Spring on Malta Photo

Photographer’s Note

Mdina, Città Vecchia, or Città Notabile, (English: Notabile, or Imdina) is the old capital of Malta. Mdina is a medieval town situated in the centre of the island. Punic remains uncovered beyond the city’s walls suggest the importance of the general region to Malta’s Phoenician settlers. Mdina is commonly called the "Silent City" by natives and visitors alike.

St Paul's Cathedral

Of all the churches on the islands, St Paul's Cathedral is the finest and most mature example of Maltese Baroque; not fussy and ornamental, but rather articulate with Roman, Sicilian and Italian influences. From all perspectives this monumental church with its bold austere swathes takes charge: at the screen facade, from a distance, in silhouette and from inside.

Tradition states the cathedral is built on the site of the villa belonging to the Roman governor, Publius, where the shipwrecked St Paul healed Publius' father and converted the grateful governor himself to Christianity. (Publius later became the first bishop of Malta and was martyred in Greece.) The simple 12th C. Norman structure of Count Roger was enlarged in 1419, and
the present cathedral was built following the earthquake of 1693, which destroyed much of southeast Sicily and Malta.

A new cathedral was commissioned and the architect, Lorenzo Gafa, liked the site on the northeast corner of Mdina. The structure was built in five years, and was consecrated in 1697.

St Paul's Cathedral sits on a low podium at the end of the eponymous rectangular square. The near-square facade with its three cleanly divided bays gives it a light but solid air. The Corinthian order of pilasters below the composite ones span the entire facade without interruption, leaving above the two side doors brave expanses of honey-colored masonry. The bell towers, each with six bells, are squat, adding to the facade's heaviness, but with Gafa's deft touch they appear lighter, for the twin clocks nudge into the lower lip of the cornice.

Mdina

The history of Mdina traces back more than 4000 years. According to tradition it was here that in 60 AD that the Apostle St. Paul is said to have lived after being shipwrecked on the Islands. Furthermore it is said that St. Paul resided inside the grotto know as Fuori le Mura (outside the city walls) now known as St. Pauls Grotto in Rabat. Lamp lit by night and referred to as “the silent city”, Mdina is fascinating to visit for its timeless atmosphere as well as its cultural and religious treasures.
Mdina has had different names and titles depending on its rulers and its role but its medieval name describe it best – ‘Citta’ Notabile’: the noble city.
It was home then, as now, to Malta’s noble families; some are descendants of the Norman, Sicilian and Spanish overlords who made Mdina their home from the 12th century onwards. Impressive palaces line its narrow, shady streets.

(Source: visitmalta)

mikolaj_kawa, ChrisJ, jlbrthnn, npecanhuk, Photo65Net, snunney, macondo, JLG, jjcordier, zeynepe, ymrk, Cretense, bobocortis, ocskaymarci, ifanik, asajernigan, JCG, Gerrit trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

barrufeto_77 (26450) 2009-01-26 1:36

Hi George.

The colours and the details are lovely! Excellent POV too!

Rgs, Oscar

mikolaj_kawa (32169) 2009-01-26 1:42

Hello George! Very interesting church. Wonderful POV and capture. Splendid colours. Good work. Well done!

ChrisJ (72276) 2009-01-26 1:49

Hi George

A marvellous blue sky with a nice upward view on the imposing old cathedral. Good sharpness & a superb warm cold color contrast of the red tinted stone & blue sky. Tfs!

dta (9492) 2009-01-26 1:51

hello George ,
A beautiful POV , well chosen , to present this cathedral . The large fore ground , with green bushes and grass , is interesting here . Nice spring colors (the 21th of march) , and a beautiful sky , too .
Regards
Denis

Silverkey (1433) 2009-01-26 1:52

Hi George
Interesting picture, by the fact that you took mostly nature, even if the monument is the principal subject
Good take!
Mickaël

jurek1951 (27522) 2009-01-26 2:09

Hi George,

Really very nice your architecture photos this one is very sharp and very well composed.The lighting is fantastic.
Georg

jlbrthnn (42689) 2009-01-26 2:43

Hello George,
The light was very strong, and was well controlled. I like this sight in low-angle shot, and this green and varied foreground. Very good balance of the photograph. Cheer.
Have a nice day
Cordially
Joël

npecanhuk (18033) 2009-01-26 2:57

Hello George!
The Cathedral up on the hill - interesting and beautiful architecture! The bluest sky above with cottom-like clouds! The vegetation in all its splendor! Wow... pretty nice! Very eye-cathcing! Great photo quality! I really like it!
TFS - Congratulations!
Warmest regards,
Neyvan

Photo65Net (43106) 2009-01-26 3:34

Hello George,
Great sunny colors here !
I like your use of the diagonal, nice job,
Have a nice day,
JB.

snunney (38467) 2009-01-26 3:53

Hello George,
A very appealing atmosphere to this pretty composition complemented by a nice ambient light. The colours are warm and natural and the vegetation very redolent of spring. Very good sharpness.

macondo (13710) 2009-01-26 4:15

Hi George.
More fabulous shots from Malta. I will have to go back and catch up on your gallery as I have been away for a week. Great composition and lovely layers of vegetation in front of the cathedral. I like the gentle colour and light in this Springtime picture. Very nicely done.
Regards,
Andrew

JLG (2086) 2009-01-26 4:51

hello George
une tres belle presentation de cet endroit avec une note tres complete ,c'est tres bien detaillé avec un excellent POV
well done
jean louis

jjcordier (27200) 2009-01-26 4:59

George
Une architecture particulière pour cette cathédrale qui a un peu des allures de place forte ou de citadelle. Une jolie lumière pour adoucir le tout et de belles couleurs printanières. Une image très agréable.
Amicalement
JJ

grantlp (2110) 2009-01-26 5:00

Hello George,
Yes it's an attractive view of the old cathedral and I like the wide inclusion of the multi-coloured trees and foreground. It seems to me that you have craeted the bright blue sky....on my screen it reflects strange patterns like post processing. Is that the case? It's an interesting subject and compo, but spoilt by the sky.
Cheers Grant

zeynepe (9464) 2009-01-26 5:44

Hi George,
The cathedral looks gorgeous at the top.The combination of the fantastic sky and the architectural details makes the composition very atrractive.
Congrats and have a nice week,
Zeynep

ymrk (10128) 2009-01-26 6:45

Dear George;
The very rejoiced view,original views and super your outlook(as wonted:)Very fine technic details,you have original photographer eyes...
Have a nice day,take care yourself

Yağmur

Greg1949 (8765) 2009-01-26 8:02

Fine capture George, I think I have a similar shot from 40 years ago when I visited there. Your color and detail are awesome.

Greg

Cretense (60435) 2009-01-26 9:38

Hi George!

This looks like a landscape from central Europe, if it wasn't for the typical colour on the walls, that we see very often in Malta! Excellent composition and framing, perfect light managment, fantastic colours! Congratulations!

Hercules

bobocortis (14158) 2009-01-26 9:51

Hello George.
Excellent composition based on a diagonal line crossing the shot. I don't like this tonality of sky, when it happens, I use to desaturate it. But it's a question of my personal taste.
Anyway a great shot.
Best regards.
Bobo.

ocskaymarci (2538) 2009-01-26 10:00

Szia Gyuri!
Érdekes kép, mert sem szikla, sem tenger, sem sikátor nem látszódik rajta. A zöld mező egészen szokatlanul hat. Az ember már azt hinné, hogy nem is Máltán van! (:
Az erőd és a templom azonban eltűnteti kétségeinket, mert felfedezhetőek rajtuk a mediterrán építészet stílusjegyei. Kiválóak a fények és a kéké-zöld-sárgás színek is nagyon jól mutatnak.
Üdv,
Marci

TGULUMSER (12528) 2009-01-26 10:21

Hello George,
The building is very beautiful under this wonderful light,
Best regards,
Tulay

ifanik (20971) 2009-01-26 18:04

Hi George
Very beautiful photo with nice colours and POV
Nice note too
Best regards
Nick

gneufeld (15741) 2009-01-26 19:23

Hi George,
Well seen here with good use of thirds and the clarity, sharpness, and depth are excellent. The colors and details very pleasing. TFs. Gerald

amaryllis (18992) 2009-01-27 8:28

bonjour Georg
celà fait du bien de retourner quelques mois, voir années, en arrière dans la saison; cette phot de la cathédrale est superbe avec une luminosité parfaite
excellente composition
juliette

asajernigan (15295) 2009-01-27 9:08

George,
Nice positioning of the church which gives the shot a nice sense of direction. The lighting and colors are great with excellent sharpness and DOF. The foliage in the foreground creates a nice boarder for the shot.
TFS,
Asa

Graal (61582) 2009-01-27 23:38

Jó napot George,
nice spring green and interesting architecture in BG. Beautiful cathedral. Good note. Solid job. I like it.
Gr., Aleksander

ahmetgedikli (22999) 2009-01-28 13:36

Hi George,
Beautiful shot! Great POV, depth and good composition.
Very good job.
Warm regards.
Ahmet

JCG (27569) 2009-01-31 6:47

Hi George,

I like much balance between the vegetable part and this architectural unit. The photograph is very pleasant to detail, the good light makes spout out the colors giving of interesting contrasts. Pretty glance, George cheer.

With all my friendships and a very good WE,

Jean-Charles

Gerrit (37600) 2009-02-02 4:55

Hi George,
impressive place. Accentuted by the low POV.
The colors are great.
Regards, gerrit