Wied Għammieq Cemetery is a perennial reminder of the 1837 Cholera outbreak. This bacterial infection thrives in poor hygenic conditions, and causes bouts of diarrhea, vomiting and muscular pain. A good number of the infected, particularly the more vulnerable, easily lost their life. Malta and Gozo experienced successive waves of this epidemic, but the most severe unfolded in 1837. It claimed the lives of 3,784 people in Malta and 368 in Gozo.
The nucleus of the 1837 Cholera epidemic proved to be the Ospizio (a state-funded house for old people and persons with different abilities) in Floriana. The first cases emerged on 9 June, and within a span of four days, the epidemic caused 25 untimely deaths. Worst still, the situation was worsening by the day and to minimise the possibility of contamination, the greater part of the Ospizio residents were relocated to Fort Ricasoli. Notwithstanding, most Ospizio residents were infected, while 450 lost their lives within a few weeks. The outstanding mortality rate gave rise to another equally worrying sanitary emergency, namely the safe internment of the corpses. Given the circumstances, it was considered appropriate to bury the bodies with minimal ceremony in the environs of Wied Għammieq. There are also claims that some of those buried here were interred alive. Besides the 450 Ospizio residents, over 400 Cholera victims from Cottonera were also laid to rest in the neighbourhood.
Irrespective of their unfortunate death, the Cholera victims buried at Wied Għammieq were destined to earn national fame. Every Monday of the month, crowds of pilgrims paid visits to their resting place to ask for celestial assistance or to offer their thanks for the favours received through their kind intercession.
In 1878, all the remains were exhumed and placed in a communal tomb. Within three years, an obelisk on a wide base, topped with a cross, was erected above the tomb. Although the obelisk and cross have since disappeared, the base remains in its original location. It carries an inscription which reads: “Here lie the remains of the poor 1837 Cholera victims who died during their stay at Fort Ricasoli. This Cemetery came into being thanks to the generosity of the faithful. You are to have mercy and pray for their eternal peace.”
Wied Għammieq Cemetery was also enclosed and adorned with a small church. In the mid-20th century, Vincenzo Bonello designed the existing centrally located church, while a veranda was added to back the main entrance.
