Rabat

View inside the early Christian catacomb in the Grotto of St Paul, in Rabat, Malta. A Roman city used to stand where Rabat is now, and there are plenty of ancient relics to be seen, as well as examples of Baroque and Renaissance architecture.

Town in the west of Malta, stretching along the spur from the fortified walls of Mdina; population (2001 est) 13,000. Rabat is situated in a rich agricultural region; pigs and goats are raised, and wheat and vines are cultivated.

Built on the site of a Roman city, Rabat has various relics of the period, including a villa, partly restored, which is now a museum. There are troglodyte dwellings, cave churches, and St Paul's and St Agatha's Catacombs, dating from the early Christian period. To the west, in the Bingemma hills, is Verdala Palace, built for the Knights of Malta in 1586 and later used as the summer residence of the governor general of Malta. Other features include several baroque and Renaissance monasteries, the 15th-century church of St Bartholomew, and the 16th-century church of St Agatha.