Old Church of St Domenica, Dingli

The Old Church of St Domenica (Maltese: Knisja Medjevali ta' Santa Duminka) is a ruined Roman Catholic parish church in Dingli, Malta, which was dedicated to Saint Domenica.

This article is about the 15th century church which is now in ruins. For the 17th century chapel, see Chapel of St Domenica, Dingli.
Old Church of Saint Domenica
Knisja Medjevali ta' Santa Duminka
35°51′36.5″N 14°23′2.2″E
LocationDingli, Malta
DenominationRoman Catholic
History
StatusParish church
Foundedc. 15th century
DedicationSaint Domenica
Architecture
Functional statusRuins
Specifications
MaterialsLimestone
Administration
ParishĦal Tartarni
DioceseMalta

History

The church is believed to date back to the 15th century.[1] At the time it formed part of the village of Ħal Tartarni, which was also called Villaggio di S. Domenica after the church.[2] The building became the village's parish church sometime before 1436.[3]

Ħal Tartarni ceased to be a parish in 1539, when it was absorbed into the parish of St Paul of Rabat. The settlement later merged with the village of Dingli, which was established as an independent parish in the 17th century.[2]

In November 2012 a proposal was made to schedule the remains of the church, but no action was taken until eight years later,[4] after a new road was proposed to be constructed directly adjacent to the site in October 2020. This raised concerns among residents and NGOs that the church's fragile structure could collapse in the process and that its context would be lost.[1] The church was finally scheduled as a Grade 1 monument by the Planning Authority on 14 October.[5]

References
  1. Arena, Jessica (5 October 2020). "Medieval church threatened by planned Dingli road". Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 6 October 2020.
  2. Guillaumier, Alfie (1987). Bliet u Rħula Maltin (in Maltese). Valletta: Valletta Publishing & Promotion Co Ltd. pp. 156–157.
  3. "About The Locality". localgovernment.gov.mt. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018.
  4. Debono, James (20 October 2020). "Protection of Dingli chapel shelved for eight years". Malta Today. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020.
  5. "Chapel threatened by road works among six properties given top protection". Times of Malta. 14 October 2020. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020.
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