San Pawl Milqi is the ruin of a Roman-period agricultural villa, the most extensive to have ever been unearthed in Malta.
According to tradition the villa is where St. Publius, the governor and first bishop of Malta, welcomed St. Paul after his shipwreck in 60AD.
However, there is no archaeological evidence in support of Christian claims, and it is considered a myth dating to the middle ages. In fact, evidence of Christian worship on the site only dates back to the building of the first chapel in the fourteenth century.
On site there was a temple dedicated to the Greek God Apollo and a Roman villa close to the Chapel of St. Paid el Milki (San Pawl Milqi).
It is managed by Heritage Malta and closed for conservation except for the annual open day, which is usually in February.
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