THE WIGNACOURT MUSEUM

This is one of Rabat Mdina's most spectacular, yet little-known sites.

The catacombs, the grotto. The highlight of the visit is the grotto where St. Paul is said to have taken refuge on his arrival in Malta in 60 AD, at the origin of the Christian community on the island. Pope John Paul II came to visit his statue here. Not to detract from the myth, access to the grotto is via the adjacent catacombs, part of the underground tombs dating back to the ^3rd century AD. Amid tightly-packed labyrinthine aisles, rock-cut tombs of all sizes follow one another, some with bone fragments still present, from the Punic (Carthaginian), Roman and Christian eras. Along the way, you'll discover the fallout shelters where many Maltese families lived during the bombings of the Second World War. At the other end of the shelters, a small feast table is accessible. It was used for ritual meals and celebrations in honor of the deceased.

Museum. The visit is very complete, as this ticket also gives access to the extensive museum of religious art, housed in the baroque palace of Grand Master Aloph de Wignacourt (1601-1622). Just as dark and bloody as Valletta's Museum of Fine Arts(Saint Paul decapitated or Saint Agathe with her breasts cut off, the island's two classics), you can admire religious canvases painted mainly by Mattia Preti, Francesco and Antoine de Favray.