Once a Phoenician settlement the town of Rabat is steeped in tradition and is home to some of Malta's most important cultural and historical treasures.
Surrounding what was once Malta's capital, the medieval city of Mdina, Rabat's history can be traced back over thousands of years which is, perhaps, where the timeless quality that pervades the town originates from.
Located around 15 kilometres from Valletta in the centre of the island, Rabat is surrounded on all sides by undeveloped, fertile land. Thanks to the lack of intensive building in the area, this once agricultural town has a gentle, open atmosphere.
Rabat lays claim that it holds the origins of Maltese Christianity and many of Malta's most resonant religious sites can be found here. St Paul's Grotto is said to have sheltered the Apostle Paul after he was shipwrecked in AD60. The cave contains sacred art and frescos worth a considerable amount of money and is still a place of pilgrimage.
Protecting the cave is St Paul's church which was originally built in 1542 before being enlarged and redesigned in the seventeenth century. Although the church lacks the splendour of other Maltese places of worship it contains a statue of the Madonna which is said to have healing powers.
Other places of interest include the remains of a once opulent Roman villa and St Agatha's Catacombs. Displaying typical Roman architecture and layout, Domus Romanus retains a superb mosaic floor, period frescos and innumerable relics which are housed in The Museum of Roman Antiques beside the site.
St Agatha's Catacombs are, according to legend, where the beautiful young virgin hid from the Roman Emperor Decius before returning to Rome where she was captured and killed. An underground chapel was built in her memory and still contains exquisite paintings from the fourth century AD. The main chapel is beautifully decorated with medieval frescos.
