St. Paul's Cathedral Mdina
St. Paul’s Cathedral (1697)
Of all the churches on the islands, St. Paul’s Cathedral is the finest and most mature example of Maltese Baroque; not fussy and ornamental but the work of an articulate pen imbued with all the influences – Roman, Sicilian and Italian – from which the idiom evolved. From all perspectives, this monumental church with its bold swathes takes charge: at the screen façade, from a distance, in silhouette and from inside.
Tradition states the cathedral is built on the site of the villa belonging to the Roman governor, Publius, where the shipwrecked St. Paul healed Publius’s father and converted the grateful governor himself to Christianity. (Publius later became the first bishop of Malta and was martyred in Greece.) The simple 12th-century Norman structure of Count Roger was enlarged in 1419, and the present cathedral was built following the earthquake of 1693 which destroyed much of Malta. A new cathedral had been talked about before the earthquake; Lorenzo Gafa had added a new choir in 1679 and after the earthquake he was commissioned to create the new building. The site on the northeast corner of Mdina must have flattered Gafa’s inspiration (this domed cathedral would be seen from afar) and the structure went up rapidly: five years after the foundation stone was laid in 1697 it was consecrated.
St. Paul’s Cathedral sits on a low podium at the end of the eponymous rectangular square. The near-square façade with its three cleanly divided bays gives it a light but solid air. The Corinthian order of pilasters below the composite ones span the entire façade without interruption, leaving above the two side doors brave expanses of honey-coloured masonry. The bellj-towers – each with six bells – are squat, adding to the façade’s heaviness, but with Gafa’s deft touch they appear lighter, for the twin clocks nudge into the lower lip of the cornice. Note, in relief at the top of the bell-towers, St. Paul’s viper twists out of the flames. Above the main door ion the left is the escutcheon of Grand Master Perellos (during whose reign the cathedral was built) and on the right that of Bishop Palmieri, who consecrated it in 1702 two years before the dome was completed. In front are the obligatory cannons, part of the knights’ ordnance: to the left a Dutch cannon from 1681 and to the right, bearing the coat of arms of the Duke of Savoy, the Duke’s gift cannon to commemorate the knights’ defence of Rhodes.
Finally, sneaking out from under cover of the towers and pediment, is Gafa’s dynamic swansong, the light octagonal dome, with eight stone scrolls above a high drum leading up to a neat lantern. Similar in design to St. Catherine’s in Zejtun, it is best studied from inside or from a distance.
The Interior
Gafa’s plan for the church is a Latin cross with a vaulted nave, two aisles and two small side chapels. Space under the rich tessellated floor of extravagant and macabre tombstones is reserved for Maltese nobles and high-ranking clergy, unlike at St. John’s in Valletta, where only knights of the Order could be buried.
The Sicilian white marble baptismal font was a gift from Bishop Valguarnero in 1495 and survived the earthquake. The statue of St. Publius and the two lecterns of St. John and St. Luke by the main altar are by Guiseppe Valenti, who also made the statue of Queen Victoria in Republic Square, Valletta. The frescoes in the cross-vaulted ceiling were painted by two Sicilian brothers, Antonio and Vincenzo de Manno, in 1794 and depict the Life of St. Paul. The beautiful carved door to the sacristy is made of solid Irish oak and was the main door to the original cathedral which somehow survived the 1963 earthquake. In the side chapel of the Annunciation is Mattia Preti’s unconvincing image of St. Paul hysterically chasing the Saracens away from the City’s bastions during a brief siege in the early 1400s. In the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, the icon of the Madonna, bejeweled and shrouded in reverential grime, is alleged to have been painted by St. Luke. (Sadly there is no evidence to support this or the notion that he painted a similar icon in the Sanctuary in Mellieha.) The silver tabernacle is Roman and dates from the early 18th century. The main altarpiece, the Conversion of St. Paul, the side panels and the marvelously graphic rendition of St. Paul’s shipwreck in the apse were all painted by Mattia PReti in the late 17th century; they too survived the earthquake intact. The Royal Arms of Spain hang at the apex of the arch in remembrance of the Emperor Charles V who gave the islands to the Order in 1530. The two Italian oval portraits by the front pillars are marble mosaic compositions of photographic clarity depicting St. Peter and St. Paul and date from 1873. Rarely on display is the silver cross brought by the knights from Rhodes. A weak supposition states that Godfrey de Bouillon carried it into Jerusalem in the First Crusade in 1099. The two thrones are reserved fro the bishop of Malta and the grand master. The original paintings in Gafa’s splendid dome were ruined by inclement weather and the present images represent the Divine Mission of the church and delicately inlaid marble floors resembling a carpet and somber black and gilt 18th-century gates. The crucifix was fashioned by a Franciscan monk in the 17th century. The altarpiece of the Martyrdom of St. Publius and his Baptism by St. Paul has sometimes been attributed to Preti but is only his school.
St. Paul's Cathedral Mdina
St. Paul’s Cathedral (1697)
Of all the churches on the islands, St. Paul’s Cathedral is the finest and most mature example of Maltese Baroque; not fussy and ornamental but the work of an articulate pen imbued with all the influences – Roman, Sicilian and Italian – from which the idiom evolved. From all perspectives, this monumental church with its bold swathes takes charge: at the screen façade, from a distance, in silhouette and from inside.
Tradition states the cathedral is built on the site of the villa belonging to the Roman governor, Publius, where the shipwrecked St. Paul healed Publius’s father and converted the grateful governor himself to Christianity. (Publius later became the first bishop of Malta and was martyred in Greece.) The simple 12th-century Norman structure of Count Roger was enlarged in 1419, and the present cathedral was built following the earthquake of 1693 which destroyed much of Malta. A new cathedral had been talked about before the earthquake; Lorenzo Gafa had added a new choir in 1679 and after the earthquake he was commissioned to create the new building. The site on the northeast corner of Mdina must have flattered Gafa’s inspiration (this domed cathedral would be seen from afar) and the structure went up rapidly: five years after the foundation stone was laid in 1697 it was consecrated.
St. Paul’s Cathedral sits on a low podium at the end of the eponymous rectangular square. The near-square façade with its three cleanly divided bays gives it a light but solid air. The Corinthian order of pilasters below the composite ones span the entire façade without interruption, leaving above the two side doors brave expanses of honey-coloured masonry. The bellj-towers – each with six bells – are squat, adding to the façade’s heaviness, but with Gafa’s deft touch they appear lighter, for the twin clocks nudge into the lower lip of the cornice. Note, in relief at the top of the bell-towers, St. Paul’s viper twists out of the flames. Above the main door ion the left is the escutcheon of Grand Master Perellos (during whose reign the cathedral was built) and on the right that of Bishop Palmieri, who consecrated it in 1702 two years before the dome was completed. In front are the obligatory cannons, part of the knights’ ordnance: to the left a Dutch cannon from 1681 and to the right, bearing the coat of arms of the Duke of Savoy, the Duke’s gift cannon to commemorate the knights’ defence of Rhodes.
Finally, sneaking out from under cover of the towers and pediment, is Gafa’s dynamic swansong, the light octagonal dome, with eight stone scrolls above a high drum leading up to a neat lantern. Similar in design to St. Catherine’s in Zejtun, it is best studied from inside or from a distance.
The Interior
Gafa’s plan for the church is a Latin cross with a vaulted nave, two aisles and two small side chapels. Space under the rich tessellated floor of extravagant and macabre tombstones is reserved for Maltese nobles and high-ranking clergy, unlike at St. John’s in Valletta, where only knights of the Order could be buried.
The Sicilian white marble baptismal font was a gift from Bishop Valguarnero in 1495 and survived the earthquake. The statue of St. Publius and the two lecterns of St. John and St. Luke by the main altar are by Guiseppe Valenti, who also made the statue of Queen Victoria in Republic Square, Valletta. The frescoes in the cross-vaulted ceiling were painted by two Sicilian brothers, Antonio and Vincenzo de Manno, in 1794 and depict the Life of St. Paul. The beautiful carved door to the sacristy is made of solid Irish oak and was the main door to the original cathedral which somehow survived the 1963 earthquake. In the side chapel of the Annunciation is Mattia Preti’s unconvincing image of St. Paul hysterically chasing the Saracens away from the City’s bastions during a brief siege in the early 1400s. In the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, the icon of the Madonna, bejeweled and shrouded in reverential grime, is alleged to have been painted by St. Luke. (Sadly there is no evidence to support this or the notion that he painted a similar icon in the Sanctuary in Mellieha.) The silver tabernacle is Roman and dates from the early 18th century. The main altarpiece, the Conversion of St. Paul, the side panels and the marvelously graphic rendition of St. Paul’s shipwreck in the apse were all painted by Mattia PReti in the late 17th century; they too survived the earthquake intact. The Royal Arms of Spain hang at the apex of the arch in remembrance of the Emperor Charles V who gave the islands to the Order in 1530. The two Italian oval portraits by the front pillars are marble mosaic compositions of photographic clarity depicting St. Peter and St. Paul and date from 1873. Rarely on display is the silver cross brought by the knights from Rhodes. A weak supposition states that Godfrey de Bouillon carried it into Jerusalem in the First Crusade in 1099. The two thrones are reserved fro the bishop of Malta and the grand master. The original paintings in Gafa’s splendid dome were ruined by inclement weather and the present images represent the Divine Mission of the church and delicately inlaid marble floors resembling a carpet and somber black and gilt 18th-century gates. The crucifix was fashioned by a Franciscan monk in the 17th century. The altarpiece of the Martyrdom of St. Publius and his Baptism by St. Paul has sometimes been attributed to Preti but is only his school.