The Chapel of St Nicholas is a small, disused

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 ...

church located in the historic and medieval town of

Mdina Mdina ( ; ), also known by its Italian epithets ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortifications of Mdina, fortified city in the Western Region, Malta, Western Region of Malta which served as the island's former capital, from antiquity ...

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 ...

History

A church dedicated to St Nicholas was already built by 1434. In 1685 a new church commissioned by Bartolomeo Vella was built to replace the old medieval church. Plans for the new church are attributed to

Lorenzo Gafà Lorenzo Gafà (1639–1703) was a Maltese Baroque architect and sculptor. He designed many churches in the Maltese Islands, including St. Paul's Cathedral in Mdina and the Cathedral of the Assumption in Victoria, Gozo. He was the younger brot ...

though this is not for certain. The church was built in the form of a Greek cross crowned by a central dome. The church is mentioned in 1762 in the pastoral visitation made by Bishop

Bartolomé Rull Bartolomé Rull (31 July 1691 – 19 February 1769) was an 18th-century Spanish prelate who served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta, Bishop of Malta. Rull was born on 31 July 1691 in Pollença on the island of Majorca in Spain. Career On 6 ...

. The church is no longer in use for religious purposes and is in disrepair. It houses a number of artifacts from the Metropolitan cathedral, notably the Cathedral's Capella Ardente, which was once used in funerary services of notable people. "Chapel of St. Nicholas"
''Reach Malta''. Retrieved on 20 October 2017.

References

{{reflist 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Malta Mdina National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Roman Catholic chapels in Malta