the Islands
Mysteries and myths of the Maltese
poisonous – something which is true
to this day, as no venomous snakes
or reptiles are found on the island. A
small side note – the above legend
has a slightly different ending for
many Maltese people, who say that
the venom that St Paul removed
from the viper was placed in Maltese
women’s tongues!
St Paul has a very close connection
to Mdina and its neighbouring town
of Rabat, where there is a church
dedicated to the same saint. This
church is said to have been built
above the grotto where St Paul lived
and prayed in while he was waiting
for the ship taking him to Rome to
be restored. The Grotto Myth states
that the stone, cavernous walls of
this grotto had miraculous healing
properties, and that no matter how
much of it was taken and removed
by the devotees visiting the grotto as
a memento, it remained unchanged,
as if nothing was altered. This
Grotto is still a popular spot today,
and can be visited through the
Church of St Paul in Rabat. The
Grotto forms part of a series of
many
underground
catacombs,
which stretch underneath Rabat and
Mdina. Some of these catacombs,
such as those of St Agatha in Rabat,
are open to the public and can be
visited for a small fee. Another
legend based in Mdina, is the legend
of St Agatha. In 1551, a group of
Turkish invaders launched an attack
on Mdina, which at the time was
called ‘Citta Notabile’. A nun living
in an Mdina nunnery claimed that
she saw a vision, where St Agatha
instructed her to make a procession
around the walls of the city, while
holding up a sacred image of the
saint. The nun promptly did as she
was told, and it is said that the
Turks abandoned their attack on the
city, and proceeded to raid nearby
Gozo instead. We can only imagine
how many times poor St Agatha’s
name was called out that night – in
celebration and in heresy!
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