Senglea owes its origins to Grand Master Juan D’Omedes, who constructed Fort St Michael for the protection of the Grand Harbour. Until then, the Senglea promontory was practically uninhabited, having only a small chapel dedicated to St Julian, built in 1311, belonging to the matrix of Vittoriosa.

This chapel, dedicated to patron saint of hunters, reflects the reality that the area was reserved for this very purpose. It is said that adjacent to it there was a small cemetery reached through a door on the right side of the altar. So, like practically all Maltese towns and villages, Senglea also had spaces reserved for burials.

The present church, built in 1712 on designs by architect Lorenzo Gafà, replaced another one built in 1539 by Fra Diego Perez De Malfreire, a Portuguese engineer. What exactly happened to the remains of those buried in the cemetery attached to the original church is unknown. It is believed that, when the subsequent churches were being built, they were removed and reburied in some lost and forgotten location.

The church of Our Lady of Victory, built in 1580, probably based on designs by architect Vittorio Cassar, became Senglea’s parish church in 1581, eventually serving as a burial place for all parishioners. Mgr Baldassare Cagliares, in his 1616 pastoral visit, mentions that he found many tombs in the church: 136 beneath the nave and also five crypts reserved for members of various confraternities. With the construction of the Oratory of the Holy Crucifix (1727-1730), another crypt was excavated beneath it, with 24 tombs for the burial of the confratelli.

In 1592-1593, Senglea was hit by the plague, which left numerous victims. In 1594, as soon as the plague was over, a cemetery for the burial of those who died of a similar scourge or some other infectious disease was built next to the parish church. Owing to a tiny chapel built therein, it was named after St Roche, the patron saint against this devastating scourge. Its entrance was directly from the parish church itself. In the aforementioned pastoral visit, Mgr Cagliares ordered that a cross be erected on a stone obelisk in the middle of the cemetery, in memory of those buried there.

In 1622, the Congregation of the Onorati took over the cemetery chapel, which they were granted permission to enlarge, taking area from the cemetery itself. Eventually, in 1636, the cemetery ceased to exist with the building of the Oratory of the Purification of the Virgin Mary, known as the ‘Candlemas Oratory’.

Another burial place belonging to the Senglea parish was the plague cemetery, built in 1676 at Corradino by parish priest Don Francesco Azzopardi, intended for victims of the plague then devastating the entire island. He obtained the piece of land from its owner Grazzia Di Bartolo who, instead of payment, burdened the parish only with the cost of her funeral service, and a number of masses after her death.

Azzopardi himself blessed the place and buried the victims, until he himself succumbed to the same pestilence and died at his house on July 18, 1676. As a sign of gratitude to his pastoral and humanitarian work, he was given a proper burial, despite the terror the island was going through. His body was placed in a stone sarcophagus next to a cross erected on a pyramid. Azzopardi was not the only priest to be buried in this place – the names of 19 others are on the list of victims.

Since this cemetery was located in an area under the administration of the Cospicua parish, it often fomented disagreements between the parish priests of the two cities, forcing bishops to order its proper upkeep. Eventually, this burial ground completely ceased to exist with the extension of the Dockyard in 1900.

The church of Our Lady of Porto Salvo was originally built in 1596 by parish priest Don Vincenzo Caruana. Following a request made to Bishop Balaguer in 1661, the Oratorians of St Philip Neri established themselves in this church. Later, in 1670, they demolished it and built a larger one under the supervision of the Senglea-born architect Carlo Vella.

Burials were also held in this church, which had a total of 26 tombs, a crypt reserved for the Oratorians and others belonging to the Sodality of St Philip Neri. The crypt was located beneath the altar of St Philip Neri, in the right transept. Three marble funerary slabs are still extant in the church.

By the mid-19th century, it had become clear that the local practice of burials within churches and adjoining grounds was no longer sustainable. Space for interment was becoming very limited. Furthermore, advances in scientific understanding of epidemic outbreaks served as a catalyst towards a concerted effort to ban intramural burials.

In 1861, Sir Gaspard Le Marchant, Governor of Malta, reached a compromise with the ecclesiastical authorities and informed the Council of Government that the plan for the construction of a cemetery was finally agreed. This brought about the establishment of the Santa Maria Addolorata Cemetery and the enactment of the first Burials Ordinance in 1869.

The chosen site at Tal-Ħorr presented an initial problem due to its steep incline, a fault which the genius of Emanuele Luigi Galizia turned into an asset. The 32-year-old architect planned and supervised all aspects of the cemetery’s construction, especially of the church.

Designs of details for the enclosing balustrade prepared by Emanuele Luigi Galizia. Photo: National Archives, Malta

Design of the iron gates for the enclosing balustrade prepared by Emanuele Luigi Galizia. Photo: National Archives, Malta

Entirely built out of limestone, the cemetery and its chapel were erected in a neo-Gothic design, totally unfamiliar for that period, contrasting with Malta’s predominantly baroque churches and other cemeteries. In spite of typical naysaying from some conservative quarters, it was inaugurated on May 9, 1869, and acclaimed as one of the finest such edifices in Europe.

Detail from the balustrade: A cinerary urn, sculpted in stone, which symbolises the holding of the dead person’s remains (cineri – ashes). Ashes represent the death of the human body and symbolise the shortness of life.

Detail from the balustrade: Stone sculpted pillar which signifies the importance of life after death. Pyramids are also viewed as a way to send the soul of the dead directly to the heavenly abode.

Detail from the balustrade: Stone sculpted Chi-Rho monogram, a symbol used as a hidden reference to Christ. The hour-glass symbolised the constant flow of time, leading to death. The pair of wings attached to the hour-glass symbolises time flying away.

With its opening, burials in Senglea came to an end, along with those of Valletta, Floriana, Cospicua and Vittoriosa, for whom this camposanto was originally built. The archpriests of these parishes, however, retained the right to be buried in their respective parish church. The last archpriest of Senglea to be buried in the collegiate church was Canon Francesco Briffa, who died on April 24, 1908.

The Zuntier tal-Isla at the Addolorata Cemetery, c. 1872.

As appropriate and as stipulated in a notarial act drawn up by notary Francesco Saverio Camilleri on July 11, 1870, the parish of Senglea, was granted a large piece of land for the digging of graves to replace those in the collegiate church. That area of land, later known as Iz-Zuntier tal-Isla (Senglea’s parvis), was to consist of graves reserved for members of the Sodality of Priests, for some of the confraternities, for families or individuals, and a chapel.

On July 11, 1870, the parish of Senglea was granted a large piece of land for the digging of graves to replace those in the collegiate church

While the excavation and construction of the tombs were done entirely by the government from public funds, the expenses incurred in building the enclosing balustrade and chapel were borne by the parish administration. On January 31, 1871, Bishop Gaetano Pace Forno, OESA, approved a request in this sense by Canon Archpriest Don Francesco Colombo.

The construction of 128 tombs, the balustrade and the foundations of the projected chapel, which sadly remained unrealised, were carried out in 1872 following designs prepared by architect Galizia himself. The tombs belonged to the Sodality for the Clergy and to the confraternities of the Blessed Sacrament, Holy Rosary, St Joseph, St Demetrius, Blessed Trinity, Our Lady of the Shackles, Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

The Confraternity of the Holy Crucifix, the Congregation of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and the Sodality of St Philip Neri (later Congregazione Figlie di Nostra Signora di Lourdes) were granted tombs in other areas. The Oratorians of St Philip Neri received two graves Sotto La Cappella, but only Don Angelo Raggio, their last member, was buried there on October 2, 1928.

The first lay person to be buried in Iz-Zuntier tal-Isla was Giuseppe Spiteri, a cigar dealer, on July 1, 1872. Being a member of the Confraternity of the Blessed Trinity, he was interred in grave no. 66 pertaining to the said confraternity. The first priest to be buried here was Canon Angelo Caruana, on September 15, 1874. He was entombed in grave no. 55 belonging to the Sodality for the Clergy.

Iz-Zuntier tal-Isla suffered severe damages during World War II, and it remained derelict until 1972 when Canon John Sladden, then Archpriest of Senglea, appointed a commission to rehabilitate the area. On October 7, 1981, the Archbishop’s Curia approved a request presented by Sladden himself to go ahead with the necessary restorations.

The Zuntier tal-Isla in June 1982.

After a deed of modification to the original contract was accordingly carried out on June 3, 1982, by notary Franco Pellegrini, architect Joe Borg Costanzi presented the plan of the necessary alterations and Dr Franco Depasquale filed an application with the Ministry of Health. Once authorisation was granted, in 1986, the balustrades, and other stone ornaments, were repaired and 48 new tombs were built in the empty space, later sold to private individuals.

The first to be buried there was Mgr Sladden himself, on April 5, 1986, in tomb number 169, in front of the black granite cross that dominates the Zuntier, erected during the rehabilitation project.

Today, all the funerary grounds in Senglea are gone. Time, progress, enemy action and development were all factors that led to the complete fading of these sacred spaces. Iz-Zuntier tal-Isla is still revered by all Sengleans to this day since many have their loved ones buried there.

Ultimately, one has to learn to appreciate what he has in life, before it is too late. Cor ad cor loquitur (Heart speaks unto heart) was St John Henry Newman’s motto. That is the only legacy that matters once we depart.