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This blog is dedicated to Malta - my island home. My aim is not to bore you with history but to share my thoughts and a few facts together with a photo or two. For a more in -depth background of the island please go here. The purpose of this blog is not to point out the short-comings of the island. There are plenty that do that already. My wish is to show you the beauty of an island at the cross roads of the Mediterranean, a melting pot of history; a place where fact and fiction are sometimes fused to create unique myths and legends; a country that has been conquered so many times that our culture is a mish mesh of the lands that surround us and of lands far away. I confess that my greatest desire is to make you fall in love with this tiny enchanting island.

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Sunday 9 October 2011

San Teodoro – Abandoned and Forgotten

Winter countryside (60)-2

Somewhere on a country road between the towns of Rabat and Siggiewi there is an old abandoned cemetery. Popularly known as Tal-Brija cemetery, it is in fact dedicated to San Teodoro – and that is all I know or was able to find  out. The fact that it is situated in the middle of  nowhere (or as in-the-middle-of-nowhere as you can get on a small island) would have me surmise that it was used to bury people who died of an infectious disease, most likely the plague. After years of living with my curiosity, last winter I decided to take a look inside, hoping to find a gravestone or a plaque somewhere that would help me date the place. Unfortunately, the grounds and graves are covered with weeds and a forest of wild sumac trees.

Winter countryside (61)-1

Who lies beneath will remain a mystery. Their names forgotten. Their memory obliterated by time and nature.

Winter countryside (62)-1Winter countryside (66)-1

San Teodoro Cemetery (Tal-Brija)

Girgenti

l/o Siggiewi

February 2011.

9 comments:

  1. Wow... another intriguing post and gorgeous series on so many levels..such a sacred space..your photos are beautiful! The first one caught my eye and heart!
    Have a beautiful day Loree..thanks for this visual treat!

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  2. I always think that when people are motivated to lurk around cemeteries and ask questions, that they very souls of the departed are expressing themselves through the curiosity of the living.

    Another fine post, Loree. This blog has quickly become one of my favorites to visit with comforting regularity.

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  3. Before I read your posts, I pull up a map of Malta to visualize the place and the geography. There are more mysteries per square meter of Malta than any other place. Your history is rich and the the intrigue, compelling.

    bises,
    G

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  4. Hi Loree
    I wonder if the mystery will ever be revealed... Perhaps the occupants want it to stay just as it is and are in cahoots with nature to keep it private.. It certainly makes for gorgeous photos!!! and I like the light/colour treatment you've used..fab!!

    Thanks for popping in and have a great week.. ciao xxx Julie

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  5. It sounds like the makings of a wonderful novel or at least a short story!

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  6. I would never have thought of a cimetary, there is nothing which indicates that there are graves. Sad that you can't even see one single stone !

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  7. I went there recently and there are in fact 3 or more gravestones. One of them belongs to a Giuseppe Balzan who died at the age of 24 in 1865

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  8. I went there recently and there are in fact 3 or more gravestones. One of them belongs to a Giuseppe Balzan who died at the age of 24 in 1865

    ReplyDelete

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