With festa season having recently reached its peak in Malta and Gozo, as we begin to wind down for the end of summer, the varieties of colourful bunting, street decorations, band marches, and fireworks were a true assault on all the senses, across Maltese and Gozitan towns and villages.

There is, however, one very special feast which is celebrated in a town you might not have heard of. It’s the tiny town of Ħal Minjat, a miniature village of which Charles Scerri, 55, of Santa Venera is first citizen, benefactor and all-round promoter, all rolled into one.

In fact, Ħal Minjat only exists in Charles’s home, and is his idealised version of a Maltese town including all the elements one would expect such as the baker, the pastizzerija, and band clubs – all of course dominated by the towering baroque church in the middle.

“Church life was always a passion for me as I was always fascinated by how the Church liturgy works and how the various festivities call for different set-ups and decorations throughout the year,” Charles explains.

“As a little boy of just seven years, I used to help out at the church of my then home-town of St Paul’s Bay. Soon I created my first miniature church which obviously I dedicated to St Paul! It was a very modest thing, made out of food cartons – the bell towers were fashioned out of old whisky boxes! Then I never looked back, as the passion for miniature churches and all things religious continued to grow with me,” Charles recalls.

Today, Charles runs his miniature village with such dedication that it is easy to mistake it for an actual town.

“Ħal Minjat, which is short for 'minjatura' or the Maltese word for miniature, has all the elements you’d expect to find in any Maltese town. Of course, the streets look their best when festa time comes round which is more often than expected,” Charles explains.

In fact, Ħal Minjat celebrates no fewer than four feasts, way more than the average in any town or village in Malta and Gozo! “The patron of the village is Our Lady of Mount Carmel, whose feast is celebrated in July, but then there are three other feasts which are celebrated with equal love and devotion, and are dedicated to St Paul Shipwrecked in February, St Joseph in March and the Immaculate Conception in December.”

A landscaper by profession, Charles dedicates a lot of his free time to the upkeep of Ħal Minjat, and the preparation for the next feast which is always round the corner. “The shorter winter days are ideal to be spent between the miniature walls of Ħal Minjat. Here I spend hours thinking of what to create next, in terms of decorations for the upcoming festa, or even any new elements to include in the town,” he continues.

Running a miniature like Ħal Minjat takes a great deal of dedication, and an infinite amount of objects varying in size, shape, and purpose which Charles proudly displays in wall-to-wall cabinets opposite the town. “I would estimate that the entire set-up runs into around 3,000 articles. Everything has a specific purpose, and all decorations have their own place and time when they are used, according to church liturgy and tradition.” In fact, colours reflect the time of the year, or the patron saint being celebrated: for example, Our Lady is associated with blue, while St Paul with red.

“It takes me two weeks to set up Ħal Minjat for one of the major feasts which includes the church interior, the sacristy on the side of the church, the tiny chapel dedicated to St Joseph and all the other corners of the streets,” he notes.

Then when the feast week is over, all the decorations find their place in their own storage spaces, the statues and intricate church equipment goes back in the showcases and Charles’s mind is swiftly looking forward to the next feast!

Saying that Ħal Minjat is a passion for Charles would be an understatement.

“I am constantly looking for innovative materials to mimic the real-world set-ups for my miniature town.” Then, not without a heavy dose of creativity, Charles works his magic and transforms it all into the wonder that is Ħal Minjat.

This feature forms part of The Laid Back Series by GuideMeMalta.com. Bringing to light unique characters, local traditions, and the beauty of old Malta, we search every corner of the Maltese islands to find the most unique of stories that are sure to delight and bring a sense of nostalgia to our readers.

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