Maltese Islands, Mediterranean

There is a short Camino in Malta, which has been recognised as an ‘official’ route to Santiago de Compostela.

The local XirCammini association is active and enthusiastic. I was in touch with them a while ago and the gentleman I corresponded with, James, was very welcoming. In our email exchange, he told me ‘the Camino is in its infancy and - in this respect - also a work in progress. It is labour of love which the volunteer organisation XirCammini has embarked upon and that is coming to fruition. Almost 400 people have already walked the Malta segment of the Camino Maltes since its official roll out in March 2023.’

The Camino has its own Kredenzjal (credenciale). The XirCammini website describes this short camino in the following way:

‘The Malta segment of the Camino Maltés is only 35km, typically completed in 1 or 2 days. The route of the Malta segment of the Camino Maltés joins the route of the Universal Peace Walk over several waypoints. It starts in Rabat, joining the Universal Peace Walk 1543AD in Mdina and continues on the Universal Peace Walk 1543AD until St. Gregory’s Church in Zejtun (i.e. for approximately 28km). From Zejtun the Camino Maltés continues through Zabbar to the 3 cities, stopping at Fort St. Angelo, Birgu (Citta Vittoriosa). ‘

We had already decided not to walk this Camino during this holiday, as I was not up to walking 10 kms or more at a time and so, at best, it would take two or three days of our time here. But we were delighted to come across signs of The Way.

On Day 1, I posted that on our first afternoon in Malta, on Bigur in The Three Cities, we visited Fort Saint Angelo, which we discovered is also the end point of the Camino Maltes. From there, pilgrims would cross the sea to the southern tip of Sicily, crossing again to Sardinia, and again to Barcelona … then on dry land on to Santiago de Compostela.

You will see from the map that the Camino Maltes does not start in or pass through Valletta - now the capital but a city built ‘only’ in the 16th century. In fact it starts in Rabat. During his walk in Rabat this morning, The French visited the catacombs of Saint Paul, and discovered it is also the starting point of the Camino Maltes.

It seems fitting to us that we would have this camino connection on our first and last days here. We’d like to walk this short Camino one day - who knows, perhaps continuing on through Sicily … and maybe Sardinia … Another good reason to return to Malta. 😎

https://caminomaltes.mt/Read more