St Paul's Cathedral, Mdina

At the heart of Mdina stands St Paul’s Cathedral, its imposing Baroque façade overlooking the city’s main square. The Cathedral that stands here today rose from the devastation of the 1693 earthquake, which severely damaged the medieval cathedral that preceded it. Its replacement, designed by Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafà, was built on the same historic site and completed at the beginning of the 18th century.

Flanked by the former Seminary and the Archbishop’s Palace, the Cathedral forms one of the Silent City’s most distinctive architectural spaces.

The Cathedral is more than one of Mdina’s great landmarks. It is the historic seat of the Archbishop of Malta and has remained the seat of Malta’s bishops since Norman times. In 1944, it became the Metropolitan Cathedral following the establishment of the Ecclesiastical Province of Malta and Gozo.

Its history is closely connected with that of St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta. Following the end of the French occupation in the early 19th century, the Cathedral Chapter carried out its duties both here in Mdina and at St John’s.

For Mdina Resounds: Echoes of the Silent City, the Cathedral becomes part of the performance itself. Audiences move through this historic setting as live music, song and theatrical storytelling unfold around them, entering spaces within St Paul’s Cathedral that are rarely open to the public.