St Matthew's Chapel, Medieval chapel in Qrendi, Malta.
St Matthew's Chapel is a rectangular stone building with pointed archways and contains a single stone altar featuring a statue of St Matthew and a fresco depicting a scallop shell. The small structure stands right next to a larger church of the same name, showing typical features of medieval religious architecture.
The building dates to the 11th century and experienced a natural event in 1343 when a sinkhole formed in the nearby area called il-Maqluba. Later, during construction of the larger church between 1674 and 1682, the chapel was transformed and began serving as a crypt beneath the new place of worship.
The chapel shows how deeply faith shaped medieval life in Malta, and its simple furnishings reflect the piety of that era. Visitors can see in the modest design how people of that time expressed their religious devotion.
The building stands directly next to the larger church, allowing visitors to compare both structures in a single visit. Keep in mind that the interior is compact and the medieval architecture has been preserved in its original form.
The chapel was once a standalone place of worship but was later functionally merged with the new church, losing space and independence in the process. Today it reveals how medieval sacred sites were sometimes incorporated beneath larger religious structures as communities expanded.
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