Naxxar is a beautiful inland village in the north of Malta. Built up around the stunning parish church, the village has an incredibly pretty village square with many little shops and cafes dotted through the centre.
One of Malta's most significant villages, Naxxar has played a role in the majority of the island's major events and, therefore, offers historical, archaeological and cultural interest from much of Malta's old and chequered past.
One of the suggestions as to the origins of the village's name is the belief that St Paul preached from the village following his shipwreck in 60AD. Naxxar comes from the word "Nasra" meaning "conversion to Christianity".
The Parish Church of Our Lady proudly stands as the tallest Baroque edifice on the whole of Malta and is definitely worth a visit. Also worth a look are the fascinating networks of Roman catacombs, the town's many windmills, the historic church designed by Tommaso Dingli, and the Victoria Line, wartime defences from the British period on the island.
One of Naxxar's star attractions, however, is the lavish Palazzo Parisio, an opulent mansion that overlooks the village's main square. Originally built in 1733 the aristocratic palace was transformed in 1898 by the Marquis Giuseppe Scicluna. The Marquis filled the palace with fine furnishings, incredible works of art, and the period's most up-to-date amenities such as electric lighting and telephones.
The exquisite Maltese and Italian craftsmanship has stood the test of time and, although still owned by the Scicluna family, the mansion and its glorious Baroque gardens are now open to the public.
The palazzo's cinematic qualities have seen it in much demand as a location for films and television. It has appeared as a French Chateau for the 2002 film The Count of Monte Cristo, a Genoa hotel in the BBC's Daniel Deronda and doubled as an Italian villa in another BBC production, Byron, in 2003.
