Mdina Cathedral and museum: tickets and what to see

The cathedral that predates Valletta by a thousand years

St Paul’s Cathedral in Mdina is not, technically, the most famous church in Malta — that title belongs to St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta, with its Caravaggios and gilded Baroque nave. But St Paul’s Cathedral has a claim that St John’s does not: it stands on a site of continuous Christian worship since the 4th century, and the tradition associating it with St Paul’s arrival in Malta dates the original chapel here to Roman times.

The current building is younger — it was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693 largely destroyed the Norman-era structure — but the Baroque replacement by Lorenzo Gafà is one of his finest works, and the Cathedral Museum next door holds a collection that surprises most visitors who expected a provincial ecclesiastical accumulation. The Dürer woodcuts alone, if you encounter them without prior knowledge, are a genuine shock.

The Cathedral interior

The facade and entrance

The Cathedral faces onto the Cathedral Square (Misraħ il-Katidral), the most elegant urban space in Mdina. Gafà’s facade is restrained by the standards of high Italian Baroque — warm limestone, twin towers, a wide central section. The proportions work better from the square than the more cramped approach to St John’s in Valletta.

The interior immediately evokes the comparison with Valletta’s cathedral: the marble tombstone floor, the lateral chapels, the painted ceiling. But the scale is different — St Paul’s is smaller and more intimate, and the light entering through the side windows (larger than St John’s) gives the interior a brightness that the Valletta cathedral lacks.

The floor

The floor, like St John’s, is composed of marble tombstones marking the burial places of bishops, canons, and significant local donors. The earliest readable inscriptions date from the 17th century; the most elaborate heraldic work is from the 18th. Unlike St John’s, where the tombstones belong almost exclusively to Knights, Mdina’s Cathedral floor reflects the Maltese church hierarchy and local nobility — a different social register and a different kind of historical document.

The ceiling paintings

The ceiling above the nave was painted by the Sicilian brothers Stefano and Manno Erardi in the 1690s, depicting the Shipwreck of St Paul (the founding myth of Christianity in Malta) and the conversion of the Roman governor Publius. The quality is uneven — some passages are genuinely fine, others clearly more routine — but the narrative programme is coherent and the iconography is specific to Malta’s theological self-understanding.

The lateral chapels

Eight chapels line the nave, smaller than those at St John’s but worth examining individually. The Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament on the left side of the main altar contains the most significant sculptural work — a marble group of the 18th century, exceptional for Malta at that period. The Chapel of St Charles Borromeo at the far left has the most elaborate decorative programme of the lateral chapels.

The apse and the altar

The main altar’s altarpiece — The Conversion of St Paul — is attributed to Mattia Preti, who also painted the St John’s Co-Cathedral ceiling in Valletta. There is academic debate about the attribution, but stylistically the canvas is consistent with Preti’s mature work. The altarpiece depicts Paul’s fall from his horse on the road to Damascus, rendered in characteristic Baroque drama with strong diagonal composition and theatrical light.

The Cathedral Museum

The Cathedral Museum occupies a separate building immediately adjacent to the Cathedral, entered from Cathedral Square. It is independently ticketed (around 5 EUR adults, 2026 prices) and contains five categories of material.

Mdina: St. Paul's Cathedral and Mdina Museum Entrance Ticket

The Dürer woodcuts

This is the unexpected headline. The Museum holds a near-complete collection of Albrecht Dürer’s woodcuts and engravings — approximately 1,600 works on paper from the 15th and 16th centuries. How they arrived in Mdina is partly explained by the Cathedral’s enduring connection with the European ecclesiastical network, but the depth of the collection exceeds what you would expect from an island of Malta’s size and relative isolation.

The Dürer series includes the full Apocalypse series (1498), the Great Passion, the Small Passion, the Life of the Virgin, and dozens of individual prints. The quality of the impressions varies — some are early and crisp, others later and slightly worn — but the breadth of the collection is extraordinary.

For anyone with a serious interest in Northern Renaissance printmaking, this is a major destination. For visitors who arrive without specific prior knowledge of Dürer, the collection can still astonish — the scale and violence of the Apocalypse prints in particular need no art-historical context to communicate their power.

The Maltese silver

The silver collection documents Malta’s silversmiths from the 17th through 19th centuries. Maltese silver is a distinct tradition — influenced by Italian and Sicilian practice but with local characteristics, particularly in the liturgical pieces designed for Mediterranean religious use. The collection includes monstrances, chalices, processional crosses, and domestic silver commissioned by the Cathedral and by local noble families.

The ecclesiastical vestments

A significant collection of embroidered vestments, primarily 17th and 18th century, including some exceptionally fine Maltese lace work incorporated into vestment borders. Maltese lace (bizzilla) is a distinct local craft tradition, and the Cathedral vestments preserve examples from periods when the craft was at its peak.

The Roman and medieval section

A small but genuine archaeological collection: Roman domestic objects recovered from Mdina and Rabat, medieval coins and jewellery, and fragments of pre-1693 building material from the earlier Cathedral. This section contextualises the site’s continuous occupation without making claims beyond what the evidence supports.

The Archaeology room

Including finds from the Mdina area spanning prehistoric through Arab periods. The continuity of the site across cultures — Phoenician, Roman, Arab, Norman, then Baroque — is documented here in material rather than narrative form.

Honest assessment and practical information

The Cathedral is free (donations welcome). The Cathedral Museum is separately ticketed. If you are visiting Mdina on a tight budget, the Cathedral interior and the Cathedral Square are genuinely rewarding without paying for the Museum.

The Museum is essential if you have any interest in prints, engravings, or Northern Renaissance art. The Dürer collection alone is worth the 5 EUR ticket price. Plan 45-60 minutes for the Museum at a pace that does justice to the prints.

Combined with the Knights of Malta Museum: the other significant museum stop in Mdina is the Knights of Malta Museum on Villegaignon Street, which covers the Order’s history through a more theatrical presentation.

Mdina: The Knights of Malta Museum Entry Ticket

The Cathedral Museum and the Knights of Malta Museum together represent a comprehensive morning’s cultural activity in Mdina. For the full half-day plan including the Cathedral, museums, bastions, and connection to Rabat, see the Mdina half-day guide.

How the Cathedral connects to Valletta’s St John’s

The comparison between St Paul’s Cathedral in Mdina and St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta is natural and illuminating:

• St Paul’s is older in institutional terms (4th century origin) and is the seat of the Archbishop of Malta.
• St John’s is more elaborate in decoration and holds the Caravaggios.
• St Paul’s is the cathedral in the canonical sense; St John’s carries the co-cathedral designation because it was the Knights’ church, not the Bishop’s.
• The title “cathedral” technically belongs to St Paul’s; St John’s is a co-cathedral because the Diocese of Malta has two episcopal seats.

Both are worth visiting. For the full St John’s experience, see the St John’s Co-Cathedral guide. For understanding how the two fit into Malta’s ecclesiastical and political history, the Valletta WWII tour provides additional institutional context.

Frequently asked questions about Mdina Cathedral and museum

Is entry to Mdina Cathedral free?

Entry to the Cathedral itself is free for visitors. A donation box at the entrance suggests a contribution. The Cathedral Museum next door has a separate entry fee (around 5 EUR adults). The Cathedral is also open for regular religious services — check the schedule if you want to attend rather than visit as a tourist.

Who is Dürer and why is his work in Mdina?

Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) was the leading German artist of the Northern Renaissance — painter, printmaker, mathematician, and theorist. His woodcuts and engravings were distributed across Europe during his lifetime and collected by ecclesiastical institutions as significant art objects as well as devotional images. The Cathedral Museum’s collection was assembled over several centuries through donations, bequests, and purchases by the Cathedral chapter. The exact provenance of individual pieces varies.

How does Mdina Cathedral compare to St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta?

St John’s is more elaborately decorated and holds the Caravaggios — it is the more dramatic single experience. St Paul’s Cathedral in Mdina is smaller, lighter, and has a more intimate character. The Cathedral Museum in Mdina holds material (Dürer prints, Maltese silver) that St John’s does not have. For a culturally complete Malta trip, both are worth visiting.

Can you attend mass at Mdina Cathedral?

Yes — the Cathedral is an active parish church. Mass schedules are typically posted at the entrance. Sunday morning mass in particular creates a very different atmosphere from the tourist-hour visits.

Is there an audio guide for Mdina Cathedral?

Heritage Malta does not currently offer a dedicated Cathedral audio guide in the same way as for St John’s. The Cathedral Museum has some interpretative signage. For self-guided walking in Mdina more broadly, the Mdina audio tour with map (available via GYG) covers the city including the Cathedral area.

How long should I spend at Mdina Cathedral and Museum?

The Cathedral interior: 20-30 minutes. The Cathedral Museum: 45-60 minutes (longer if the prints interest you specifically). Total: approximately 1-1.5 hours. Combined with the Knights of Malta Museum and the Mdina Experience audio-visual show, the indoor cultural content of Mdina amounts to a substantial 3-hour programme.

Last reviewed: 2026-04-20