The most beautiful religious buildings Mdina

The Carmelite community was established in Rabat in the 15th^century and moved to Mdina in the 1660s. The priory's cloister, designed by Lorenzo Gafà, is superb. Don't miss the baroque refectory and the reconstructed antique kitchen. Visit the church, also in Baroque style, and note its elliptical plan. It was in this church that the insurrection against the French occupiers began in 1800, just as the latter were about to seize the church's possessions and place them in Napoleon's coffers... As for the Carmelites, today they can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

It was built on the site of an old medieval chapel, damaged by the earthquake of 1693 which, from Sicily, destroyed part of the town of Mdina. The new chapel was built in 1694 according to the plans of the architect Lorenzo Gafà. This church is dedicated to Saint Agatha, one of the three patron saints of the city of Mdina, together with Saint Paul and Saint Publius. This saint is said to have found refuge on the island of Malta, while fleeing the persecutions of the Roman emperor Decius.

The Benedictine nuns of Mdina are first mentioned in 1450, on the site of a medieval women's hospital, enlarged and completely restored in 1625. The Order is governed by very strict rules: nuns are never allowed to leave the convent, even after death. They are buried in the crypt, and the only male visitors allowed are the doctor and the plasterer-painter when work is being carried out. The public can visit the adjoining chapel, but the nuns don't open it every day, so you'll have to take your chances.

Nearly twenty nuns currently live here in total isolation, devoting their days to prayer and tending the garden. Needless to say, tourists can't visit either.