high winds drove us from this goal and instead we visited the walled town of Mdina and its neighbor, Rabat. Mdina was once the capitol of Malta and a place of great religious significance. It is surrounded by impressive walls and consists of a warren of high walled streets, churches, residences, museums, and a few restaurants and stores.
We walked most of the streets and visited the excellent Cathedral and related museum.
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| Mdina from a nearby road - showing the dome of the cathedral |
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| Main gate - detail. Horse drawn carriage rides are available and cars are allowed in Mdina, although only on some streets |
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| Gate detail |
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| About half the streets are this narrow and suitable for pedestrians or horses only |
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| Cathedral dome |
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| The main square has some lovely buildings |
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| Architectural detail |
The museum admission is 5 euros and well worth it. The collection of silver religious artifacts is impressive and the museum building itself is stunning.
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| Silver hanging lamp detail - lamps like this were in use in the cathedral |
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| Silver filigree monstrance for the display of objects of piety. Filigree worked jewelry is a common tourist item still |
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| Reliquary containing saintly bones |
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| A book reliquary - yet another way to house bones |
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| Detail of a large reliquary containing a skull |
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| The museum had a collection of teapots and related vessels with butterfly adornments |
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| This fellow reminded me of our friend Kurt with whom we will soon be sailing |
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| Saint Agatha appears a bit annoyed in this painting - for obvious reasons. Agatha is the patron saint of Malta and also (according to Wikipedia) ...of breast cancer patients, martyrs, wet nurses, bell-founders, bakers, fire, earthquakes, and eruptions of Mount Etna |
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| The museum floors were inlaid with beautiful marbles |
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| Colourful inlaid grave marker in the cathedral floor |
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| The cathedral was decorated in scarlet cloth for Christmas |
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| Altar displaying the apostles in silver with baby Jesus |
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| It is not possible to do justice with a photo to the impressive dome and its wonderful paintings |
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| Neighbouring Rabat is similar to Mdina in its narrow streets and architecture - but is a lively and vibrant place in comparison to the frozen museum quality of its neighbour |
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