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Aħrax Chapel of Mellieħa
This chapel is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. It is also known as the Chapel of the Niche (tan-Niċċa in Maltese), due to a nearby niche which today no longer exists, but a few meters away one finds an outdoor statue of the Immaculate Conception placed on a high pedestal. This desolate plateau is almost barren because for ages it suffered from erosion due to strong winds. Its very name, “l-Aħrax tal-Mellieħa,” means the rugged, rocky, and wild land. The original chapel was built in the beginning of the 1900s on the edge of a cliff; however, due to extensive damage it suffered, hence becoming very dangerous, it was rebuilt further inland in 1961. Until a few years ago some remains of the original chapel were still on the edge, but everything vanished, even to the last stone (probably stolen), leaving us with no tangible record of the its heritage and history. This is even more unfortunate since this chapel had a very strong tie to the folklore of the whole locality. [summarized and translated from Kappelli Maltin (Maltese Chapels) website]
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