Filial churches in Malta : a historico-artistic outline

Abstract

Malta's cultural and religious identity is expressed in the architectural heritage present around the Islands. 'A church for each day of the year!' echoes in the town's main piazza when the elderly meet and proudly discuss their Christian Catholic roots and St Paul's christening of the Mediterranean Maltese archipelago. To testify to this, there is the Maltese rural landscape which is enriched with a vast number of churches and chapels, still resisting the hourglass, thanks to their guardians who strive to cultivate and preserve them. Unfortunately, a good number of these structures were transformed into storage places or even abandoned, thus suffering consequent extensive dilapidation. This bold and incisive architectural heritage has led to mark our history and has inspired a series of papers and publications by a number of local and foreign authors who trace their origins, how they flourished and how some perished. This analysis aims to contribute to the study on filial churches in Malta and open the way for further research about their history, architecture and works of art. Nonetheless, this study does not feature a detailed individual assessment of all the filial churches present on the Islands. The multitude of such exemplars stretches research boundaries to a limit which is beyond the purpose of this exercise.