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The background of wayside chapels that dot the Maltese and Gozitan countryside is much more complex and fascinating than their simple structures might suggest.
Their history spans more than five centuries (13th to 18th), stretching from the mysterious late Middle Ages to the Age of Enlightenment, when the Church’s suffocating excesses were being questioned all over Europe.
Through the strong position of the Church many of these wayside chapels later developed into sanctuaries providing immunity from arrest for criminals on the run. Ecclesiastical immunity meant that any person, including criminals, could seek refuge in a Catholic place of worship; consequently the public authorities could not remove the person concerned, even if convicted of a crime. The history of these chapels became ironic when seen in the light of later events.
From their peak in the 15th and early 16th centuries, when these ‘cappelle’ emerged as an expression of vernacular architecture and a budding artistic culture, they descended in the late 18th century to illicit acts, with the authorities powerless to take action.
Irked by these grossly abused privileges, Grand Master Pinto, on the government’s behalf, protested vehemently to the Holy See through the Order’s ambassador in Rome. In 1761, after long-drawn negotiations, ecclesiastical immunity was withdrawn from many of the rural chapels as indicated on the marble slab one can still see on their façade, stating “Non gode l’immunità ecclesiastica” (Does not enjoy ecclesiastical immunity).
Stripped of these dark episodes, the primitive architecture of these early chapels created a new aesthetic standard on their construction, which was gradually perfected by Maltese master masons and craftsmen, an experience that later helped them develop our typical baroque style throughout the Maltese islands.
It is no exaggeration to say that these wayside chapels represent a wealth of details regarding vernacular art and architecture as well as patterns of human settlement. The staggering number of these chapels, particularly in the limits of Rabat, Naxxar and Siġġiewi, with over 30 shrines, indicate a concentration of population in these fertile agricultural zones far from the coastal areas and the danger of corsairs’ attacks.
The names of the Rabat chapels, as officially listed, will suffice: Chiesa dell’ Assunzione di N. Sra. nel Giardino di Mons. Vesco.; Chiesa della Purificazione di N. Sra. vicino al Boschetto; Chiesa di San Antonio Abbate posta dentro il cortile del Palazzo del Boschetto; Chiesa della Natività denominata Ta’ Salip; Chiesa di San Antonio del Giardino del cimitero; Chiesa della B.V. In qda di Bingemma; Chiesa dell’Assunzione in qda del Mgiarro; Chiesa di S. Martino in qda della Bahrija; Chiesa della Concessione in qda di Ued Gherzuma; Chiesa della Natività di N. Sra. di monte calibbo (Mtaħleb); Chiesa di Sta Catarina ta dachla; Chiesa di S. Lucia della Mtarfa; Chiesa di S. Biagio; Chiesa di S. Giacomo; Chiesa della Natività di N. Sra; Chiesa di S. Nicola ta Gnien il far; Chiesa dell’Annunzazione di N. Sra ta Schiara.
By contrast, the scarcity of chapels in the north of the island, particularly before the Knights’ period, reveals a complete isolation from this area because of their exposure to brutal pillaging, slavery and other dangers. The village of Mellieha is the exception due to the revered Mellieħa Sanctuary which retained its ecclesiastical immunity.
By the middle of the 16th century about 400 churches were recorded, including the medieval chapel on Comino and another on the tiny islet of Filfla, whose altarpiece is reputedly displayed at the Żurrieq parish church.
The siting of some of these early shrines follows a prevalent Mediterranean pattern, a preference for subterranean places as if the bowels of the earth enjoy supernatural powers. For various reasons, mainly due to geological rock formation, the Rabat area is dotted with an unusually large number of urban rock-cut churches, among which we find Sta Maria della Grotta, which in the middle of the 15th century was attached to the Dominican priory; St Paul’s Grotto, synonymous with Pauline traditions, located underneath the parish church, as well as other clusters of subterranean shrines nearby, including that of St Catald, Sta Maddalena, Sta Venera at Għar Barca and the ancient burial sites of St Agatha and St Paul’s catacombs.
Sprawled all over Rabat’s gentle hills and meadows we find Sta Maria della Virtù, an impressive ornate underground chapel overlooking the fertile Wied l-Isqof. On the Dingli incline in the serenity of Wied ir-Rum, with its Byzantine connection, there existed a troglodyte chapel dedicated to St Nicholas; and along the remote Binġemma cliffs honeycombed with rock tombs, one encounters the remains of a troglodytic chapel.
Looking back over the centuries, one is tempted to conclude that a few of these underground chapels may have witnessed the early traces of monasticism in our islands. The subterranean chapel of San Leonardo overlooking the idyllic valley of Wied Liemu, is arguably an ancient hermitage.
The dedication of this small cave to St Leonard, patron saint of slaves, pre-dates 1418, as the area known as San Leonardo is mentioned in old documents and notarial deeds and prominently included in a 16th century map.
According to secure records, the Carmelite order moved to the “La Nunciata” church situated above this chapel in 1441, availing themselves of an offer by the Noble Margarita d’Aragona in her will of 1418. Historians believe the monks accepted this offer to confirm an established tradition that in the 13th century a community of Carmelite hermits had lived in the area with the grotto of San Leonardo as their focus of devotion. This underground chapel, a tangible record of Malta’s re-Christianisation, has recently been rescued in the nick of time from the ravages of time and insensitivity through the initiative of Fr Amadeo Zammit, O. Carm.
The detailed reports of the Apostolic visits of Mgr Pietro Dusina in 1575 provide us with secure and reliable descriptions of all the churches existing then, including the wayside chapels. Furthermore, the academic study of medieval Malta in 1647 by Gian Francesco Abela, reputedly the father of Maltese historiography, sheds additional light on these chapels.
However, it was Achille Ferris who in 1866 published a detailed and informed seminal study, Descrizione storica delle chiese di Malta e Gozo, based mainly on his personal observations, erudition and records of pastoral visits by bishops over the years.
A noteworthy successor of Ferris in our times was the writer Michael Spiteri, known as Kilin, who in his inimitable style and effective sketches rekindled our appreciation of this notable heritage embellishing our rural landscape.
by Lino Bugeja
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