“What are you going to see? Stones! And that’s all I intend showing you. But every stone has a story to tell for those who want to listen,” Qrendi mayor, David Michael Schembri said as he led the way to a three-hour tour around his village for a small group of Heritage Malta members.

The first curious facts were related to the parish church of the Assumption, which commands Qrendi’s main square.

“Qrendi became a parish in 1618. Two years later, the villagers started to build a church which took around 60 years to finish. Ironically, by then, the church was considered too small and it was demolished. It was no easy feat for the small village population to finance the building of a new and larger church but the determination of the parish priest, Rev. Domenico Formosa, who hailed from Qrendi, was very inspiring,” Schembri noted.

He went on to say how, on January 17, 1699, Rev. Formosa lost his life when he tripped on a plank of the scaffolding while carrying a stone to encourage the parishioners to do more towards the construction of the church. He fell to the ground, dying on the spot on the church parvis.

“Almost a century later, in 1796, this date was marked with a cross on the façade of the church to commemorate this priest and to show the height from which he had fallen to his death,” Schembri said, pointing towards a column on the right hand side of the façade.

While walking along Qrendi’s streets, it is evident that the inhabitants are greatly devoted to Our Lady, although under various titles. In fact, many of the houses’ façades are decorated with Marian niches, statues, name plates and frontispieces.

“St Matthew is also very popular in Qrendi. Two interconnected chapels,  which are dedicated to this saint, are located in one of the most beautiful and legendary spots of the village,” the mayor remarked.

The smaller chapel is probably one of the oldest still standing in Malta. Some say it was built before the 15th century. Although looking more like a crypt, it is exquisitely carved and conveys a feeling of serenity and elegance.

“During restoration works of this chapel, we came upon an unusual discovery. It consisted of a small niche that had a hollowed centre with a clay vase inside,” Schembri pointed out.

“This vase used to be filled with water,  which came out through a tap so that the priest could wash his hands in the carved sink below during the celebration of Mass. The water then passed through a drain that ran directly into the ground so that if any tiny remains of the sacred host had washed off the priest’s hands they would be returned to the earth.”

The other main chapel was built between 1674 and 1682 and it connects to the smaller chapel through a sacristy. This chapel suffered considerable damage to its façade during World War II when it was hit by a bomb on April 12, 1942. It was later repaired, with a few other changes made to the structure along the way.

The chapel is simply but beautifully decorated. At the rear, one finds an exquisite Spanish statue in the form of Our Lady standing in a tall wooden niche.

While walking along Qrendi’s streets, it is evident that the inhabitants are greatly devoted to Our Lady

“This statue was donated by the German Knight, Fra Guttenberg, whose coat of arms is at the top of this niche. It is said that this statue is wearing a wedding dress that was donated by a lady after she got married.”

A sinkhole known as Il-Maqluba (the overturned) is located in the vicinity of these two chapels. According to legend, in the old days there was a hamlet in this area whose people did not lead an exemplary life. Although God warned them to change their lives through a good woman who lived close by, the people ignored His warnings. Therefore, God decreed that the land should swallow the hamlet sparing nobody except the good woman. However, the people were so bad that not even Hell wanted to receive them. So the angels had to carry the hamlet away and dump it in the sea, thereby creating the small island of Filfla.

“In reality, this natural depression was formed by the collapse of the underlying limestone strata, which, in geological language, is referred to as a doline. It was formed around November 23, 1343, when Malta experienced one of the most severe winter storms, probably accompanied by an earthquake,” Schembri explained.

“Up to 80 years ago, the area down there was irrigated,” he informed the group while they were looking at the fascinating sinkhole.

“It was mainly cultivated with potatoes and onions. There were stairs leading directly to the fields and a gate used to prevent entry to others. Yet, further land collapses, which happened along the years, made it too hard to reach the fields and so farmers stopped cultivating this area. In time, lack of maintenance and the abundance of water gave life to a jungle of canes which, by now, have taken over all the land. The place caught fire two years ago but look at it today! Nature has a wonderful way of fighting back.”

Interestingly, the Sandarac gum tree (siġra tal-għargħar), which is the Maltese national tree, grows naturally on the edges of the Maqluba sinkhole.

“In 2018, this area earned the title of a European Destination of Excellence for Tangible Cultural Heritage. We attributed this area to the village, to the spectacular sinkhole, to the few surviving old carob trees and to the culture of the coastline. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we used to organise around 50 weddings annually on the parvis of the chapels of St Matthew,” Schembri noted.

Certainly, the best way to get to know a village is to walk along its streets. The Qrendi mayor was constantly pointing out captivating objects that would otherwise have surely gone unnoticed.

“Profound respect towards religion in Qrendi is conveyed through various means. Notice that stone cross over the pregnant window on that façade,” Schembri highlighted.

“That cross is there to remind the residents to say a prayer as they come out of their house and to give thanks to God for their safe return back home.”

Another stone cross was noted beside the doorway of a house but, this time, it was commemorating the tragic death of a previous owner.

 “An observant eye will notice many signs,” Schembri said as he stopped in front of an old house and pointed at some markings above a window that were barely visible.

“That is a sundial which acted as a clock for the housewife so that she could prepare dinner in time when her husband returned from work.”

Some historical houses in Qrendi are reminiscent of the affluence of their original owners, some of whom were knights. The village boasts also the presence of three towers: Captain’s Tower, also known as the Octagonal Tower, Xutu Tower and Tal-Ħamrija Tower.

A Commander’s Garden (Ġnien tal-Kmand), which was built in the 19th century by Sir Alexander Ball, is another evocative site which nowadays serves for weddings and other functions.

Besides participating in such exclusive events, Heritage Malta members can enjoy several other benefits, including one year of free access to the agency’s museums and sites, discount on entry to the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, discount on purchases at the agency’s museum shops, discounts on events and thematic tours and much more. For more information, visit www.heritagemalta.org/membership/

Fiona Vella is executive, publications and didactic resources, at Heritage Malta.