Culture of Naxxar

The statue of the Vitorja, which feast is celebrated on 8 September, was imported from Rome whilst the statues of the Good Friday Procession are the work of a Maltese craftsman. Naxxar was one of the first villages which had the statues of the Passion of Our Lord and in fact it is believed that the procession started being held just after 1750. On 9 November 1787, the body of the martyr St Vittorio was brought from the cemetery of St Calepodio of Rome and is found in the altar in the choir. Some of the sculptures and facades were made by Angelo Quatromanni

Chapels

San Pawl tat-Targa

In the larger Naxxar area, there are various country chapels. These include the chapel of the Immaculate Conception which was built in the 18th Century; St Lucy’s chapel; the chapel of the Shipwreck of St. Paul situated at San Pawl tat-Targa; Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist; the chapel of St James the Apostle; Santa Maria tax-Xaghra; the Assumption of the Virgin in Maghtab which was built in the 18th Century; the Annunciation of the Virgin at Salina which was built in the 16th Century; the church of St. Michael the Archangel in Salina; that of St John the Evangelist and that of St Mary of the Angels in Bahar ic-Caghaq.

Fortifications

The actual area where the village of Naxxar is built offers a natural shelter to its inhabitants. In fact, in early times the village was used to reconnoiter the movements of the enemy. Because this height has a plain which goes right down to the sea, we find that three forms of defence were built through the ages – those along the sea such as towers, trenches, batteries, redoubts and beach posts - as a physical