Mdina

Mdina is a small city in Malta and its former capital. The town is a joy to stroll around in: many of the alleys really give the sense that nothing has changed here for more than a millennium since the Arabs were here. The main attractions are the cathedral whose design inspired many of the other churches in Malta, the cathedral museum. The view from the city walls makes it plain why this site was chosen in ancient times, one has a commanding view over most of the island from here.

Understand

Entrance to Mdina

L'Mdina (pronounced em-dee-nah) means a fortified place in Arabic and was first created as such by the Romans when they separated it from the rest of the town which became Rabat (which means "suburb") and fortified it. However, this place had already been the principal settlement of Malta since Phoenician times and hence can claim a heritage of 3,000 years. Until the Knights Templar arrived in the mid-1500s, it was the capital and the Maltese aristocracy lived there (some, like the Inguanez family still do uninterrupted for over 6 centuries), also the local governing organ called the Universita was housed there. Up until this day, it is the seat of the Maltese bishop and the Mdina cathedral still takes precedence over the co-cathedral of St. John.

As the knights chose Birgu (Vittoriosa) as their new capital the Great Siege of 1565 by the Turks was directed there and not at Mdina. The Turkish army passed by Mdina and could have easily taken the crumbling bastion which only had a small group of local soldiers and locals fit to guard it to stop them. A local nun had a vision however that called for a great procession praising god, and so every person in the town was dressed up and paraded around the top of the walls for hours giving the impression to the Turks that Mdina was full to the brim with defenders, and so they left it alone.

This decision proved fateful because just as the Turks had breached the main gate of Birgu a small band of Maltese rode down from Mdina, and started torching the deserted camp of the Turks making them think that they were being attacked from the rear and causing them to retreat in a panic. The breach was fixed and after that reinforcements from Europe finally arrived and the Turks were defeated. There is still a small chapel in Mdina in honour of this nun whose vision changed the course of European history.

Under the knights and even more so under the British the importance of Mdina as the seat of power faded steadily, and what was once known as the 'Citta Notabile' became the 'silent city', almost a ghost town. Today most of the palazzos belonging to the old aristocracy are being restored and the tourists bring life to the place, but there are only 400 inhabitants left.

Get in

Buses run from Valletta (30 minutes), Sliema, and St Julians (45 or longer depending on traffic).

Get around

Only inhabitants are allowed to take cars within the city walls, most streets are too narrow in any case, and it takes less than 10 minutes to walk from one end of the town to the other.

See

• 1 St Paul's Cathedral (Metropolitan Cathedral), ☏ +356 2145 6620. It was built in the Baroque style by Lorenzo Gafà after the earthquake of 1693 destroyed the original 12th-century Norman structure. Like the Cathedral of St. John in Valletta, its floor is covered with intricately inlaid marble gravestones belonging to Maltese aristocracy. Also noteworthy is the impressive wall painting at the back of the cathedral depicting the shipwrecking of St Paul on Malta. The face has two clocks (one for time and one for date). There is an apocryphal (though much repeated and widely published) story that the reasoning was to have one clock which showed the correct time and one which served to confuse the devil.  
• 2 Cathedral museum (next to the cathedral), ☏ +356 2145 4697. The quaint cathedral museum houses a variety of different small collections. Perhaps the most important is a beautiful set of woodcut prints The Life of the Virgin by Albrecht Dürer. Furthermore, it has a collection of the cathedral's attributes and a tiny display of the 19th-century priests who took the initiative to develop Maltese in a written form. Amazingly, as it was never in the colonial power's interest, the Maltese had to do without writing in their own language since the Arabs left in the 11th century. The entire archive of the inquisition in Malta, which was only banned by Napoleon the day he invaded, is kept here but is not on public display. If you come with serious credentials you may be able to persuade Father Michael to show them to you. 
• 3 National Museum of Natural History. The museum is housed in an 18th-century palace, designed in Parisian Baroque style. It covers various topics such as Maltese Geology and Palaeontology, exotic mammals, marine fauna, insects, shells and birds and other topics like human evolution.  
• Medieval museum. 

Do

Wandering the back streets of Mdina

Walk around and take random turns in the maze-like alleys; the place is so small getting lost won't have you wandering for more than 2 minutes.

Eat

• 1 Bacchus, 1 Triq Inguanez, ☏ +356 2145 4981. Located in Roman vaults under the front of the city walls. 
• 2 Ciappetti, Triq L Imhazen, ☏ +356 2145 9987. 12:00-15:00, 19:00-22:00. 
• 3 Coogi’s Pizzeria @ Palazzo Costanzo, 29, Triq Villegaignon, ☏ +356 27134633, coogis.pizzeria@gmail.com. M-Th Su 10:30-16:00; F Sa 10:30-23:00. Italian restaurant with an extensive menu including pizza, burgers and the odd Maltese dish. Allergen-friendly with vegan, lactose-free and gluten-free options. (updated Dec 2022)

Drink

• 1 Fontanella, ☏ +356 21 454264. Continues to attract people on its former reputation for quality and for its wonderful view from its upstairs terrace on top of the city wall. The cakes aren't what they used to be and the service is indifferent, but the imposing view of half of Malta lying before you makes it more than worthwhile to have a coffee there. 

Sleep

• 1 Xara Palace, Xara Palace, Misrah il-Kunsill, ☏ +35 21 450560. The only hotel inside the city walls, it's in a beautiful 17th century palazzo. It may be more exclusive than the Phoenicia in Valetta making it the most exclusive in Malta, a suite with its own hot tub on the roof with a view over the entire country is, of course, hard to beat. 

Go next

Walk over to Rabat