Hi explorers ๐Ÿ™‚ Today Flora the Explorer will show you a great historical site in Burmarrad (St Paul’s Bay).

This site is called San Pawl Milqi and is an important Roman agricultural Villa dating back to the third century BC.

The villa overlooks the Burmarrad plain but in antiquity overlooked an important Roman port, where today there is the Salina Bay in St Paul’s Bay.

Check out the red Pin on the map. Buses towards St Paul’s Bay (Bugibba)/Valletta. 

San Pawl Milqi, Roman Villa

The site is open only one day a year, in occation of the Feast of St Paul’s Shipwreck on the 10th of February. To book an appointment write to: [email protected] or call 00356 22954307 – www.heritagemalta.org

Its name derives from the 1616 church of San Pawl Milqi that replaced an earlier 15th century church also dedicated to San Paul.

Tradition wants that this was the area where St Paul’s was welcomed after the shipwreck by the Roman Governonr Publius, that’s why the name St Paul’s Milqi (St Paul’s Welcome).

Click here to discover more about St Paul’s Shipwreck.

Click here to watch the video dedicated to St Paul’s Shipwreck Feast in Valletta.

The importance of this site is also in the fact that this was an important agricultural villa for the Maltess economy during the Roman period (c. 218 BC – 5th century AD).

This is the largest Roman villa found in Malta!

Other exciting discoveries found within the villa are the olive oil presses, three vertical presses and five olive pippers and numerous setting vats. The olive oil is a symbol that connects all the Mediterrean countries, it’s an ancient tradition that was also practiced in Malta. 

To know more about the tradition of the olive oil cultivation in the South click here
and in the North, click hereย 

Stay tuned and Explore, Experience, Enjoy Malta with Flora the Explorer ๐Ÿ˜‰