The Chapel of St Domenica () is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

chapel in

Dingli Dingli () is a village in the Western Region of Malta, with a population of 3,865 as of 2021. It is from the capital Valletta and two kilometers () from the nearest town, Rabat. The village lies on a plateau some 230 metres above sea level, ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, which is dedicated to Saint Domenica. It was built in the 17th century.

History

The chapel of St Domenica was established in 1669 by the nobleman Marc'Antonio Inguanez, and it was constructed on his lands as ''

jus patronatus The right of patronage (in Latin ''jus patronatus'' or ''ius patronatus'') in Roman Catholic canon law is a set of rights and obligations of someone, known as the patron in connection with a gift of land (benefice). It is a grant made by the chu ...

''. It is annexed to the garden of ''Diar il-Bniet''. Today, Mass is celebrated within the chapel once a year. The building is listed on the

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands The National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands (NICPMI) is a heritage register listing the cultural property of Malta. The inventory includes properties such as archaeological sites, fortifications, religious buildings, mon ...

Architecture

The chapel is small and it has a simple façade which includes a rectangular door and window, flanked by flat

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s with Doric capitals on either side. Above the pilasters there is an

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

and a triangular

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

which is topped by a small stone cross. The chapel has a single altar.

References

External links

* {{commons category inline, Chapel of St. Domenica, Dingli 1669 establishments in Malta Dingli Limestone churches in Malta National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Roman Catholic chapels in Malta Roman Catholic churches completed in 1669 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta