Wayside Chapels (4) – St Mary Magdalen

On a breezy day a couple of weeks ago, we drove to the little town of Dingli and then headed on towards the cliffs which drop vertiginously into the deep blue sea. The summer heat and drought has de-nuded the cliffs and, shorn of the short-rooted plants that grow in the garigue in the cooler months, their jagged edges look sad and forlorn, waiting patiently for the rain that will give them back life.

It is on these cliffs that the chapel dedicated to St Mary Magdalen is situated.

Three steps lead to a small one-roomed building. With the sheer cliffs behind it and the towns of Rabat, Mtarfa and Mdina in the distance, this chapel commands one of the most outstanding views on the Island.

 

I could not find much information about this chapel other than that it was built in 1640 to tend to the needs of the farmers that made a frugal living from the little terraced fields in pockets of soil on the cliff-face. During the winter months this area is a favoured picnic stop by many but, in summer, it is surrounded by silence and the gentle sighing of the wind.