Our Lady of Hodegetria Chapel - Binġemma, Malta - Chapel Above an Ancient Tomb

The small Our Lady of Hodegetria Chapel at Binġemma, standing amid Malta’s historic landscape near the Victoria Lines and ancient rock-cut tombs.

This photograph presents the simple limestone façade of the Chapel of Our Lady of Hodegetria at Binġemma, Malta. A dark wooden doorway, circular window and small bell-cot form the principal features of the restrained rural façade, while two potted plants frame the entrance beneath a vivid blue Maltese sky. The chapel stands at Binġemma Gap, close to the historic Victoria Lines and an extensive landscape of ancient rock-cut tombs. The site is particularly noteworthy because the chapel is traditionally described as having been constructed over an earlier Punic or Romano-Punic tomb, linking two very different periods of Malta’s history within the same location. The surviving chapel dates principally from the 17th century and is dedicated to Our Lady of Hodegetria, a title of the Virgin Mary with origins in the Byzantine Christian tradition. Surrounded by open countryside and archaeological remains, the modest building forms part of a remarkable landscape where Malta’s ancient burial traditions, Christian heritage and later military defences exist within a relatively small area.