The Chapel of St Agatha is a small
Roman Catholic church located in the medieval city of
Mdina
Mdina ( mt, L-Imdina ; phn, 𐤌𐤋𐤈, Maleṭ; grc, Μελίττη, Melite (ancient city), Melíttē; ar, مدينة, Madīnah; ), also known by its Italian-language titles ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortifications of Mdin ...
,
Malta.
History
The present structure dates from the 17th century however a much older church existed on its site. The original medieval chapel was built in 1417 by a nobleman Francesco Gattoand his wife Paola de' Castelli. On 22 January 1575 the chapel was visited by inquisitor
Pietro Dusina on his apostolic visit to Malta. Prior to 1661 the chapel was owned by the Gatto Murina family. In 1661 the chapel was given to the church in Malta. The medieval chapel was 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. ...
which destroyed much of Mdina including the medieval cathedral.
The new chapel was built on designs by renowned architect
Lorenzo Gafà. The chapel was blessed by the Archdeacon Antonio Cauchi in the presence of Bishop
Davide Cocco Palmieri and the Grand Master
Adrien de Wignacourt, on 26 June 1696.
The titular painting depicts
St Agatha
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...
, patroness of Malta, together with
St Adrian, the work of Giuseppe D'Arena.
"St Agatha's Chapel"
''Culture Malta''. Retrieved on 15 October 2016.
References
{{Mdina
Roman Catholic chapels in Malta
Churches completed in 1695
Mdina
National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands