In the mid-15th century, Bishop Senatore de Mello undertook what few of his predecessors had attempted: a systematic visitation of the Maltese Islands. His journey, recorded in the Rollo de Mello of 1436, offers one of the earliest administrative portraits of the archipelago’s parishes and their place within late medieval society. Today, a modern route retraces that itinerary, linking centuries of local memory, geography, and devotion across Malta and Gozo.
Mapping a medieval church
De Mello, appointed to the Maltese diocese in 1432 but arriving four years later, confronted a fragmented ecclesiastical landscape. At the time, bishops were often appointed from Sicily and rarely set foot on the islands, both for logistical and security reasons. Piracy and political instability made the sea passage hazardous. De Mello’s arrival marked a departure from this absentee tradition.
He commissioned four cathedral canons to compile the Quinterniolus pro Concordia Taxarum—a document better known as the Rollo de Mello. It listed parishes, chapels, and their incomes, aiming to resolve disputes over ecclesiastical taxes between the clergy of Malta and Gozo. Beyond its fiscal intent, the Rollo provides a vital record of local communities and their early institutions.
By 1436, Malta counted ten rural parishes (cappelle), alongside the Cathedral at Mdina and San Lorenzo a Mare in Birgu. The list, compiled centuries after the Norman re-conquest (1090–91), captures a moment when the islands’ ecclesiastical geography was taking durable form.
Mdina and Rabat: The islands’ ecclesiastical core
The Rollo identifies the Cappella di San Paolo de Fora (St. Paul’s Grotto) as the parish church for both Mdina and Rabat. Mdina, originally the Phoenician Maleth and later Roman Melita, housed the cathedral of the diocese, while Rabat held the parish seat. The Grotto, associated with the shipwreck of Paul of Tarsus in 60 CE, became a pilgrimage site through the centuries and remains one of Malta’s most visited sanctuaries.
Birgu and the coastal parish
At the peninsula’s tip, Birgu’s Castrum Maris—later Fort St. Angelo—sheltered a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, suggesting continuous Christian presence since early imperial times. The nearby church of San Lorenzo a Mare, mentioned in the Rollo, would evolve into one of Malta’s most important coastal parishes, closely tied to maritime life and defense.
Gozo: The matrice on the hill
Across the channel, Gozo’s ecclesiastical organization followed a distinct pattern. Parishes were clustered near the fortified Cittadella due to the island’s vulnerability to raids. The major church there, dedicated to the Assumption, became known as the Matrice. The present Cathedral of the Assumption, built between 1697 and 1711, stands on a site where worship has been continuous since antiquity, incorporating layers from megalithic, Roman, and early Christian phases.
Parishes of the Maltese heartland
The Rollo’s parochial network reveals the demographic heart of medieval Malta:
- Naxxar, dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, occupies one of the oldest inhabited areas of the island, its name possibly derived from Nasra, related to the word Nazarene.
- Birkirkara, dedicated to St. Helen (also known as St. Mary of the Assumption), was among the largest rural parishes, already documented in 15th-century records.
- Qormi, with its church of St. George, served a vast area extending toward what would later become Valletta.
- Bir Miftuħ (modern Gudja), dedicated to St. Mary of the Assumption, once ministered to several nearby hamlets. Its modest medieval church, still standing near Malta’s airport, offers a glimpse of early parish life.
- Żebbuġ, dedicated to St. Philip of Agira, sits amid a landscape layered with prehistoric and Phoenician remains, evidence of settlement long before the parish system.
- Siġġiewi, dedicated to St. Nicholas of Bari, occupied fertile plateaus southwest of Mdina, absorbing earlier hamlets as populations shifted inland.
The southern settlements
- Żejtun, dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria, is among the oldest parishes mentioned by De Mello. The medieval church, later known as St. Gregory’s, was the spiritual center for the southeastern communities.
- Żurrieq, also dedicated to St. Catherine, has roots reaching the Bronze Age, though its parish was formally organized in the later medieval period.
- Dingli (Casal Tartani), with its church of St. Domenica, was a small settlement under Rabat’s jurisdiction, surrounded by ancient quarries and burial sites.
- Mellieħa, dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin, retains a cave church housing a Siculo-Byzantine fresco known as the Hodegetria. Its origins likely predate the 13th century, linking the site to early Christian devotion across the Mediterranean.
A route recreated
Today, XirCammini, a Maltese voluntary organization, has reconstructed De Mello’s medieval itinerary as a continuous walking route. The project, scheduled for completion in late 2024, integrates historical research with modern mapping, inviting walkers to traverse both urban and rural landscapes that still preserve traces of the parishes listed in the Rollo. You can learn more about this fascinating route by visiting their website. If you are interested in this pilgrimage, do not hesitate to contact them at [email protected].
The Itinerario De Mello thus revives not only a clerical survey but a portrait of Malta at the threshold of the modern age—an island network of fortified villages, agrarian valleys, and enduring traditions. Following its path offers a layered encounter with the archipelago’s medieval past and the persistence of community across time.
