The Church of St. Paul the Hermit

Abstract

Built in the shadow of an overhanging ledge of rock and difficult of access, St. Paul the Hermit at Wied il-Gnasel near Mosta is one of the most picturesque wayside churches in Malta. Years of neglect and destruction by vandals have unfortunately reduced it to a poor state and unless proper action is immediately taken it may soon become a complete loss. Stylistically it appears that the church was built in the 17th century on the site of an older one of unknown date. It was restored and slightly modified either in the late 19th or in the early 20th century. Externally the church which is correctly orientated on an east-west axis is almost a plain cube. The simple but pleasantly proportioned west-front has a plain rectangular doorway flanked on either side by the usual rectangular windows with characteristic iron bars. Above it is a detached canopy with simple mouldings surmounted by a small square band of projecting masonry and a deep eye framed in a plain stone circle. The shallow-pitched gable is emphasised by a cornice built up of several mouldings which runs along the south wall as well. On the apex of the gable rests a charming little bell-cot topped by a cross on a stone ball. Besides the west door there is another doorway in the south wall : since the late Middle Ages. churches have had typical doorways on the sides as well as on the west-front. Inside, the church consists of a rectangular nave, 9.45 m long by 4.47 m broad, roofed by a barrel vault with five ribs springing from a high ledge.