Tal-Virtú Ridge in Rabat, once a derelict site, was recently returned to its former glory by couple Carmen and Charles Mangion who bought the land around three years ago.

When Mr and Mrs Mangion bought the land in 2006, they knew little about the historic past of the area adorned by a chapel, a little castle and two small dwellings facing the magnificent Verdala Castle on its North Eastern side.

Unfortunately the site had been vandalised and used by Satanists for over 50 years. Former owners, both local and foreign, had given up on restoring the chapel especially because of the extensive structural damage it incurred over the years.

Mrs Mangion explained how horror-stricken she felt when she peeked inside the chapel and saw black crosses turned upside down painted on the chapel's walls and bone remains left by Satanists over the years. Only six months later was she able to return to the chapel.

The original chapel dedicated to St Mary of Virtues, administered by Rabat's St Paul's parish, was built in 1454.

The chapel had been destroyed by an earthquake, and was rebuilt in the shape of a rotunda in 1735. The architect, Mattia Preti, had also designed Sarria Chapel in Floriana; in fact the two chapels are similar in structure. The chapel started deteriorating again in 1926 when another earthquake shook the Maltese Islands.

A heavy bronze statue of Christ the King which stood on the dome's centre for many years quickened the deterioration causing pressure on the structure with its weight. The same statue can still be seen preserved at the Archbishop's Seminary close by.

A tree which grew right beside the church had penetrated one of the fissures and was dangerously tilting the chapel on its side.

Many of the original paintings, including the titular one, had been removed before extensive damage occurred. They were stored in Wignacourt Museum, also in Rabat. The intricate sculptured stonework framing the paintings suffered little damage but the original ones still decorate the chapel.

The Mangion couple has commissioned the reproduction of the original paintings. The altar is also the original one and today it displays a copy of the original titular, decorated with traditional Maltese lace and silverware.

The Mangions found the help of Salvu Baldacchino, an eighty-year-old gardener whose father was also a gardener who used to take care of Tal-Virtú land. He explained that for many years, when Malta was under British rule, the area was used as a campsite by the navy. Sometimes the military organised dances inside the rotunda. At the time, Tal-Virtú was a strategic location as it was close to the Ta' Qali aerodrome and high on the hill one can see a large part of Malta.

Many locals told Mrs Mangion that Dun Gorg Preca used to bring scores of children to visit the chapel and picnic on the nearby land every 25 January on the feast of St Paul's Conversion.

Mrs Mangion explained how her husband, being a contractor by profession, took the church's restoration as a challenge. She and her children also gave a hand by cleaning the indoor surfaces and pulling out weeds which had grown from seeds that accumulated in the fissures in the church. Mrs Mangion was motivated by promising herself that one day the church's beauty would return and the family could move into the adjacent castle.

The sacristy was rebuilt using the original fallen stones and the 2000-year old chapel's crypt was cleaned out and treated to slow down the weathering process. The crypt was probably used by the first Christians on the island.

The church was restored within two years with no pomp or celebrations. Peter Paul Ciantar, a resident of the Tal-Virtú residential area explained that the locals who adored the chapel, so closely connected with their locality, only realised the chapel was being restored when the Mangions erected a replica of the original bronze statue made of lighter material on the church. The Rabtin were glad that finally somebody was taking care of their precious chapel.

Last October, the first mass was held inside the chapel after 70 years. Mrs Mangion is organising prayer groups and is glad that the numbers attending are slowly increasing and that the church is finally being used positively. Mrs Mangion and Mr Ciantar hope to organise socio-religious activities as well as hold a feast dedicated to Our Lady of virtues. In spite of the fact that Satanist acts could have been held inside the chapel, it was never desecrated and the Curia reassured the Mangions that mass could be celebrated upon permission of the chaplaincy of St Paul.

After restoring the chapel, the Mangions intend to restore the 150-year old castle located right behind the church. Mr Baldacchino explained that a number of olive and Aleppo pine trees which grew, covering the façade, are over 100 years old and had been planted by his father. Previous owners had changed its layout and have recently pulled down its extension. The couple intend to give the castle its original look and the work shall start as soon as the Malta Environment and Planning Authority issues the necessary permits. Mrs Mangion is over the moon with her chapel and eager to see the work on the castle finished. She hopes that similar chapels in many areas around Malta are taken care of before they are lost for good.